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Orchid Companion
Dear Readers, we start this section in order to describe and to show the beauty of Russian orchids, peculiarities of their growth and blooming, and by this - to protect inhabitation of these plants from destruction.
It is really interesting to search for orchids, to determine their inhabitation, to prepare maps composition, attendance for several years, making photos of development in dynamics.
We welcome your letters, articles, photos of insects on orchids and orchids themselves, which you meet during your trip, promenades in forests and meadows, on riversides and lake shores.
We will publish them on our web-site, and in the magazine. In case articles, photos are published in Orchid Planet, the author will receive 2 issues of magazine for free and free subscription for half-year. The best three works will be awarded with annual free subscription.
e-mail: info@plor.ru
Telephone: +7 495 922-2738
Postbox: Moscow 127006 ŕ/˙ 12
In 'Orchid Calendar' we listed majority of orchids grown in Russia. We look forward to receiving letters and photos with description and short stories about your trips & travel.
Very often these orchids grow close to us, for example, nearby to village, dacha, along roads from station to the village, along railroads.
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| Russian orchids |
ORCHIDS CALENDAR
Orchids blooming in forests and meadows of midland of Russia starts in May and ends in the middle of October.
The first spring May 'bloomer' is Calipso bulbosa.
This flower is usually 'hiding' in moss, somewhere under old laid down branches, so carefully that you can pass it by and do not notice this simple beauty - looking as a forest bell-flower, this orchid has a pink flower with white red spotted or stripped lip. Calipso bulbosa is rather rare and the one should have patience and luck to discover it.
Dactylorhiza starts its blooming season at the end of May and in June - July it is already ball of blooming of Dactylorhiza, which is the most wide spread orchids of midland of Russia. This orchid grows on the roadside, in forests, meadows, boggy place, on banks of rivers, streams and lakes. Dactylorhiza growing in meadows are extremely beautiful and usually they grow rather far from each other. This plant has long strong flower-bearing stem with bright crimson, pink or light pink flowers. Dactylorhiza, growing in forests, usually located close to each other and there can be up to 15 plants on one square meter.
Cypripedium starts blooming at the beginning of June. The most wide spread Cypripedium in midland of Russia is Cypripedium calceolus). Flowers of this orchid look very handsome in the sunshine on grassy glade. This is rather rare orchid, which requires our care and protection. Besides Cypripedium calceolus, the other Cypripediums grow in midland of Russia, for example Cypripedium guttatum Sw., Cypripedium macranthon Sw..
At the same time the very unusual orchid starts blooming Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich.), which looks like small toy soldier at his duty.
In mid of June, the first fragrant flowers of Platanthera start blooming. Mainly, there are two species of this orchid growing in midland of Russia - Platanthera bifolia) and (Platanthera chlortantha (Cust.) Reichenb.
This orchid usually grows on grassy glades in the forest, among birches, in meadows. If there is sufficient amount of this orchid, growing in one place in meadow, in the evening you can really feel the smell of its white fragrant flowers. Their aroma attracts night butterflies - hawk moths, sleepless pollinators. During evening and night moths prefer white flowers, probably because they are better seen during night-time and their aroma is stronger.
At the end of June - beginning of July Epipactis palustris, romantic, whitesnow sleeping beauty starts blooming. This orchid grows in group, in the shadow of bushes and branches of young trees, in osiery, on the sides of meadows, roadsides in wet lowland places.
Mid of July - it is time for Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz, Epipactis atrorubens, Epipactis purpurata, which amaze with grandeaur of blooming, especially Epipactis helleborine and Epipactis purpurata. They have rather long bearing flowers stem, so that you can easily notice them in high grass.
Listera ovata modest and imperceptible orchid, is blooming for the whole June and July. You an hardly notice its small flowers. But they have very unusual form and look like dancing people. This orchid grows in grass, near bushes, birches, on meadows sides.
Micro orchid Malaxis monophyllos) at the same time as Epipactis helleborine in July. In order to notice this orchid you should literally incline and to view with magnifying glass its micro white flowers with sharp petals.
Goodyera repens (L.) R.Br. - our north jewelry orchid starts blooming one of the last. Beauty of its leaves is modest comparing with tropical orchids, but when it is lighted under the sunshine, the leaves look like silver in moss carpet. The flower bearing stem is long, growing directly up, with white flowers, which look usually. But if to look at them more carefully, you will notice that they consist of hairy silver fibre of wax like structure.
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