Neottia ovata (L.) Bluff & Fingerh. 1838
Photo courtesy of Pascal Pernot and His Orchids of France and Europe
and EARLY
Common Name The Egg-Shaped Leaf Neottia
Flower Size less than 1/2" [less than 1.25 cm]
Found in all of Europe, Russia to Siberia, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Kirgystan, Uzbekistan, eastern Himalayas, Pakistan, western Himalayas, Sikkim and Ontario Canada as a medium to large sized, cold growing terrestrial with an erect, pubescent stem carrying ovate to broadly elliptic leaves with 2 to 3 basal sheaths that blooms in the spring and early summer on an erect, elongated, 2 4/5" to 10" [7 to 25 cm] long, many flowered, racemose inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate bracts.
Synonyms Bifolium ovatum (L.) Nieuwl. 1913; Diphryllum ovatum Kuntze 1891; Distomaea ovata (L.) Spenn. 1825; Epipactis ovalifolia Stokes 1812; Epipactis ovata (Linne) Crantz 1769; Helleborine ovata (R. Br.) F.W. Schmidt 1793; Listera multinervia Petermann 1844; Listera ovata (Linne) R. Brown 1813; Malaxis ovata (L.) Bernh. 1800; Neottia latifolia Richard 1818; Ophrys bifolia Lam. 1779; *Ophrys ovata Linne 1753; Pollinirhiza ovata (L.) Dulac 1867; Serapias ovata (L.) Steud. 1821
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II Duthie 1906 as Listera ovata drawing fide; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 drawing fide; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 photo ok; AOS Bulletin Vol 38 No 9 1969 as Listera ovata photo fide; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 5 257- 320 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1974 photo ok; The Native Orchids of the United States and Canada Luer 1975 as Listera ovata drawing/photos fide; Indian Orchids, Guide to Identification and Culture Pradhan 1976 as Listera ovata drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 63 # 3 1994 as Listera ovata photo fide; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002; Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle east Delforge 2005 as Neottia ovata; Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007; Orchid Digest Vol 75 #2 2011 Photo fide; LANKESTERIANA 15(1): 7—50. Jeewan Singh Jalal & J. Jayanthi 2015; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #4 2016 drawing fide; The Orchid Review Vol 1278 No 1330 June 2020 photo fide;
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