Platanthera azorica Schltr. 1920
Photos by © Paulo Ventura Araujo and The Arkive Website
Comparrison of the three Azorean species - All specimens were collected in 1838 by Karl Hochstetter and are currently held at the University of Tübingen. (A, B) P. pollostantha. (C, D) P. micrantha. (E, F) P. azorica. Compare (C) and (E) with the original line drawings shown as Fig. 27. Scale bar for (B, C, E) = 10 mm. Images: R Bateman Photos by © R M Bateman and The PeerJ Website
Common Name The Azores Platanthera - Hochstetter's Butterfly Orchid
Flower Size
Found in the Azores on Sao Jorge in alipne grasslands and dwarfed laurisilva scrub at elevations of 950 to 1000 meters as a small sized, cold growing terrestrial with broadly fusiform tubers narrowing below into a single, long fleshy, apical root and a further 2 to 4 roots emerge horizontally from the base of the stem, all giving rise to an erect, 8" [20 cm] long stem carrying 1 to 2, broadly ovate-obovate, spreading, without an elongate petiolate base sheathing leaves and a few, bracteoidal leaves, evenly spaced along the stem and grading above into the basal bracts that blooms on a 3.4" [8.5 cm] long, 8 to 11 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate floral bracts and carrying comparitively, weakly scented of musk and spice
There are now 3 recognized Platanthera endemic to the Azores P azorica, P micrantha and P pollostantha. See comparrison Collection photo above of the three types.
Synonyms Habenaria longibracteata Hochst. 1840; Limnorchis longibracteata (Hochst.) Efimov 2008 publ. 2009; Platanthera micrantha var. longibracteata (Hochst.) Soó 1928
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 4 193 to 256 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1973 as P azorica; PeerJ 1(e218): 60 2013 R.M.Bateman & M.Moura photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 78 #2 2014;
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