Green pololepestnik

Family: Orchidaceae. Distributed in Western Europe (except the extreme south), in China, and in North America.

A perennial with a two-part tuber, the ends of which are awl-shaped and elongated.

Stems 10-35 cm tall, with 2-5 elliptic-ovate or lanceolate leaves, 2-9 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. Upper leaves smaller and more pointed. Inflorescence 2-10 cm long, rather lax, of 5-30 flowers. Bracts linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, bluntly pointed. Flower 5-7 mm long. Outer perianth segments ovate, bluntish, 4.5-6 mm long, 2-4 mm wide; the median is concave, the lateral ones unequally sided. Two segments of the inner whorl linear, single-veined, bluntish. Spur about 2 mm long and 1 mm wide. In high-mountain forms the outer perianth segments and the ovary are often colored purple or brownish. Flowers in June-August.

Grows in meadows, in open woods, on pastures, on dry and wet soils of various texture, with pH from 4.4 to 8.0; prefers sites with sparse and low herb cover. In the mountains it reaches very high elevations, up to 3000 m (and in the Asian part up to 4000 m). In the Caucasus, among our orchids this is probably the most "high-mountain" species.

We have observed it among the few flowering plants surviving near the edge of a glacier. Pololepestnik is usually encountered singly or in small groups, but occasionally can form substantial colonies.

Flowers of pololepestnik are pollinated by two-winged insects attracted by the faint honey scent of the flowers. Reproduction is mainly by seed, but its vegetative reproduction is sometimes reported.