Appearance
Plant arises from fleshy, forked roots and ranges in height from 10 to 55 cm. The leaves of "C. viride" are 5–14 cm long and 2–7 cm wide; leaves at the base of the orchid are obovate to elliptical, while leaves higher on the stem become lanceolate. Two to six leaves are found on one plant, and leafing is alternate.Inflorescence of the orchid is a dense raceme containing 7 to 70 small flowers. Flowers are greenish in color, and often tinged with purple, reddish, or red-brown color.
Flowers are subtended by conspicuous long, tapering bracts which are 1–6 cm long, with the lower bracts longer and typically greatly exceeding the length of the flower. Sepals are oval with little or no point, 3–7 mm long and 2–4 mm wide and dark green. Sepals join with petals to form a hood opposite the lower petal of the flower.
Petals are long and narrow, 3.5–5 mm long and about 0.5 mm wide, and curve inwards. The lower petal is strap-shaped and usually split at the very tip to form two or three tooth-like divisions, with the middle tooth smaller than the others. It is 5–11 mm long and 1–4 mm wide. A 2–3 mm long nectar spur projects behind the labellum.
"Coeloglossum viride" flowers in late May and early June. It is either pollinated by bees and small wasps, or reproduces autogamously by incoherent pollinia.
In North America, "Coeloglossum viride" can be mistaken for "Platanthera flava", but can be best distinguished by the labellum, which is notched at the apex and does not have the tubercle of "P. flava".
Naming
The generic name "Coeloglossum" is derived from the Greek ' meaning "hollow tongue", referring to the hollow spur on the tongue-like labellum. The 'frog' in frog orchid refers to the shape and colour of the flowers.Some recent classifications regard "Coeloglossum" as part of the larger genus, "Dactylorhiza", so that "C. viride" becomes "Dactylorhiza viridis". Other sources continue to keep "Coeloglossum viride" separate.
Habitat
"Coeloglossum viride" is mainly pollinated by beetles and a wide range of Hymenoptera including ants.This orchid species is able to form symbiotic partnerships with a variety of mycorrhizal fungi including "Ceratobasidium sp.", "Epulorhiza anaticulata" "Moniliopsis anomala", "Rhizoctonia sp.", "Tulasnella cucumeris" and "Tulasnella calospora".
Uses
"Coeloglossum viride" var. "bracteatum" is being investigated as a potential candidate for the treatment of vascular dementia.References:
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