  hile many people discover their love for orchids when they received their very first phal as a gift, I got hooked to orchids after discovering some of the native beauties of my region. I was lucky enough to do the first two years of horticultural studies in a small college in the alpine town of Chambéry. One of my courses involved a series of hikes in the Alps around Chambéry to discover the local flora. Hike after hike, I became more and more attracted to these small orchids that survive the harsh alpine winters. At high altitude the colors are very bright because of all the UV light they get. Because alpine summer are so short (end of may to late august) the orchids must grow, bloom and produce seed in a very short period of time. This means that the majority of species are in bloom at the same time, which in turn means that many plants can be seen in one hike, to my greatest joy. There are not many orchids which are true alpine plants since much of the species are found in many other areas as well, but the highest concentration of different orchids I have seen is in the lower Alps.
Not long after that flora course, I bought my very first orchid, a pink cymbidium, and the rest is history! I am now an orchid addict, and proud of it!
Cyperipedium calceolus
One of my closest friends introduced me to this very well known, yet quite rare orchid. She has found a secluded clearing in a forest where dozens of them grow together. It’s a beautiful sight when they are in full bloom. Unfortunately some people are not satisfied to be able to simply admire these in the wild. A few years ago two people were arrested and got jail time for having collected dozens of these slipper orchids for illegal sale. This is especially saddening as terrestrial orchids never survive transplant shock since they completely depend on a fungus in the ground to survive. Part of the reason that this orchid is so rare is that once a seed germinates, it takes 8 to 15 years for it to bloom for the first time! So many things can happen to the small plant in that amount time.
 The Ophrys orchids are an amazing genus of orchids to me. The shape and color of the lip is unique, some of them resembling insects. In French, their common names reflect that, being called the spider, bumblebee, honeybee or fly Ophrys. My favorite (pictured) is Ophrys insectifera which looks like a fly. If you look closely at the 'head' of the fly, you can see two black eyes! It’s not by accident that the lips (and entire flower sometimes) look like insects. Nature designed them this way to attract pollinators, usually the native bee species. And to make the insect imposture even more realistic, Ophrys emit chemicals which are extremely similar to female insects sexual pheromones. The male insects just can’t resist and fall for the trick; hook, line and sinker! In their mating frenzy the orchids get pollinated. Smart plants!
 Orchis is a genus which is very wide spread, and there a huge colony Orchis mascula near our home in the Beaujolais region. The genus Orchis got its name from the fact that the roots look very much like testicles, more so than many other orchids. In the old times people believed the roots to be an aphrodisiac so they were collected and tea was made out of them. Luckily this practice does not seem to exist anymore, which is good for the orchids! Most of the Orchis are the standard pink, but it’s frequent to see paler pinks as well as an alba version, which I think is even more stunning than the type species.
  Finally, some of these native orchids are just so strange! Aceras anthropophorum is called the hangman orchid in French, since the lip looks like the body of little person. The head of the person is formed by the sepals and petals, which are curved over forming a cup. Himantoglossum hircinum is an orchid difficult to miss, both due to it’s size and smell ! The French name for it is the billy goat orchid since it smells very strongly of musky goat. Usually this plant is smelled long before it is seen! It’s a tall orchid, sometimes a meter and the lips are extremely long. I like watching a bloom open, as the long lip slowly uncurls, just like a butterfly’s tongue.
Terrestrial orchids are hugely popular plants here, and most orchid societies in France organize many talks and hikes to get to know and appreciate these plants even more. Much effort is also done to educate people on the importance of their conservation.
This was only a snap shot of the many terrestrial orchids that can be found in France and all over the world. I always look forward to early summer, when I can pull out my hiking shoes and go see my favourite plants! I hope that this will encourage people to go out and see what’s growing near them, and hopefully love them as much as I do.
|
Forums