Hammarbya, Orchid
Hammarbya is a genus of orchid in the family Orchidaceae, containing one species, Hammarbya paludosa. Hammarbya paludosa is commonly known as Bog Orchid, Bog Adder's-mouth or Bog Adder's-mouth Orchid. It is distributed in temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The plant grows in bogs near streams and ditches or where there is a slow flow of water over the surface. The name Hammarbya is named after the Swedish village of Hammarby. The name paludosa refers to the boggy ground where it grows. Hammarbya paludosa is a small and unnoticeable orchid which can grow up to 15 cm tall, but normally it will grow between 4-8 cm tall. The yellow-green stem has 3-5 corners and grows from a small pseudobulb. The orchid has no true roots and is dependent on fungi in its rhizome to obtain nutrients. The basal leaves are fleshy, yellow-green, ovate to lanceolate, with edges and tips that curve inwards. One to three leaves grow at the higher end of the stem. The inflorescence is a spike-like raceme, 1.5-6 cm long, bearing up to 25 small greenish flowers. Each flower is about 2mm wide and has a sweet, cucumber-like scent. In the majority of orchid, the flower is resupinate, meaning the flower turns 180 degrees during development so that the lip points downwards. However in Hammarbya paludosa, the flower twists a further 180° so that the lip is once more pointed upwards. Hammarbya paludosa prefers acidic conditions and is often grows in areas with a good cover of Sphagnum moss. The flowers are pollinated by small flies. Propagation is by seeds or through bulbils.  Hammarbya paludosa Author: Orchi (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0-unported) | ||
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