Neottia cordata (L.) Rich. - Lesser Twayblade
Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Liliopsida - Order: Orchidales - Family: Orchidaceae
Description
This tiny orchid, formerly better known as Listera cordata, is extremely difficult to find not just because of its diminutive size, but also because it grows in shady, humid sites between or underneath taller plants including Heather and Bilberry.
Once found the orchid is unmistakeable. The tiny star-like flowers and stem of the plant are flushed with red. Close to the base there are two heart-shaped leaves which face each other on opposite sides of the stem. The name twayblade refers to the pair of heart-shaped leaves (two blades) near the base of the plant. The flower spike is usually between 5 and 10 cm tall.
Distribution
In the UK this orchid is most common in Scotland but is also found in northern England, North Wales and parts of Ireland. Its world range is throughout the northern hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America where we photographed its close relative the Western Heart-flowered Twayblade in the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat
The Lesser Twayblade is found in moorland, bogs and other mossy places and occasionally in pine forests. It is very hard to locate but once one is found there are usually more plants in the immediate vicinity.
Flowering Times
Lesser Twayblade flowers in May and June.
Taxonomic history
When Carl Linnaeus described this orchid in his Species Plantarum of 1753, he gave it the scientiic name Ophrys cordata. The currently-accepted scientific name Neottia cordata (L.) Rich. dates from an 1817 publication by the French botanist Louis Claude Marie Richard (1754 - 1821).
Etymology
The genus name Neottia means 'nest',a reference to the tangled root structure of orchids in this genus. The specific epithet cordata means 'heart shaped' and refers to the shape of the leaves.
Reference sources
The Plant List
Sue Parker (2023) Wild Orchids of Wales - how, when and where to find them; First Nature e-book (Amazon Kindle format)
Anne and Simon Harrap (2005) Orchids of Britain and Ireland; A&C Black
Pierre Delforge (2005) Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; A&C Black
Den Nordiska Floran (1992) Bo Mossberg, Stefan Ericsson and Lennart Stenberg; Wahlstrom & Widstrand
Acknowledgements
This page includes pictures kindly contributed by Elaine Hagget. and Rob Petley-Jones.
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