Mosquito hellebore

Plants
Plant species: orchids

Mosquito hellebore

Gnat's hellebore(Gymnadenia conopsea) belongs to the family of orchids. Its stem is 20 - 50 cm high and leafy. The flowers are violet-red or purple to whitish and they are densely arranged to each other and fragrant. A characteristic of the flower is the three-lobed lip and the thin, crescent-shaped downward curved spur. Because of this appearance, mosquito knapweed is easily distinguished from orchids. In addition, the flowers give off abundant nectar, which is only accessible to butterflies with their proboscis.

The mosquito hellebore colonizes damp meadows, sparse forests, dry pastures and lawns. The mosquito hellebore is also one of the fully protected plant species according to the Tyrolean Nature Conservation Ordinance 2006.

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