Family: Orchidaceae Juss.
Distribution: This species was found for the first time in Greece (the Pindos Mountains) in 1981. Till this time was recorded in Greece, Italy, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria and in the former Yugoslavia. In the Czech Republic was found in 1985 in Moravian Karst.
Ecology: Grows in shady wet forests, creek edges, along mountain brooks and streams, from foothills to mountains. Flowers from July to August.
Description: Perennial herb with an erect stem, 20–60 cm high. The leaves are ovate to lanceolate, canaliculate. The inflorescence is long, often half height of plant, with 5–25 pendulous flowers, tepals yellow-green to pale green, hypochile deep, lilac-greenish inside, epichile cordate, downwards at the top, whitish with yellowish-green or violet caruncles. The fruit is a capsule.
Endangering and Protection: The Greuter’s Helleborine is a protected plant in some countries (CZ, SK). This species is simultaneously protected by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
These images were taken in Czechia, Kozlůvky (July 17, 2002).
