Syn.: Orchis pyramidalis L., Anacamptis condensata C. Koch
Family: Orchidaceae Juss.
Distribution: Northern Africa, Southwestern Asia (Asia Minor, Iran), Southern Europe and southern areas of Central Europe.
Ecology: It grows on xerophil grasslands, in meadows, woodland edges, on calcareous soils, from lowlands to foothills.
Description: A perennial herb with an erect stem, 20–60 cm high, the lower leaves in rosette, linear-lanceolate. The inflorescence to 8 cm tall, small flowers on a pyramidal raceme, light rose to dark purple, rarely white. Flowers from June to July. The fruit is a capsule.
Threat and Protection: The Pyramidal Orchid is a strictly 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).
Note: Anacamptis pyramidalis grows in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi.
These images were taken in Czechia, Moravia, Bílé Karpaty, Čertoryje (dates: 20. 6. and 13. 7. 2003, 11. 6. 2004).
