Broad Leaved Helleborine – Epipactis helleborine ssp. helleborine

Broad-leaved Helleborine found scattered inland Southeast Norway north to Storelvdal Hedmark and Westward to Aust Agder. Moreover, scattered along the coast all the way west through Rogaland and Northwards until the Tromsø area. Broad-leaved Helleborine grows in shady forests on dry soils and can be more than 80 cm high. I found a specimen that was 1.2 meters high and it was before the inflorescence was fully developed.

Numerous species pollinate mainly themselves. The species commonly pollinating insects have nectar and are visited by different insects which that also depends on the district and habitat.

The flowers are a drinking bowl of nectar which attracts wasps, but nectar drink is not an innocent drink. It contains a poison, and wasps are increasingly chaotically as they drink. Nectar bowl is positioned below anthers, and between these are two pollinium attaching themseves to the wasp’s head. With a visit to the next flower can pollinium be transferred at the right place.
After taking drinks during several flowers may wasp head be full of pollinium like the one in their spree fails to get rid of. The wasp can be so affected by the poison that it must crawl to the next flower because it is unable to fly.

Epipactis helleborine ssp. helleborine

Epipactis helleborine ssp. helleborine

Epipactis helleborine ssp. neerlandica

At Jæren Southwest of Stavanger’s Epipactis helleborine ssp. neerlandica.
“Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (2006)” by Pierre Delforge’s plant split out as a separate species. Epipactis helleborine ssp. neerlandica listed in the species list list as a subspecies. It is also found in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Wales also in Normandy. Seeds have blown across the sea to Jæren where this subspecies has established itself and is available locally in quite large numbers. This subspecies has in their habitat completely different conditions than what you find in the habitats to Broad-leaved Helleborine as it grows in full sunlight in the dunes at Jæren.

Epipactis helleborine ssp. neerlandica may be higher than 50 cm under favourable growing conditions in excellent summers. The leaves are upwards and are somewhat enclosed stalk. The flowers also differ from Broad-leaved Helleborine when they are somewhat smaller and not as colourful. The plants bloom the late summer in July / August. The threats against it are that the dunes at Jæren can be converted to farmland, be developed or that the dunes can be removed and the sand used for various purposes. It is protected in that it exists in several nature reserves at Jæren and rated as endangered on the Norwegian Red List.