Coeloglossum viride Frog Orchid
This orchid is often green, sometimes dark red and occasionally an in-between colour such as this one. It is always hard to see in the damp grassy meadows where it prefers to grow.
Taxonomy: Genetic work by Bateman et al. led to the name change seen in many recent orchid books: Dactylorhiza viridis (L.) R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase.
However the Kew list tells us that the old name Coeloglossum viride Hartm. is the correct one and Delforge has denounced Dactylorhiza viridis R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase as nom. illeg. (An illegal name according to the naming rules) without saying why. This leaves mere amateur field botanists with confusion so I'll stay with Coeloglossum viride Hartm. and put Dactylorhiza viridis R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase as a synonym.
The reason for the confusion is that other DNA work on Coeloglossum has cast doubt on the evidence placing it in Dactylorhiza so until unequivocal evidence is pubished that it should be placed in Dactylorhiza, the generic name should stay as Coeloglossum (Clive Stace private communication).
|
| Coeloglossum viride |
Hills above Gèdre, French Pyrenees 13th June 2009
Added on March 12th 2010, updated 11th February 2014, updated 12th October 2014