On a trip in the hills to find the nesting sites of Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) we passed a hillside with a few plants of this delightful montane orchid growing amongst the vegetation. Photography was difficult because of the strong wind but eventually we managed to get good shots.

Taxonomy: The genus was known for some time as Nigritella nigra ssp austriaca (E.Breiner & R.Breiner but most authorities, including World Checklist, Kew and European orchid specialists such as Pierre Delforge, now accept as correct the name Gymnadenia austriaca var gallica (E.Breiner & R.Breiner) P.Delforge.

Gymnadenia nigra itself is endemic to Scandinavia but this similar slightly less dark species can be found in the mountains of central Europe such as the Pyrenees and the Massif Central.

Gymnadenia austriaca var gallica Vanilla Orchid Roadside verge, Ossue valley, French Pyrenees 10th June 2009 Previous   Next	Gymnadenia austriaca var gallica Vanilla Orchid Roadside verge, Ossue valley, French Pyrenees 10th June 2009 Previous   Next
Gymnadenia austriaca var gallica close	Gymnadenia austriaca var gallica whole

Ossue valley, French Pyrenees 10th June 2009

Added on January 10th 2010, updated 2nd April 2010