Traunsteinera

Traunsteinera
	Traunsteinera globosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Orchidoideae
Tribe:	Orchideae
Subtribe:	Orchidinae
Genus:	Traunsteinera; Rchb.
Type species
	Traunsteinera globosa;
Synonyms
	Orchites Schur

Traunsteinera, the round headed orchid, or globe orchid, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.

Description

Traunsteinera species are terrestrial, perennial plants (geophytes), which overwinter with two ovate root nodules.

They are slender, up to 60 cm high plants. The flower stem has no leaf rosette but scattered stem leaves.

The inflorescence is very dense, with dozens of small flowers in an initially cone-shaped, later spherical to spherical spike. The perianth petals are oval in shape, with a long spatulate spire, forming a helmet. The lip is three-lobed, with a thin, curved spur. The gynostemium is short and obtuse, the rostellum three-lobed.

Distribution

The species^{[clarification needed]} is rare and occurs locally in the medium and high mountain ranges from the temperate regions of Europe to the Caucasus. Plants are found growing in neutral to calcareous, moist or dry soils in sunny places such as calcareous grasslands and alpine meadows. In medium and high mountain ranges from 1000-3000 m.

Traunsteinera globosa growing in habitat in Austria
Traunsteinera globosa near Meglisalp, Alpstein mountain range, Switzerland
Traunsteinera globosa growing in the West Tatra Mountains
Traunsteinera sphaerica growing in Karachayevsky District, Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia

Taxonomy

Traunsteinera is named after the Austrian pharmacist and botanist Joseph Traunsteiner (1798–1850). The scientific name was published in 1842 by Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach.

Species

There are two known species, native to Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Image	Name	Distribution	Elevation (m)
	Traunsteinera globosa (L.) Rchb. 1842	widespread from Spain east to Ukraine and Turkey, including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, etc.	1,000–2,700 metres (3,300–8,900 ft)
	Traunsteinera sphaerica (M.Bieb.) Schltr. 1928	Turkey and the Caucasus	1,000–3,000 metres (3,300–9,800 ft)

References

^ ^a ^b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Orchide dei pascoli, Round Headed Orchid, Traunsteinera globosa (L.) Rchb., Fl. Saxon.: 87. 1842
^ Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Rasmussen, F.N. (2001). Orchidoideae (Part 1). Genera Orchidacearum 2: 1-416. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

External links

[vampirella-1] Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

[2] Altervista Flora Italiana, Orchide dei pascoli, Round Headed Orchid, Traunsteinera globosa (L.) Rchb., Fl. Saxon.: 87. 1842

[3] Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Rasmussen, F.N. (2001). Orchidoideae (Part 1). Genera Orchidacearum 2: 1-416. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

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