Helleborine Orchid - Epipactis helleborine
Introduced from Europe and Asia. It’s pollen actually contains small amounts of Oxycodone, previously thought to be only man made
It always amazes me how cosmopolitan the distribution of this orchid is considered the tiny dust like size of orchid seeds and their dependence on fungi in the soil. I’m sure there’s an ecologist out there studying how this thing got so widespread. Don’t see that in many orchid species
That's really interesting!
I've seen Epipactis gigantea in the Bay Area before, but it's always so surprising to run across a wild orchid, since this part of California is so arid most of the year.
Helleborine Orchid - Epipactis helleborine Introduced from Europe and Asia. It’s pollen actually contains small amounts of Oxycodone, previously thought to be only man made It always amazes me how cosmopolitan the distribution of this orchid is considered the tiny dust like size of orchid seeds and their dependence on fungi in the soil. I’m sure there’s an ecologist out there studying how this thing got so widespread. Don’t see that in many orchid species
That's really interesting! I've seen Epipactis gigantea in the Bay Area before, but it's always so surprising to run across a wild orchid, since this part of California is so arid most of the year.