Epipactis kleinii

Epipactis kleinii (full authorship name Epipactis kleinii M.B. Crespo, M.R. Lowe & Piera) is a herbaceous and perennial plant belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae). Its official botanical name replaced the illegitimate former name Epipactis parviflora in 2001, by which it has often been known in botanical literature.

This orchid possesses a short, cylindrical underground rhizome. From it emerge stems between 10 and 40 cm (potentially reaching 50 or 55 cm) long, generally solitary, straight, and erect, green with purplish tones, glabrous at the base but densely pilose in the upper part. Its 3 to 6 leaves are oval-lanceolate (up to 7 x 3 cm), dark green often strongly tinged with violet on the underside, and feature a non-undulate margin. The inflorescence is elongated, densely pilose, and clusters between 10 and 40 small flowers that emit a faint, yet perceptible, vanilla scent. The petals and sepals (4 to 6.5 mm) are lanceolate and greenish, ash-grey, or brownish. The labellum is divided into two halves: the hypochile, cup-shaped, greenish outside and reddish-brown and shiny inside (where nectar accumulates); and the epichile, heart-shaped, whitish or pinkish, with two warty protuberances at its base. It is an allogamous plant that attracts insects with nectar containing a narcotic (toxic) substance that sedates the visiting insect, promoting cross-fertilization. As a geophyte, it survives the unfavorable season thanks to the buds of its underground rhizome. It flowers in spring and early summer (from May to July), and its dusty seeds are dispersed by wind (anemochory).

Epipactis kleinii primarily grows in the undergrowth or in clearings of sclerophyllous forests (such as holm oak forests), scrublands, and pine forests, as well as along forest road margins. It prefers basic (marl and limestone), generally dry soils and rarely stony, located in both sunny and semi-shaded areas. It ranges from sea level (50 m) up to mountain altitudes (2,100 m), covering thermomediterranean and supramediterranean zones. It is almost an endemism of the Iberian Peninsula and southern France (eastern Pyrenees), being particularly frequent in the northeast (Catalonia) but becoming much scarcer towards the southern Iberian Peninsula, where it is considered a relict species.

In Catalonia, the species has good populations across several regions and mountain ranges, and its conservation status is categorized as "Least Concern" (LC) on the Red List of Vascular Plants of Catalonia.