Population of Epipogium aphyllum (F.W. Schmidt) Sw., Orchidaceae Juss.) on the Kem’-Ludskij archipelago (White Sea)

Kopylov-Gus'kov Yu.O., Volkova P.A., Shipunov A.B., Lyskov D.F., Petrov P.N.

Kopylov-Gus'kov Yu.O., Volkova P.A., Shipunov A.B., Lyskov D.F., Petrov P.N. Population of Epipogium aphyllum (F.W. Schmidt) Sw., Orchidaceae Juss.) on the Kem’-Ludskij archipelago (White Sea) // The materials of the White Sea Expedition of Moscow South-West High School. Vol. 5 [Electronic resourse]. 2005. Mode of access: http://herba.msu.ru/shipunov/belomor/english/2005/epipog.htm.

[Full Russian text]

We studied the morphology and biology of the rare and endangered saprotrophic orchid Epipogium aphyllum on the Bol’shoj Asaf’ev island (Gulf of Kandalaksha, White Sea) in 2001 – 2005. Maximum size of aboveground part of the population (151 generative shoots) was observed in 2003; some months were drier and warmer that year than in 2002 and 2004. Changes in abundance and allocation of generative shoots in 2003–2004 suggest either intensive reproduction or considerable amount of non-flowering plants in the soil. We have not observed the taking-away of pollinia by insects during 20 hours of observations on three groups of generative shoots. It is possible that potential pollinators of Epipogium were absent among the insects that visited the plants during our observations.

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