Pianta alta da (10)25 a 35(45) cm, con scapo eretto, a volte leggermente flessuoso, violaceo e glabro alla base, verde pallido e a pubescenza biancastra in alto. In basso 1-2 foglie orbicolari a base lungamente guainante e (2)3-4(5) cauline, da lanceolate a strettamente ovate (la più grande 5-7 × 1,6-2,5 cm), acute, verdi (le inferiori a sfumature violacee), da orizzontali e suberette, con estremità arcuate verso il basso (le mediane quasi falciformi), generalmente scanalate, con bordi leggermente ondulati; foglia superiore bratteiforme e (strettamente) lanceolata, di solito molto lunga (3,5-9 × 0,5-1 cm); brattee inferiori più lunghe dei fiori (fino 5 cm). Infiorescenza lassa, raramente con più di 20 fiori di media taglia, da orizzontali a penduli, generalmente bene aperti e autogami. Tepali strettamente ovati e acuti, sepali 8-12 × 4-5 mm, da biancastri a verdi, a venature e bordi a volte bruni all’esterno, i petali 8-9 × 3-5 mm, da biancastri a verdi, più scuri al centro, a volte rosei con vena centrale verde. Labello con giunzione ipo-epichilo piuttosto larga; ipochilo emisferico (3,5-5 × 3-4 mm), poco nettarifero, biancastro all’esterno e rosso-brunastro internamente; epichilo bianco, più largamente ovato dell’ipochilo (3-4 × 3,5-5 mm), con margini rialzati e breve apice ripiegato verso il basso; callosità cordiforme, poco sviluppata ma bene evidente per il loro colore rosa. Clinandrio e rostello ben sviluppati, viscidio presente a inizio antesi ma presto inefficace; stigma da rettangolare a ovato; antera subsessile; pollinii sfarinanti già al momento dell’apertura del fiore; ovario verde-olivastro chiaro, lungo 6-9 mm, con nervature più scure, quasi glabro, con pedicello violaceo.
Protologo di Stefan Hertel e Helmut Presser 2021:
Holotypus: Italien, Basilikata, W Terranova di Pollino, alt. s. m. 1385 m. UTM 33S 0604250 / 4424584 (WGS 84). 06.08.2019, leg. Helmut Presser. In herb. UNIBAS hinterlegt.
Small to medium-sized plants, (10) 25-35 (45) cm high. The stem is straight or at the most slightly curved in places; slightly to distinctly stained violet, glabrous at the base, pale green and lightly covered with fluffy white hairs higher up. Usually, the plants have 1-2 almost orbicular leaves sheathing the stem base; (2) 3-4 (5) further leaves, narrowly lanceolate to narrow ovate, acute, green, the lower leaves stained violet, held +/-horizontally with strongly downwardly curved tips; usually with slightly undulate edges; largest leaf 5-7 cm long and 1.6-2 (3) cm wide. The petioles are green. There is usually one bract-like uppermost leaf, 3.5-9 cm long and 0.5-1.0 cm wide, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, acute.
The inflorescence is relatively short and lax with (3) 9-20 (32) flowers, usually covering just 25-40% of the plant height. The flowers are medium-sized, held horizontally to pendant; the flowers are usually opened normally, sometimes very wide. The buds are pale green, ovate and acute.
The ovary is pale olive-green with darker veins, 6-9 mm long at flowering time, almost glabrous. The pedicel is violet, 2 -2.7 mm long. The bracts are lanceolate, more or less horizontally orientated, the same length as the flowers except the lowest one which can be significantly longer, 2-5 cm long and 0.6-1.4 cm broad.
The sepals are narrow ovate, acute; the lateral ones are ca. 8-12 mm long and 4-5 mm wide; green, sometimes brownish-green on the outside. The petals are narrow ovate, whitish to green, darker in the centre, rarely at the edges, sometimes completely pale pink apart from a green central vein; 8-9 mm long and 3-5 mm wide.
The hypochile is 3.5-5 mm x 3-4 mm, long ovate; usually deeply basin-shaped; whitish on the outside, red-brown on the inside; containing only a little nectar. The epichile is broader than the hypochile, ca. 3-4 mm x 3,5-5 mm; broad ovate, with high sides and a short tip which is usually curved down; white. The bosses are weakly developed, cordate, pale pink, clearly distinguished from the remainder of the epichile by their colour. The connection between epichile and hypochile is rather broad.
The clinandrium and rostellum are fully developed. The viscidium is clearly visible when the flower first opens but usually not functional. The stigma is rectangular to ovate. The anther is almost sessile to very short stalked. The pollinia are often already crumbly when the flower opens.
⬆︎ After S. Hertel & H. Presser, 2021: Weitere Erkenntnisse zur Vielfalt der Epipactis-Arten im südlichen Italien. – Ber. Arbeitskrs. Heim. Orch. 38 (1): 130.
