Cephalanthera longifolia is similar to cephalanthera damasonium, differing in the narrower leaves and more open flowers
Common names:
Sword-leaved helleborine, narrow-leaved helleborine
Family:
Scientific name:
Cephalanthera longifolia
Main flower color:
Range:
Scattered sites across south England
Height:
Between 15 and 40 cm
Habitat:
Woodland and scrub, on calcareous soils
Flowers:
All sepals and petals are pure white, apart from the base of the lip, which has an orange-yellow patch. The middle sepal forms a loose hood with the upper two petals, the two lateral sepals are slightly spreading, while the lip (the lower petal) is cupped. Each flower is subtended by a very short bract. The inflorescence usually contains between five and 20 flowers, relatively well separated from each other
Leaves:
Narrowly lanceolate, alternate, at the base and (becoming gradually smaller) up the stem. All leaves often lie in the same vertical plane
Season:
May to June
Rarity:
★★★★★
