Orchids of Åland Islands

From Åland Islands with ATM ( frama ) labels with Orchids images 

Goodyera repens or Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain is a green underground creeper that sends out occasional skinny stems above the surface. During the summer, these stems bear flowers arranged in a spiral. Flowers are white, 5 mm long, grow in a single spike which typically is 5 cm in length. These flowers twist themselves to face toward the sun. Leaves, appearing in a rosette at the base, are strikingly mottled white on green, elliptical to ovate, small, with petiole 2 cm long and 9 mm wide. Stem and flowers are velvety, leaves are hairless. Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain is native to Europe, America, parts of Asia, and the Himalayas (1000-4200 m). Flowering: July-September.

Plantethera bifolia or Lesser butterfly orchid is the third most common orchid that grows in Finland, which in no way makes it any less attractive: its beautiful inflorescence and strong scent have made it one of our best known orchids. According to an old legend Jesus was praying the night before his crucifixion and a group of angels came down to comfort him, placing themselves in lesser butterfly orchid’s flowers. In memory of that the lesser butterfly orchid’s flower is still in the shape of an angel, shining white in the twilight on summer nights and emitting a strong, pleasant scent. Apart from humans, its scent also attracts night butterflies, mainly hawk moths but also geometrid and owlet moths. The viscidia on lesser butterfly orchid’s column are almost closed together and stick tightly around the butterfly’s proboscis. The airborne pollinia dry out and bend forwards within a few minutes. During that time the hawk moth empties one plant of its nectar and flies towards another, where the pollinia will make direct contact with the stigma and ensure pollination.

Ophrys insectifera, the fly orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus Ophrys. It is remarkable as an example of sexually-deceptive pollination and floral mimicry as well as of a highly-selective and highly evolved plant-pollinator relationship.

Dactylorhiza maculata, known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to Russia. It is also found in Algeria, Morocco, and western Siberia.