Article Nº 2699 Plant Vol. III · p. 47
Orchids
Original title: Orquídeas
Short note on Madeira's four native orchids, especially the ornamental Orchis foliosa, made rare by harvesting of its tubers.
Of the four native orchids known in Madeira, only one – Orchis foliosa – is a truly ornamental plant. It does not flower in Funchal, but in the ravines of the interior it bears small, purple, scentless flowers gathered in spikes that are sometimes elongated. Salep can be extracted from the palmate tubers of this orchid, and this is why it is becoming rare in some parts of the island. Some foreigners who visited our island a few years ago took back to their country all the tubers of Orchis foliosa they could gather at Ribeiro Frio (‘cold brook’)!
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