Herminium
monorchis, mesikämmekkä
Herminium is a true miniature orchid. It has two or three small
leaves in the same way lying on the ground as for example in Platanthera.
Althought these plants have some other similarities too, they are not very
closely related. Herminium has small, pale greenish yellow flowers,
they have strong odor of honey or mysk. The specieas has a specieal charater,
its new tuber forms to a distanse from the last one. The tubers start growing
late in the spring, many orchids are absolutely ready for growing already
in autumn, but Herminiums tuber only starts to grow in spring
.
Herminium has extinct from Finland. Once it grew in the best wet meadows and grazing.yards, but one place after another it died from here, and had disappeared already in 70´s. It has been tried to plant back to Finland from Estonia, Estonian got some Dactylorhiza sambucinas and we Finnish got Herminiums, but all the Herminiums died. The species is common in Öland and in Saaremaa in wet areas with short grass. It is suprisingly hardy against frost despite its southern appearence.
It is still protected in Ahvenanmaa.
