Mediterranean clubmoss - Selaginella denticulata (L.) Spring – Cyprus

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All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

Selaginella denticulata, or Mediterranean clubmoss,is a non-flowering plant of the spikemoss genus Selaginella with a wide distribution around the Northern Hemisphere.

It is in the genus Selaginella and this creeper is characterized by having flattened stems, bearing four rows of ovate leaves which vary in size according to their position. Its specific epithet, "denticulata" comes from the Latin "dens" which means tooth, and alludes to the denticles that appear on the leaves. It was identified by the nineteenth century botanist Antoine Frédéric Spring.It is distributed throughout the Mediterranean region except for the Cape Verde islands. It is not under threat although it is less common in the Eastern Mediterranean.It prefers dark cave environments and it is found on Gibraltar,throughout the Mediterranean region and in Portugal. In the spring it is green but as it dries out the plant is red. 

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selaginella_denticulata

Photos Karmi 18/12/23 by Demetris Kolokotronis 

Meiklei's poppy -- Papaver argemone ssp. Meiklii (Kadereit) M. V. Agab. - Endemic to Cyprus

See also 

All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

Λίστα Ενδημικών Φυτών της Κύπρου - List of Endemics plants of Cyprus

Endemic to Cyprus

Altitudinal range - 500–1525 mG,H

Life-form - Therophyte

Flowering Period - Apr–May

Photos Kyperounta 9/5/2011 by George Konstantinou

Typha domingensis Pers. - Τύφα η δομινικανή, ψαθίν, Bλούι, Βλούιν ή Φλούδιν - Cyprus

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All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

Family:Typhaceae

Υδρόφιλο φυτό που τα φύλλα του χρησιμοποιούνταν παλαιότερα στην Κύπρο για την κατασκευή ψαθιών, καλαθιών και δέσιμο καρεκλών.

Typha domingensis, known commonly as southern cattailor cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Typha.

It is found throughout temperate and tropical regions worldwide. It is sometimes found as a subdominant associate in mangrove ecosystems such as the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of Yucatán

In the Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq, Khirret is a dessert made from the pollen of this plant. In Turkish folk medicine the female inflorescences of this plant and other Typha are used externally to treat wounds such as burns. Extracts of T. domingensis have been demonstrated to have wound healing properties in rat models.

Water extracts of the fruit, female flower and male flower of Typha domingensis exhibit iron chelating activity as well as superoxide and nitric oxide scavenging activities. By contrast, only the fruit and female flower extracts were found to have alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity. A partially purified, proanthocyanidin-rich butanol fraction of the fruit was shown to be a competitive inhibitor of alpha-glucosidase, which also had concurrent antioxidant activity.

Recently it was found that Typha domingensis is very effective at reducing bacterial contamination of water for agricultural use. This plant helps to reduce, up to 98 percent, pollution by enterobacteria (usually found in the intestines of mammals) involved in the development of disease. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos by George Konstantinou 

Ophrys hybrid - Agios Ilarionas - Cyprus

  See also - LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Photos Agios Ilarionas 2010 by George Konstantinou

Family Polygalaceae - Polygala venulosa - Sibth. & Sm. - Cyprus

 Polygala venulosa is a plant species belonging to bird grasses. It is endemic to the rocky shores of Greece, Crete, Cyprus and Turkey.

The polygala venulosa grows to a height of 5 to 30 cm. The leaves of the plant are opposite to the base or ovoid in shape at the base. Elsewhere, the leaves are tapered. The white or purple flowers are in loose bunches 

Polygala is a large genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. They are commonly known as milkworts or snakeroots. The genus is distributed widely throughout much of the world  in temperate zones and the tropics. The genus name Polygala comes from the ancient Greek "much milk", as the plant was thought to increase milk yields in cattle.

As traditionally circumscribed, Polygala includes annual and perennial plants, shrubs, vines, and trees. The roots often have a scent reminiscent of wintergreen. The leaf blades are generally undivided and smooth-edged, and are alternately arranged in most species. The inflorescence is a raceme or spikelike array of several flowers; the occasional species bears solitary flowers. The flower is bilateral in shape, with two large petal-like sepals on the sides, often called the "wings", and three smaller sepals behind. There are three petals in shades of reddish purple, yellow or white, which are joined at the bases. The lower of the three is the keel petal, which is "boat-shaped, cucullate (hood-like), or helmet-shaped". The keel petal may have a beak or a fringe on the tip. Stamens and style are within the curve of the keel petal. The fruit is a capsule, sometimes winged. It contains two seeds, which are usually black, hairy and tipped with a large white aril. No members of this genus are known to form nitrogen-fixing nodules.

The genus Polygala was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1754. Phylogenetic studies showed that, as traditionally circumscribed, the genus was not monophyletic. It had become a "wastebasket taxon"; almost all species with a flower apparently similar to those of the Papilionoideae – two petaloid lateral sepals forming 'wings', two petals forming a 'standard', and one petal forming a 'keel', plus a bilocular fruit capsule – were placed in Polygala, while species with more obviously specialized features, particularly those of the fruit, were placed in other genera. In 2011, John Richard Abbott separated some more sharply defined genera from Polygala., from https://www.earth.com/plant-encyclopedia/Angiosperms/Polygalaceae/polygala-venulosa/en/ 

Photos Akamas 25/3/2021 by George Konstantinou

Polygala is a large genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. They are commonly known as milkworts or snakeroots. The genus is distributed widely throughout much of the world in temperate zones and the tropics. The genus name Polygala comes from the ancient Greek "much milk", as the plant was thought to increase milk yields in cattle

Sawfly orchid - Ophrys tenthredinifera Willd. - Cyprus

See also - LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Ophrys tenthredinifera, the sawfly orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey. The common name refers to a purported resemblance between the flower and the sawfly, a wasp-like insect.

Many subspecies, varieties and forms have been proposed, but as of May 2014, none are recognized

Photos  Vasa koilaniou 13/3/2021 by George Konstantinou

Ophrys umbilicata subsp. lapethica (Gölz & H. R. Reinhard) Faurh. ≡Ophrys lapethica Gölz & H. R. Reinhard - Οφρύς η λαπηθική της λαπήθου Μελισσάκι - Endemic to Cyprus

See also 

LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Λίστα Ενδημικών Φυτών της Κύπρου - List of Endemics plants of Cyprus

Endemic to Cyprus

Altitudinal range 50–600 mD

Flowering Period Feb–Apr

Photos Akamas 25/3/2021 by George Konstantinou

Orchis anatolica var. troodi Renz - Orchis troodi (Renz) P. Delforge - Όρχις η τροόδια - ENDEMIC TO CYPRUS

 See also 

LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Λίστα Ενδημικών Φυτών της Κύπρου - List of Endemics plants of Cyprus

ENDEMIC TO CYPRUS

Photos Akamas 25/3/2021 by George Konstantinou

Ophrys alasiatica Kreutz, Segers & H.Walraven ≡Ophrys sphegodes subsp. alasiatica (Kreutz & al.) H. Baumann & R. Lorenz. - ENDEMIC TO CYPRUS

  See also -

LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Λίστα Ενδημικών Φυτών της Κύπρου - List of Endemics plants of Cyprus

ENDEMIC TO CYPRUS

Photos Souni 25/3/2021 by George Konstantinou

Monkey orchid - Orchis simia Lam.- Cyprus

 See also - LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Orchis simia, commonly known as the monkey orchid, is a greyish pink to reddish species of the genus Orchis. It gets its common name from its lobed lip which mimics the general shape of a monkey's body.

The range of the species is central and southern Europe, including southern England, the Mediterranean, Russia, Asia Minor, Caucasus, northern Iraq, Iran to Turkmenistan and northern Africa where it occurs in grassland, garrigue, scrub and open woodland, chiefly on limestone soils. It is absent from the Balearic Islands, Corsica and Sardinia. On Cyprus the species can be categorized as threatened, and it became a protected species in the UK in 1975 under the Conservation of Wild Creatures and Wild Plants Act.. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Photos (Gerasa) Γεράσα 7/4/2019 by George Konstantinou

Altitudinal range 300–600 mB

Flowering Period Mar–Apr

Orchis quadripunctata subsp. sezikiana (B. Baumann & H. Baumann) H. Baumann & R. Lorenz ≡Orchis sezikiana B. Baumann & H. Baumann - Cyprus

  See also - LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Photos (Gerasa) Γεράσα 7/4/2019 by George Konstantinou

Small-leaved helleborine - Epipactis microphylla.(Ehrh.) Sw. - Cyprus

 See also - LIST OF CYPRUS ORCHIDS - ΛΙΣΤΑ ΟΡΧΙΔΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

Red Data Book category:  

Critically endangered (CR)

Epipactis microphylla, the small-leaved helleborine, is a species of orchid. It is native to much of Europe and to Southwest Asia as far east as Iran though noticeably absent from the British Isles and from Scandinavia. It has also been found in North Africa, in the Babor mountains in Little Kabylia, Algeria and Cyprus

Photos Troodos, Lagoudera 30/5/2020 by George Konstantinou