Cephalanthera damasonium can be distinguished from the otherwise similar cephalanthera longifolia by the wider leaves and more closed flowers
Common name:
White helleborine
Family:
Scientific name:
Cephalanthera damasonium
Main flower color:
Range:
Southeast and south England
Height:
Up to 50 cm
Habitat:
Beech woods, on calcareous soils
Flowers:
Up to 20 mm long, creamy-white, appearing bell-shaped since the sepals rarely open fully. The outer surface of the sepals is marked with a few small orange patches. Flowers are produced as an open, elongated cluster, of between three and 12 heads. Each is subtended by a leaf-like bract, longer than the flower and its stalk
Leaves:
Broadly ovate to lanceolate near the base, up to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide, becoming narrower up the ridged stem
Season:
May to July
Rarity:
★★★★★
