Listera cordata
Tracheophyta
›Magnoliopsida›Orchidaceae›Listera›Listera cordata
Ecology
A perennial herb found in moorland and on peat bogs, often growing in Sphagnum or in the moss layer beneath Calluna and Vaccinium, always in wet, acidic conditions. It also grows in moss in damp, heavily shaded wood-carr, and occasionally under Pinus. Reproduction is by seed and root-buds. 0-1065 m (Stob Coire an Easain, Westerness).
Status
Native
Trends
Although lost from many lowland sites before 1930, presumably due to habitat destruction, this species is much better recorded than it was in the 1962 Atlas. It is an inconspicuous plant which may still be under-recorded.
World Distribution
Circumpolar Boreal-montane element, with a disjunct distribution.
© Pete Stroh
Caenlochan
© Pete Stroh
Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 3
Moisture (Ellenberg): 6
Reaction (Ellenberg): 2
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 2
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 2.4
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 12.8
Annual Precipitation (mm): 1450
Height (cm): 10
Perennation - primary
Perennial
Life Form - primary
Non-bulbous geophyte (rhizome, corm or tuber)
Woodiness
Herbaceous
Clonality - primary
Little or no vegetative spread
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 822
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 96
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 0
Atlas Change Index: -0.32
Weighted Changed Factor: 46
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
24
JNCC Designations
NHMSYS0000460406