Family: orchids (Orchidaceae)
Flowering time: June–July
Size: 20–50 cm
Habitat: sunny forests, forest edges, shrub-covered slopes
The erect stem of the red helleborine (Cephalanthera rubra) is densely glandular-haired in its upper part. It has lanceolate, grooved leaves. From the other two representatives of this genus that also occur here besides the red helleborine, it already stands out from afar by the pink to lilac color of its flowers. Its flowers are large. Usually the pointed lateral petals are directed forward and the flower remains more or less closed all the time. Sometimes, however, the lateral petals open completely; at that time the flower's diameter can reach up to 4 cm.
Red helleborine thrives on barren, nitrogen-poor, but humus-rich soils on a carbonate substrate. It prefers dry soils on moderately warm slopes, so we will most often encounter it on sunny shrub-covered slopes or in bright warm forests. With the exception of Pomurje and the area along the Slovenian coast, it is distributed throughout Slovenia, but it is still quite rare.
In Slovenia it is protected and listed as a vulnerable species on the Slovenian Red List of Endangered Plants.
