International biological flora: Nervilia nipponica

This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Nervilia nipponica Makino (mukago-saishin) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the International Biological Flora: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to the environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history, conservation and global heterogeneity.

Nervilia nipponica is a small, stoloniferous, seasonally dormant herb that grows in the understorey of evergreen forests in the humid subtropical zone of central and western Japan, with a few outlying populations on Jeju Island in South Korea. Its northern extent is defined by the 0ºC winter isotherm, and its occurrence is also limited by site aspect and incline. It is a weak competitor that occupies species-poor microsites in which bare ground and leaf litter predominate...