Nigritella nigra, Gymnadenia nigra, SE: Brunkulla, DE: Schwarzes Kohlröschen,
NL: zwarte vanilleorchis, UK: Black Vanilla Orchid

Scientific name:  Nigritella nigra (L.) Rchb.f.
Synonymname:  Gymnadenia nigra (L.) Rchb.f.
Swedish name:  Brunkulla, Brunstolle, Brunyxne
German name:  Schwarzes Kohlröschen
Nederlandse naam:  Zwarte vanilleorchis
English name:   Black Vanilla Orchid, Austrian Gymnadenia
Plant Family:  Orchidaceae, Orkidéer, Orchid family

Vilda blommor i Sverige, Florist, Sweden, Ragunda, Wildflowers

Life form:  Geophyte
Stems:  8-20cm stem that bears a conical to globular spike of flowers
Leaves:  Entire, lanceolate
Flowers:  Very dark red flower spikes and a strong scent of vanilla
Flowering Period:  June
Fruits:  Seeds dark brown
Habitat:  Natural hayfields, meadows and marshes


Derivation of the botanical name:
Gymnadenia, Gymnos, naked and adên gland, referring to the lack of protection for the pollinia or pollen grains.
Niger, Latin "black".
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Rchb.f is used to indicate Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (1824 – 1889), a German ornithologist, botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century.
The Swedish name Brunke ulla already stated by Linnaeus as a jämtländskt name of the species.

Brunkulla (Nigritella nigra, Gymnadenia nigra) is Jämtlands Province flower.
Brunkulla is rare and occurs only in the Jämtland, Härjedalen and Lycksele Lapp Mark. It grows in limestone-rich grasslands, such as hay meadows.