Croda Rossa

(Sempervivum dolomiticum)

This plant, symbol of the Park of the Ampezzo Dolomites, is one of the endemic species whose distribution is restricted to the Dolomites. Its habitat are the limestone slabs of Fòses, Senes and Fanes karst plateaux.

It is a succulent plant, with characteristic basal rosette which acts as an alternative system of vegetative propagation. The plant blooms only once in its life.

The Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera)

The genus Ophrys orchids are generally linked to dry and warm Mediterranean environments and all the plants have developed shapes looking like insects to attract pollinators. The rare Fly orchid is the only plant of the genus Oprhys to grow as high as 1,500 m and it is found in the Cimabanche area.

Artemisia nitida

This rock plant, endemic to the Eastern Alps, grows on sunny and dry rocks at medium and low altitudes; in the Ampezzo Dolomites it is found only in the north and east parts of the valley. Artemisia species are highly aromatic plants, as Artemisia absinthium and A. genepi; Artemisia nitida often shares its niche with Viola pinnata, another rock species.

Cypredium calceolus

Without doubt the most beautiful and conspicuous orchid in the Alpine and European flora. Formerly endangered because of indiscriminate picking, this species has now a reasonably widespread population. The preferred habitat is the alluvial, torrential limestone near the valley floor. The banks of the Boite and Felizon, upstream of Fiames, and the surrounding plains are very rich in this orchid.

Red Helleborine Cephalanthera rubra

This medium-size, wonderful orchid grows in mixed forest of fir and beech trees. In Cortina this species is very rare and its distribution is limited to some sites of Val d'Ortie and the upper Boite valley. It is sometimes called “ghost orchid”, since it can remain dormant for decades in the terrain as bulb, to blossom suddenly when the soil where it lies receive a little more sun energy.