ON SALEP. 
231 
ART. LIV. — ON SALEP. 
By Dr. X. Landerer. 
The enormous quantities of salep root which are every 
year brought from Macedonia, chiefly from about Janina, 
to Greece and the whole of the East, induced me to obtain 
some information respecting this important substance. 
In all parts of the kingdom of Greece, but. particularly in 
the plains between Nauplia and Argos, in Messinia many 
sorts of orchis are found, and amongst these, Orchis pyr a- 
rnidalis, on hills in Messenia and Lukonia ; Orchis mascula 
on the Parnassus, in Arcadia, in Argolis; Orchis longiflora 
and O. variegala in all parts of Morea ; O. undulatifolia 
in Messenia ; 0. samhucina in Elis; O. nigra, O. maculata, 
0. conopsea, in the islands, &c. 
From all these species the tubers are carefully collected, 
but on account of their disagreeable smell and the mucila- 
ginous and unpleasant taste of the decoction, they are very 
little used, so that only the poorest class of inhabitants 
gather and employ them for domestic purposes. The Grecian 
salep is not an article of commerce. Commercial salep 
comes from Macedonia, from the fruitful valleys and the 
evergreen mountains about Janina, from Sagona, Tempe, 
&c. 
The species of orchis found in these parts of Epirus, are 
0. pyramidalis, O. mascula, and O.Morio. Without the 
least attention and care having been paid to the culture of 
these plants, extensive tracts of land and mountains are 
seen at the commencement of the spring, in the months of 
February, March, and April, covered to the top with orchis 
plants. This luxuriance is said to be principally caused by 
the annual digging up of the soil. The more severe the 
winter has been, and the snow has covered the mountains 
during the winter months, the more abundant is the salep 
crop : it is also stated to have been observed that a larger 
