In the 18th Century, Carol Linnaeus, the Father of Taxonomy, created an orchid genus Serapias and in it included species of plants which are now considered to represent three separate genera – Cephalanthera, Epipactis and Serapias. Even today, the common name ‘Helleborine’ is still applied collectively to species of Epipactis and Cephalanthera and similarities of growth, appearance and lip structure clearly show them to be closely related.
