A new self-pollinating species, Epipactis euxina, is described from Gelendzhik District of Krasnodar Territory. The species is closely related to E. persica from which it differs by its remarkable long pedicel, distinctly longer epichile, and indistinct or absent viscidium. It grows in sparse pine forest mixed with oak, on calcareous soils. Four other taxa collected in different localities of Krasnodar Territory are new for the North Caucasus: E. krymmontana, E. leptochila subsp. leptochila, E. leptochila subsp. neglecta, and E. muelleri. A new synonymy is proposed for E. persica = E. helleborine subsp. transcaucasica. An updated key to the species of the genus Epipactis in the North Caucasus is provided. The lectotype of E. muelleri is designated.

The results of a study of Opuntia humifusa and O. phaeacantha naturalised in the Karadag Nature Reserve (southeastern part of the Crimean Peninsula) are presented. There, the largest coenopopulations of Opuntia plants are confined to the «biostation» territory (bordering with the park, administrative buildings and housing estate). Twelve localities were described in the Karadag Reserve. These differ by phytocoenotic characteristics, area and floristic composition. Seven localities include only O. humifusa plants; four ones include only O. phaeacantha individuals; and both the species are present on the twelfth locality. The total number of individuals of each species and ontogenetic structure of the population were studied in each locality. The total number of O. humifusa individuals in the Karadag Reserve is more than 600 plants within the «biostation» territory, while the total number of O. phaeacantha plants is about 400 individuals. Studying of the plant communities has been carried out according to the Braun-Blanquet method. Opuntia plants form derivate communities within degraded steppes, phryganoid-steppes, and semi-desert badland phytocoenoses almost at all studied localities. A significant number of synanthropic species (including alien plants) was found within these communities. Opuntia plants are able to self-reproduce predominantly vegetatively. Self-seeding reproduction occurs less frequently. Both species can be considered as invasive plants because they have a high adaptive capacity.

A new obligately self-pollinating species, Epipactis krymmontana, is described from the Crimea. The species is closely related to E. condensata from which it differs by its relatively loose and usually much shorter inflorescence, relatively elongate ovaries, much paler epichile with less protruding bosses and absence of a viscidium. It grows in beech forests, often mixed with oak and hornbeam, on calcareous soils. The new species was previously misidentified in the Crimea as E. purpurata or sometimes as E. condensata, the latter growing in hot, sunny places with sparse vegetation. The presence of typical E. condensata in the Crimea is considered doubtful, but it is undoubtedly present in the Russian Caucasus along with E. condensata subsp. kuenkeleana, which is a new combination proposed in place of E. purpurata subsp. kuenkeleana. Epipactis purpurata should be excluded both from the floras of the Crimea and the Russian Caucasus. An updated key to the species of Epipactis sect. Epipactis in the Crimea and Russian Caucasus is provided.

New records of Celonites tauricus Kostylev, 1935 are reported from Chios, Rhodes, Samos (Greece), Dagestan (Russia), Georgia, and the main portion of Azerbaijan (previous records were made from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic only). Flower visits of imagines were observed at six species of Lamiaceae, four of them being recorded for the first time as forage plants of C. tauricus. The newly recorded Teucrium canum Fisch. & C.A. Mey. and Ziziphora taurica M. Bieb. (both Lamiaceae) are principal forage plants in Dagestan and the Crimea, correspondingly. The behaviour of females at flowers of Z. taurica differs from that previously described at flowers of Teucrium chamaedrys L. and Satureja thymbra L. (also Lamiaceae) in that pollen removal from the anthers and nectar uptake take place separately from each other in temporal succession. This difference is obviously caused by the flower structure of the genus Ziziphora, specifically its much longer corolla tube. Females also try to collect pollen from flowers of Salvia nemorosa subsp. tesquicola (Klokov & Pobed.) Soó but usually without success, while nectar uptake from this species is successful. The specialized morphological structures of the females for pollen-uptake from the nototribic anthers and pollen-transfer from the exoskeleton to the mouthparts are described. They are similar to those of the closely related Celonites abbreviatus (Villers, 1789), and consist of specialized stiff “knobbed” pollen-collecting setae covering the anterior surface of the head, particularly the frons and the clypeus, as well as comb-like rows of specialized, particularly strong pollen-brushing setae along the anterior margins of the inner surface of the first and the second segments of the fore tarsi. Males of C. tauricus patrol in flight along the forage plants of the females. Successful copulations occur either on flowers or on the ground.

Twenty species of the orchid genus Cephalanthera are known in the World and seven species occur in Russia. One of them, restricted in Russia to the Black Sea coastal area of the Krasnodarsky Krai in the �orth �au� Krai in the �orth �au� in the �orth �au� casus, has a long story of misidentifications and taxonomic confusions. The present study revealed that the correct name for this species is Cephalanthera epipactoides while it was previously known in Russia as either C. cucullata or C. kurdica (= C. floribunda). The lectotype of C. epipactoides is designated. Morphological description of the species is provided with measurements of the main parameters. The distribution of C. epipactoides in Russia is summarised on the base of herbarium specimens, data from the «Plantarium» website, field observations, and previously published records; the species is known here along approximately 125 km from the environs of Anapa to Dzhubga. The Russian part of the species range is isolated from its main area of distribution; the nearest locality in Turkey is about 365 km away from Dzhubga (linear distance). The popula� tion quantity of the species in Russia is very low. Cephalanthera epipactoides is highly threatened in Russia; its conservation status is «critically endangered». Further study of the species is recommended, in particular, in relation to its pollination ecology.