SPECIES DESCRIPTION
OPHRYS APIFERA
Common Names:- Bee orchid
Homotypic Synonyms:- Arachnites apifer, Ophrys insectifera subsp. apifera,
Orchis apifera.
Meaning:- Ophrys (L) Eye-brow, a name used by the Roman naturalist and
philosopher Pliny.
Apifera (L) Bee-like, bee bearing.
General description:- Short to medium perennial, very variable.
Stems:-
1) 20-60 cm tall, slender.
Leaves:-
1) Basal, oval to lanceolate, obtuse.
2) Cauline, similar though smaller.
Flowers:-
1) Spike, lax, with 3-12 flowers.
2) Flowers, medium-sized.
3) Sepals, large in relation to labellum, 11-17 x 5-9 mm, narrowly ovate to broadly
oblong-lanceolate, patent or slightly reflexed, pink to whitish. always with a
green mid-vein.
4) Petals, small (2-4 mm), triangular-ovate, shaggy, yellowish-green to rose-pink.
5) Labellum, 9-14 mm, with dark brown ground colour, velvety to shaggy on the
margins, otherwise ± glabrous;
a) lateral lobes, small, oblique bulges.
b) central lobe, rounded, with a distinct mirror and yellowish pattern in the distal
part.
6) Column, acute, extended into an S-curved tip.
7) Speculum basal, shield-shaped, brown or violet with a yellowish margin.
Key features:
1) Column, extended in an S-curved tip.
2) Sepals, 11-17 mm, at least as long as the labellum
3) Labellum, 3-lobed; appendage of the labellum long or absent.
4) Outer perianth-segments, (8-)10-15 mm.
5) Speculum, margin, yellow.
Habitat:- Seasonally damp spots in scrubland vegetation, meadows, open
woodland and road verges. 0-700 m.
Distribution:- Throughout Greece. - W Europe and the Mediterranean region
Anotolia, locally in W Syria and Palestine.
Flowering time:- Mid-Apr to mid-June.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
