ORCHIS SEZIKIANA

Family and Genus:- See- ORCHIDACEAE

Common names:- Sezic’s orchid

Synonyms:- Androrchis × sezikiana, Orchis anatolica subsp. sezikiana,

Orchis quadripunctata subsp. sezikiana.

Meaning:- Orchis (Gr) Testicle, (the shape of the root-tubers).

Sezikiana (L) For E. Sezic, the contemporary Turk botanist.

Stem:-

1) 10-20 cm.

Leaves:-

1) Basal, lanceolate, with or without spots.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence, lax usually with few flowers, rose to dark red.

2) Bracts, lanceolate, shorter than the ovary.

3) Sepals:

a) lateral, oval-lanceolate, spreading to erect.

b) middle, leaning over the two petals that form a small dome.

4) Labellum, small, 3-lobed:

a) median lobe, adorned with 8 or more dark red spots or little dashes that

extend from the whitish base to almost the top of the lobe.

b) lateral lobes spreading to slightly inclined downwards, thin and long, (7 -16

mm)

5) Spur, sub-horizontal, ± twisted.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Open pinewoods, meadows, grasslands, deserted olive groves.

Distribution:- The islands of the Eastern Aegean, Turkey and Cyprus. Rare on

Crete with limited distribution.

Photos by:- Yannis Zacharakis