Ophrys tenthredinifera Willd.

First published in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 4: 67 (1805)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Medit. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

Distribution

Most of the Mediterranean, where it is fairly common in the western and central parts of the range, but its frequency decreases towards the east – for example, it is rare on several Aegean islands. In Cyprus, O. tenthredinifera is known from one locality only, and it has not been found in the Middle East. [Aeg, Alb, Bal, Cor, Cre, Fra, Gre, Ita, Mal, Por, Sar, Sic, Spa, Tur, Yug; Ana, Cyp, Mor, Tun]

General Description

Plant compact to slender, 10-30(-45) cm tall with (1-)2-10 flowers in a (relatively) dense spike. Sepals violet to white, (broadly) elliptic, 11-13 × 6.5-10 mm; dorsal sepal more or less boat-shaped, slightly incurved, from the base reflexed. Petals of the same colour as the sepals, (ovate-) triangular (often auriculate) with flat margins, 4-6 × 2.5-6 mm, velvety to shaggy, spreading. Lip with brown ground colour and a broad yellow (to light brown) margin, straight with recurved sides, entire, 9-16 × 10-20 mm, more or less hairy (especially along the margin) and with a particularly prominent tuft of hairs close to the apex; bulges weakly developed, distinctly isolated from the margin of the lip; apex emarginate, provided with a short erect, narrowly triangular point; mirror distinct, consisting of a simple and fairly small H- to horseshoe-shaped figure, the basal arms of which are connected to the base of the lip, dull greyish blue to greyish violet with a pale border. Column rounded, not tapering towards the base (in side view); stigmatic cavity at least as wide as long and approximately twice as wide as the anther, devoid of lateral, eye-like knobs at base.

Habitat

Calcareous to slightly acid soil, in full sunlight or light shade from sea level to 1800 m altitude. Typical habitats include roadside verges, grassland, garrigue, open pine woods and old olive groves.

[O-EM]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images
  • Orchideae: e-monocot.org

    • All Rights Reserved