Ophrys creticola (Ophrys creticola)

Ophrys creticola

Ophrys creticola is a member of the Ophrys fusca group that is endemic to Crete. It is one of the earliest of the Cretan Pseudophrys to appear and can be found in flower as early as January. It can also claim however to have one of the longest flowering periods and it's quite possible to find this orchid still in good condition during early April. O. creticola is a large flowered species which could only be really confused with O. kedra, an orchid which in Crete is confined to the Spili plateau and which only starts blooming after O. creticola has completely faded. The later flowering O. cressa is morphologically similar but significantly smaller.

Appearance

The lip is dark brown, almost invariably yellow edged, sometimes broadly so and the speculum usually a dull blue or mauve that does not extend to the sinuses. The plant is robust, growing to some 25cms and may produce up to six individual flowers.

Distribution

It is an uncommon orchid which has an extremely local distribution, being at its most prevalent in central Crete, notably in the vicinity of Archanes to the south of Heraklion. It can however be frequent on rocky calcareous hillsides, usually in full sun, up to an altitude of 750 metres.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://www.orchidsofbritainandeurope.co.uk/Ophrys%20creticola.html

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Plantae
Division	Angiosperms
Class	Monocots
Order	Asparagales
Family	Orchidaceae
Genus	Ophrys
Species	Ophrys creticola

Photographed in
Greece