OPHRYS HERAE

Family and Genus:- See- ORCHIDACEAE

Common Names Herae's spider orchid

Homotypic Synonyms:-

Meaning:- Ophrys (L) Eye-brow, a name used by the Roman naturalist and

philosopher Pliny.

Herae (Gr) Possibly for the Greek Goddess Herae.

General description:- Mostly stocky and strong perennial plants

Stem:-

1) To 40 cm.

Leaves:-

1) Basal, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, mucronate.

2) Cauline, 1-2, lanceolate, acute.

Flowers:-

1) Spike, 2-7 flowers.

2) Sepals, green, slightly washed red at the lower half.

3) Petals,triangular-lanceolate, green-reddish.

4) Labellum, medium-sized, entire, spreading, barely convex, velvety, dark red-

violet.

5) Appendix, small, yellow.

6) Speculum, gray-silvery, occasionally with a few blue dots towards the part of the

base surrounded by a thin, whitish outline.

7) Horns, pale red, with white hair outside and smooth inside. Pilosily of white,

denser at the shoulders, Margins smooth, reddish. Basal field brown green-

orange, as well as the stigmatic cavity that has a small specular surface, white,

bordered by gray-green and pseudo-eyes, green with a black dot in the middle.1)

1) Data sourced from "The Self Grown Orchids of Greece" Antonis Alibertis 2015

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, dehiscing, by 3 or 6 longitudinal slits.

2) Seeds, numerous, minute, with undifferentiated embryo and no endosperm

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Dry open shrubby vegetation, scrubland vegetation, meadows, open

woodland.

Distribution:- Samos and probably in the south Peloponnese. On Crete distribution

uncertain.

Flowering time:- Mar-May.

Photos by:- Currently none available