SPECIES DESCRIPTION
OPHRYS OMEGAIFERA subsp. FLEISCHMANNII
Family and Genus:- See- ORCHIDACEAE
Common Names:- Velvet Ophrys-Fleischman.
Homotypic Synonyms: Ophrys fleischmannii, Ophrys funerea subsp.
fleischmannii, Ophrys fusca subsp. fleischmannii, Ophrys heldreichii,
Ophrys lutea var. fleischmannii, Ophrys omegaifera var. fleischmannii.
Meaning:- Ophrys (L) Eye-brow, a name used by the Roman naturalist and
philosopher Pliny
Omegaifera (L) Omega shaped (reference to the "W" shaped
marking).
Fleischmannii (L) For the Viennese school director.
General description:- Small delicate plants.
Stem:-
1) Often only around 10-20 cm tall.
Leaves:-
1) Oval-shaped.
Flowers:-
1) Inflorescence, sparse with 3-5 (-7) flowers.
2) Bracts, larger than the ovary.
3) Sepals, green;
a) lateral, converging slightly.
b) mid-sepal, bending over the column.
4) Petals, green and flexuose, margins purple.
5) Labellum, 13-15 mm. with no split at the base, 3-lobed, long-pubescent,
erect, geniculate.
a) lateral lobes, concave and very conspicuous.
b) mid-lobe, with a slight notch, dark reddish-violet.
6) Blazon, very shiny, brown or dark blue, with brown high-lights, bordered at the
top with a shiny "W" design, in white, blue or grey.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule, dehiscing, by 3 or 6 longitudinal slits.
2) Seeds, numerous, minute, with undifferentiated embryo and no endosperm.
Key features:-
1) Differentiated through the weak fold at the base of the Labellum , the small
flowers and the longer whitish hairs which also cover the area of the blazon.
Habitat:- Dry open shrubby vegetation, olive groves and fallow terraces. 0-1100 m.
Distribution:- Endemic Crete and perhaps some of the Kiklades. Somewhat
sparsely scattered across Crete. Not common.
Flowering time:- Jan to early June, peaking, Mar-April.
Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis
