The Giardino delle Orchidee Spontanee del Mediterraneo is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

operated by the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

within its Palo Laziale nature reserve. It is located Via Palo Laziale 2, Palo Laziale, Ladispoli,

Province of Rome The Province of Rome ( it, Provincia di Roma) was one of the five provinces that formed part of the region of Lazio in Italy. It was established in 1870 and disestablished in 2014. It was essentially coterminous with the Rome metropolitan area. T ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The collection focuses on native

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. It began in 1984 with a donation of 10

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n species from the

Orto Botanico dell'Università di Cagliari The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Cagliari (5 hectares), also known as the Orto Botanico di Cagliari, is a botanical garden operated by the University of Cagliari and located at Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi 9-11, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. The ...

, and currently contains about 350 specimens representing some 60 species from the genera

Ophrys The genus ''Ophrys'' is a large group of orchids from the alliance Orchis in the subtribe Orchidinae. They are widespread across much of Europe, North Africa, Caucasus, the Canary Islands, and the Middle East as far east as Turkmenistan. These p ...

and Orchis, including ''

Orchis palustris ''Anacamptis palustris'' is a species of orchid. It is found in Europe, North Africa and western Asia. This orchid is native to Western and Central Europe, the Mediterranean region, the Balearic Islands, Turkey, Western Asia, Algeria and Tunisia ...

'', '' Ophrys apulica'', ''

Ophrys lunulata ''Ophrys lunulata'', the moon orchid, is a species of orchid native to the islands of Malta and Sicily in the central Mediterranean. In 1992 ''Ophrys lunulata'' was designated as a 'priority species' under Annex II of the Habitats Directive of ...

'', and '' Ophrys ciliata'', as well as '' Asphodeline lutea'', ''

Dactylorhiza romana ''Dactylorhiza romana'', the Roman dactylorhiza, is a species of orchid. It is native to the Mediterranean Region of southern Europe and northern Africa, the range extending eastward to Iran and Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türk ...

'', ''

Inula candida ''Inula'' is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. They may be annuals, herbaceous perennials or subshrubs that vary greatly in size, from small species a few centimeters ...

'', ''

Iris pseudopumila ''Iris pseudopumila'' is a perennial plant with violet, purple, or yellow flowers, sometimes in combination. The beards are white, yellow, or bluish white. Native to southern Italy.Donald Wyman Donald Wyman (1904 — 6 December 1993) was an Ameri ...

'', and '' Spiranthes aestivalis''.

References

BGCI entry

ZeroDelta entry

Palo laziale description (Italian)

Musei e Gallerie description
Botanical gardens in Italy Gardens in Lazio Orchid organizations {{Italy-garden-stub

See also

References