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 The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, and the Middle East as far east as Turkmenistan.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> These plants are remarkable in that they successfully reproduce through pseudocopulation, that is, their flowers mimic female insects to such a degree that amorous males are fooled into mating with the flowers, thereby pollinating them. There are many natural hybrids. They are referred to as the "bee orchids" due to the flowers of some species resemblance to the furry bodies of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s and other insects. Their scientific name ''Ophrys'' is the Greek word for "eyebrow", referring to the furry edges of the lips of several species. ''Ophrys'' was first mentioned in the book "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD).

Biology

They are terrestrial or ground orchids from central to South Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, up to the Caucasus Mountains, but mostly in the Mediterranean region. They have been said to be the most important group of European terrestrial orchids. During summer, all ''Ophrys'' orchids are dormant as underground bulbous tubers, which serve as a food reserve. In late summer/autumn they develop a rosette of leaves. Also a new tuber starts to grow and matures until the following spring; the old tuber slowly dies. The next spring the flowering stem starts to grow. During flowering the leaves have already started to wither. Most ''Ophrys'' orchids are dependent on

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

fungi. Transplanting specimens, especially wild specimens, is difficult, sometimes impossible, due to this symbiosis unless a large amount of surrounding earth is also taken with the plant. All orchids are protected under CITES II and should not be removed or disturbed in habitat. The shiny, basal

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

have a green or bluish color. Two to twelve flowers grow on an erect

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

with basal leaves. These species are successfully cultivated by specialist growers of terrestrial orchids and are reported to be difficult to grow, being sensitive to rotting and damping off diseases if not properly subjected to a cool and dry aestivation period over the summer months with no water.

Pollination

Orchids of the genus ''Ophrys'' use sexual deception to attract pollinators to their flowers. In sexual deception, an orchid attracts male pollinators by producing the sex pheromone of virgin female pollinators in addition to providing visual and tactile cues (Schiestl 2005; Schluter et al. 2009; Stokl et al. 2009). These signals stimulate mating behavior in the male pollinators, which then attempt copulation, called “pseudocopulation”, with the orchid labellum (Schluter et al. 2009). During pseudocopulation, pollen from the flower's column becomes attached to some part of the pollinator, usually the head or abdomen, and the pollinator inadvertently carries and transfers this pollen to other flowers when they are once again enticed into pseudocopulation. While the morphological cues such as the shape and texture of the labellum play a role especially at close range in inducing the pollinator mating behavior, the orchid's pheromone mimic, or allomone, has been shown to play the most important role in enticing pollinators to the flower (Schiestl 2005; Schluter et al. 2009). The allomone produced by an orchid is specific to its

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

, of which it usually only has one (Ayasse et al. 2007; Gogler et al. 2009, Schluter et al. 2009). The allomone is a mixture of alkenes and alkanes (Schiestl and Cozzolino 2008). There are one or more active species in this mixture that account for the attraction of pollinators (Vereeken and Schiestl 2008). Pollinators and orchids use the same chemical compounds in the same absolute amounts in their pheromones and

allomones An allomone (from Ancient Greek ' "other" and pheromone) is a type of semiochemical produced and released by an individual of one species that affects the behaviour of a member of another species to the benefit of the originator but not the rec ...

, respectively (Schiestl 2008). Every ''Ophrys'' orchid has its own pollinator insect and is completely dependent on this species for its survival. Duped males are less likely to return and may ignore other plants of the same species. Only about 10% of an ''Ophrys'' population gets pollinated. This is enough to preserve the population, since each ''Ophrys'' orchid produces about 12,000 minute seeds.

Species

Almost 2,000 names have been proposed for species, subspecies, and "

nothospecies #REDIRECT Hybrid name In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. ...

" (i.e. species of

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

origin) within the genus. The number of species recognized varies very widely between authorities. ''Flora Europaea'' in 1980 and Pedersen & Faurholdt in 2007 listed about 20 species in Europe as a whole; Buttler in 1991 increased this to 53 for slightly larger geographical area; Delforge in 1995 gave a total of 130 species. By contrast, a molecular phylogenetic study in 2008 suggested that there were around 10 distinguishable groups. The need for further study is indicated. For the moment (May 2014), we follow the lead of

Kew Botanical Garden Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

's, the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' in provisionally recognizing the following taxa:Search for "Ophrys", Orchidaceae - Ophrys apifera-4

*'' Ophrys apifera'' Huds. – Bee orchid - Central and southern Europe, North Africa, east to Iran *'' Ophrys × arachnitiformis'' Gren. & Philippe - False spider orchid (hybrid ''O. fuciflora × O. sphegodes)'' - western and central Europe from France and Britain to Sicily and Hungary *'' Ophrys argolica'' H.Fleischm. – Argolian bee-orchid **''Ophrys argolica'' subsp. ''aegaea'' (Kalteisen & H. R. Reinhard) H. A. Pedersen & Faurh. -

Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

**''Ophrys argolica'' subsp. ''argolica'' - Greece **''Ophrys argolica'' subsp. ''biscutella'' (O. Danesch & E. Danesch) Kreutz - southern Italy, Croatia **''Ophrys argolica'' subsp. ''crabronifera'' (Sebast. & Mauri) Faurh. - central and southern Italy **''Ophrys argolica'' subsp. ''elegans'' (Renz) E. Nelson - Cyprus **''Ophrys argolica'' subsp. ''lesbis'' (Gölz & H. R. Reinhard) H. A. Pedersen & Faurh. - western Turkey and the

Greek Islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

**''Ophrys argolica'' subsp. ''lucis'' (Kalteisen & H. R. Reinhard) H. A. Pedersen & Faurh. - Turkey,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

*'' Ophrys atlantica'' Munby – Atlantic Bee-orchid - Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia *''

Ophrys bertolonii ''Ophrys bertolonii'', commonly known as Bertoloni's bee orchid, is a species of orchid native to the western and central Mediterranean (Spain, France, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, mainland Italy, Albania, and Croatia , image_flag = ...

'' Moretti – Bertoloni's bee-orchid - from Spain to Serbia Ophrys bombyliflora Mallorca 01

*''

Ophrys bombyliflora ''Ophrys bombyliflora'', the bumblebee orchid, is a species of ''Ophrys'' (bee orchid), native from the Mediterranean region from Portugal and the Canary Islands to Turkey and Lebanon. The genus name ' is from the Greek in reference to the hairy ...

'' Link – Bumblebee orchid -

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

and

*'' Ophrys cilicica'' Schltr. – Cilician bee-orchid - Turkey,

, Iran (note that

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...

means southern Turkey) *''

Ophrys ferrum-equinum ''Ophrys ferrum-equinum'', the horseshoe bee-orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to Albania, Greece, and Turkey, including Crete and other islands of the Aegean. It owes its species name to the characteristic shape of a silve ...

'' Desf. – Horseshoe bee-orchid - Albania, Greece, Turkey **''Ophrys ferrum-equinum'' subsp. ''ferrum-equinum'' - Albania, Greece, Turkey **''Ophrys ferrum-equinum'' subsp. ''gottfriediana'' (Renz) E.Nelson - Greece *''

Ophrys fuciflora ''Ophrys holosericea'', the late spider orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to western and central Europe and the Mediterranean region. There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this species ...

'' (F.W.Schmidt) Moench – Late spider-orchid - from Britain to Iraq **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''andria'' (P.Delforge) Faurh. -

**''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''apulica'' O.Danesch & E.Danesch - southern Italy including Sicily **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''biancae'' (Tod.) Faurh. - Sicily **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''bornmuelleri'' (M.Schulze) B.Willing & E.Willing - Turkey, Cyprus, Greek islands, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Iraq **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''candica'' E.Nelson ex Soó - southern Italy including Sicily, plus Greece and Turkey **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''chestermanii'' (J. J. Wood) H. Blatt & W. Wirth - Sardinia **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''elatior'' (Paulus) R. Engel & Quentin Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''fuciflora'' - from Britain to

**''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''grandiflora'' (H. Fleischm. & Soó) Faurh. - Turkey, Cyprus **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''lacaitae'' (Lojac.) Soó - Italy, Malta, Croatia **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''oblita'' (Kreutz, Gügel & W. Hahn) Faurh., H. A. Pedersen & S. G. Christ - Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''oxyrrhynchos'' (Tod.) Soó - southern Italy including Sicily **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''pallidiconi'' Faurh. - Turkey **''Ophrys fuciflora'' subsp. ''parvimaculata'' O. Danesch & E. Danesch - Italy **''Ophrys fuciflora ''var''. ziyaretiana'' (Kreutz & Ruedi Peter) Faurh. & H. A. Pedersen - Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel Ophrys fusca Mallorca 02

*''

Ophrys fusca ''Ophrys fusca'', commonly known as the sombre bee-orchid or the dark bee-orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to western Asia. Most subspecies of the ''Ophrys fusca'' are pollina ...

'' Link – Sombre bee-orchid, dark bee-orchid - from Portugal to Turkey **''Ophrys fusca'' subsp. ''blitopertha'' (Paulus & Gack) Faurh. & H.A.Pedersen - Turkey, Greek islands **''Ophrys fusca'' subsp. ''cinereophila'' (Paulus & Gack) Faurh.- Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria **''Ophrys fusca'' subsp. ''fusca'' - from Portugal to Turkey **''Ophrys fusca'' subsp. ''iricolor'' (Desf.) K.Richt. - from Portugal to Turkey **''Ophrys fusca'' subsp. ''pallida'' (Raf.) E. G. Camus in E. G. Camus & A. A. Camus - Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria *'' Ophrys insectifera'' L. – Fly orchid - much of Europe from Spain to Russia and Finland **''Ophrys insectifera'' nothosubsp. ''tytecaeana'' P. Delforge - France **''Ophrys insectifera'' subsp. ''aymoninii'' Breistr. France, Spain **''Ophrys insectifera'' subsp. ''insectifera'' - much of Europe from Spain to Russia and Finland *'' Ophrys isaura'' Renz & Taubenheim - Turkey *'' Ophrys kojurensis'' Gölz - Iran *''

Ophrys konyana 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 ...

'' Kreutz & Ruedi Peter - Turkey *'' Ophrys kopetdagensis'' K.P. Popov & Neshat. - Turkmenistan *''

Ophrys kotschyi ''Ophrys kotschyi'', the Cyprus bee orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to Greece and Cyprus. ''Ophrys kotschyi'' occurs in grasslands and in open pine woodlands. It is listed as "near-threatened" by the International Union for Co ...

'' H. Fleischm. & Soó – Cyprus bee-orchid, Kotschy's bee-orchid - Greece, Cyprus **''Ophrys kotschyi'' subsp. ''ariadnae'' (Paulus) Faurh. - Greek islands and mainland **''Ophrys kotschyi'' subsp. ''cretica'' (Soó) H.Sund. - Crete and other Greek islands **''Ophrys kotschyi'' subsp. ''kotschyi'' – Cyprus *''

Ophrys kreutzii 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. ...

'' W.Hahn - Turkey *''

Ophrys lepida 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 ...

'' S. Moingeon & J.-M. Moingeon - Sardinia *''

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 ...

'' Parl. - Sicily Ophrys lutea (flower)

*''

Ophrys lutea ''Ophrys lutea'', the yellow bee-orchid, is a species of orchid native to southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, the range extending from Portugal and Morocco to Syria. Description of the flower Broad asymmetric lateral sepals, do ...

'' Cav. – Yellow bee-orchid - from Portugal and Morocco to Syria **''Ophrys lutea'' subsp. ''aspea'' (Devillers-Tersch. & Devillers) Faurh. - Tunisia, Libya **''Ophrys lutea'' subsp. ''galilaea'' (H. Fleischm. & Bornm.) Soó - from Portugal and Morocco to Syria **''Ophrys lutea'' subsp. ''lutea'' - from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey **''Ophrys lutea'' subsp. ''melena'' Renz - Greece, Albania *''

Ophrys lycia 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 ...

'' Renz & Taubenheim - Turkey *'' Ophrys omegaifera'' H. Fleischm. – Omega bee-orchid - from Portugal and Morocco to Syria **''Ophrys omegaifera ''var''. basilissa'' (C. Alibertis, A. Alibertis & H.R. Reinhard) Faurh - Greece **''Ophrys omegaifera'' subsp. ''dyris'' (Maire) Del Prete - Spain, Portugal, Morocco,

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

**''Ophrys omegaifera'' subsp. ''fleischmannii'' (Hayek) Del Prete - Crete and other Greek islands **''Ophrys omegaifera'' subsp. ''hayekii'' (H. Fleischm. & Soó) Kreutz - Sicily, Algeria, Tunisia **''Ophrys omegaifera'' subsp. ''israelitica'' (H. Baumann & Künkele) G. Morschek & K. Morschek - Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece **''Ophrys omegaifera'' subsp. ''omegaifera'' - Turkey, Greek islands **''Ophrys omegaifera'' subsp. ''apollonae'' or ''

Ophrys apollonae ''Ophrys omegaifera'' subsp. ''omegaifera'', synonym ''Ophrys apollonae'' (the Apollona bee-orchid), is a subspecies of orchid native to France, Greece, Crete, the East Aegean Islands and Turkey. Very early flowering forms native to Greece, ...

'' - Greek islands, Turkey *'' Ophrys pseudomammosa'' Renz - Turkey, Greece Ophrys reinholdii Rhodos 05

*''

Ophrys reinholdii ''Ophrys reinholdii'' is a species of orchid. Its native range from Croatia in southeastern Europe to northwestern Iran in western Asia, including Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. Subspecies Two subspecies are currently recognized (May 2022) ...

'' Spruner ex Fleischm. – Reinhold's bee-orchid - from Croatia to Turkey **''Ophrys reinholdii'' subsp. ''antiochiana'' (H. Baumann & Künkele) H.Baumann & R.Lorenz - Turkey, Syria **''Ophrys reinholdii'' subsp. ''reinholdii'' - from Croatia to Turkey **''Ophrys reinholdii'' subsp. ''straussii'' (H. Fleischm.) E. Nelson - Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Cyprus, Greek islands *'' Ophrys schulzei'' Bornm. & Fleischm. - Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon *''

Ophrys scolopax ''Ophrys scolopax'', known as the woodcock bee-orchid or woodcock orchid, is a species of terrestrial orchid found around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, from Morocco and Portugal to Hungary and Iran. Description ''Ophrys scolopax'' gro ...

'' Cav. – Woodcock bee-orchid - from Morocco and Portugal to Hungary and Iran **''Ophrys scolopax'' subsp. ''apiformis'' (Desf.) Maire & Weiller - Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco **''Ophrys scolopax'' subsp. ''conradiae'' (Melki & Deschâtres) H.Baumann & al. - Corsica, Sardinia, Italy **''Ophrys scolopax'' subsp. ''cornuta'' (Steven) E.G. Camus - Italy, Hungary, the Balkans, Crimea, Turkey, Caucasus **''Ophrys scolopax'' subsp. ''heldreichii'' (Schltr.) E.Nelson Greece, Turkey **''Ophrys scolopax ''var''. minutula'' (Gölz & H.R. Reinhard) H.A. Pedersen & Faurh - Turkey, Greek islands **''Ophrys scolopax'' subsp. ''rhodia'' (H.Baumann & Künkele) H.A. Pedersen & Faurh. - Greek islands **''Ophrys scolopax'' subsp. ''scolopax'' - from Portugal to Iran Ophrys speculum (flower detail)

*''

Ophrys speculum ''Ophrys speculum'', the mirror orchid, is a species of ''Ophrys'' distributed throughout the Mediterranean that is pollinated exclusively by a single species of scoliid wasp. Description A terrestrial orchid up to 25 cm tall and each infl ...

'' Link – Mirror bee-orchid, mirror orchid - from Portugal to Syria **''Ophrys speculum'' subsp. ''lusitanica'' O.Danesch & E.Danesch - Spain, Portugal **''Ophrys speculum'' subsp. ''regis-ferdinandii'' (Acht. & Kellerer ex Renz) Soó - Turkey, Greek islands **''Ophrys speculum'' subsp. ''speculum'' - from Portugal to Syria *'' Ophrys sphegodes'' Mill. – Early spider-orchid - from Britain and Portugal to Iran **''Ophrys sphegodes'' nothosubsp. ''jeanpertii'' (E.G. Camus) Del Prete & Conte - France, Spain, Balkans ''(O. sphegodes ''subsp''. araneola × O. sphegodes ''subsp''. sphegodes)'' **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''aesculapii'' (Renz) Soó ex J.J.Wood - Greece **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''araneola'' (Rchb.) M.Laínz - Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''atrata'' (Rchb.f.) A.Bolòs - from Portugal to Serbia **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''aveyronensis'' J.J.Wood - France, Spain **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''catalcana'' Kreutz - European Turkey **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''cretensis'' H.Baumann & Künkele - Crete and other Greek islands **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''epirotica'' (Renz) Gölz & H.R.Reinhard - Albania, Greece **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''gortynia'' H.Baumann & Künkele - Crete and other Greek islands **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''helenae'' (Renz) Soó & D.M.Moore - Albania, Greece **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''mammosa'' (Desf.) Soó ex E.Nelson - from the Balkans to Turkmenistan **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''passionis'' (Sennen) Sanz & Nuet - France, Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, mainland Italy **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''sipontensis'' (R.Lorenz & Gembardt) H.A.Pedersen & Faurh. -

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

**''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''sphegodes'' - from Britain and Spain to Hungary and the Balkans **''Ophrys sphegodes'' subsp. ''spruneri'' (Nyman) E.Nelson - Crete and other Greek islands Ophrys tenthredinifera (flower)

*''

Ophrys tenthredinifera ''Ophrys tenthredinifera'', the sawfly orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey. The common name refers to a purported resemblance between the flower and the sawfly S ...

'' Willd. - from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey *'' Ophrys tremoris'' Gämperle & Gölz - Turkey *''

Ophrys ulupinara 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 ...

'' W.Hahn - Turkey *''

Ophrys umbilicata ''Ophrys umbilicata'' is a species of orchid found from Albania to Iran, including Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Cyprus. Description ''Ophyrys umbilicata'' is a perennial, erect, glabrous herb, 10–20 cm high. Leaves alternate, simpl ...

'' Desf. - from the Balkans to Iran **''Ophrys umbilicata'' subsp. ''beerii'' Shifman - Israel **''Ophrys umbilicata'' subsp. ''bucephala'' (Gölz & H.R.Reinhard) Biel - Turkey and the Greek islands **''Ophrys umbilicata'' subsp. ''calycadniensis'' Perschke - Turkey **''Ophrys umbilicata'' subsp. ''flavomarginata'' (Renz) Faurh. - Cyprus, Syria, Israel **''Ophrys umbilicata'' subsp. ''lapethica'' (Gölz & H.R.Reinhard) Faurh. - Cyprus **''Ophrys umbilicata'' subsp. ''latakiana'' (M.Schönfelder & H.Schönfelder) Faurh. & H.A.Pedersen - Turkey, Syria **''Ophrys umbilicata'' subsp. ''umbilicata'' - from the Balkans to Iran *''

Ophrys urteae 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. ...

'' Paulus - Turkey *'' Ophrys zagrica'' Gölz - Iran Ophrys sulcata MHNT

In popular culture

Sexually deceptive orchids in the genus ''Ophrys'' feature in the 2002 movie, '

Adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

', written by

Charlie Kaufman Charles Stuart Kaufman (; born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999), ''Adaptation'' (2002), and ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004). He made his directorial de ...

. The film follows a screenwriter attempting to adapt the novel ' The Orchid Thief' into a movie screenplay. The species appearing in the movie may be ''

''. The naturalist

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

discusses the unusual pollination systems among ''Ophrys'' orchids in his 1995 BBC television series ' The Private Life of Plants', as well as the book accompanying the series.

References

* * * *

External links

*
Extensive information and beautiful slides

Ophrys picture database

, slide show. {{Taxonbar, from=Q157544 Orchideae genera Orchids of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Turkmenistan Flora of Iran Flora of the Canary Islands