''Serapias vomeracea'', common name long-lipped serapias or the plow-share serapias, is a species of

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 ...

in the genus ''

Serapias ''Serapias'' is a genus of terrestrial orchids that can be found all over southern Europe to Asia Minor. The genus was named after Serapis, a syncretic Hellenistic-Egyptian god in Antiquity. ''Serapias'' have spurless flowers and usually go dorma ...

''.

Etymology

The name ''Serapias'' of the genus derives from the Greek ''

Sarapis Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...

'', the Graeco-Egyptian god, already used in ancient times to name some orchids. The Latin name ''vomeracea'' of this species refers to the shape of the apical portion of the labellum ( epichile) reminiscent of a ploughshare.

Description

''Serapias vomeracea'' is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

plant with two ovoidal underground tubers. This species is highly variable in color and shape. It reaches a height of , with a maximum of . The stem is green, with two membranous basal leaves and 6-8 upper leaves, lanceolate and glossy green or reddish. The inflorescence is composed by a narrow and elongated spike, with three to ten flowers. The relevant bracts are lanceolate and much longer than the

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. Their color is red-purple, with darker longitudinal venation. The outer

s are lanceolate and erect, forming an helmet-like structure. Their color is purple-red or pinkish, with veins of darker color. The internal lateral

s are brownish-purple and almost entirely hidden by the helmet. The labellum is brick red, trilobed and larger than the other

s. The basal portion ( hypochile) of the labellum is concave and enclosed in the helmet, with two raised and hairy lateral lobes. The apical portion of the labellum ( epichile) is triangular-lanceolate, usually purple-red and quite hairy. The spur is missing. The flowering period extends from March to June.

Reproduction

''Serapias vomeracea'' is an

entomophilous Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...

plant, but cannot offer floral rewards to pollinators as it does not produce nectar. Therefore, pollinators are just attracted by the shape of the flower, forming a small tube used by insects to rest by night or as a refuge against the rain. In this process pollen gets stuck to the pollinators' bodies. Once they leave their shelter, they will deposit the pollen on other flowers and fertilize them. These orchids are mainly pollinated by some beetles (families

Oedemeridae The family Oedemeridae is a cosmopolitan group of beetles commonly known as false blister beetles, though some recent authors have coined the name pollen-feeding beetles. There are some 100 genera and 1,500 species in the family, mostly associate ...

and

Lymexylidae The Lymexylidae (historically often spelled Lymexylonidae), also known as ship-timber beetles, are a family of wood-boring beetles. Lymexylidae belong to the suborder Polyphaga and are the sole member of the superfamily Lymexyloidea. Habitat a ...

) and by

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 (genera ''

Ceratina The cosmopolitan bee genus ''Ceratina'', often referred to as small carpenter bees, is the sole lineage of the tribe Ceratinini, and is not closely related to the more familiar carpenter bees. The genus presently contains over 300 species in 23 ...

'', ''

Eucera ''Eucera'' is a genus of bees in the family Apidae, subfamily Apinae, and tribe Eucerini – the long-horned bees. Description As in most members of the tribe Eucerini, the antennae of males are very long. Old World ''Eucera'' can be identifi ...

'' and ''

Osmia Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus ''Osmia'', of the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally ...

''). Seeds are dispersed by the wind (

anemochory In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...

Subspecies

* ''Serapias vomeracea'' (Burm. f.) Briq. subsp. ''vomeracea'' * ''Serapias vomeracea'' (Burm. f.) Briq. subsp. ''longipetala'' (Ten.) H. Baumann & Künkele * ''Serapias vomeracea'' (Burm. f.) Briq. subsp. ''laxiflora'' (Soó) Gölz & H.R. Reinhard

Distribution

The species has a Mediterranean- Atlantic distribution from

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

in the north and is widespread from south-central

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

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 ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Habitat

This orchid prefers dry and wet meadows, pastures, thickets, clearings and scrubland, frequently on clayey substrate, from full light to partial shade, at an altitude of above sea level.

Gallery

File:Mg-k d0702182.jpg, Plant of ''Serapias vomeracea'' File:Mg-k d0702186.jpg, Flowers of ''Serapias vomeracea'' File:Mg-k d0702187.jpg, Close-up on a flowers of ''Serapias vomeracea'' File:Orchidaceae - Serapias vomeracea-2.JPG, Close-up on a flowers of ''Serapias vomeracea'' File:Orchidaceae - Serapias vomeracea.JPG, Leaf of ''Serapias vomeracea''

References

* G. Pellegrino, D. Gargano, M. E. Noce, A. Musacchio - Reproductive biology and pollinator limitation in a deceptive orchid, Serapias vomeracea (Orchidaceae) - Plant Species Biology - Volume 20, Issue 1, pages 33–39, April 2005 * Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia (3 voll.) - Edagricole – 1982, Vol. III * Tutin, T.G. et al. - Flora Europaea, second edition - 1993

External links

Biolib

Altervista Flora Italiana ''Serapias vomeracea''

Actaplantarum

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1472728 vomeracea Orchids of Europe Flora of Malta Taxa named by Nicolaas Laurens Burman