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| MaltaWildPlants.com by Stephen Mifsud |
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Ophrys apifera (Bee Orchid) |
Ophrys apifera (ORCHIDACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000. |
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| Nomenclature and Basic Information |
Species name : |
Ophrys apiferaHudson
Published in Fl. Angl. 340 (1762) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
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Plant Family : |
Orchidaceae
Juss. (The Orchid Family)
41 species from the Orchidaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Bee Orchid |
Maltese name(s) : |
Naħla, Naħla griża |
Status for Malta : |
Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: GEOPHYTE ( bearing underground bulbs, rhizomes, stolons, etc. )
Germination [info]: Monocotyledon |
Legal Protection : |
Protected by law: Schedule VI of [S.L. 549.44] (strictly protected species) |
Red List (1989) : |
Threatened status for the Maltese Islands and has been listed in the Red Data Book (1st ed.) |
Flowering Time : |
April |
Colour of Flowers: |
Brown or Dark |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Ophrys: Eyebrow, referring to the brown, furry edges found in the flowering lips of several. (Latin origin )
apifera:
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Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
Remarks : |
Photos in this profile are not from the Maltese Islands and are intended for educational purposes. If you find in Malta plants which look similar to the ones illustrated below kindly email me and send some photos for verification. This species is very rare and if still exists in our islands, it should be safeguarded. If you would like to submit photos in the website, you will be acknowledged accordingly on the photo. Many thanks to Alenka and Yael for submitting these beautiful photos to MaltaWildPlants.com |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Habitat in Europe: |
Grassland, garigue, rocky scrub; calcicole. | |
Preferred habitat in Malta: |
Garigue and exposed rocky places, somewhat prefering short grass lawns | |
Botanical Description: |
Plant 15-50 cm. Basal leaves lanceolate to ovate, obtuse, the cauline similar, acute. Spike 2- to 7(-11)-flowered, lax. Outer perianth-segments (8-)10-15 mm, oblong-ovate, patent or deflexed, purplish or purplish-violet, rarely whitish, green-striate; inner triangular to linear-lanceolate, green or purplish. Labellum 10-13 mm, broadly ovate, strongly convex, brownish- or blackish-purple, rarely yellowish-green or bicolorous, partly papillose, partly villous, with long, yellow, deflexed appendage, or appendage absent; lateral lobes triangular-ovate, deflexed, with externally hairy basal protuberances up to 3 mm; speculum scutelliform at the base, violet or reddish-brown, with a yellow margin, with clear yellow spots towards apex. Connective long-acuminate. | |
Chromosome number: |
2n=36 | |
Distributional range: |
S., W. & C. Europe, northwards to N. Ireland. |
Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018): |
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Occurrences in Europe.
(from Flora Europaea pre year 1993): |
Albania, Austria and Liechtenstein, Belgium, the Balaeric Islands, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Corse, Crete, Czeck Republic and Slovakia, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Hungary, Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Romania, Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part) |
Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(from Euro+Med Checklist, 2019)
Country codes
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AE(G) Ag Al Au Be Bl Br Co Cr Cy Cz Ga Ge Gr Hb He Ho Hs Hu IJ It Ju Li LS Lu Ma Rf(CS) Rm Sa Si Tcs Tn Tu(A E) Uk(K) |
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution map
Malta.jpg "Ophrys apifera / Bee Orchid / Naħla")
