Ophrys ferrum-equinum subsp. labiosa / Horseshoe Ophrys from Ulupınar, Kemer, Antalya
Description: Short plant, 10-30 cm, with 3-8 flowers. Variable species. Dark, purplish-black, mostly hairless labellum, not trilobed. Shiny blue or blue-grey speculum, horsehoe-shaped or drops-shaped. This species is recognized by the spread out lip with grey-violet marginal hair in the shoulders and speculum which is not surrounded by white line and is not reaching the lip base (which is the case for
Ophrys spruneri) .
Biology: Flowering from mid-March to mid-May.
Pollinator : Chalicodoma parietina.
Habitat: Alkaline soils, shady to sunlit locations, phrygana, fields, maquis.
Distribution: From Albania to south-western and southern Turkey. Wide distribution in continental Greece and islands, except Kefallonia where it is replaced by
Ophrys gottfriediana, while in eastern Aegean island a close species,
Ophrys labiosa exists. Absent from Crete.
Reference/Kaynak:
Catherine DIJON