Orchis anthropophora All. 1785 Photo by © Pieter C. Brouwer and his Photo Website

Another Inflorescence Photo courtesy of Pascal Pernot and the Orchids of France and Europe

O militaris Group

Common Name The Man Bearing Orchis

Flower Size 1 1/4" [3 cm]

Found from Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, the Balearic Islands, France, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco in xerophytic, short grasslands, garrigue, scrub and woodland edges at elevations up to 1600 meters as a miniature to medium sized, cold growing terrrestrial with a few thick roots and 2, unlobed, egg-shaped or globose tubers with a leafy, glabrous stem carrying papery basal sheaths and oblong-lanceloate to ovate-elliptic, obtuse to acute, deep or greyish green lower leaves that get small and more pointed higher on the stem and blooms in the late spring on a crowded, erect, 24" [60 cm] long and narrow, bracteate raceme with somewhat nodding, unpleasantly scented flowers.

This orchid has the common name of Man Orchid because of the appearance of the lip and is often found in soils containing lime or with limestone and enjoys sun and often sulks when given too much shade.

Synonyms Aceras anthropophora [L.]R. Br. 1789; Aceras anthropophorum (L.) Sm. 1818; Aceras anthropomorpha (Pers.) Steud. 1840; Arachnites anthropophora F.W. Schmidt 1793; Himantoglossum anthropophorum (L.) Spreng. 1826; Loroglossum anthropophorum (L.) Rich. 1818; Loroglossum brachyglotte Rich. 1818; Ophrys anthropomorpha Willd 1805; *Ophrys anthropophora L. 1753; Satyrium anthropomorpha Pers. 1807; Satyrium anthropophora Pers. 1807; Serapias anthropophora (L.) J. Jundz. 1791

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 as Aceras anthropophorum drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 28 No 3 1959 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 38 No 9 1969 photo fide; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 4 193 to 256 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1973 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 52 No 5 1983 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 54 No 1 1985 photo fide; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Encylopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 photo ok; The Manual of Cultivated Orchid Bechtel, Cribbb and Laurent 1992; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchds Pridgeon 1992; Wild Orchids Of Britain V.S. Summerhayes 1951; Flora's Orchids Nash and La Croix 2005; Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East Delforge 2005; Mille et Une Mini Orchideees Roguenant 2009 photo fide; Orchideen Series C Band 74 Thiv & Worz 2012 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 86 # 7 2017 photo/drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 87 #1 2018 photo fide;

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