Orchis italica Poiret 1799

Photo by P.Pernot courtesy of the Orchids of France and Europe

Plant and Flowers in situ Photo by © John Varigos and His Orchid webpage

Orchis italica f. albiflora Nicora ex Fiori & Paol. 1896 Photo by © Pieter C. Brouwer and his Photo Website

LATE and

O militaris Group

Common Name The Italian Orchis

Flower Size

Found in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, the Aegean Islands, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, Syria, Lebannon, Israel, Jordan and all of North Africa except Egypt as a small to medium sized, cold growing terrestrial orchid with ellipsoid tubers, erect stems, 5 to 10, oblong-lanceolate, sometimes spotted purple brown, undulate margined leaves that blooms in the late winter and spring on a dense, conical, many flowered inflorescence with the uppermost flowers opening first.

Synonyms Orchis fusca var. stenoloba Coss. & Germ. 1845; Orchis italica f. albiflora Nicora ex Fiori & Paol. 1896; Orchis italica f. breviloba Halácsy 1904; Orchis italica var. fontinalis F.M.Vázquez 2008; Orchis italica f. maculata Soó 1932; Orchis longicornis Lam. 1798; Orchis longicruris Link 1799; Orchis longicruris subsp. longipenis Font Quer & P.Palau 1954; Orchis militaris Poir. 1789; Orchis purpurea subsp. stenoloba (Coss. & Germ.) K.Richt. 1890; Orchis purpurea var. stenoloba (Coss. & Germ.) Willk. 1861; Orchis simia var. undulatifolia (Biv.) Webb 1838; Orchis tephrosanthos Desf. 1799; Orchis tephrosanthos var. undulatifolia (Biv.) Webb 1838; Orchis undulatifolia Biv. 1807; Orchis welwitschii Rchb.f. 1851

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 4 193 to 256 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1973; Die Orchideen Band 3 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1973 as O longicornu photo ok; AOS Bulletin Vol 52 No 5 1983 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 49 No 3 1985 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 55 No 2 1986 photo fide; AOS Bulletin No 63 No 11 1994 photo fide; Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East Delforge 2005; Orchid Digest Vol 72 #2 2008 photo fide; Orquideologia Vol 26 #2 2009 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 80 #1 2016 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 83 #2 2019 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #9 2019 photo fide;

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