O. laxiflora was first described from Ramljane, Croatia by Zelesny and Kreutz as a subspecies in 2007 and is a member of the O. fuciflora group of Ophrys. Its name is derived from the Latin "laxiflorus" meaning loose flowered and is only found in Croatia and rarely in Montenegro.
The species seeks calcareous substrates though these can often take the form of muddy marl beds and areas of erosion. O. laxiflora is one of six Croatian fuciflorid species and comes into bloom in mid May, at least two weeks after O. untchjii and O. istriensis and more or less concurrently with O. medea, O. dinarica and O. tetraloniae. There are significant overlaps in range and hybridization although not recorded, is suspected.
The most notable feature of this small flowered Ophrys is its clearly fuciflorid appearance with generally flared, entire lip margins and modestly developed protuberences. The perianth is usually pink though this can vary in tone from reddish to pale, almost white. Lateral sepals are triangular and relatively wide whilst the dorsal sepal is usually inclined forward, sometimes strongly so. Petals are similarly triangular, hairy at the margins and vary in length from short to medium. The plant itself can be tall, up to 50cms with a fairly thick stem and widely spaced inflorescence.
The single photo is from Kljake, dating from the second week of May at which time most plants were still in bud.
The species seeks calcareous substrates though these can often take the form of muddy marl beds and areas of erosion. O. laxiflora is one of six Croatian fuciflorid species and comes into bloom in mid May, at least two weeks after O. untchjii and O. istriensis and more or less concurrently with O. medea, O. dinarica and O. tetraloniae. There are significant overlaps in range and hybridization although not recorded, is suspected.
The most notable feature of this small flowered Ophrys is its clearly fuciflorid appearance with generally flared, entire lip margins and modestly developed protuberences. The perianth is usually pink though this can vary in tone from reddish to pale, almost white. Lateral sepals are triangular and relatively wide whilst the dorsal sepal is usually inclined forward, sometimes strongly so. Petals are similarly triangular, hairy at the margins and vary in length from short to medium. The plant itself can be tall, up to 50cms with a fairly thick stem and widely spaced inflorescence.
The single photo is from Kljake, dating from the second week of May at which time most plants were still in bud.
