O. montenegina was first described as a subspecies by Baumann and Kunkele from Montenegro in 1988. It was subsequently promoted to full species status by Devillers and Devillers-Terschuren in 1991.
It is a relatively common orchid in southern Croatia and Montenegro but becoming scarcer as its range reaches the Ionian islands and Epirus in north western Greece. O. montenegrina is sometimes a difficult orchid to positively identify as it can appear in various lip shapes, colouration and patterns. In the north of its range the problem is less pronounced as there are fewer similar taxons, in Greece however there are many more O. mammosa group species which can either imitate or hybridize with it. It owes its variability to its hybridogenous ancestry where O. mammosa sl and O. sphegodes sl are the assumed contributors. Certain populations will display a predominance of the characteristics of one its progenitors over the other. The picture opposite depicts an example from southern Albania where the O. mammosa inheritance is obviously dominant.
A key distinguishing feature is the rusty, orange basal field, a characteristic which is typical but not unique and which is sometimes present in both O. grammica and O. herae. The lip can vary in shape from rounded to scolopaxoid and protuberances may be insignificant or well developed, The lip does however normally exhibit a more or less flared margin that may in some cases be of a contrasting colour. Another useful guide is flowering time which for this species starts in early March and runs through to late April in the cooler parts of its range. O. montenegrina is tolerant of a wide range of habitats and soil types and can be relatively abundant in the northerly part of its range. The pictures are from southern Albania, dating from the third week of April.
