John and Gerry's Orchids of Britain and Europe |
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Ophrys personata |
O. personata was first described by Delforge from Abruzzo, Italy in 2015 and is a member of the 22 strong O. tetraloniae group which take their name from the tetralonia genus of bees representing the most significant pollinators of this family of Ophrys. It was originally believed, this orchid represented disjunct Italian populations of the Croatian species, O. dinarica, an understandable belief given the close morphological similarities between them. Delforge has now determined however that O. dinarica should again be considered, a Croatian endemic found only in the valleys around Mount Dinara. O. personata meanwhile, is an Italian endemic that can be found in the Appenine mountains of central peninsula Italy, from Umbria in the north, to Abruzzo in the south. This is a hugely variable orchid that is capable of mimicking several other of the O. tetraloniae group species with which it grows, particularly in the more northerly parts of its range. A key identifying characteristic is the partial or complete division of the basal field into two separate spheres. This is very similar to O. dinarica but as with that species and despite the fact that it is most frequently photographed in this form, this feature occurs sporadically in less than a third of the population. Other distinguishing features are the multi toothed appendage which is extremely well developed, the elongated column and the portly waistline. The basal swellings are generally robust, yellow on the inside and the lip may be strongly scolopaxoid with a usually complex, often confused specular pattern. The photos are from both Umbria and Abruzzo dating from the middle of May. |
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