S. patmia was first described from the Aegean island of Patmos by Hirth and Spaeth in 1994 and its name is a reference to the place of its discovery. It is a member of the S. cordigera group of orchids.
Its distribution is restricted to a small number of islands south of Samos in the eastern Aegean and these include Patmos and Lipsi. The question of its existence on Samos itself is not a matter of professional agreement but the authors together with several noted authorities believe so. The plants depicted here are from Samos and conform to type description but readers must form their own opinion.
It is usually (if not always) a robust but somewhat squat plant carrying a short compact inflorescence of light coloured hood and bracts with a dark, sometimes blackish, red tongue. This contrast is a typical characteristic of S. cordigera group species. Unlike some of its cousins, it is not known to appear with any regularity in different colour forms. The epichile is shorter than in S. orientalis, narrower than in S. cordigera and in the mature flower is normally strongly curved backwards towards the stem.
S. patmia is another member of the genus that tolerates a relatively wide range of habitats from dry phrygana to moderately damp grassland on both alkaline and mildly acidic soils. It is a relatively early flowerer, first appearing in mid March and in its prime at the beginning of April.
The photographs come from Samos dating from the first week of April at which time they were in full flower.
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