This highly unusaal variety of S. strictiflora was first described from Cabrela, Portugal by Helmut Presser in 2004 and its name literally means straddled or spread, this being a reference to the way in which the lateral sepals have become elongated and projected themselves forward.
This curious variation was once thought to occur in any part of the range of the type species but is now known to be restricted to central and southern Portugal and particularly Estramadura.
This
genetic abnormality is highly
uncommon and the phenomenon has not been noted with any
regularity (if at all) in any of the other Serapias species. Although
rare and usually found only in small numbers, it has been recorded from
at least one colony exceeding a hundred individuals.
The example illustrated here comes from a massive and mixed Serapias community in the Alenquir district of central Portugal and dates from the 19th of April, at which time the plant was in full flower.
