Provence orchid

Description

Orchis provincialis, the Provence orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus Orchis. Orchis provincialis is a herbaceous plant 20–40 centimetres (7.9–15.7 in) high. The 4-5 basal leaves are oblong-lanceolate, with a length of about 8 cm and arranged in a rosette, the color is green with purplish brown spots. The cauline leaves are sheathing the stem, with yellowish lanceolate bracts. The inflorescence comprises 5 to 30 small flowers. Their color varies from creamy white or pale yellow to various shades of pink and purple in some varieties. The lateral sepals are ovate and erect, the median sepal is slightly leaning forward. The labellum is trilobed, with small spots from orange to purple on the median lobe. The white spur is cylindrical and curved upward, longer than the ovary. The gynostegium is short, obtuse, with pale yellow pollen. This orchid blooms from March to June. The species has a Mediterranean distribution and it is widespread from north-western Africa, south-central and southern Europe to the Caucasus. It is native to: Albania, Bulgaria, Corse, East Aegean Is., France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Krym, North Caucasus, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Orchis provincialis prefers slightly acidic soils of grassland, scrub and woodland, at an altitude of 0–1,750 metres (0–5,741 ft) above sea level. It was first described by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck & Augustin Pyrame de Candolle and then widely published by Giovanni Battista Balbis in Syn. Pl. Fl. Gall. on page 169 in 1806. Orchis is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), occurring mainly in Europe and Northwest Africa, and ranging as far as Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The name is from the Ancient Greek orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids. These terrestrial orchids have root tubers instead of pseudobulbs. They are extremely diverse in appearance. They produce an erect stem. The inflorescence is a cylindrical to globular spike, 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long, with yellow, red to purple flowers. They start flowering at the base, slowly progressing upwards, except for the Monkey orchid (Orchis simia), which flowers in reverse order. The original genus Orchis used to contain more than 1,300 names. Since it was polyphyletic, it has been divided by Pridgeon et al., into several new genera (see Reference): Ponerorchis, Schizodium, Steveniella.