home

Ophrys apifera var. trollii - Wasp Orchid

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Liliopsida - Order: Orchidales - Family: Orchidaceae

Wasp Orchid, Ophrys apifera var, trollii

Picture by kind permission of Anne Horsfall

This strange variant of the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera has a rather pointed lip which is greenish yellow and mottled with brown markings. It puts in an occasional appearance throughout the range of the Bee Orchid, and plants with pale, almost white sepals also occur from time to time.

There are more examples of the Wasp Orchid on our Bee Orchid page...

Flowering times

This orchid flowers from April to May, and the specimen shown on this page was photographed in Cyprus.

Etymology

The genus name Ophrys comes from Greek and means 'eyebrow' - a reference to the hairy fringe of the lip of the flower of many orchids in this genus. The specific epithet apifera means 'bearing bees', a reference to the bee-like appearance of the flowers, while the variety name trollii honours the German botanist Wilhelm Troll (1897 - 1978).


Sue Parker's latest ebook is a revised and enlarged edition of Wild Orchids in The Burren. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...

Sue Parker's new ebook is a comprehensive and fully revised edition of her acclaimed field guide to the Wild Orchids of Wales. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...

Wild Orchids of the Algarve, how, when and where to find them

Sue Parker's 5-star acclaimed field guide to the Wild Orchids of the Algarve is now available as an ebook. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...


Please Help Us: If you have found this information interesting and useful, please consider helping to keep First Nature online by making a small donation towards the web hosting and internet costs.

Any donations over and above the essential running costs will help support the conservation work of Plantlife, the Rivers Trust and charitable botanic gardens - as do author royalties and publisher proceeds from books by Pat and Sue.

© 1995 - 2024 First Nature: a not-for-profit volunteer-run resource

Please help to keep this free resource online...

Terms of use - Privacy policy - Disable cookies - Links policy