Orchidea – Genus Ophrys

The origin of the name of this genus is controversial, and the most accepted hypothesis derives it from the Greek oprùs (eyebrow), referring to the hairiness of the labellum.
Ophrys are typical in the Mediterranean area, especially in Europe.
Their root system consists of two, rarely three, ovoid tubercles. The stem is fleshy and can measure from 10 to 50 cm in height. The flowers are distant from one another and placed on the upper part of the stem. Their size, which varies from species to species, is of the order of 15x20 mm.
As in all Orchid species, the flowers have bilateral symmetry and are divided in six parts, three outer ones, called sepals, and three inner ones, called petals, which are arranged alternately. Ophrys have more or less elongated lateral petals, with smooth or variously rippled edge, while the petal placed in the lower position (labellum) is very developed and resembles the shape of the abdomen of a female insect, with velvety hairiness and a non-hairy pattern (macula or mirror), which can be more or less elaborate and is characteristic for each species. The attraction exerted by Ophrys on the pollinating insect is sexual and makes use of visual, olfactory and tactile stimuli. The labellum has important distinguishing features depending on the type of insect to be attracted, which also facilitate the classification of species, such as the presence or absence of a basal appendage, called apiculum, and two lateral outgrowths, called gibbets, which, when present, are more or less accentuated. On top of the labellum there are male and female reproductive organs, joined together to form the so-called gynostemium, which in turn is placed above an opening called stigmatic cavity. The area around the gynostemium resembles the head of the female, with the so-called pseudo-eyes placed on either side of the stigmatic cavity and with the basal field below it. The labellum serves as a landing field for the male insect. The male sticks its head inside the stigmatic cavity, which fits it perfectly, and in doing so removes the sticky pollen that hangs from the apex of the gynostemium itself, called rostrum.
The Boboli Gardens are the house of seven species of Ophrys, one hybrid and three colour variants.

 Ophrys apifera
The specific name comes from the Latin apis (bee) and fero (I bear) and alludes to the shape of the flower.
The flower is characterised by very small lateral petals (sepals), often folded back, of a colour that ranges from white to deep pink. The labellum has a globular shape, with conspicuously conical and very hairy gibbets. The rostrum of the gynostemium is acute, long and S-shaped. The apiculum is triangular, turned backwards and hidden under the labellum.
O. apifera is the only species of its genus to prefer self-pollination: pollen sacs tend to come out of their compartments and stretch downwards even before the flowering. Then, if the insect does not visit the flower, they fall into the stigmatic cavity and cause pollination. This peculiarity gives rise to many varieties and also to forms with morphological anomalies.
Two varieties are hosted in the Boboli Gardens:
-         Ophrys apifera var. aurita, with narrow, long, greenish petals.
-         Ophrys apifera var. chlorantha, with completely yellow labellum and white sepals.
The flowering period of O. apifera ranges from May to June, depending on the altitude.
In the Boboli Gardens, several plants can be admired in the Meadows of Ganymede.

Ophrys appennina
The name derives from its presence in most of the Apennine mountains, from Piedmont to Calabria.
It is usually a robust plant with slender stem and sparse inflorescence, consisting of medium-sized flowers. It has white to light pink sepals and small, triangular, elongated pink petals with rounded apex and hairy edges. The labellum is wider than long, trapezoidal, and covered with brown hairiness. The macula presents a simple pattern and occupies the basal part of the labellum. The gibbets are clearly visible, sharpened, pointing outwards; the apiculum is large, yellow, tridentate or pluridentate, pointing forward; the gynostemium is short.
The pollinators are solitary bees of the genus Eucera.
O. appennina blooms in April-May and there are two specimens known in Boboli, respectively in the meadows of Ganymede and Pegasus.

Ophrys classica
According to the describers, it owes its species name to the Latin classis (of the naval fleet), as it was located along the Tyrrhenian coast. It is actually present throughout the Italian peninsula along the Apennine chain.
It is a slender plant with numerous, sparse flowers arranged at the top of the stem. The sepals are of a bright green or whitish green colour. The side petals are oblong, with parallel, wavy edges and truncated ends, of a brownish green colour and darker than the sepals. The labellum is square, very convex, brown, covered with a diffuse reddish-brown and yellowish hairiness at the edges; the macula presents a simple 'H' pattern. The gibbets are very pronounced, rounded, hairy on the outer side, while the apiculum is very small, yellowish green, pointing forward, and inserted in a small notch.
The pollinators are bees of the genus Andrena. The flowers discolour quickly when fertilised.
It flowers from February to the end of April in the meadows of Pegasus, Ganymede and the Upper Botany Garden.

Ophrys funerea
The name is derived from the Latin funereus (funereal), referring to the dark colour of the labellum.
It is widespread in Sardinia and central Italy, from the Ligurian to the Lucanian Apennines, as well as in isolated areas of Piedmont, Lombardy and down to Apulia.
It is characterised by small to medium-sized dark flowers spaced along the stem, with green sepals and lateral petals, and with a longer than wide, convex labellum with three lobes, which is crossed by a longitudinal groove reaching down below the macula. The side lobes are folded downwards. The macula is large, dark, varying from blue to reddish. The hairiness of the labellum is very dense, reddish around the macula and darker (blackish) when descending towards the apex. The yellowish colouring of the edges is incospicuous.
The pollinators are two species of bees of the genus Andrena.
It blooms in May. There is currently only one specimen known in the Boboli Gardens in the meadows of Ganymede.

Ophrys minipassionis
It owes the name to the similarity of its flower with that of O. passionis, but smaller in size.
It can be found from Tuscany to Apulia, but being a newly determined species, the range has yet to be precisely defined.
The plant is robust and slender, with an inflorescence at the apex of the stem consisting of small to medium-sized, sparse flowers. The sepals are green, while the petals are elliptical with parallel edges, truncated at the end, of a darker green than the sepals. The labellum is generally small, very convex and rounded, from dark brown to blackish, with a rust-brown hairiness that becomes yellowish at the edge. The macula has a simple pattern and is similar in colour to the labellum. The apiculum is very small, enclosed in a conspicuous notch.
It flowers from mid-April to mid-May. Only a few plants are currently known in the Upper Botany Garden.

 Ophrys maritima
It owes the name to its presence along the coasts of Liguria and Tuscany, where it can be found also in some interior areas.
The flowers, which are located at the apex of the stem, are relatively sparse and rather large. The sepals are light green, with a darker central vein; the petals are oblong, rectangular, dark green, with parallel, wavy edges and truncated apex. The labellum is convex, oval, rounded and without gibbets, with clearly visible brown hairiness and a thin yellow edge. The pattern of the macula can be simple or very complex. The stigmatic cavity is small and narrow at the base. The gynostemium is inclined over the labellum. The pseudo-eyes are large and greenish.
The apiculum is small and triangular.
It flowers from mid-March to mid-April, and in Boboli has the same distribution of O. classica.

Ophrys romolinii
The name is a tribute to the contemporary Italian naturalist and member of G.I.R.O.S., Rolando Romolini.
It is a robust and slender plant, with large, sparse flowers (from 2 to 8) distributed along the stem. The sepals are of a whitish to pinkish colour, rarely green, with greenish midlines. The petals are elongated, with regular, sharp-edged margins, generally purple in colour and usually more colourful than the sepals. The labellum is large, unique among Ophrys due to its typical saddle-shaped outline (given by the concavity in the longitudinal direction and the raised distal part), blackish, velvety, and characterised by a prominent, long, dense, reddish-brown marginal hairiness. The shield-shaped macula is located towards the end of the labellum and its colour varies from ultramarine blue to purplish red. Other unique features are also the basal field with no demarcation and consequently the open stigmatic cavity, which is higher than wide.
It is blackish in colour and presents a greenish-white area in the centre.
The pollinators are bees of the genus Megachile.
It flowers from mid-April to the end of May. The Garden hosts some plants in the meadows under the Neptune Fountain, around the Fountain of Ganymede, and in the Upper Botany Garden.

Ophrys ×bobolensis
A hybrid between Ophrys classica and Ophrys maritima, it owes its name to the Boboli Gardens, where it was first identified and described.
The formation of hybrids is a fairly frequent phenomenon in wild orchids, due to the use of pollinating insects to transfer gametes from one flower to another. For what concerns the genus Ophrys, to which belongs the hybrid under consideration, the flower resembles the shape of the female of the pollinating insect, which is also attracted by specific odour stimuli. The formation of hybrids is the result of a double “mistake” made by the male insect, which confuses the flowers of more than one species present in the area with its own female version.
In the hybrid described, the size of the flower and the basal field is similar to Ophrys classica, while the pseudo-eyes and the acute angle between gynostemium and labellum are similar to Ophrys maritima. It also presents some intermediate features between the two parent species relating to petals, stigmatic cavity, basal field and macula.
It was found in spring 2020 in the meadows of the Upper Botany Garden, in the vicinity of the species from which it derives, which are present with some specimens in the same flowerbed. The flowering period ranges from the end of March to the end of April.