This is surely one of Greece's most handsome ophrys, which although rare and very limited in range, can
be numerous in it's favoured stations. One such station is Mount Hymettus (Imitos) to the north
of Athens and this has long been a place of pilgrimage for those botanists wishing to maximise their
chances of finding this elegant, distant relative of the early spider orchid.
O. aesculapii is a member of the O. mammosa group and has survived the lumpers and splitters as a
recognized species/sub species since 1928, although for various reasons (not least geography) the
very similar O. negadensis was hived off in 2001.
It is a highly distinctive orchid and unlikely to be confused with anything else, except where it has been
"led astray" by close contact with other Ophrys. Hybrids are not uncommon and crosses with both
O. ferrum-equinum and O. villosa in particular are regularly encountered.
Its an endemic whose range is entirely within continental Greece, largely to the north of the Corinth
canal but also in the north eastern Peloponnese, through Attica to Euobea. Habitat requirements seem to be undemanding and we have found it prospering in both full sun and comparatively heavy shade Pseudoaranifera is a fewer flowered form with broader speculum and a less noticeably yellow margin.
The photo's are all from Mt Hymettus and taken between the last week of March and the first week of
April.
Reference was made above to this species propensity for hybridisation and the following three pictures illustrate the point. These are all from Mt Hymettus and clearly show the results of close contact with "ferrum-equinum".
