This is one of seven members of the O. fuciflora group which was first formally described in 1997 from
the Siracusa region of Sicily. O. calliantha is endemic to that island where although it can sometimes
be reasonably plentiful in its site's, it is extremely local in its overall distribution.
Its name means "beautiful flower" and it undoubtedly lives up to this title being both brightly coloured
and distinctively marked. It is perhaps the easiest of the Sicilian fuciflorids to recognize, though as
with the other species, it frequently suffers genetic inteference which can complicate identification.
The final six illustrations depict specimens which exibit non typical features and probably fall into this
category.
The "typical" O. calliantha (as seen in pictures 1 - 10) has pink to purple sepals, matching petals and a
boldly patterned speculum with strong white to lemon yellow lining which can sometimes become more of
a blotch. Anyone familiar with O. candica could be forgiven for thinking they were back in the Aegean
as the superficial resemblance is remarkable. This ophrys has variously been regarded over the years
as a sub species of O. fuciflora, O. oxyrrhynchos and unsurprisingly O. candica.
A fellow Sicilian endemic, O. biancae is an adept impersonater of all its fuciflorid cousins but is both
a significantly smaller flower and a much earlier flowerer. O. calliantha is a relatively late starter
and will be coming into bloom when O. biancae is past its best.
The illustrations are all from the south east of Sicily, east of Ferla and date from the last week of April.
