This is a rare member of the O. heldrechii
group that takes its
name from the Aegean island of Chios. It was first described by
Delforge, Onckelinx and Saliaris in 2007 and the origin of its name is
self evident.
O. chiosica
was formerly regarded as endemic to Chios but has now been found on
Samos and probably occurs elsewhere in the Aegean. It is somewhat variable
but in its typical form is quite distinctive showing a distinct
similarity to O. paolina
of southern Italy. Perhaps the key characteristics of the species are
the significant length of the sepals and the forward curve of the
dorsal sepal over the column, The Chios plants seem to exhibit a
difference to the Samos specimens depicted here, in that they
possess longer petals. Perianth colouration is variable, ranging from
virtually white, through pink to green. The appendage is large, forward
pointing and often dark yellow or orange/brown as is the case with the
example pictured here.
On Chios O. chiosica flowers from late April whereas this example from Samos was just appearing in mid April. It is entirely possible that this plant has been misidentified ?
On Chios O. chiosica flowers from late April whereas this example from Samos was just appearing in mid April. It is entirely possible that this plant has been misidentified ?
