O. ellinicaea
was first described by Kreutz and Tenschert from Kos, Greece in 2011 and its name refers to the Ellinika region of the island.
It is one of the Eastern Mediterranean's rarer Ophrys, occurring only in small numbers on the Aegean island of Kos and perhaps southwest Turkey. O. ellinicaea is included as a full species in Kreutz's 2024 comprehensive orchid guide but it should be acknowledged that research by Paulus and Hirth in 2017 concluded that O. tili and O. ellinicaea are synonymous. Experiments revealed that the mutual pollinator of the two taxons, Eucera cineraria did not distinguish between O. tili from Tilos and O. ellinicaea from Kos. Notwithstanding such thorough research, the authors recognize that O. ellinicaea from Kos does possess some differences from the typical O. tili of Samos and Tilos. Nonetheless, differentiating the two on Kos is difficult and quite where a morphological line can be drawn between them is not fully understood.
When examined closely O. ellinicaea, although a relatively modest flower in size gives the impression of a very heavily built Ophrys with substantial protuberances and an often massive, forward or upward pointing appendage. The protuberances are invariably long and usually muscular, appearing from broad, hunched shoulders either side of the stigmatic cavity. The lip is usually convex with a yellow margin, the basal field orange and the column long. The inflorescence is lax and the widely spaced flowers appear from mid March to mid April.
The pictures date from the second week of April and are from the Antimachia region of Kos.
It is one of the Eastern Mediterranean's rarer Ophrys, occurring only in small numbers on the Aegean island of Kos and perhaps southwest Turkey. O. ellinicaea is included as a full species in Kreutz's 2024 comprehensive orchid guide but it should be acknowledged that research by Paulus and Hirth in 2017 concluded that O. tili and O. ellinicaea are synonymous. Experiments revealed that the mutual pollinator of the two taxons, Eucera cineraria did not distinguish between O. tili from Tilos and O. ellinicaea from Kos. Notwithstanding such thorough research, the authors recognize that O. ellinicaea from Kos does possess some differences from the typical O. tili of Samos and Tilos. Nonetheless, differentiating the two on Kos is difficult and quite where a morphological line can be drawn between them is not fully understood.
When examined closely O. ellinicaea, although a relatively modest flower in size gives the impression of a very heavily built Ophrys with substantial protuberances and an often massive, forward or upward pointing appendage. The protuberances are invariably long and usually muscular, appearing from broad, hunched shoulders either side of the stigmatic cavity. The lip is usually convex with a yellow margin, the basal field orange and the column long. The inflorescence is lax and the widely spaced flowers appear from mid March to mid April.
The pictures date from the second week of April and are from the Antimachia region of Kos.
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