This Ophrys was first described by Renz in 1928 from the island of Cephalonia and named after the Swiss botanist Gottfried Keller. It was originally regarded as simply a variety of O. ferrum-equinum and on the Greek mainland (Epirus only) is frequently to be found growing in close association with this species. These pink sepalled plants are however regarded as untypical. In the Ionian islands, O. gottfriediana exists in pure populations largely away from O. ferrum-equinum.

The species in it's typical form, is endemic to Greece and known with certainty only from the Ionian islands of Cephalonia, Corfu, Ithaca, LefKada and Zante. Reports originating outside these areas were initially thought to relate to isolated variants of O. ferrum-equinum, but it has now become accepted that O. gottfriediana may exist in varietal form, in a broader distribution than was first thought.

O. gottfriediana is unmistakably related to O.ferrum-equinum, though not always particularly similar, being chiefly distinguished by the strongly recurved lip margins which give the labellum a characteristically slender, heart shaped appearance. The perianth also differs in being much paler and greener. It occurs singly or in small numbers rather than the often large colonies that typify O. ferrum-equinum. The pictures are from Cephalonia with the exception of the last, which is from Attica and may well be a case of O. ferrum-equinum mimicry. The penultimate photo depicts a lusus form of O. gottfriediana, barely recognizable as being of that species.