If ever a species of orchid needed to come with a health warning this is it ! O. leucadica is a common
Ophrys whose range, although centred on Greece is not endemic to that country by virtue of its
existence on the Turkish side of the Aegean basin and also on the Croation island of Hvar.
As if identification of this variable orchid were not difficult enough it readily hybridizes with others
of the Pseudophrys family and we therefore offer this page of illustrations with absolutely no guarantee
that they are the species in question. The study of Pseudophrys has been moving a pace in recent
years and several new species have been recognized, particularly from the Aegean islands of Chios,
Lesbos and Samos which seem to be at the very epicentre of fusca confusion.
Highlighting features of O. leucadica which make identification certain is simply not possible and in
many cases the decision to describe a plant as this species is taken by discounting its probability
of being anything else. With these caveats firmly in place, O. leucadica may be described as a sturdy
Ophrys with pronounced lateral lobes that are well rounded but which can be strongly reflexed and
give a front on impression of a long thin lip (as per photo 4)
It is generally a uniform brown colour with dense hairs and a yellow margin that can range from being
well defined to irregular and vague. The lip can be strongly kinked and resemble a knee joint.
Photograph's are from Chios, Peloponnese and Mt Hymettus and are all dated from the first two weeks
of April.
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