Its home is on Rhodes and adjoining area's of Anatolia but its full range is not known with certainty though assumed to be other of the Aegean islands and Karpathos.
This is a very difficult orchid to identify with certainty and having studied many pictures from several sites it gets no easier. There are however several features which seem to be constant and may be useful pointers :- 1. It is a short but sturdy plant. 2. Its lip margin can vary in depth but is most typically a very bright yellow . 3. The silver/grey crescents at the tip of the speculum are well demarcated and bold. 4 .The sepals and petals distinctly yellowish. 5. the lip is very hirsuit and covered with dark chestnut hairs.
The photo's are from Lesbos and depict a flower that has very recently opened and has therefore not fully recurved at the margins, giving it a flatter appearance than when mature.
