This ophrys was first described in 2007 by Pierre Delforge as one of four new species, three of
which were thought at the time to be endemic to the island of Chios (the others being O. pelinaea,
O. orphanidea and O. chiosica). O. pelinaea was later discovered to be rather more widespread
and it seems O. masticorum is similarly commoner than was originally thought. One of the area's where the species has now been noted is Mount Hymettus near Athens.
The plant is tall and relatively sturdy though the inflorescence is somewhat lax. It doesnt appear
to be particularly uncommon and given that it's a quite striking orchid, it seems strange that it
escaped recognition for so long, especially as Chios is such a well botanized island.
O. masticorum can be variable but obligingly demonstrates three key features, which in combination, point fairly conclusively to its identity. 1 :- Large sepals 2:- Dorsal sepal strongly inclined forward in a very similar way to O. lapethica 3 :- The lip slope's sharply down and in from a waisted middle lobe. Photo's 1,2,3 and 4 are from Mount Hymettus and the remainderfrom Chios with the exception of 6 which is from Lesbos and although matching the identification criteria above, doesnt quite look right ?
O. masticorum takes its name from the municipality of Mastichochoria whose municipal capital is Pyrgi and it was on the outskirts of this town thatthe Chios orchids were photographed in the first week of April 2008. By far the most important industry of this area is the growing of masticha. The benign cultivation methods used in growing this tree are an important factor in keeping Chios as orchid rich as it undoubtedly is. (Most crucially - shallow tilling)
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