O. mattinatae has been indirectly recognized from the Gargano peninsula for many years but until recently was known by several different identities including O. cornuta and O. rhodostephane. The latter misidentification was thought to be part of a disjunct colony west of its normal and restricted Dalmatian range across the Adriatic. This theory never fitted comfortably with many authorities and in 2010 the species was formally described and named O. oestrifera subsp. montis-gargani. Three years later this taxon was further subdivided when it was realised that within this classification, there existed plants with less developed protuberances and which flowered a month later. These plants were formally described as a new species and named O. mattinatae.
This view was not shared by some botanists who asserted that O. mattinatae could be found growing concurrently amongst O. montis-gargani populations and that it was simply a product of natural species variation deserving no more than varietal status. Kreutz in particular, supports full species ranking, citing the existence of pure colonies and a later flowering period. The authors make no comment on the contradictory opinions but are aware of at least one site where in late April the two species can be found in full flower simultaneously. There is no doubt however that O. mattinatae was still blooming in mid May when O. montis-gargani was finished.
O. mattinatae was named after the town on the south coast of the Gargano peninsula from which the species was first described. The photographs come from a colony situated along the road from that town to Vieste and date from late April and mid May.
