O. villosa is the eastern Mediterranean representative of the O. tenthredenifera group and takes it name from
the word villous, meaning hairy. As can be seen from the illustrations, the name is a fitting one, though the extent
of the hairiness can vary significantly. ( Compare photo's 1 and 13 )
With this species its not just the hirsuteness that is variable, just about every other feature seems capable of
divergence, not least the choice of colour scheme's. Size, shape and configuration also vary enormously and yet
it's rarely confused with any other species because no matter how unscientific it may sound, the plant has a jizz
all of its own and is readily recognized. The one flaw in this arguement is in the Aegean basin where it can grow
in association with the newly described species O. leochroma. The flower of this latter species is generally larger, noticeably less hairy around the appendage and with a shorter column.
As already mentioned, the centre of O. villosa's range is the Aegean and from here it extends into the Balkans,
Anatolia, Crete, Cyprus and possibly north Africa. It seldom grows in large colonies but can nonetheless be quite
widespread and abundant.
It is known to exist in a number of forms, many of which are based on geographical differences but it would also
seem that flowering times are an important differentiating factor. We suspect that this variable species will be
the subject of further splitting in the years to come.
The photo's are from the Aegean, Peloponnese, Crete and Attica and are all date between the last week of March and the second in April.
The following pictures feature plants which are clearly aberrent, though whether this is has been caused by genetic or external influences is not known.
