Species name :

Ophrys apifera Hudson
Published in Hudson, Fl. Angl. 340 (1762)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Ophrys arachnites Miller

Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [PlantList] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life ]

Plant Family :

Orchidaceae Juss. (The Orchid Family)
41 species from the Orchidaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Bee Orchid

Maltese name(s) :

Naħla, Naħla griża

Status for Malta :

Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man

Frequency :

Very Common     Common     Frequent     Scarce     Rare     Very Rare     Extinct

Growth form :

Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: GEOPHYTE (bearing underground bulbs, rhizomes, stolons, etc.)
Germination [info]: Monocotyledon

Legal Protection [link]:

Protected by law: schedule VI of legal notice LN311/2006. (strictly protected species)

Red List (1989) :

This species has a threatened status and is listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

Apr

Colour of Flowers:

Brown or Dark

Remarks :

Photos in this profile are not from the Maltese Islands and are intended for educational purposes. If you find in Malta plants which look similar to the ones illustrated below kindly email me and send some photos for verification. This species is very rare and if still exists in our islands, it should be safeguarded. If you would like to submit photos in the website, you will be acknowledged accordingly on the photo. Many thanks to Alenka and Yael for submitting these beautiful photos to MaltaWildPlants.com

Habitat in Europe:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Preferred habitat in Malta:

Garigue and rocky places.

Botanical Description:

Plant 15-50 cm. Basal leaves lanceolate to ovate, obtuse, the cauline similar, acute. Spike 2- to 7(-11)-flowered, lax. Outer perianth-segments (8-)10-15 mm, oblong-ovate, patent or deflexed, purplish or purplish-violet, rarely whitish, green-striate; inner triangular to linear-lanceolate, green or purplish. Labellum 10-13 mm, broadly ovate, strongly convex, brownish- or blackish-purple, rarely yellowish-green or bicolorous, partly papillose, partly villous, with long, yellow, deflexed appendage, or appendage absent; lateral lobes triangular-ovate, deflexed, with externally hairy basal protuberances up to 3 mm; speculum scutelliform at the base, violet or reddish-brown, with a yellow margin, with clear yellow spots towards apex. Connective long-acuminate.

Chromosome number:

2n=36

Distributional range:

S., W. & C. Europe, northwards to N. Ireland.

Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018):

Occurrences in Europe.
(from Flora Europaea pre year 1993):

Albania, Austria and Liechtenstein, Belgium, the Balaeric Islands, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Corse, Crete, Czeck Republic and Slovakia, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Hungary, Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Romania, Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part)

Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) - Country codes

AE(G) Ag Al Au Be Bl Br Co Cr Cy Cz Ga Ge Gr Hb He Ho Hs Hu IJ It Ju Li LS Lu Ma Rf(CS) Rm Sa Si Tcs Tn Tu(A E) Uk(K)