Species name :

Ophrys tenthredinifera subsp. grandiflora(Ten.) Kreutz
Published in Willd., Sp. Pl. 4: 67 (1805)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Ophrys grandiflora Ten.

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) :

Large-flowered Sawfly Orchid, Sicilian Sawfly Orchid

Maltese name(s) :

Naħla kbira

Status for Malta :

Subendemic. Found in Malta and neighbouring territories such as in south Sicily, Lampedusa, Pantelleria, etc.

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 III and 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 :

Mar-Apr

Colour of Flowers:

Pink or Brown

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 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:

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

Botanical Description:

Plant 10-45 cm. Basal leaves ovate to lanceolate, subobtuse or acute, the cauline similar, acute. Spike 3- to 8-flowered, lax. Perianth-segments purplish or purplish-violet, rarely whitish; outer 6-12 mm, broadly ovate, obtuse, glabrous, concave; inner usually 1/3 as long as the outer, broadly triangular, papillose-velutinous. Labellum (8-)11-14 x 11-14 mm, obovate, square or flabelliform, convex, entire, rarely oblong and emarginate or indistinctly 3-lobed, purplish-brown, velutinous, usually with a wide, yellow, densely hairy marginal zone, with a glabrous appendage, with short, inconspicuous basal protuberances; speculum reduced, often 2-fid, rarely scutelliform, composed of brown spots. Connective obtuse.

Chromosome number:

2n=36

Distributional range:

Mediterranean region, C. & S. Portugal.

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

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

the Balaeric Islands, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), Portugal, 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 Bl Co Cr Cy Ga Gr Hs It Li Lu Ma Sa Si Tn Tu(A E)