Orchis spitzelii (Orchis spitzelii)
Description
Orchis spitzelii is a species of orchid found from Sweden (Gotland), eastern Spain to the Caucasus and northwestern Africa. Specifically, it is native to northern Europe (Sweden), central Europe (Austria and possibly extirpated in Germany), southwestern Europe (the Balearic Islands, Corsica, France, and Spain), southeastern Europe (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Crete, and countries of the former Yugoslavia), northern Africa (Algeria and Morocco), western Asia (Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey), and both the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. These terrestrial orchids have root tubers instead of pseudobulbs. They are extremely diverse in appearance. They produce an erect stem. The inflorescence is a cylindrical to globular spike, 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long, with yellow, red to purple flowers. They start flowering at the base, slowly progressing upwards, except for the Monkey orchid (Orchis simia), which flowers in reverse order. The original genus Orchis used to contain more than 1,300 names. Since it was polyphyletic, it has been divided by Pridgeon et al., into several new genera (see Reference): Ponerorchis, Schizodium, Steveniella. They can be found in tropival Rainforest and semi-desert regions, near the seashore and in the tundra. The majority of neotropical orchid species can be found in southern Central America, northwest South America.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Orchidaceae
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Genus: Orchis
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