OPHRYDEM—SERAPIADIN^—OPHRYS zic, 



Reichenbach's fucijera^ is defined as having two hunches, liis genuina having none. 

 This character is a variable one, hunches being present in some individuals and 

 absent from others in several species of Ophrys. The flowers change colour quickly 

 after flowering to light brown or dirty yellow, the column moves down till it lies 

 on the lip, and the withered sepals and petals close up, as in other species of the genus, 

 returning to their original function of protection. According to Camus^ the flowers 

 are scented, especially in the low dry warm mountains of Southern France. It is 

 possible, however, that green-petaled forms of O. arachnitijormis, which is slightly 

 fragrant, have been regarded as O. aranijera. Camus^ mentions 30 named varieties, 

 sub-varieties and forms, mostly founded on very slight and variable characters, such 

 as shades of colour, varying length of various parts, etc. One suspects that several 

 of these might be found growing in one field, and that plants occur combining the 

 characters of two or more of these forms. Anomalous flowers with three anthers, 

 or without petals, or with three lips, or three petals, occasionally occur. 3 



G. E. Smith4 describes a teratological form of O. aranijera found at Ospringe as 

 follows: "In place of a stigma and lip were tliree staminals, each complete, placed 

 upon a triangular base, their anthers and base turned inwards, two combined sepals 

 representing the lip, of which no trace was visible in any of the four flowers on the 

 spike". 



Habitat. Sunny open downs, grassy slopes, etc., on calcareous or marly soils. 

 Flowers April, May and June. 



Distribution. Extremely local, and usually found in colonies. Mostly confined 

 to the southern counties from Kent to Dorset and perhaps Wilts. Dr Druce states 

 {in lit) that he has seen specimens from Northants. (? now extinct), Oxford (1919), 

 and Denbigh. Colwyn Bay, 1 891. Jersey (5.£.C (191 8)). Said to have been formerly 

 found in Essex and Suff"olk. Absent from Scotland and Ireland. 



In Europe it extends from Belgium (where it occurs singly on the coast dunes) 

 and Germany to Spain, Portugal, France, Italy to Turkey, Greece, the Mediterranean 

 islands, and, according to Ascherson and Graebner, Asia Minor. Absent from Algeria 

 and Tunis. 



Ophrys ARANiFERA Huds., F/. Angl. ed. 2, p. 392 (1778). O. sphegodes Mill. 



The proposal to replace it by a name from a gardening dictionary (Miller's (1768)) 

 has not been adopted by any of the monographists of the Orchidace^, or by the 

 most recent Floras of France and Germany. It seems hardly in the interests of science 

 to substitute dead synonyms for living and generally accepted names. The popular 

 name is derived from the resemblance of the lip to the garden spider. 



Fertilisation. See Ophrys. The stalk of the poUinium is nearly straight but 



• Rchb. Icoms, xiii, 89. 2 Camus, Icon. pp. 331-4. 



3 Masters, ]ourn. Linn. Soc. Bot. viii, 209 (1863). 4 Catalogue of Plants S. Kent (1829). 



