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What are these Italian Orchids : summer 2010

by (Brandon)

do you know the name of these Italian Orchids? would love to know.....

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wild italian orchid
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Here is two types of orchids I seen walking up the mountain road to Corciano, Italy from the Villa I was lucky to stay at last summer....growing wild along the side of the road. <br/> <br/>The taller orchid was rather tall something close to 2 feet tall as I recall.The shorter orchid the one with roundish petals was 12 inches or shorter and I seen on this same path / road two color versions the pinkish one and a white one.(Alba) <br/> <br/>Would love to know the name / type of orchids if anyone out there knows.

Tags

Italy, Orchids, wild orchids, wild flowers, huge surprise

answers

I don&#x27;t have an answer for you, but these are beautiful photos!!
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Strayer commented on 03/25/11
Thank You I loved stumbling across these on my walk and I love sharing my photos.
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Brandon replied: on 04/24/11
...regarding the other orchid identification, it is a &#x27;mouth full!&#x27; The botanic name is Himantoglossum hircinum subsp. adriaticum, common name Adriatic lizard orchid. It is a very rare plant, so you were fortunate to &#x27;shoot&#x27; it ;-). from the Orchids of Europe website &quot;Only recognised as distinct from Himantoglossum hircinum in 1978 and so its distribution is still not clearly established. Recorded from the former Yugoslavia and Italy, and perhaps also present elsewhere.&quot;
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cajunbarry commented on 02/11/11
I am so happy to have a name for these I was so taken with them while my traveling companions didn't seem to see them or a reason to be excited for finding them.... I didn't know them to be rare in any way just extremely stunning growing in the ditch along a mountain vineyard in Perugia, Italy. Thank you so much. Brandon
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Brandon replied: on 04/24/11
Hi Brandon, <br/> To my knowledge, these are both terrestrial a.k.a. ground orchids that grow in the soil rather than epiphytically like most &quot;air plants&quot; do. The smaller flower looks to me like a species of Ophrys, which is also called the bee, insect, or &#x27;false spider&#x27; orchid among other common names. <br/> I&#x27;m still researching the other one, please stay tuned! <br/>Barry Landry, ASLA <br/>
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cajunbarry commented on 02/11/11

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