Ophrys cretica

Creten bee orchid

 Photographed Crete

The height of this orchid varies from 4 to 20 inches (10 to 50 cm) with up to 12 flowers per stem. The labellum is typically 10 to 14 mm wide and long. It is found on the S Aegean islands, one area of mainland Greece, Rhodes and of course Crete where it can be locally common during flowering in early April. The pattern on the labellum is very variable as can be seen by looking in the OLD section of this website, the above is not typical as the pattern is usually white on black. Ophrys karpathenthis looks very similar but with a smaller stigmatic cavity.