Andalucia Life Fauna and Flora, Flowers of Andalucia Southern Spain
May 2005, Green Winged Orchid, Orchis morio
This month's flower was seen on El Torcal on the 25th March 2005, its identification represented quite a challenge and it may not be quite correct. Definitely a member of the extensive Orchis family with a typical rosette of broad leaves, a flower stalk partially wrapped in leaves and a 'hyacinth' shaped flower, this specimen then displays characteristics of other members of the family like the Spitzel's Orchid (Orchis spitzelii) and the Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula). I eliminated the Early Purple because of the overall shape of the flower; 'hyacinth' rather than 'pyramid', although the individual flowers are very similar, so was left with a choice of two. Both have green stems tinged with red, Spitzel's is common in this region and favours grassy upland areas like Torcal whereas the Green Winged favours undisturbed lower lying grassland. I decided on Green Winged despite the location because that plant has flowers that can vary from purple to almost white but all display a pale central patch dotted with pink or red, but then Spitzel's often has a paler patch as well. The deciding factor was the lack of green on the 'hood' that is fairly pronounced on Spitzel's Orchid.