Orchid Family

Typical Pink and White Orchids

Orchid Family - Orchidaceae

Greater Butterfly Orchid Platanthera chlorantha

Native to almost all of Europe, eastwards through the Caucasus and Turkey to Iran. Plants in Lesvos have greener flowers than those in much of Europe (which are whiter) but there is great variation in this species. Some taxonomists assign Lesvos plants to Platanthera holmboei which occurs further South-east in Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East, while Lesvos plants have also been considered an endemic species, as Platanthera lesbiaca.


Habit	Flowers	Flowers

Flower	Flower	Leaves

Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis

Native throughout much of Europe, North-west Africa and the Middle East.


Habit	Flowers	Flowers

Flowers	Flowers	Flowers	Flower

Bug Orchid Anacamptis coriophora

Native to most of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, eastwards into western Asia.


Habit	Habit	Habit

Flower	Flower	Flower

Holy Orchid Anacamptis sancta

Native to the Aegean islands, eastwards through coastal Anatolia to the Middle East.


Habit	Habit	Flowers

Flower	Flower	Flower	Flower

Loose-flowered Orchid Anacamptis laxiflora

Native throughout most of the European Mediterranean to the Crimea and Cyprus. A species of wet meadows and flushes.


Habit	Habit	Habit	Flowers

Flower	Flower	Flower	Flower

Eastern Green-winged Orchid Anacamptis morio subsp. caucasica

Green-winged Orchid occurs throughout most of Europe to North Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus. The subspecies caucasica is found throughout the Balkan Peninsula, parts of Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus Region. Often found in open pinewoods.


Habit	Habit	Flowers	Flowers

Flower	Flower	Flower	Flower

Pink Butterfly Orchid Anacamptis papilionacea

Native to the Mediterranean Region, eastwards to the Caucasus.


Habit	Habit	Habit	Habit

Flowers	Flowers	Flower	Flower

Early Purple Orchid Orchis mascula

Native to most of Europe, eastwards to Asia Minor and Transcaucasia. Southeastern populations from the Balkans to the Caucasus have sometimes been called Orchis pinetorum, but this distinction seems largely to be based on choice of habitat (pinewoods) rather than any clear, genetic difference.


Habit	Habit	Habit	Flower

Flower	Flower	Leaves	Leaf

Provence Orchid Orchis provincialis

Native throughout much of Mediterranean Europe, eastwards to Turkey and Crimea. Flowers often distinctly yellowish, fading whiter with age. Leaves spotted.