Ophrys kvarneri Perko & Kerschb. (2003), syn.: Ophrys zinsmeisteri Fuchs & Ziegenspeck, Ophrys scolopax ssp. cornuta (Steven) Camus, Ophrys abchasica (Kmpel) Delforge, Ophrys oestrifera M. Bieb., Ophrys holoserica ssp. holubyana (Andras.) Dostal + many othersWasp Bearing Ophrys (?), Woodcook orchid (?), Horned Ophrys (?); CR: roiasta kokica, DE: Schnephen Ragwurtz, Bremsen- RagwurzSlo.: kvarnersko maje uhoDat.: May 2. 2018Lat.: 45.066446 Long.: 14.447568Code: Bot_1130/2018_DSC2562Habitat: stony grassland, abandoned olive grove; calcareous, skeletal ground; open place, full sun, dry place, flat terrain; elevation 60 m (200 feet); average precipitations ~ 1.000 mm/year, average temperature 13 -14 deg C, sub-Mediterranean phytogeographical region. Substratum: karst soil.Place: West Krk island, south of village Brzac, near the road from village Milohni to Jana harbor, Kvarner bay, Adriatic Sea, Croatia EC. Comment: This beautiful, relatively large flowered ophrys is considered endemic plant of Istria peninsula and Kvarner Bay archipelago consisting of islands Cres, Loinj, Krk and a few smaller island around (northeast Adriatic Sea) (Ref.:1). On island Cres it is not really a rare find. One can find it in abandoned or poorly maintained olive groves and on stony grassland, often next to numerous, narrow dirt-roads surrounded by typical Mediterranean manmade dry stony walls. Taxonomy of genus Ophrys is something special and faraway of anything more or less settled. Some orchidologists recognize over 300 species, subspecies and varieties, others are 'satisfied' with ten or twenty. 'Correct' naming of plants is beyond abilities of (amateur) mortals. There exist few, if any, plant genera where the differences between taxonomic 'lumpers' and 'splitters' are more apparent. Name O. kvarneri is understandably not recognized by all. Many consider it as a synonym of O. zinsmeisteri (Ref.:3) or O. scolopax ssp. cornuta (Ref.:4) or O. holoserica ssp. holubyana (Andras.) Dostal (Ref.5). Two plants were found in this observation.Ref.(1) M.L.Perko & H.Kerschbaumsteiner , Ophrys kvarneri M.L.Perko & H.Kerschb., spec. nov., eine bisher bersehene Art aus Istrien und dem Kvarner-Archipel. Ber. Arbeitskrs. Heim. Orchid. (2003) 20(1): 45-53.(2)
www.ophrys-genus.be/croatia.htm (accessed May 5. 2018)(3) W.K. Rottensteiner, Exkursionsflora fr Istrien, Verlag des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins fr Krnten, (2014), p 924.(4)
www.mittelmeerflora.de/Einkeim/Orchidaceae/scolo_rosa.htm (accessed May 8. 2018)(5) H. Baumann, S. Kuenkele, R.Lorenz, Orchideen Europas, Ulmer (2006), p 164.
Ophrys insectifera ssp. insectifera L., syn.: Ophrys muscifera HudsFly Orchid, DE.: Fliegen-RagwurzSlo.: muholiko maje uhoDat.: June 01. 2013Lat.: 46.38250 Long.: 13.58411Code: Bot_719/2013_DSC6393Picture file names: Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_19.xxx.Dat.: June 01. 2013Lat.: 46.38633 Long.: 13.58417Code: Bot_719/2013_DSC6414Picture file names: Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_10.xxx, Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_14.xxx and from Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_16.xxx to Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_18.xxx.Dat.: June 01. 2013Lat.: 46.38718 Long.: 13.58468Code: Bot_719/2013_DSC6428Picture file names: Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_13.xxx and Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_15.xxx.Dat: June 12. 2013Lat.: 46.35925 Long.: 13.70525Code: Bot_724/2013_DSC6578Picture file names: from Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_11.xxx to Ophrys-insectifera-ssp-insectifera_raw_12.xxx.Habitat: river bank composed of partly overgrown stony calcareous ground, partly scree, light mixed forest but quite open place, Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica, Pinus nigra, Fraxinus ornus dominant trees; flat terrain to moderately steep, east oriented mountain slope, half shade, high air humidity but mostly dry ground, exposed to direct rain, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevation 535-545 m (1.750-1.800 feet), alpine phytogeographical region. Substratum: stony soil.Place: Koritnica valley, right bank of river Koritnica, next to the trail along the river upstream from settlement Monica, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC Comment: Ophrys insectifera ssp. insectifera belongs to a genus, which has very interestingly shaped flowers. The plants simulate different insects by the shape of their flowers and in this way deceive them. The insects try to 'copulate' with the flowers and in this way transport pollen from plant to plant. However, self-pollination is also frequent phenomenon and such is also Ophrys insectifera ssp. insectifera.Genus Ophrysis is typically a warmth loving Mediterranean floral element, but some species, like Ophrys insectifera ssp. insectifera, grow also in the Alps and also much more to the north. The genus is very differently treated by different botanists. Some distinguish over 200 species and subspecies; others recognize only a fraction of this number. In general distinguishing among them is a hard nut even for specialists due to large variability of the shape, colors and hairiness of the flowers. In addition, many fertile hybrids between species and also among hybrids themselves exist. Fortunately, Ophrys insectifera ssp. insectifera is an easily recognized exception in this mess. Its typical anterior lip, which is distinctly tripartite, with its deeply cleft middle section, is a reliable trait, which distinguishes Ophrys insectifera ssp. insectifera from all other species of the genus.Ophrys insectifera ssp. insectifera can be found scattered in all regions of the Alps, but it is nowhere near a common plant. In Austria, north of us, for example, it is considered very rare, highly endangered and in some parts of the country assumed extinct. Also our atlas Ref.:(5) doesn't shows many alpine UTM squares (compared to other regions of Slovenia), where it has been found up to now. All the more I was happy to find this tiny plant in 2013 also in Koritnica valley deeoly in the Julian Alps on at least five different places. Almost twenty plants were blooming on a stretch of river bank not much longer than 1 km, usually growing solitary or in groups of two or three plants.Protected according to 'Uredba o zavarovanih prostoiveih rastlinskih vrstah'Url. RS, t. 46/2004 (Regulation of protection of wild growing plants, Official Gazette of Republic Slovenia, No.:46/2004). Enlisted in the Slovene Red List of rare and endangered species, marked by "V" representing a vulnerable species.Ref.:(1) H. Baumann, S. Kuenkele, R. Lorenz, Orchideen Europas, Ulmer (2006), p 170. (2) M.A. Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald, Exkursionsflora sterreich Liechtenstein, Sdtirol, LO Landesmuseen, Linz, Austria (2005), p 1045.(3) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 2., Haupt (2004), p 1138.(4) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007) (in Slovene), p 776.(5) N. Jogan (ed.), Gradivo za Atlas flore Slovenije (Materials for the Atlas of Flora of Slovenia), CKSF (2001), p 261.(6) H. Haeupler, T. Muer, Bildatlas der Farn- und Bluetenpflazen Deutschlands, Ulmer (2000), p 707.