Anacamptis boryi

Anacamptis boryi
Photo: Helmut Presser, 25/04/2011, near Spili, Crete, Greece

Bory’s Orchid

Anacamptis boryi refers to the French scientist Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (1778-1846). The plant is slender, with a height of 10 to 35. Up to 12 lanceolate leaves form a rosette. The inflorescence is short and numbers about 5 to 20 flowers with downward directed spurs. The two petals are shorter than the sepals. Together they form a loose hood. The labellum is fairly wide and three-lobed. The two pollinia are attached to a commun sticky plate, the viscidium.

Taxonomic discussion

The plant was first described in 1851 by Heinrich Gottlieb Reichenbach (Icones Florae Germanicae et Helveticae). In 1997, due to genetic studies and a new view, Richard M. Bateman and others put the plant to the genus Anacamptis.

White colour of flowers

The flowers of Anacamptis boryi are mostly deeply violet, sometimes pink. White-flowered plants are rather rare.

Habitat, bloom and distribution

Anacamptis boryi can be found on dry grassland, meadows and pastures. Bloom is from April to May. Its distribution is limited to Southern Greece.