At the Northern edge of the lake Garda, Monte Brione is towering, a distinctive rock massif with steep slopes on three sides. Visiting the area at the end of April you can find green meadows of spring between olive groves and the forest which is dominated by ashes, beeches and holm oaks. At a height of 170 meters, in the lower part of the mountain with a height of 376 meters, a white-flowered Orchis simia is growing, together with five violet-flowered plants of this beautiful orchid species.
In the middle of a rain shower, the monkey orchis is presenting itself in its whole beauty. The white-flowered form is quite rare. I estimate a frequency of 2 albiflora forms among 1000 plants. It’s just a genetic specialty. There is no cumulation in certain regions or biotopes which would indicate a regional evolutionary development.
