Orchis italica

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Orchidaceae
Subfamilia: Orchidoideae
Tribus: Orchideae
Subtribus: Orchidinae
Genus: Orchis
Subgenus: Orchis subg. Orchis
Sectio: Orchis sect. Italicae
Species: Orchis italica
Name

Orchis italica Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck, Encycl. 4: 600 (1798)
Synonymy

Heterotypic
Orchis militaris Poir., Voy. Barbarie 2: 247 (1789), sensu auct.
Orchis longicruris Link, J. Bot. (Schrader) 1799(2): 323 (1800)
Orchis undulatifolia Biv., Sicul. Pl. 2: 44 (1807)
Orchis tephrosanthos var. undulatifolia (Biv.) Ker Gawl., Bot. Reg. 5: t. 375 (1819)
Orchis simia var. undulatifolia (Biv.) Webb, Iter Hispan.: 9 (1838)
Orchis fusca var. stenoloba Coss. & Germ., Fl. Descr. Anal. Paris: 550 (1845)
Orchis welwitschii Rchb.f. in H.G.L.Reichenbach, Icon. Fl. Germ. Helv. 13–14: 183 (1851)
Orchis purpurea var. stenoloba (Coss. & Germ.) Willk. in M.Willkomm & J.M.C.Lange, Prodr. Fl. Hispan. 1: 167 (1861)
Orchis purpurea subsp. stenoloba (Coss. & Germ.) K.Richt., Pl. Eur. 1: 267 (1890)
Orchis italica f. albiflora Nicora ex Fiori & Paol. in A.Fiori & al., Fl. Italia 1: 243 (1896)
Orchis italica f. breviloba Halácsy, Consp. Fl. Graec., Suppl. 1: 100 (1904)
× Orchiaceras welwitschii (Rchb.f.) E.G.Camus, Monogr. Orchid.: 77 (1908)
Orchis italica f. maculata Soó in G.Keller & al., Monogr. Iconogr. Orchid. Eur., ed. 2: 154 (1932)
Orchis longicruris subsp. longipenis Font Quer & P.Palau, Collect. Bot. (Barcelona) 4(2): 209 (1954)
× Orchiaceras bivonae nothovar. welwitschii (Rchb.f.) P.Silva, Agron. Lusit. 34: 183 (1972 publ. 1973)
Orchis italica var. fontinalis F.M.Vázquez, J. Eur. Orch. 40: 709 (2008)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Europe
Southwestern Europe
Baleares, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Southeastern Europe
Albania, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Sicilia, Yugoslavia.
Africa
Northern Africa
Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.
Asia-Temperate
Western Asia
Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Turkey.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Lamarck, J.-B. (ed.) 1797–1798. Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique. Tome 4. 764 pp. H. Agasse, Paris. BHL Reference page. : 600.
Kretzschmar, H., Eccarius, W. & Dietrich, H. 2007. Die Orchideengattungen Anacamptis, Orchis, Neotinea. EchinoMedia-Verlag, Bürgel. Table of contents. ISBN 978-3937-10711-0. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Orchis italica in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 August 12. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Orchis italica in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 August 12. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Orchis italica. Published online. Accessed: 12 August 2019. Reference page.
The Plant List 2013. Orchis italica in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2019 August 12.
Tropicos.org 2019. Orchis italica. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 12 August 2019.

Vernacular names

العربية: سحلب إيطالي
Deutsch: Italienisches Knabenkraut
français: Orchis d'Italie
עברית: סחלב איטלקי
italiano: Uomo nudo
日本語: オルキス・イタリカ
slovenščina: Laška kukavica
中文: 意大利红门兰

Orchis italica, the naked man orchid or the Italian orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean Basin.[2] It gets its common name from the lobed lip (labellum) of each flower which mimics the general shape of a naked man. In Italy, it is believed that the consumption of the plant is conducive to virility.[3] It prefers partial shade and low nutrient soil, and flowers in April. Orchis italica grows up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in height, with bright pink, densely clustered flowers.
Distribution

Orchis italica is commonly found in large clusters in the Mediterranean region.[4] It is native to southwestern Europe (Balearic Islands, Portugal, Sardinia, and Spain), southeastern Europe (Albania, Greece, Italy, Crete, Sicily, and countries of the former Yugoslavia), western Asia (Cyprus, the East Aegean Islands, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Turkey), and northern Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia).[5]

References

"The Plant List 2013: Orchis italica Poir". Royal Botanic Garden Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
Q Farms (28 July 2012). "Orchis italica or The Naked man orchid". Farming & Agriculture. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
"In Orchids, myth and folk medicine meet". National Geographic. No. December 2019.
"Orchis italica - Naked man orchid, Italian orchid". First-Nature.com. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
"Orchis italica". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 February 2016.

Plants of Cyprus