Naked man orchid

Description

Orchis italica, the naked man orchid or the Italian orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean Basin. 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. 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. Orchis italica is commonly found in large clusters in the Mediterranean region. 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, Israel, Palestinian Territories and Turkey), and northern Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia). Orchis is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), occurring mainly in Europe and Northwest Africa, and ranging as far as Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The name is from the Ancient Greek orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids. These terrestrial orchids have root tubers instead of pseudobulbs. They are extremely diverse in appearance. They produce an erect stem. The inflorescence is a cylindrical to globular spike, 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long, with yellow, red to purple flowers. They start flowering at the base, slowly progressing upwards, except for the Monkey orchid (Orchis simia), which flowers in reverse order. The original genus Orchis used to contain more than 1,300 names. Since it was polyphyletic, it has been divided by Pridgeon et al., into several new genera (see Reference): Ponerorchis, Schizodium, Steveniella. They can be found in tropical Rainforest and semi-desert regions, near the seashore and in the tundra. The majority of neotropical orchid species can be found in southern Central America, northwest South America.