Ophrys

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Ophrys
OphrysApifera.jpg
Bee orchid
(Ophrys apifera var. aurita)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Orchideae
Subtribe: Orchidinae
Genus: Ophrys
L., 1753
Type species
Ophrys insectifera [1]
L., 1753
Synonyms [2]
  • ArachnitesF.W.Schmidt
  • MyodiumSalisb.

The genus Ophrys is a large group of orchids from the alliance Orchis in the subtribe Orchidinae. They are widespread across much of Europe, North Africa, Caucasus, the Canary Islands, and the Middle East as far east as Turkmenistan. [2] [3]

Contents

These plants are remarkable in that they successfully reproduce through pseudocopulation, that is, their flowers mimic female insects to such a degree that amorous males are fooled into mating with the flowers, thereby pollinating them. There are many natural hybrids.

They are referred to as the "bee orchids" due to the flowers of some species resemblance to the furry bodies of bees and other insects. Their scientific name Ophrys is the Greek word for "eyebrow", referring to the furry edges of the lips of several species. [4]

Ophrys was first mentioned in the book "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD).

Biology

They are terrestrial or ground orchids from central to South Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, up to the Caucasus Mountains, but mostly in the Mediterranean region. They have been said to be the most important group[ clarification needed ] of European terrestrial orchids. [5]

During summer, all Ophrys orchids are dormant as underground bulbous tubers, which serve as a food reserve. In late summer/autumn they develop a rosette of leaves. Also a new tuber starts to grow and matures until the following spring; the old tuber slowly dies. The next spring the flowering stem starts to grow. During flowering the leaves have already started to wither. [4]

Ophrys like other orchids are dependent on symbiotic fungi at some point during their life cycle, but especially for germination, which may take months or even years underground. Orchid roots contain Orchid mycorrhiza, coils of fungal hyphae inside orchid root cells. [6]

Transplanting specimens, especially wild specimens, is difficult, sometimes impossible, due to this symbiosis unless a large amount of surrounding earth is also taken with the plant.[ citation needed ] All orchids are protected under CITES II and should not be removed or disturbed in habitat.

The shiny, basal leaves have a green or bluish color. Two to twelve flowers grow on an erect stem with basal leaves. [5] These species are successfully cultivated by specialist growers of terrestrial orchids and are reported to be difficult to grow, being sensitive to rotting and damping off diseases if not properly subjected to a cool and dry aestivation period over the summer months with no water. [4]

Pollination

Orchids of the genus Ophrys use sexual deception to attract pollinators to their flowers. In sexual deception, an orchid attracts male pollinators by producing the sex pheromone of virgin female pollinators in addition to providing visual and tactile cues. [7] These signals stimulate mating behavior in the male pollinators, which then attempt copulation, called “pseudocopulation”, with the orchid labellum. [8] During pseudocopulation, pollen from the flower's column becomes attached to some part of the pollinator, usually the head or abdomen, and the pollinator inadvertently carries and transfers this pollen to other flowers when they are once again enticed into pseudocopulation. [9] [10] [11] While the morphological cues such as the shape and texture of the labellum play a role especially at close range in inducing the pollinator mating behavior, the orchid's pheromone mimic, or allomone, has been shown to play the most important role in enticing pollinators to the flower. [12] [13] [5]

The allomone produced by an orchid is specific to its pollinator, of which it usually only has one. [14] [15] [16] The allomone is a mixture of alkenes and alkanes. [17] There are one or more active species in this mixture that account for the attraction of pollinators. [18] Pollinators and orchids use the same chemical compounds in the same absolute amounts in their pheromones and allomones, respectively. [19]

Every Ophrys orchid has its own pollinator insect and is completely dependent on this species for its survival. Duped males are less likely to return and may ignore other plants of the same species. Only about 10% of an Ophrys population gets pollinated. This is enough to preserve the population, since each Ophrys orchid produces about 12,000 minute seeds. [4]

Species

Almost 2,000 names have been proposed for species, subspecies, and "nothospecies" (i.e. species of hybrid origin) within the genus. [20] The number of species recognized varies very widely between authorities. Flora Europaea in 1980 and Pedersen & Faurholdt in 2007 listed about 20 species in Europe as a whole; [21] [22] Buttler in 1991 increased this to 53 for slightly larger geographical area; [23] Delforge in 1995 gave a total of 130 species. [24] By contrast, a molecular phylogenetic study in 2008 suggested that there were around 10 distinguishable groups. [25]

The need for further study is indicated. As of May 2024, this article follows the lead of Kew Botanical Garden's, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families in provisionally recognizing the following taxa: [20]

Ophrys apifera (bee orchid) Orchidaceae - Ophrys apifera-4.JPG
Ophrys apifera (bee orchid)
Ophrys bombyliflora (bumblebee orchid) Ophrys bombyliflora Mallorca 01.jpg
Ophrys bombyliflora (bumblebee orchid)
Ophrys fusca (sombre bee-orchid) Ophrys fusca Mallorca 02.jpg
Ophrys fusca (sombre bee-orchid)
Ophrys lutea (yellow bee-orchid) Ophrys lutea (flower).jpg
Ophrys lutea (yellow bee-orchid)
Ophrys reinholdii (Reinhold's bee-orchid) Ophrys reinholdii Rhodos 05.jpg
Ophrys reinholdii (Reinhold's bee-orchid)
Ophrys speculum (mirror bee orchid) Ophrys speculum (flower detail).jpg
Ophrys speculum (mirror bee orchid)
Ophrys tenthredinifera Ophrys tenthredinifera (flower).jpg
Ophrys tenthredinifera
Ophrys sulcata - MHNT Ophrys sulcata MHNT.jpg
Ophrys sulcata - MHNT

Related Research Articles

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Dactylorhiza is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Its species are commonly called marsh orchids or spotted orchids. Dactylorhiza were previously classified under Orchis, which has two round tubers.

<i>Ophrys lutea</i> Species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae

Ophrys lutea, the yellow bee-orchid, is a species of orchid native to southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, the range extending from Portugal and Morocco to Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudocopulation</span> Biological process

Pseudocopulation describes behaviors similar to copulation that serve a reproductive function for one or both participants but do not involve actual sexual union between the individuals. It is most generally applied to a pollinator attempting to copulate with a flower. Some flowers mimic a potential female mate visually, but the key stimuli are often chemical and tactile. This form of mimicry in plants is called Pouyannian mimicry.

<i>Orchis</i> Genus of orchids

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<i>Ophrys insectifera</i> Species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae

Ophrys insectifera, the fly orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus Ophrys. It is remarkable as an example of the use of sexually deceptive pollination and floral mimicry, as well as a highly selective and highly evolved plant–pollinator relationship.

<i>Ophrys sphegodes</i> Species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae

Ophrys sphegodes, commonly known as the early spider-orchid, is a species of sexually-deceptive orchid native to Europe and the Middle East. It is a very varied species with many subspecies recognised.

<i>Dactylorhiza maculata</i> Species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae

Dactylorhiza maculata, known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to Russia. It is also found in Algeria, Morocco, and western Siberia.

<i>Himantoglossum</i> Species of orchid

Himantoglossum is a genus of orchids native to the Canary Islands, Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. Its members generally have a labellum which is divided into three parts, of which the middle part is the longest.

<i>Dactylorhiza romana</i> Species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae

Dactylorhiza romana, the Roman dactylorhiza, is a species of orchid. It is native to the Mediterranean Region of southern Europe and northern Africa, the range extending eastward to Iran and Turkmenistan.

<i>Ophrys ferrum-equinum</i> Species of plant

Ophrys ferrum-equinum, the horseshoe bee-orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to Albania, Greece, and Turkey, including Crete and other islands of the Aegean. It owes its species name to the characteristic shape of a silver horse-shoe on the brown petal.

<i>Ophrys fusca</i> Species of plant in the family Orchidaceae

Ophrys fusca, commonly known as the sombre bee-orchid or the dark bee-orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to western Asia. Most subspecies of the Ophrys fusca are pollinated by males Andrena bees.

<i>Ophrys omegaifera</i> Species of orchid

Ophrys omegaifera, the omega bee-orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and Morocco to Syria.

<i>Ophrys reinholdii</i> Species of orchid

Ophrys reinholdii is a species of orchid. Its native range from Croatia in southeastern Europe to northwestern Iran in western Asia, including Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

<i>Ophrys umbilicata</i> Species of orchid

Ophrys umbilicata is a species of orchid found from Albania to Iran, including Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Cyprus.

<i>Ophrys scolopax</i> Species of orchid

Ophrys scolopax, known as the woodcock bee-orchid or woodcock orchid, is a species of terrestrial orchid found around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, from Morocco and Portugal to Hungary and Iran.

<i>Ophrys argolica</i> Species of orchid

Ophrys argolica, the late spider orchid, or Argolian bee-orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to Greece, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. The epithet "argolica" refers to the Argolia region of Greece, southwest of Athens.

<i>Ophrys kotschyi</i> Species of orchid

Ophrys kotschyi, the Cyprus bee orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to Greece and Cyprus.

<i>Ophrys speculum</i> Species of orchid

Ophrys speculum, the mirror orchid, is a species of Ophrys distributed throughout the Mediterranean that is pollinated exclusively by a single species of scoliid wasp.

<i>Ophrys sphegodes <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> taurica</i> Subspecies of flowering plant

Ophrys sphegodes subsp. taurica, with many synonyms, including Ophrys caucasica, is a subspecies of orchid native from southeast Europe through the Caucasus to Iran. As Ophrys caucasica, it has been recorded in numerous areas throughout Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia. Local names include Armenian: Սարդակիր Մեղվակիր, romanized: Sardakir mexvakir, Azerbaijani: xarı-bülbül and Georgian: ფუტკრის-დედა, romanized:put'k'ris-deda.

<i>Ophrys holosericea</i> Species of plant in the family Orchidaceae

Ophrys holosericea, the late spider orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to western and central Europe and the Mediterranean region. There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this species and the correct spelling of its name.

References

  1. ↑ Jarvis, Taxon 41: 566 (1992)
  2. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ↑ Altervista Flora Italiana, Ophrys
  4. 1 2 3 4 Pridgeon, Alec (1992). The Illustrated encyclopedia of orchids . Timber Press. ISBN   978-0-88192-267-7. OCLC   28182298.
  5. 1 2 3 Dressler, Robert (1990). The orchids : natural history and classification. Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-87526-5. OCLC   21301257.
  6. ↑ Schweiger, Julienne M.‐I.; Bidartondo, Martin I.; Gebauer, Gerhard (April 2018). Field, Katie (ed.). "Stable isotope signatures of underground seedlings reveal the organic matter gained by adult orchids from mycorrhizal fungi". Functional Ecology. 32 (4): 870–881. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13042. ISSN   0269-8463.
  7. ↑ Schiestl, F. P. (2005). "On the success of a swindle: pollination by deception in orchids" (PDF). Naturwissenschaften. 92 (6): 255–264. Bibcode:2005NW.....92..255S. doi:10.1007/s00114-005-0636-y. hdl: 20.500.11850/32223 . PMID   15931514. S2CID   24626163.
  8. ↑ Schluter et al. 2009
  9. ↑ Borg-Karlson, A.-K. (1990). "Chemical and ethological studies of pollination in the genus Ophrys (Orchidaceae)". Phytochemistry. 29 (5): 1359–1387. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(90)80086-v.
  10. ↑ Gögler, J.; Stökl, J.; Sramkova, A.; Twele, R.; Francke, W.; Cozzolino, S.; Cortis, P.; Scrugli, A.; Ayasse, M. (2009). "Ménage à Trois — Two Endemic Species of Deceptive Orchids and One Pollinator Species". Evolution. 63 (9): 2222–2234. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00712.x. PMID   19473395.
  11. ↑ Stokl, J.; Schluter, P. M.; Stuessy, T. F.; Paulus, H. F.; Fraberger, R.; Erdmann, D.; Schulz, C.; et al. (2009). "Speciation in sexually deceptive orchids: pollinator-driven selection maintains discrete odour phenotypes in hybridizing species". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 98 (2): 439–451. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2009.01279.x.
  12. ↑ Schiestl 2005
  13. ↑ Schluter et al. 2009
  14. ↑ Ayasse et al. 2007
  15. ↑ Gogler et al. 2009
  16. ↑ Schluter et al. 2009
  17. ↑ Schiestl and Cozzolino 2008
  18. ↑ Vereeken and Schiestl 2008
  19. ↑ Schiestl 2008
  20. 1 2 Search for "Ophrys", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , retrieved 2012-03-29
  21. ↑ Tutin, T. G.; Heywood, V.H.; Burges, N.A.; Moore, D.M.; Valentine, D.H.; Walters, S.M. & Webb, D.A., eds. (1980), Flora Europaea, Vol. 5, Cambridge University Press, ISBN   978-0-521-20108-7
  22. ↑ Pedersen, H.Æ. & Faurholdt, N. (2007), Ophrys : The Bee Orchids of Europe, Richmond, Surrey, UK: Kew Publishing, ISBN   978-1-84246-152-5
  23. ↑ Buttler, Karl Peter (1991), Field Guide to Orchids of Britain and Europe, Swindon: Crowood, ISBN   978-1-85223-591-8
  24. ↑ Delforge, Pierre (1995), Orchids of Britain and Europe, transl. Christine Grey-Wilson, London: HarperCollins, ISBN   978-0-00-220024-0
  25. ↑ Devey, D. S.; Bateman, R.M.; Fay, M.F. & Hawkins, J.A. (2008), "Friends or Relatives? Phylogenetics and Species Delimitation in the Controversial European Orchid Genus Ophrys", Annals of Botany, 101 (3): 385–402, doi:10.1093/aob/mcm299, PMC   2701817 , PMID   18184645
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