2018 04 Ophrys helenae Renz

Helen’s Bee Orchid (Ophrys helenae Renz) is the only Ophrys species that has no speculum on its flowers, while it is easily identified by its velvet cherry red lip, that usually has a yellowish boarder. Although the lip color and beauty are leading to the idea that the species name comes from Helen of Sparta of the antiquity, Jany Renz, who first found and described the species from Corfu in 1928, named it after his mother, Helen Renz. Ophrys helenae is a Balkan endemic, with a center of distribution in NW Greece, currently expanding its limits east and southwards. It blooms in April and May, and can be found among shrubs and forest openings, in full sun and/or semi-shaded sites.