Ophrys Speculum

Just found a long time looking for orchid. Ophrys Speculum.

A terrestrial orchid up to 25 cm tall and each inflorescence carries between 2 and 8 large flowers. The plants often grow in groups. In bright sunshine the flowers are highly visible as the light reflects off the speculum in the centre of the lip – it is a bright iridescent purple/blue in colour and very glossy.

Lathyrus ochrus. Muntanya Mala.

Lathyrus ochrus is a annual growing to 0.6 m (2ft). It is in flower from March to June, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. 

Although no records of toxicity have been found for this plant, the seed of some species in this genus contain a toxic amino acid that can cause a severe disease of the nervous system known as 'lathyrism' if they are eaten in large amounts (although small quantities are said to be nutritious)

Bindweed. "Corritjola Borda"

Hedge bindweed or bellbind (Calystegia sepium) with its pure white trumpet flowers is a familiar sight, choking plants in borders and twining around any plant shoot or cane.

According to an old Menorcan superstition if seeds of this plant are placed under the pillow we can have telltale dreams.

Orchids blooming in the Spring.

Anacamptis pyramidalis is practically present on the whole island. At the beginning of summer, it often makes large colonies in meadows.

Its red-violet spike, conical at blooming, is quite distinctive. Flowers are numerous, close to each other showing a three-lobed lip and bearing some small lamellum-shaped excrescences at base. These lamellae are useful in guiding the proboscis of pollinating butterflies. 

According to the wikipedia this orchid is especially common on the Isle of Wight  and was designated the county plant in 2008. In Menorca is quite common too.

The dried and ground tuber gives a fine white powder, called salep. This is a very nutritious sweet starchlike substance. It is used in drinks, cereals and in making bread. It is also used medicinally in diets for children and convalescents.

Abdellah and the blooming of Wild Orchids

Miguel Hernandez was one of the most important intellectuals who lived in Spain in the first half of the twentieth century. Poet and playwright committed to the republic, was tried and sentenced to death by the government of General Franco, although he commuted his death sentence by thirty years of prison which he did not had to suffer because he died of tuberculosis in prison in 1942.

His work often revolves around the drama of death and misfortune and his poem Elegy, dedicated to a great friend, has been set to music by Joan Manuel Serrat in an example of heartfelt sorrow for the lack of a friend.

Abdellah died Tuesday of last week after having worked at the Hotel Almirante for almost forty years. We will miss him so much ...

As a posthumous tribute, Menorca's wild orchids are blooming everywhere in these recent days.

 Ophrys tenthredinifera

  Ophrys lutea

Himantoglossum robertianum

Neotinea conica

 Barlia robertiana

the deceiving Mirror Orchid.

Ophrys speculum is a very beautiful and very rare flower which is hard to spot but worth looking for. It is also called Ophrys ciliata (BIVONA-BERNARDI, 1806.)

Lateral sepals bear brown reddish streaks and petals are brown, short and winded onto themselves backward. The lip is characteristic with a shiny blue mirror surrounded by a yellow margin and bordered with long brown reddish hairs. 

The unusual shape and colours are a successful attempt by this orchid to fool the male of a species of scoliid wasp into mistaking it for a female. Both the insect and orchid have brown hairs while the mauve spot looks like the sky being reflected on the wasp’s wing.

The flower also produces a chemical similar to pheromone that is produced by the female wasp. The deception is so complete that the male scoliid wasp lands excitedly on to the flower and attempts to mate with it.

Mimicking female insects is a strategy used by insect orchids to attract male insects. In most species, the insects mimicked are bees and wasps. 

Blooming from March to May. The mirror orchid is found across the Mediterranean region, from Portugal to Lebanon but is absent from Cyprus and northern Italy. On the other hand, it is protected on the whole Spanish territory.

Cala de Sa Torreta to Cala Presili

 Sa Torreta de Tramontana.

This is one of the few Talayotic settlements identified on the north coast of Menorca. It stands in a beautiful natural landscape. The talayot is the stepped type and you can still see the taula enclosure and the remains of various dwellings. Compared to others of its kind, the taula enclosure is quite small. The taula is still intact, with some pilasters standing and part of the facade in good condition. It was excavated around 1930 by Margaret Murray, a British archaeologist who pioneered scientific research on Menorca’s Prehistoric era and documented the various objects linked to the rituals held in these enclosures during the post-Talayotic period (650-123 B.C.), including evidence of fire, the remains of the bones of lambs and kid goats, plus amphorae for wine.

The oval-shaped talayot was built just behind the enclosure, on top of the highest point in the settlement, giving it exceptional views over the surrounding countryside. The remains of at least four domestic areas were found next to both structures.
Near the settlement, going towards the beach, you can see the remains of a much older burial site, known as a triple faced tomb, dating from between 1600 and 1300 B.C.

 Favaritx from Cala Tortuga.

Wild Orchids !

 Himantoglossum robertianum

This is the largest orchid species in our fields (it can reach up to 0.5 m in height), hence it is very easy to recognise just because of its size. The leaves are broad and oval; it develops a robust stem which has a very dense spike of flowers. The flowers are also quite largeg with a large, lobulate labellum, and are yellowish or lilac. It lives along the side of the pine woods and garrigues (Mediterranean woodland), usually along path-sides. It flowers in February and in March. Not really common in Menorca, and very located in a few areas only.

 Neotinea Lactea (Milky Orchid)

It is a small plant, growing up to 25cm in height, but it has a very dense infloresence which is egg-shaped when the flowers are fully open. The Milky Orchid grows in open grassy places and meadows, where it blooms from the end of February to tbe beginning of April.

Orchid hunting at Cala Pilar

I knew this was a propitious area for it and also it was the right time -second week in March- so I went to Cala Pilar to try to fond any specimen of Orchid.

 Cala Pilar shows a wild and ragged beauty.

Ophrys tenthredinifera.

Ophrys tenthredinifera, the sawfly orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey The common name refers to a purported resemblance between the flower and the sawfly, a wasp-like insect.

 Quercus Ilex

Quercus ilex, the evergreen oak, holm oak, or holly oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly. It is a member of the white oak section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer.

 The wood is hard and tough, and has been used since ancient times for general construction purposes as pillars, tools, wagons (Hesiod, Works and Days 429), vessels, and wine casks. It is also used as firewood, or in charcoal manufacture.

It's been a very long walk for Panxo who has been sleeping in the car all the way back.

Black-winged stilt and Dracunculus

The black-winged stilt, common stilt, or pied stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family. (Recurvirostridae).

 Adults are 33–36 cm long. They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females' backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter

Dracunculus is a genus of 3 species of a tuberous perennial of the family Araceae. They are characterised by a large purple spathe and spadix, often produced in advance of the pedate, dark green leaves often with white mottling. The open spathe is usually accompanied by a foul smell.

The species native in Menorca is Dragons Mouth Arum (Dracunculus Muscivorus). The common name refers to the unique and powerful scent! 'Probably the most disgusting flower I have ever encountered...' was one group member's reaction to seeing this rare relative of the common Dragon Arum and the word 'muscivorus' means fly-eating. but it merely attracts them with that dead meat scent to spread the pollen, as it happens with other Arums.

Both pictures were shoted by Ms. Carol Crawford, Guest, Ecologist and Artist.

Dittrichia viscosa. Estancia d'es Prat.

My initial idea of photographing  flowering Spiranthes Spiralis, which is one of the few orchids that bloom in autumn in Menorca, was ruined when I realized the dryness of the grounds.

Anyway, a stroll through the north of Es Mercadal finds always some small reward.

Dittrichia viscosa, also known as False Yellowhead, Sticky Fleabane, Woody Fleabane and Yellow Fleabane, is a flowering plant in the daisy family.

This perennial plant is common throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Originally it was found mainly in dry riverbeds and abandoned fields up to a height of 1.500 m. Nowadays it is quite common in roadsides and ruderal habitats, even in urban areas. It is considered an invasive species in Australia. The False Yellowhead is a tough plant, very resistant to adverse conditions and degraded environments. It is important as food for the caterpillars of certain butterflies and moths, like Ioana iolas.

Despite the fresh-looking green color of its leaves and its attractive inflorescence,  this plant is sticky and has a certain smell that most people find unpleasant. It contains an essential oil and has been used in traditional medicine since ancient times, especially in the Levant, as an astringent.

It is an important plant in Catalan tradition, often mentioned in adages and proverbs. One adage says that: "els raïms són madurs quan floreixen les olivardes.", the grapes are ripe when the Yellow Fleabane blooms.

 Estancia d'es Prat.

Binixems to Subaida.

It was a beautiful morning. Sunny and warm. The route outlined below is about six miles and runs along rural tracks through meadows and woods.

 

The road here is quite narrow, so the cars should be left at the shrine of Binixems. From here, leaving the little church on the right and keep walking until you find on the right hand side a track with the name "Cami den Rossi". From this point up to Subaida the route passes through an area with very diverse wildlife.

Asparagus acutifolius, common name Wild Asparagus, is an evergreen perennial plant belonging to the genus Asparagus of the Liliaceae family. The Latin name acutifolius of this species, meaning "thorny leaves", derives from the characteristics shape of the leaves, a quite common feature in the typical plants of the Mediterranean.

Each spring many people in the island collect them on tracks and sidewalks. The next step is a homemade quiche with wild asparagus.

A new chapter in my (photographic) Menorcan Orchid Hunting.

 

Ophrys tenthredinifera is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean.  This orchid has rose coloured sepals that contrast with the exterior labellum, which is yellow in colour and trapezoidal in form. This labellum is necked with a small raised protuberance.

 Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis; also known as red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock) is a low-growing annual plant. The native range of the species is Europe and Western and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally.

 Blue-flowered plants (A. arvensis Forma azurea) are common in Menorca.

 Subaida. One of the most extensive farming estates of the island and well known for the quality of the cheese they make, very appreciated by restaurants and cheesemongers.

The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly found in the borders of woodland throughout much of the Paleartic ecozone. In North Europe, Central Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, Russia and Central Asia.

The speckled wood occupies a diversity of grassy, flowery habitats in forest, meadow steppe, forest, woods, glades, alongside hedges and and in wooded urban parks. It is found up to 1500 m. above sea level.

Orchid hunting

A long time ago, being an orchid hunter wasn’t just for orchid lovers. It was a real profession. During the 18^th century this profession reached a new peak. Because of the high demand for orchids, people went in search for these plants in the wild. And back then, the places where orchid hunting took them were very dangerous. In fact, people lost limbs, got eaten by animals, disappeared, and even died because of the danger that came with orchid hunting.

There was a story about a group of people who went to the Philippines in 1901 to search for wild orchids. There were eight of them that started the journey, but only one came back alive. One was said to be eaten by tigers. Another one was said to be burned alive, and the other five just disappeared.

Another story tells of a group of hunters who went to Papua New Guinea. Before their journey finished, their group was captured by the natives. Two of them were even beheaded. Lucky for the other members there was a rescue party sent to save them.

Orchid hunting is usually synonymous with steamy jungles and not Minorcan grasslands, but in our island we have our own modest collection of native orchids, which like their tropical cousins, one has to look carefully.

For months I wanted to find a day to dedicate to this particular "orchid hunting" which in my case does not involve collecting the plant but only to take pictures of it.

 

Ophys Lutea: Broad asymmetric lateral sepals, dorsal sepal lowered. Extended petals, yellow or with a blue-grey or brown spotted velvety macula. Pollinated by male Andrena bees. This species is notable among Ophrys for the fact that the pollinating bees sit on the labellum facing away from the pollinaria instead of facing towards them, and thus collect the pollinaria with their abdomen.

 

Orchis tridentata (Three-toothed orchid) is a species of orchid found in southern Europe from Spain to Turkey and Lebanon. This orchid favors grassy places, woodland, scrub and maqui