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Orchis italica
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 resembles the general shape of a naked man wearing a hat. In Italy, it was 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 and Turkey), and northern Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia).
Orchis adenocheila · Anatolian orchid · Man orchid · Branciforti's orchid · Orchis canariensis · Galilee Orchid · Early Purple Orchid · Military orchid · Pale orchid · Orchis patens · Provence orchid · Small-dotted Orchis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Orchis italica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
