Species name :

Ophrys lunulata Parlatore
Published in Parl., Gior. Sci. Sic. 62: 4 (1838)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Ophrys aranifera subsp. lunulata (Parl.) E.G.Camus

Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [PlantList] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life ]

Plant Family :

Orchidaceae Juss. (The Orchid Family)
41 species from the Orchidaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Moon Spider Orchid, Crescent Spider Orchid

Maltese name(s) :

Brimba tal-Qamar, Orkida tal-qamar

Status for Malta :

Subendemic. Found in Malta and neighbouring territories such as in south Sicily, Lampedusa, Pantelleria, etc.

Frequency :

Very Common     Common     Frequent     Scarce     Rare     Very Rare     Extinct

Growth form :

Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: GEOPHYTE (bearing underground bulbs, rhizomes, stolons, etc.)
Germination [info]: Monocotyledon

Legal Protection [link]:

Protected by law: schedule VI of legal notice LN311/2006. (strictly protected species)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

Mar-Apr

Colour of Flowers:

Brown or Dark

Remarks :

Photos in this page are not taken from the Maltese Islands.

Habitat in Europe:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Preferred habitat in Malta:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Botanical Description:

Plant up to 25 cm. Basal leaves 4-6, oblong-lanceolate. Spike 4- to 7-flowered, lax. Perianth-segments lilac, rarely whitish; outer 10-13 mm, ovate to oblong, obtuse, the lateral close to the labellum and deflexed-patent; inner 2/3 as long as or almost as long as the outer, linear-lanceolate. Labellum 10-12 mm, ovate, 3-lobed, the lateral lobes narrow, without or with small basal protuberances, strongly deflexed, the middle lobe with strongly deflexed margin, brown, rarely blackish-purple, with glabrous, greenish or yellow marginal zone, emarginate at apex, with small appendage; speculum crescentic, whitish or lilac to brown in the centre Connective acute.

Distributional range:

. Islands of C. Mediterranean region.

Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018):

Occurrences in Europe.
(from Flora Europaea pre year 1993):

Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta

Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) - Country codes

Si

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