Serapias

Linnaeus ,Sp. Pl. (1753), 949.

Platanthereae. V, VI,VII. Egypt .Serapis (an Egyptian god).Dedicated indirectly to an Egyptian god in whose temple pilgrims engaged in licentious living .The name was applied by the Greeks to an orchid (probably Orchis morio) which was reputedly aphrodisiac, and from which Linnaeus undoubtedly took it for the genus in question.