Orchis morio

Some orchids ,foam a ground leaf rosette in the fall and their leaves keep adding in growth slowly throughout the winter . The aboveground development of the plants is thus very long,extending to 7-8 months .The cause of this phenomenon consists inthe Mediterranean orgin of these species

O.morio is quite variable in appearance and morphology ;it creates a large number of subspecies and varities .Its ground leaf rosette gives rise to a 4-16 in/10-40 cm long stalk bearing 5-25 purple or,more rarely ,pink or white flowers. The Latin species name refers to the unobstrusive brown-striped flower helmet resembling a clown's hat (''morio'' means ''clown''). The three-lobe lip is folded along the longitudinal axis and embellished with spots in the axial part .Its backward -pointed spur is 0.4 in/1 cm long . Orchis morio blooms between March and june .In the past ,its adaptiveness made it one of the most widespread European orchids. As it is able to grow on both acid and alkine soils .,its area of habitat was virtually unbroken . Recently ,it has been rapidly receding .The species is very rare and grows only in isolated locations. The overall area of natural habitat is quite extensive and includes Europe ,northern Africa and Asia Minor.