Orchis pauciflora

Another representative of yellow -flowered Orchis. besides the color of the flowers ,it also sttands out by the dis proportion between the small leaf resette and the large inflorescence .Between 4-9 leaves reaching lengths of only 1.6 -2.8 in/4-7 cm are arranged in an unobtrusive ground rosette . The plants inflorescence is uaually sparse with few flowers and brought by the stalk to a height of 4-10 in/10-25 cm .The tepals are pale yellow and complement nicely the deep -yellow or greenish -yellow broadned lip. The lip's axil part is embellish with dark spots arranged usually in two raws .O. pauciflora is a hard species to determine -sometimes it is considered a mere variety of O.provincials . It blooms between March and June ,solely on the alkaline soils of infertile meadows and sparse bushy socities .Its natural habitat includes the central and eastern regions of the Mediterranean.