Ophrys pallida Raf., Caratteri 87.

LSID: 648039-1
WCSP: not accepted
GBIF: not accepted

Synonyms
Arachnites pallidus (Raf.) Death., Orchid. Sicul.: 100 (1842).
Ophrys fusca var. pallida (Raf.) Rchb.f. in HGL Reichenbach, Icon. Fl. Germ. Helv. 13-14: 73, 75 (1851).
Ophrys fusca subsp. pallida (Raf.) E.G. Camus in E.G. Camus & A.A. Camus, Iconogr. Orchid. Europe: 293 (1929).
Ophrys pectus Mutel, Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. Sér. 2, 3: 242 (-243) (1835).
Ophrys intermedia Tineo ex Lojac., Fl. Sicul. 3: 45 (1909), per syn.

Diagnosis
-

Terra typica

Sicilia: Palermo nei prati intorno alla Ficuzza, Marineo, ed il Bosco del Capelliere.

Type
leg. C.S. Rafinesque

Oldest illustration
Fig. 231/1 In Hennecke (2021).

Etymology
pallidus (Latin) = pale.

Possible confusion
None. The appearance is fusca-like at first glance, but the strongly bent lip is obvious.

Variability
Barely

Flowering phenology
Early to late April in Sicily

Fruit set
unknown

Pollinator insects
Andrena orbitalis (Baumann et al. 2006; Paulus 2018)

Chromosome number
x = 18, 2n = 2x = 36 (Mrkvicka 1992, CCDB)

Ecology
Sparse forests, garrigues, former cultivated land, on calcareous soils.

Altitude distribution
in Sicily: 650-1000 m (NG, 2020-08), in Sardinia:? m, in Algeria: 389 m (Hadji & Rebbas 2014).

General distribution

Fig. 232/2 in Hennecke (2021): Observation map of Ophrys pallida (blue: NG: 2020-08, yellow: GBIF and information from Hermann Daiß, red: locus classicus (1) from O. pectus and rediscovery (2) from Hadji & Rebbas (2014 ), black: Baumann (1975).