Monkey orchid | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Tribe: | Orchideae |
Genus: | Orchis |
Species: | O. simia |
Binomial name | |
Orchis simia Lam. , 1779 |
Orchis simia, commonly known as the monkey orchid, is a greyish pink to reddish species of the Orchis genus. It gets its common name from its lobed lip which mimics the general shape of a monkey's body.
The range of the species is central and southern Europe, including southern England, the Mediterranean, Russia, Asia Minor, Caucasus, northern Iraq, Iran to Turkmenistan and northern Africa where it occurs in grassland, garrigue, scrub and open woodland, chiefly on limestone soils. It is absent from the Balearic Islands, Corsica and Sardinia. On Cyprus the species can be categorized as threatened.