Anyone know what genera this orchid is?

[sbrofio]

Originally Posted by TeresaE

OMG, how do you pronounce that? LOL I've also never heard of it...

you mean the pronunciation of "Ophrys apifera"? "Apifera" means "that lead bees", because of the form and color of the label, bees are sexually interested and go to the flowers.

The pronunciation.. "o" is like O of the word Orchid, "phry" is like "free" but with shorter "ee", "s" in S.
Apifera: A like the "a" of "are" (you are, they are), "pi" is like Pity, "fe" is like in "fern", "ra" is like Radar.

[euplusia]

Definitely Ophrys (eyebrow). I'd say holoserica (bumblebee), if it were in my country, but there are numerous sometimes similar species around the Mediterranean.
At the middle to the end of May I've been on meadows with hundreds of these orchids, and no flower looks like the other one. They are among the first orchids to flower in spring.
The reason is that male bumblebees hatch a few days before the female. In general Ophys orchids imitate female insects (bees, spiders, bumblebees).
They are deceiving the unexperienced young males, offering the exact look, touch and smell of a female. The deception is perfect. The male bumblebees are trying to mate with the ophrys flowers, they really get crazy on the flowers, and so they pollinate.
When the females have hatched, the pollination job must be done.
Perhaps for this reason they called it the happy orchid.

[Ferns Daddy]

Its cute as heck, reminds me of a rubber ducky

[tropterrarium]

Positively Ophrys, definitively NOT Lycaste. Have seen a few Ophrys in the wild.

[Discus]

Originally Posted by TeresaE

OMG, how do you pronounce that? LOL I've also never heard of it...

Ophrys apifera = Off-REES AP-if-ehra
Lycaste = Lie-cast-ee

[Tindomul]

Ophris are soo cool.

[samarak]

I strongly agree Ophrys, not Lycaste; looks like O. apifera to me too but I know very little about Ophrys.

Steve

(Lepetitmartien, I have Vanilla barbellata ... does that count?)

[lazzaret]

it is ophrys apifera, blooming in one month here in southwest france

[Ray]

And back to the original post - "genus" is the singular form of "genera".

[sbrofio]

Yes, they are flowering also herein Italy!

Originally Posted by Ray

And back to the original post - "genus" is the singular form of "genera".

Yes, ancient Latin: gender neutral. They had something similar to the english "it" and also for plural. Pretty complicated language