As its name suggests O. attica was first described from the Attica region of eastern Greece by Boissier and Orphanides in 1859.
Along with its close cousin O. umbilicata, this plant was previously better known as the Mount Carmel orchid and over the years has been described as a variety or sub-species of several Ophrys, including very recently O. scolopax. Its rightful grouping and nomenclature is subject to ongoing expert debate but with few firm conclusions at present. It is currently installed within the O. umbilicata group, all of whose members reside in the eastern Mediterranean and near east. The range of O. attica extends from southern Albania, the Ionian islands, through Greece and the Aegean islands to Anatolia.
The seven current members of the group share distinct morphological similarities but O. attica only has a significant range overlap with O. umbilicata and differentiating the two is usually straightforward by means of sepal colouration. The former always has green sepals whereas the latter can range from white to pink, though hybridization between the two species can create populations of intermediates. Its habitat requirement seems undemanding and it may be found in most calcareous environments up to about 1000m.
O. attica grows to about 30cms and its often dense inflorescence may contain up to a dozen individual flowers, more usually however its a lower growing plant with 4 to 8. The photos are from the Peloponnese, Rhodes and the Ionian island of Cephalonia, dating from early April.
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