About Orchis laeta Steinh.
Orchis provincialis is a herbaceous orchid that reaches 20 to 40 centimetres (7.9 to 15.7 inches) in height. It grows 4 to 5 oblong-lanceolate basal leaves, each about 8 centimetres long, arranged in a rosette; these leaves are green with purplish brown spots. Cauline leaves sheath the stem, and the plant bears yellowish lanceolate bracts. Its inflorescence holds 5 to 30 small flowers, whose color ranges from creamy white or pale yellow to various shades of pink and purple across different varieties. The lateral sepals are ovate and erect, while the median sepal leans slightly forward. The labellum is three-lobed, with small orange to purple spots on its median lobe. The white spur is cylindrical, curved upward, and longer than the ovary. The gynostegium is short and obtuse, with pale yellow pollen. This orchid flowers from March to June. This species has a Mediterranean distribution, and is widespread from north-western Africa, through south-central and southern Europe, to the Caucasus. It is native to Albania, Bulgaria, Corsica, the East Aegean Islands, France, Greece, Italy, Crete, Crimea, North Caucasus, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasia, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Orchis provincialis grows best in slightly acidic soils in grassland, scrub, and woodland, at altitudes between 0 and 1,750 metres (0 to 5,741 feet) above sea level.
