Twilight Quest for Serapias x intermedia

As our day of exploration across the Baix Empordà region concluded, we made a final stop in the comarca of La Selva under the fading light, with the specific aim of locating Serapias x intermedia. This fascinating orchid is a natural hybrid, a result of the cross between Serapias lingua and Serapias vomeracea. According to botanical understanding, such hybrids typically emerge in spring where both parent species coexist and flower concurrently.

We were able to find a single specimen of Serapias x intermedia. In its immediate vicinity, we observed several Serapias lingua individuals. Notably, despite the presence of the hybrid and one of its parents, we found no trace of Serapias vomeracea during our survey of the area. This particular distribution pattern for the parent species, with one clearly present and the other absent while their hybrid thrives, provides an intriguing detail for further study of the local orchid ecology. Like all Serapias species, this geophytic orchid relies on subterranean tubers to persist through winter, emerging in the spring to flower and be pollinated by insects drawn to the flower's helmet-like structure for refuge.