Unique Orchids of Spili
I owe the "discovery" of this magical, colorful world, to the excellent colleague, journalist and photographer, George Patroudakis, editor of the magazine "Cretan Panorama", who "took me by the hand" and toured me to the "territory" of the cretan wild orchid. Across the island grow around 70 different species (in the whole country there have been counted around 180), of which at least 14 are endemic (only grown in Crete). On a plateau above Spili Rethymnon, one can observe dozens of species in a relatively small area.
Before I got the chance to admire the variety of colors, sizes and designs, I was startled by seeing groups of visitors from all corners of the planet rambled to the slopes, perusing these little flowers and photographing them obsessively. When we pass indifferently (or ignore completely) this treasure grown in our "yard" or, worse, destroy everything with the tractors, some people travel from the other end of the world to spend 10 days in Crete studying the rich flora. And not only that, but they have also established the Orchid Society of Friends in over 10 countries in Europe. We met a Belgian, Sienaert Raf, who comes to Crete every year since 1973, only to see these rare flowers.
Each new orchid which was "introduced" to me by George was accompanied by a different expression on my face: a mixture of admiration, confusion, and "guilt" because of my ignorance. They may not be as large as the tropic ones, but they are very impressive. However, I was really speechless when I met the "star" of Cretan orchids, the Ophrys Cretica, which in April 1971 was the cover of National Geographic!
I had to spend some time to convince myself that what I saw was not a bee but a flower, an example of adaptability and a clear proof of Darwin's theory. My companion then started explaining to me that this orchid - like other members of its family - is responsible for the most massive "sexual fraud" in the history of the planet! "Masquerade" as insects, using not only the shapes and colors, but also secreting a large amount of reproductive hormones (pheromones) to attract the male insects. The poor males are sexually seduced and land on them, but they only manage to transfer pollen from orchid to orchid causing fertilization. Since ancient times, it was believed that some orchids have aphrodisiac properties and were dedicated to the Satyrs and Silenus, the lustful beings who accompanied Dionysus. This explains why the "Wild Orchid" is becoming synonymous with sensual and feminine women.
What's missing from this story? There is sex! Does it have intrigue and "war"? Of course! And even at two levels. The first level is that of schools, the main representatives being the Belgian, the French and the English-French, which disagree with each other mainly on the assignments of orchids. A second "battle" is raging between individuals on the discovery of new species. Researchers who discover a new species have the right to name it. In this way, an orchid can become the "vehicle" on which the name of the researcher will "travel" to eternity. It seems that the history of the orchid has all the ingredients to become a best seller!
*For more information on the Cretan orchids, read the May-June 2007 issue of the magazine "Cretan Panorama" and the book by Anthony Alibertis "Orchids of Crete and Karpathos," Mystis publications.