On the one previous visit to Corfu many years ago, well before the days of digital cameras. I noted a good few orchid sightings in the Ipsos area, and this time I hoped to consolidate these while, adding other sightings to the list. As it was a holiday, the whole week would not be devoted to orchids, but there would be a good chance that there would be some serendipitous findings as we visited various places. On the previous visit I was unprepared to find orchids, and identification was with a booklet bought in Corfu Town entitled Wild Flowers of Greece. So it covered large areas both geographically and botanically, but the descriptions and few pictures helped a lot. This visit's finds were identified using Delforge's Orchids of Britain & Europe. He does tend toward splitting populations into separate species more than other authors. However, he does seem to have extensively studied the orchids and most of his less recognised species do count as sub-species for other experts. Getting about was no problem. The Town's Blue Buses covered the central area of the island, and were frequent and reliable, and an unlimited hop on and off ticket cost ?5 per day. Green Buses cover the rest of the island. Car hire though would be needed for more out of the way places. With so many orchids only the notable sites are listed, and as usual, click on any thumbnail for a larger image.

In total we saw possibly 30 species in 6 genera (some identifications are more difficult). 18 of these were totally new sightings for me, either in UK or elsewhere in Europe - Brilliant!
 

Ophrys Orchis Serapias Aceras Anacamptis Barlia ferrum-equinum morio lingua anthropophorum pyramidalis robertiana cornuta picta cordigera       grammica laxiflora politisii       cephalonica italica parviflora       mammosa quadripunctata bergonii       bombilifera simia ionica       lutea fragrans orientalis       sicula coriophora vomeracea       phryganae tridentata         fusca