Dell SHerk noticed my remark, >I was surprised when visiting Crete last month to see how robust G. italicus >is there; it (like the tulips) obviously responds well to the chemical >fertilizers that, according to conservationists, are being over-applied and >killing off the famous orchids. > and wrote >The famous orchids of Crete? How intriguing! - and disturbing. There are 50 or more species of terrestrial orchids on the island, many of them belonging to the genus Ophrys, and many of them (especially the Ophrys) very hard to tell apart! They tend to grow with several genera, and even several species of the same genus, together in small areas where apparently the habitat is just right and the goats and sheep don't get them every year. Jane McGary