Ophrys × arachnitiformis, the false spider orchid, is an orchid native to Europe.[2] It is apparently a hybrid resulting from a cross between O. fuciflora × O. sphegodes, but has become established in the wild in Britain, France (including Corsica), Germany, parts of Italy (Liguria, Tuscany, Lazio, Apulia, Sicily, Sardinia), Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, and the former Yugoslavia.[1][3]
Ophrys like other orchids are dependent on symbiotic fungi at some point during their life cycle, but especially for germination, which may take months or even years underground. Orchid roots contain Orchid mycorrhiza, coils of fungal hyphae inside orchid root cells.[4]