Abstract
The localized hybridization between Orchis mascula and O. provincialis in Sardinia is investigated. The two parental species are closely related and share the same pollinators but do not hybridize in any other areas of sympatry. Artificial crosses between the two species in areas of sympatry on the continent revealed that, in absence of an ethological isolation, a strong post-pollination barrier exists and preserves species integrity in the main part of their distribution. However, on Sardinia, morphological observations, karyological and molecular analyses of intermediate phenotypes confirmed the occurrence of hybridization between the insular O. mascula ssp. ichnusae and O. provincialis and the bi-directionality of pollen flow. The occurrence of hybrids on the island indicates a failure of otherwise strong post-pollination barriers between O. mascula and O. provincialis.
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