Purbeck stone Purbeck stone Purbeck stone refers to building stone taken from a series of limestone beds found in the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Purbeck Group, found on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset in southern England. The best known variety of this stone is Purbeck Marble. The stone has been quarried since at least Roman times up to the present day. The Purbeck Group is a sequence of sedimentary rocks that were deposited in a shallow freshwater to brackish lagoonal setting. It ranges in age from Tithonian to Berriasian. Limestone beds are developed at various levels throughout the sequence, each with
Ophrys insectifera dark in colour, varying from maroon to black and on which there are two shining 'pseudoeyes' as well as an iridescent blue/grey patch evolved to resemble an insect's glistening wings. Chromosomes 2n=36 The genus name ""Ophrys"" derives from the Greek word "ophrys", meaning eyebrow, while the Latin epithet "insectifera" means insect-bearing or insect-carrying, referring to the unusual appearance of the flowers. It is native to Europe, favouring sites with damp, alkaline, unimproved soil. It can be found growing in beech woodlands, on forest edges, in scrub, on limestone pavement, limestone grassland, in chalk pits and wet meadows as well as