Abstract
This study is a contribution to the knowledge of the floristic biodiversity of the Belezma and Aures massifs, recognized as important areas for plants sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. Our subjective sampling over several years resulted in 13 stations hosting 13 taxa of orchids, including 5 never reported in this region (Dactylorhiza maculata subsp. battandieri, Neotinea lactea subsp. conica, Ophrys battandieri, Ophrys flammeola, Ophrys speculum). They are all tuberous orchids, Mediterranean or West European, sometimes endemic to the Maghreb, and preferring open environments. None of the 3 forest orchids with rhizomes known elsewhere in the Aures region could be observed in the studied massifs. Long-term monitoring of the population trends of each species of the two functional groups in question will have to be put in place to shed light on the resilience capacities of these fragile environments and their conservation management needs.