Common name:
Fly orchid
Family:
Scientific name:
Ophrys insectifera
Main flower color:
Range:
Scattered areas of Wales and England, mostly in the south
Height:
From 20 to 60 cm
Habitat:
Open woodland and dry grassland, usually on calcareous soil
Flowers:
Three green sepals, 90 degrees apart, two tiny, narrow, red-brown upper petals, angled upwards, and a complex, vaguely insect-like lower petal, also mostly reddish-brown, with a silvery-blue patch towards the centre. The lower petal has two downwards-pointing side lobes, and a deeply notched middle lobe. Flowers form in a vertical spike of up to ten heads, relatively well-separated
Leaves:
Ovate, light green, with a shiny surface; at the base and along the stem
Season:
May to June
Rarity:
★★★★★
