Common name:
Monkey orchid
Family:
Scientific name:
Orchis simia
Main flower color:
Range:
A few locations in Oxfordshire and Kent
Height:
Up to 45 cm
Habitat:
Open woodland, chalk grassland
Flowers:
Produced in compact clusters, in which individual flowers open from the top downwards, unlike most other orchid species. The three sepals form a tight hood, greyish-white with small pink flecks, and enclosing the two small upper petals. The lip has a monkey-like appearance with thin, linear, spreading 'arms' and similarly-shaped 'legs', angled downwards. Limbs are pinkish-purple towards the top, while the centre of the lip is white, dotted with a few short purple hairs. A short 'tail' projects between the legs
Leaves:
Greyish-green, ovate, broad, up to 5 cm across; at the base and sheathing the lower part of the stem
Season:
May to June
Rarity:
★★★★★
