Lange’s Orchid
Height: 25-60cm
Colour: Pink, Violet, occasionally white
Flowering: April to June
Soil type: slightly acidic to occasionally limestone

The openly spaced flowers form a cylindrical shape along an elegant stem. They are more often a shade of pink with the stem flushed to match. The outer two sepals are angled upwards and outwards, rounded at the tips. The third forms a loose hood with the slightly lower positioned petals. The main lip is cut into three lobes, it is paler at the centre, often speckled with darker spots. It differs to other orchis species by its convex shape, described like a sheep’s nose. (My description would be like a cloth hanging over the tip of an ironing board). The basal leaves are narrow and often covered with violet spots.

This orchid grows in partial shade in drained soils that are slightly acidic but also sometimes limestone. It can be found in poor pastures but more often in woodland clearings or wooded margins to an altitude of 1700m.

Synonyms: Orchis mascula subsp. laxiflora, Orchis hispanica, Orchis mascula subsp. hispanica.

These images of orchids were taken in Southern Spain, many terrestrial species are widespread from the Iberian peninsular eastwards through the Mediterranean region.

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