Undergrowth plant with small, short, thin leaves. The flowers are also small, as long as you can see them, because they can be self-pollinating...and not open. In fact, you go directly from the bud to the seed capsule. When they open (in the evening), the flowers give off a noticeable vanilla-scented fragrance.

In Epipactis, the labellum is divided into two parts: the hypochile, concave, contains more or less nectar, which gives it a shiny appearance, and the epichile, often pointed, sometimes folded, with a complex appearance, rarely smooth and covered with bumps, hollows or furrows that allow insects to cling while they draw nectar. Petals and sepals are generally of the same color, more or less greenish. The pollinia, once stuck on the head of the insect, slowly disintegrate, which allows several flowers to be fertilized.