It is a common orchid in many departments where it is sometimes found in large colonies. The inflorescence is generally quite developed with many flowers. The plant is tall: from 20 to 60 cm.

Gymnadenia have a reputation for developing a slight vanilla scent and this species will be no exception although sometimes the flowers can be odorless.

There is another closely related species: Gymnadenia odoratissima which will be very difficult to differentiate apart from a more pronounced odor and a smaller size. In the field therefore, unless you have 2 populations to observe in parallel, naming one and the other will be impossible and can only be confirmed by a specialist. The other morphological differences are quite subtle and relate to the size of the flowers, the shape of the labellum in particular. The distribution area being included in that of G conopsea, this complicates the task even more.