It is an original plant from the Mediterranean region and whose flower has nothing to envy other exotic species in terms of its size and coloring. There are only two species in this genus and the second (Limodorum trabutianum) is morphologically very close so will often be confused with Limodorum abortivum which is also much more widespread. It is also considered a subspecies and not a species in its own right.

The further north you go in France, the rarer the encounters can become. A fan of dry and wooded environments, it is rarely found in full light but in undergrowth, on the edges or clearings.  

When its stem appears, one might think of a purple asparagus shoot. It grows quite high (approx. 30 to 70 cm) before blooming. It secretes nectar to attract pollinators and also attracts ants that one will often encounter on its flowers.

Some years the flowers do not open and it can be self-pollinating. Even stranger, when the stem does not emerge from the soil surface, the flowers that do develop would also self-pollinate underground.

Why with aborted leaves? It does have leaves but they remain sheathed and atrophied, therefore not very visible.

This plant, unable to synthesize chlorophyll, depends on its symbiont fungus for additional supply. It was once said to be a parasite, but this is only partly true or even inaccurate if the fungus benefits from it in return, which is often the case with orchid-fungus associations.

Limodora would be close to Cephalanthera but genealogically younger.