Limodorum abortivum. Limodore à feuilles avortées. Violet limodore. 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. Click on the photos to enlarge

Epipactis distans . Epipactis à feuilles écartées. Distant helleborine. (C. Arvet-Touvet) The flower is typical of Epipactis in its shape with petals and sepals of the same whitish/greenish colour. The hypochile is dark brown in colour. Like all Epipactis, it flowers in June/July in semi-shade. It can also be found on the side of the road in open terrain but at altitude. 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. Click on the photos to enlarge

Ophrys incubacea. Ophrys noir. Ophrys incubacea is very close morphologically to Ophrys sphegodes. Among the distinctive criteria, we can note the basal field darker than the macule and a fairly pronounced metallic blue color on the macular patterns and pseudo-eyes. The edge of the labellum is quite often very hairy. Click on the photos to enlarge

Ophrys lutea. Ophrys jaune. Yellow bee orchid Ophrys from the Mediterranean region, this Ophrys poses few identification problems due to its labellum largely edged with yellow. Petals and sepals are also a pronounced yellow, washed with green most often. In addition, it offers little variability. It is found in the south and southwest of France (1 subspecies in Corsica) on fairly dry land: wasteland, scrubland mainly. Measuring from 15 to 30 cm, the stem bears a few flowers which bloom from the end of March to the beginning of June depending on the region. Click on the photos to enlarge

Goodyera repens. Goodyère rampante. Creeping lady's tresses. Yet another orchid that tries to escape the gaze. It flowers relatively late (from mid-June to July... or even much later in autumn) and in more or less dense undergrowth in coniferous stands. It reproduces mainly by sending out stolons and most often measures around ten centimetres. The stem is hairy, the white flowers also provided with a sort of hairiness barely open and are nectariferous. The rounded leaves are generally persistent (so you can spot stations even in winter) and have branched veins (and not aligned like other French orchids). It is found mainly in the Alps but sporadically in other regions possibly displaced at the same time as young conifer shoots. Click on the photos to enlarge

Ophrys speculum. Ophrys miroir. Mirror orchid Also called Ophrys ciliata . eyebrow. A rare species in continental France, it is found in Corsica and on Mediterranean islands. Its almost permanent absence in France would be due to the lack of pollinating insects, so the populations observed are rarely perennial: it appears here and there, disappears and then reappears. But how does it manage to flower? As it is found in the Mediterranean departments, and sporadically on the Atlantic coast, the fertile seeds would arrive carried by the southerly winds, which would allow the emergence of small populations but not their development from flowering plants in France. Easily recognizable with its shiny labellum, sometimes blue, initially surrounded by yellow and then fringed with abundant hair, it looks like it is made of glazed or enameled ceramic. It grows in open wasteland, scrubland and in calcareous soil. Click on the photos to enlarge

Coeloglossum viride. Orchis grenouille. Frog orchid. A rather unobtrusive orchid: its generally green colour, sometimes tinged with red, and its small size (often around ten centimetres) make it invisible in the meadows it loves. It is said to have disappeared from many regions and even though a real decline in populations has been observed, it is sometimes still present but not listed, hidden in the green grass. Genetically close to Dactylorhiza, the genus to which it is sometimes attached, it is nevertheless distinguished morphologically: not very colorful, smaller, with a much shorter nectariferous spur and a bifid labellum that is longer than it is wide. Click on the photos to enlarge

Undetermined pseudophrys . The pseudophrys are sometimes difficult to determine on the one hand because the authors do not agree and as already indicated, the iconographic base supposed to illustrate their guides is limited and varies enormously from one guide to another. The descriptive part is also confusing because the criteria are broad and overlap from one species to another. In their defense, hybrids are common. Should we only see in this case Ophrys fusca and countless varieties or subspecies as long as we agree on stable characters. An observation of a few days in the Aude left me perplexed, here is an anthology of the specimens encountered. In mainland France, you will find on the Parthénope guide of the orchids of France (Bournérias and Prat) O. vasconica, O. lupercalis, O. bilunulata, O. forêti, O. sulcata. Ophrys fusca being considered as an Iberian species. The guide to European orchids from the same publisher (Kühn, Pedersen, Cribb), on the other hand, only recognizes Ophyrs fusca as a species and O. vasconica as a hybrid. Delforge in his guide to orchids in France (ed Delachaux) names O. delforgei, O. bilunulata, O. fusca, O. lupercalis, O. arnoldii, O. forêti, O. sulcata, O. vasconica._cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Delforge on the one hand and Bournérias and Prat therefore agree on almost all the species and their distribution. Click on the photos to enlarge

Pseudorchis albida. Orchis miel. Small white orchid. An orchid that loves altitude and cool climates: We will find it from 500 m in the Alps, the Pyrenees and sometimes the Massif Central, Jura and Vosges. Elsewhere, we will find it in Northern Europe or in Russia. One of a kind. A medium-sized plant (between 10 and 30 cm), it grows in meadows or at the edge of high-altitude lakes. Quite easy to identify and generally spotable within the vegetation, it develops a variable inflorescence of approximately 10 to 50 flowers. Click on the photos to enlarge

Orchis provincialis. Orchis de Provence. Provence orchid Orchis provincialis is part of the genus Orchis, largely amputated by numerous species now classified in the genera Anacamptis or Dactylorhiza. Orchis are tuberous orchids, usually have two which gave them their Greek name Orchis which means testicle. One of the tubers allows the plant to grow while the second forms during this same period and will replace the original bulb which gradually withers the following year. If we were to dig up an orchid (which I of course prohibit), we would therefore find the tuber of the year more or less withered, the tuber in the making for the future season and sometimes an old one totally withered from the previous year. Orchids are fairly tall plants (20 to 60 cm), rather robust and easily spotted in meadows, wastelands or light undergrowth. The preferred soils are generally calcareous or marly and rather dry. Species from the south-eastern quarter of France and the northern part of the Mediterranean, it is a medium-sized orchid. Quite easy to identify with its whitish flowers and sometimes very white but almost always speckled with pink on the center of the labellum. It is therefore not a hypochromic version of the Orchis mascula which in this case is totally white. The leaves are spotted. It will be found in more acidic than calcareous soil but not humid. Click on the photos to enlarge

Spiranthes spiralis. Spiranthe d'automne. Autumn lady's tresses. It's all in the name! The orchid blooms in autumn (late August to be exact...) and its inflorescence describes a spiral. It is both rare, except in certain departments in the south of France, and not very visible. Orchid enthusiasts are less active in prospecting at the end of August, and it passes outside the usual observation periods. Sometimes, moreover, it flowers without warning: no announcing leaves, the stem emerges, the orchid flowers then disappears in about twenty days no more (experience). Discovering it is sometimes a matter of chance or thanks to a transmission between initiates. Given its particular needs in terms of biotope, it will sometimes find shelter in an urban area (untrampled but regularly mowed lawn, maintained cemetery edges, etc.) In principle, the leaves are visible (but they must be noticed) before flowering. The genus Spiranthes is widespread throughout the world and in both hemispheres, which is unusual among orchids (apart from inter-tropical species, of course). Spiranthes spiralis and its "cousin" Spiranthes aestivalis are European and are found in France rather in the south but its presence is proven in many departments although rare. Spiranthes aestivalis likes more humid soils than Spiranthes spiralis which prefers fresh or dry calcareous soils. Morphologically, differentiating them will be extremely complicated moreover. A shift in the flowering date will add even more confusion: from there to suppose that there is only one species with early flowering localities... Of variable size (between 5 and 30 cm), it will be found on grounds with short grass and thus will be visible despite its small size to an attentive observer. Click on the photos to enlarge