A slim spike of small pink-lilac flowers, each trailing a long thin spur, with a sweet, orangey scent that is strongest in the evening
Fragrant orchid — Gymnadenia conopsea.
Nature · Wildflowers & flowers
Fragrant orchid
Native · flowers Jun–Jul · chalk grassland, heath and moor
Gymnadenia conopsea — Orchidaceae
The fragrant orchid is a slim spike of small pink-lilac flowers with a long, thin spur and a sweet, clove or orange scent that is strongest in the evening, when moths visit. It has recently been split into three: the common fragrant orchid of chalk grassland, the marsh fragrant orchid of fens and the heath fragrant orchid of acid moor, by their soils and habitats.
How to spot them
- ▸Long, slim, cylindrical spike of small pink to lilac flowers, up to about 40 cm high
- ▸A sweet, orangey or clove-like scent, very strong in the evening
- ▸Each flower has a three-lobed lip, a hood, and a very long, thin spur trailing behind
- ▸Narrow, unspotted green leaves at the base and up the stem
- ▸Chalk grassland (common fragrant), damp fen (marsh fragrant) or acid heath and moor (heath fragrant), June to July
- ▸Look-alike: pyramidal orchid has a shorter, domed or conical spike of deeper magenta flowers
How to know it
Recently split into three species according to soil and habitat: one on chalk, one in fens, and one on acid heath and moor
Fragrant orchid — common, marsh and heath fragrant orchids.
Its species name comes from the Greek word for a gnat, describing its small flowers
Fragrant orchid — conopsea.
A slender pink chalk-downland orchid best told from a similar pink relative by its longer, narrower spike and its strong evening scent
Fragrant orchid — compare the pyramidal orchid.
Managed by traditional grazing, hay-cutting and scrub clearance, this scented pink orchid is a marker of flower-rich chalk grassland
Fragrant orchid — Wildlife Trusts.
Quick-fire facts
- •Family Orchidaceae; conopsea is from the Greek konops, a gnat
- •Native; flowers June to July (Wildlife Trusts)
- •Wildlife Trusts: it has a sweet, orangey smell that is very strong in the evening
- •Recently split into three: common fragrant-orchid (chalk), marsh fragrant-orchid and heath fragrant-orchid, on the basis of soils and habitats (Wildlife Trusts)
- •The long spur holds nectar reached only by long-tongued insects, chiefly moths and butterflies
- •Found on chalk grassland, heath and moorland, dry or damp; mostly in Scotland, Northern Ireland, southern England and Wales, favouring chalky soils
- •Not on Schedule 8, but it is an offence under section 13(1)(b) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for anyone who is not an authorised person to intentionally uproot any wild plant. Do not dig up wild orchids
Drill it — 6 cards
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Sources
- The Wildlife Trusts — Common fragrant-orchid
- legislation.gov.uk — Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 13