A short spike of purple flowers whose hood is picked out with distinct green veins, in a hay meadow that has never been fertilised
Green-winged orchid — Anacamptis morio.
Nature · Wildflowers & flowers
Green-winged orchid
Native · flowers Apr–Jun · unimproved old meadows and pastures
Anacamptis morio — Orchidaceae
The green-winged orchid is a low, jewel-like orchid of old, unfertilised meadows, its purple flowers marked by green veins in the hood. It flowers in spring, and a hay meadow that is full of it is a sign of ancient, unimproved grassland. It has declined dramatically through fertilisers and ploughing and is rated Near Threatened in Great Britain.
How to spot them
- ▸Short spike, 7–15 cm, of loosely packed flowers in shades of purple, sometimes pink or white
- ▸The hood of the flower is veined with green, the 'green wings', and the lip is wide and three-lobed with a pale, spotted centre
- ▸Narrow, unspotted, pale green leaves in a basal rosette
- ▸Old, unimproved meadows, pastures, village greens, churchyards and road verges, mostly on chalky or neutral soil, April or May to June
- ▸Look-alike: early purple orchid has spotted leaves, a taller, stouter spike and grows in woods; green-winged is in open grassland with unspotted leaves
How to know it
It deceives newly emerged queen bumblebees by advertising nectar in a spur that contains none
Green-winged orchid — pollination by deceit (BSBI).
Artificial fertilisers and herbicides destroy the soil fungi its seedlings rely on, restricting it to old, unimproved grassland
Green-winged orchid — Wildlife Trusts.
Its numbers crashed in the second half of the twentieth century, particularly in northern and eastern England, and it is now Near Threatened
Green-winged orchid.
A seedling may take four or five years to flower, but adult plants can flower for several years
Green-winged orchid — BSBI.
An old-meadow indicator, one of the early orchids of spring, with unspotted leaves unlike its purple woodland cousin
Green-winged orchid — compare the early purple orchid.
Quick-fire facts
- •Family Orchidaceae; formerly Orchis morio
- •Native; flowers May to June (Wildlife Trusts), mid-April to mid-June in BSBI's account
- •Wildlife Trusts: modern agriculture, with artificial fertilisers and herbicides, destroys the mycorrhizal fungi that seedlings need, so it survives only on traditional grassland; rated Near Threatened on the Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain
- •BSBI: deceit pollination, with queen bumblebees, newly out of hibernation and slow to learn which flowers are rewarding, visiting spurs that contain no true nectar
- •BSBI: 4 to 5 years from seed germination to first flowering; plants are not one-time bloomers and can survive for several years, flowering frequently
- •Suffered a dramatic decline across Great Britain and Ireland in the late twentieth century, especially in northern and eastern England; site protection now limits further loss in some places (BSBI)
- •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 — Green-winged orchid
- Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland — Anacamptis morio, Green-winged Orchid