Green-winged Orchid - Anacamptis morio

Similar to the Early-purple Orchid but can be identified by the distinct parallel greenish veins on each side of the hood formed by the tepals on the upper part of the flower. These veins are never found on the Early-purple Orchid. The colour of the flowers can vary from very pale pink to a much deeper purple. The leaves of this species are unspotted, mainly in a basal rosette, the uppermost sheathing the lower stem.

Grassy habitats, sometimes abandoned quarries or sand pits.

May and June.

Perennial

Widespread but quite local in Britain as far north as southern Scotland at least, and probably declining.

Infrequent and local in Leicestershire & Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 12 of the 617 tetrads but has probably decreased in numbers since then.

It is on the current VC55 Rare Plant Register (Jeeves 2011)