Serapias lingua
Category photo (no photo of its own for this entry)
Widespread around the Mediterranean, from Portugal to Greece and North Africa, Serapias lingua is a tuberous terrestrial orchid of damp meadows, fallow ground and coastal garrigue, on acidic to neutral soils. Its lanceolate leaves, often purple-blotched at the base, accompany a stem 10 to 30 cm tall. It flowers in spring, bearing a loose spike of a few flowers with an elongated, tongue-shaped lip, pink to violet-red, lacking the basal callus typical of some related species, framed by sepals and petals fused into a brownish-violet hood. It needs cool to well-drained soil, sun to part shade, and summer dormancy.
- Family :Orchidaceae
- Flowering height :0-15 cm
Growing cycle
No calendar data for this entry.