Woodcock orchid
Ophrys scolopax
Family · Orchidaceae · Harmless
The orchid named for the long green appendage at the lip's tip, turned upward, recalling a woodcock's bill. Pink sepals and a hairy brown lip with side humps.
Fields and pasture · Scrubland · Uplands · Roadsides and waste ground
Also known aswoodcock bee-orchid
How to tell it
Pink or white, narrow sepals. A small brown velvety lip with two protruding hairy humps at the sides and a pale central mark. At the tip, a long yellow-green appendage turned upward, clearly seen in profile, which is the species' mark.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
None. It is among the commonest orchids on Peninsular limestone and one of the best for learning to look in profile, because face on you lose exactly the appendage that identifies it.
The law says
Protected by CITES and national law, like all wild orchids. Photograph it, do not pick it or dig up the tuber.