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A frog orchid rises from a grassy mound, with the grassland sloping up to a hedge in the distance. The orchid has bulbous reddish flowers groing from a central stalk

Frog orchid © Kieron Huston

Frog orchid

Scientific name: Dactylorhiza viridis
This unassuming orchid is easily overlooked. It is found patchily across the UK, but has been declining for decades.

Species information

Category

Statistics

Usually up to 15cm, occasionally up to 35cm

Conservation status

Vulnerable

When to see

Flowering plants best seen June to July

About

Frog orchids can be hard to spot, even in a well-grazed grassland. They're short and more subtly coloured than many of their more familiar relatives. In southern Britain they favour chalk and limestone habitats, such as downlands and quarries. Further north they can be found in a wider variety of grasslands, including machair, hay meadows, and road verges.

Frog orchids have shown a long-term decline, particularly in England. The Plant Atlas 2020 described this species as potentially the UK's fastest declining orchid. Declines have been linked to agricultural improvement, undergrazing, and more recently drought.

How to identify

A short orchid, usually 5-15cm tall, with three to five oval or blade-shaped leaves. The small flowers grow in a cluster around the stem and face downwards. They can be yellowish-green or tinged with red or purple. The flowers have a rounded hood with a long lip extending from the bottom, ending in a lobe on each side with a smaller lobe in the centre. It might take a bit of imagination to see each flower as a little frog!

Distribution

Widespread but patchily distributed across the UK

Habitats

Did you know?

The frog orchid was previously known as Coeloglossum viride, but genetic studies have shown it to be better placed in the genus Dactylorhiza. It is known to hybridise with other plants in this genus, such as marsh-orchids and spotted-orchids.