Family - ORCHIDACEAE
Genus - Orchis
Species - papilionacea
Common English name -
Pink butterfly orchid
Common Spanish name -
Orquídea mariposa
Flowering time -
April - June
Unmistakable and eye-catchingly pink, the Pink butterfly orchid, Orchis papilionacea, can often be found growing on fairly poor ground aswell as in the rich, well-manured soil of the hay meadows.
The sepals and petals form a pointed, dark pink hood out from which fans the paler, wide, frilly labellum. This lip is dark-veined and lightly cup-shaped.
Leaves are unspotted, mostly basal with one or two vertically sheathing the stem.
The final image shows a group of Pink butterfly orchids in a Picos de Europa hay meadow, the habitat you're most likely to find them in.
