FROG ORCHID

Coeloglossum viride

(Formerly: Habenaria viridis and Dactylorhiza viridis)
Orchid Family [Orchidaceae]

month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug

status
statusZnative
 
flower
flower8red
 
inner
inner8brown
 
inner
inner8brown
 
morph
morph8zygo
 
petals
petalsZ4
 
type
typeZspiked
 
type
typeZspurred
v. short
stem
stem8round
 
sex
sexZbisexual
 

23rd May 2013, North Hants. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
With just the normal two rather narrow basal leaves.


19th July 2012, Harting, West Sussex. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The stems grow to 20cm high (occasionally up to a maximum of 35cm. Hairless fairly-broad elliptic-oblong leaves belonging to Frog Orchid can be espied near the bottom of the photo, the second obscuring the lower part of the stem. The lowest leaves can be 1.5 to 5cm long. Other much shorter ones appear in amongst the flowers.


19th July 2012, Harting, West Sussex. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The flowers, between 6 to 10cm vertically across, are in a dense spike. The upper 5 tepals of the flowers are curved inwards - think Kermit the Frog.


Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Scotland Photo: © Martin Summers
Tapering bracts at intervals along the stem and amidst the flowering spike point upwards, and can be long in some specimens.


July 2007, Harris, Outer Hebrides July 2007 Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer
A short orchid, only between 5 to 15cm tall and rarely up to a foot. Between 3 and 5 strap-shaped basal leaves. Compact flowering spike, some plants having prominent long bracts, as here.


July 2007, Harris, Outer Hebrides July 2007 Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer
A short compact cowl of three sepals forming a globular shape. Sepals green in wetter conditions, reddish in dryer conditions. A long, greenish, almost parallel-sided tongue with three short rounded lobes protrudes from the cowl of sepals. Basal leaves have but one vein. Depending upon the moisture content of the soil, the flowers can be either reddish-brown (dry) or yellowish-green (wetter) as here.


July 2007, Harris, Outer Hebrides July 2007 Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer
Red cowl indicative of drier conditions. The long green tongue has two longer outer lobes, and a shorter middle lobe (dead centre).


August 2009, Island of Coll, Hebrides, Scotland. Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer
A spent flower going to seed. An Eyebright behind.


Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Scotland Photo: © Martin Summers


Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Scotland Photo: © Martin Summers
The lip, paler in colour than the hood, is long, parallel-sided and has three short lobes keeping within the profile of the lip (central flower). The lip folds back under the ovary (the 'stalk' of the flower in orchids). Overall this is said to give the impression of a frog with hind legs stretched out at the back.

The thin spur is a very short 2mm long and can be seen poking out of the un-opened flower on the extreme right.



19th July 2012, Harting, West Sussex. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The flowers are between 6 to 10cm vertically across. The labellum (the 3.5 to 6mm long lip hanging ~downwards) is oblong woth 3 lobes at the tip, the inner shorter than the two outer.


23rd May 2013, North Hants. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
It is called Frog Orchid on account of the top three petals looking like a frog, from the side.


Hybridizes with :

All these hybrids are rare.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature :

No relation to : Frog Rush nor with Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) [plants with similar names belonging to differing families].

Flowers late June to early September. The colour of the sepals varies depending upon the moisture conditions of the soil: yellow-green in wetter sites, and red-brown in drier ones. The yellow-green ones give rise to the specific epithet part of the scientific name viridis. The spur at the rear of the flower is a very short 2mm long.

Habitat in the South is on grassy places and short turf on limy soils, elsewhere it grows in meadows, mountain ledges or dunes. Flowering in specific places is erratic from year to year, but sometimes individual specimens can flower for 7 years contiguously.

Unseen below ground the plant divides into two tapering underground tubers.


  Coeloglossum viride  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Orchidaceae  

Distribution
 family8Orchid family8Orchidaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Coeloglossum
Coeloglossum
(Frog Orchid)

FROG ORCHID

Coeloglossum viride

(Formerly: Habenaria viridis and Dactylorhiza viridis)
Orchid Family [Orchidaceae]

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