Orchis pallens

Quick Characteristics:

Orchis pallens L. is one of the few yellow-flowered terrestrial Orchids of Europe, flowering mid- to late spring as one of the first orchids in the northern part of its area, which spreads from northern Spain throughout the Alps, German Mittelgebirge, northern Italy and the Balkans to parts of the Turkish north coast. It prefers open forests or not too dry meadows on shell lime. The pale yellow flowers with an unspotted, somewhat darker lip contain no nectar. Photos by Martin Bohnet of plants growing on the Swabian Jura, southern Germany.