LIZARD ORCHID
Himantoglossum hircinum
Orchid [Orchidaceae] 
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Orchid [Orchidaceae]
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flower
inner
morph
petals
type
stem
smell
billy goat
| Sandwich Bay, Kent. | Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer |
| A fairly rare orchid, stout, greyish and up to 2 feet tall which from afar doesn't look particularly noticeable. |
| Sandwich Bay, Kent. | Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer |
| Narrow elliptic sheaths of leaves (sometimes mottled purple) emerge at intervals up the stem. An un-tidy spike of flowers populate the upper half. |
| Sandwich Bay, Kent. | Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer |
| The flowers are highly distinctive with a very long, narrow and purple tongue dangling out of every flower. Viper's Bugloss in background. |
| Sandwich Bay, Kent. | Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer |
| The greyish green hood conssists of three cowled sepals. The long tongue has white marks and deeper purple markings just where it emerges from the cowl, and also with narrower and much shorter side spurs. The tongue itself is linear, up to 2 inches long, and usually twisted. |
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Not to be semantically confused with : Snakes Head Fritillary, Snake Liverwort, Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature :
No relation to : Smells of Billy Goat, especially if there are many together. Grows in short turf or scrub on lime and on old sand-dunes mainly in the SW of England. No presence in Eire or Scotland. ANY TEXT GOES HERE |
 Himantoglossum (Lizard Orchid) |
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Orchid [Orchidaceae]
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