Family: orchids (Orchidaeceae)
Flowering time: April–May
Size: 20–60 cm
Habitat: bright deciduous forests, forest edges and among shrubs
Elongate-oval basal leaves of the stately scarlet-red orchid (Orchis purpurea) form a leaf rosette. Also basal leaves longer than 15 cm are light green with a silvery sheen. The sturdy stem is green and leafy at the base with a few elongate-oval leaves, and in the upper part it is brownish-violet and leafy only with scaly leaves. At the top of the stem, already in early spring, a cylindrical densely flowered inflorescence develops. The labellum is four-lobed and, in outline, resembles a human figure. Its central part is usually white, the folds are pink to purple. The remaining five, brown-red, petals are held together and form a helmet.
The scarlet-red orchid thrives on barren, but humus-rich, moist soils on a base-rich substrate. It most often blooms in semi-shade on warm slopes. In Slovenia its distribution is limited to the southwestern part, where it is more common, and the eastern part of the country, where it is rarer.
The scarlet-red orchid is protected in Slovenia, and, as a vulnerable (V) species, is listed on the Red List of Threatened Plants of Slovenia.
