Lizard Orchid

Did you know

• The extraordinary lip has two short outer lobes and an enormously elongated central lobe that spirals like a ribbon as it emerges and can reach 2 inches long, closely resembling a lizard's tail.
• The plant produces a powerful, disagreeable odor described as resembling a billy goat or stale sweat — the species name 'hircinum' means 'goat-like' in Latin — but this scent attracts the beetles and wasps that pollinate it.
• Lizard orchid populations at the northern edge of their range in Britain and Germany have expanded significantly northward since the 1970s, tracking rising summer temperatures from climate change.
• A spike can carry up to 80 flowers tightly packed on the stem, and the combination of striped markings, twisted lips, and spiral tips makes each flowering spike look like an elaborate art object.
• The whole plant can remain in an underground dormant state for multiple years before re-emerging — populations can appear to have disappeared and then resurface years later.

Color meanings

Uses

• ornamental
• conservation indicator