Neotinea ustulata

Species of orchid

Neotinea ustulata (syn. Orchis ustulata), the burnt orchid or burnt tip orchid, is a European terrestrial orchid native to mountains in central and southern Europe, growing at up to elevation. The plant is considered Endangered in Great Britain and Least Concern internationally based on IUCN Red List criteria. The burnt tip orchid was voted the county flower of Wiltshire in 2002 following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife.

Neotinea ustulata grows from two spherical tubers with thick roots. Old sources believed that the plant could grow underground for 10–15 years before the first stem appears. Plants have leaves with prominent veins, along with a couple of leaves typically around the flower stem, which can reach , though typically less than tall. N. ustulata flowers from May through June, with the subspecies, Neotinea ustulata subsp. aestivalis blooming in July in England. The late flowering subspecies has a different, unpleasant aroma, indicating different pollinators. The common name comes from the tips of the flower buds having a burnt appearance.

The early flowering subspecies Neotinea ustulata var. ustulata is pollinated by a tachinid parasitic fly Tachina magnicornis. The late flowering subspecies Neotinea ustulata var. aestivalis is pollinated by the longhorn beetle Pseudovadonia livida and possibly also by bees. It is however, not spared by grazers; above ground, plants may be eaten by sheep, cows, rabbits, slugs and snails. Wild boar sometimes dig out the roots of the plant and consume them. The Latin specific epithet ustulata means "slightly burnt", referring to the appearance of the flower spike, as the common name does.