Aceras figured

Family: Orchidaceae. A European–Mediterranean species — known from the westernmost regions of Ukraine and Lithuania and in Western Europe. In recent years it has not been found in Ukraine and Lithuania; it may have disappeared.

Aceras grows in meadows, less often among shrubs, on very dry sandy soils. Prefers full light, but can grow with some shading.

A plant with an oval or oblong tuber. The oblong-lanceolate leaves are gathered in a dense cluster at the base of the stem. Notable is the long inflorescence in the form of a dense cylindrical raceme of many light-green flowers with purple margins. The outer perianth segments are folded into a hood. The labellum (lip) is without a spur, yellowish-green, linear, flat, three-lobed, pendant; the middle lobe is almost divided to the middle into two linear lobes, considerably longer than the other perianth segments.

During the first years of life Aceras, like all orchids, lives underground. A green leaf appears above the soil surface only in the 5th year. A new tuber is formed in January. It grows quickly, and in June, when the plant blooms, the new tuber is indistinguishable from the previous year's tuber that produces the inflorescence. The old tuber quickly dies off, as the leaves begin to yellow in mid-May, and from early July until the end of September the plant is completely hidden underground. In October a shoot appears above the surface, and green leaves unfold in February. Often forms hybrids with various species of Orchis.