Pleasant lady's-tresses

Family Orchidaceae. A Eurasian species occurring in the eastern parts of the European portion of Russia, in Kazakhstan and Siberia, on peat bogs, wet riverside and lakeside meadows. It has recently been found in the Carpathians.

Plant with a shortened rhizome and thin cylindrical tubers. Stem 15–30 cm tall, with 2–4 linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, bluntly pointed leaves in the lower part, 4–7.5 cm long and 0.4–0.7 cm wide. Inflorescence dense, one-sided, spicate, with an axis more or less glandular-hairy and twisted in a spiral. Bracts ovate-lanceolate, pointed, equal to the ovary. Flowers small, sessile, bright pink. Perianth segments arranged bell-shaped, outer segments oblong, blunt, 5–7 mm long, with 3 veins, inner ones with 1 vein. Lip without a spur, ovate or oblong-ovate, slightly narrowing toward the tip, with a slight constriction above the middle, at the base with two close callous tubercles; the posterior half broader and glabrous, the anterior part covered with minute papillae and with a wavy margin. Ovary sessile, with glandular pubescence; the perianth is oriented toward it at a right angle. Flowers in July–August.