Widespread Observation of Serapias lingua in Garrotxa and La Selva

This Sunday, April 26th, we dedicated the day to field research in the Garrotxa and La Selva counties. Our primary objective for this exploration was to document the presence of Serapias lingua, a terrestrial orchid commonly known as the Tongue Orchid.

We had the opportunity to observe this species in most of the locations visited, highlighting its status as a common species in these territories. The specimens were in good spring flowering condition, which generally occurs between April and June. This orchid, typically growing 10 to 30 cm tall, is characterized by its tongue-shaped labellum, often reddish or brownish, and the presence of a single, black, disc-shaped callus at its base. The habitats encountered included wet meadows and forest clearings, with soils demonstrating the species' substrate-indifferent nature, as described in botanical literature.

This widespread observation of Serapias lingua confirms its robust nature and adaptability across the various open and sunny environments explored, reaffirming its global status as «Least Concern» and its non-threatened status in Catalonia.