Grass orchid

Credit: PETER CHADWICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Caption: Grass orchid (family: Orchidaceae). This plant has several flowers growing on a vertical stem. Each flower has a specialised petal called a lip (pale with dark pink spot). The lip attracts pollinators and provides them with a landing platform. This orchid grows in grasslands and is a terrestrial orchid (one that grows in the ground). There are more than 30,000 species of orchids worldwide, many of which are grown as ornamental flowers. Photographed in the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa, a region that has a diverse range of wild flowers.

Release details: Model release not required. Property release not required.

Keywords: africa, african, angiosperm, angiosperms, biological, biology, botanical, botany, cluster, drakensberg, flower, flowering, flowers, grass, nature, orchid, orchidaceae, plant, plants, south africa, south african, spike, terrestrial, wild flower

Licence fees: A licence fee will be charged for any media (low or high resolution) used in your project.