Close-up of a man orchid flower — © Mike Waller

Little green men spotted in Britain?

By Lisa Hendry

These may look like tiny green men in space helmets, but they’re actually the flowers of the aptly named man orchid, Orchis anthropophora.

It is one of 56 orchids that grow wild in the UK. If you live in southeast England you might be lucky enough to spot one of these endangered plants, which flower from early May to late June.

Man orchid flowers — The flower spike of the man orchid plant, which grows up to 30cm tall, looks even more like a tiny invasion of levitating spacemen.

You can find out more about where to look for these and other British orchids in our orchid identification guide PDF (16.1MB).

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