The Common Spotted Orchid is possibly the most numerous orchid in the British Isles, and is common everywhere with the exception of the most northerly parts of Scotland. A particularly handsome native perennial it is, like many other orchids, supplied in a variety of colours, sizes, and patterns (in order to make identification easy!). The individual flowers have a 3-lobed lower lip, the central lobe being nearly pointed, and the flowers being covered in purple dots, lines, and blotches. The flowers are in a big dense and  pointed spike.

The Common Spotted Orchid is found in a wide range of habitats (see below), particularly but not only on lime-rich soils, and flowers most prolifically in mid-summer.

Flower: Little 8 - 12 mm lilac, pink, or white flowers with a  3-lobed lower lip, the central lobe being large and nearly pointed,  big dense and  pointed spike.
Leaves: Lanceolate, usually spotted - sometimes not.
Habitat: Open woods, scrub, dry and damp grassland, road verges, railway cuttings and embankments, waste land
Height to about 60 cm
Typically flowering: June - July