''Limodorum abortivum'', also known as violet limodore or violet bird's-nest orchid, is a species of myco-heterotrophic,

achlorophyllous Myco-heterotrophy (from Greek , , and ) is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food from parasitism upon fungi rather than from photosynthesis. A myco-heterotroph i ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

and is native to mainland

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, western Asia and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

area. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous plant growing to 85 cm, with an inflorescence of 10-20 violet flowers produced from April to June. The leaves are reduced to scales and, although Limodorum contains photosynthetic pigments, these are insufficient to support the nutrition of the adult plant which is believed to rely entirely on a mycoheterotrophic or parasitic relationship with fungi, primarily of the family Russulaceae. Seeds are among the largest produced by orchids and seedlings develop very slowly, remaining entirely below ground for 8–10 years before flowering. Typical Mediterranean habitat is open woodland of evergreen oak, pine and chestnut on alkaline soil from sea level to 1,300 metres.

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* Neottieae Myco-heterotrophic orchids Orchids of Europe Orchids of Asia Flora of North Africa Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Epidendroideae-stub