Red is a Christmassy colour (robins, Santa, etc) so I am using this as a thin excuse to talk about a red, or at least dark carmine-red, hardy orchid that I have grown in recent years: Anacamptis (or Orchis) coriophora, also known as the Bug orchid.
Not growing wild in the U.K., it is widely distributed in central and southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. I was lucky to be contacted via my previous version of this website by a family in Hungary who own a field with hundreds of this plant growing. I identified it for them and they kindly gifted some seed. It germinates readily with B1 fungus and grows robustly into seedlings and flowering plants.
It is called the Bug orchid due to having a scent often described as musty and slightly sweet, but with an unpleasant edge – resembling that of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius), apparently. I feel it is a shame for this nice little orchid to have such a negative association, particularly since it is very similar to its much more highbrow-sounding cousin the Holy orchid (Anacamptis sancta). After all, coriophora is not the only orchid to have a slightly unpleasant scent.
I have read that the flower spur has nectar and pollination occurs via honey bees. It is semi-wintergreen, with the leaves reappearing quite early in the new year. In the wild it grows in meadows that are often on the damp side. However there is much geographical variation in form, including one that is sometimes termed Orchis fragrans which is often paler in colour, prefers drier ground, and is reckoned to smell nicer!
Photos: 1. First year Bug orchids grown from seed, 2. Bug orchids flowering, 3. close-up of Bug orchid flowers
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