Neottia nidus-avis, the Bird's-nest orchid, is a non-photosynthetic orchid: Plants are not in any part green, deriving all their nutrition from a mycorrhizal fungus in the soil, which in turn derives nutrition from the roots of trees.

Bird's-nest orchid grows to 40 cm (16 in) tall. Each shoot can carry up to 60 flowers. The flower labellum splits and strongly diverges at its lower end.

The plants can be hard to spot, being camouflaged against the leaf litter. I've made these photographs in a secluded beech forest near the city of Wasserburg am Inn, Upper Bavaria. In Germany, all orchids are strictly protected by law.