The Lizard Orchid, Himantoglossum hircinum, is found across Europe, from Spain eastwards to the Balkans and Hungary and in western North Africa. It is usually rare but can sometimes be found in great numbers in suitable habitats. This orchid grows in dry meadows, rocky areas, and open woods. It may reach a height of 90 centimetres (35.4 in).

Sites in Britain

The largest British population of Lizard Orchid is found amongst sand dunes at Sandwich Bay

Sandwich Bay

Sandwich Bay is a long sweeping inlet of the sea between Ramsgate and Deal, on the east coast of Kent, England. The coastal area consists of sand flats with their associated salt marshes and coastal sand dunes. The Sandwich Flats stretch for about five miles along the coast...

 in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, where there are many hundred plants. A relatively large population is found in East Anglia

East Anglia

East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

, along the stretch of the Devil's Dyke

Devil's Dyke, Cambridgeshire

The Devil's Dyke is an earthwork in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It consists of a long bank and ditch that runs in a south-east direction from the small village of Reach to nearby Woodditton...

 that runs through Newmarket Racecourse

Newmarket Racecourse

The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...

. There are a number of other sites where it occurs in small numbers.

Sites in France

Small populations can be found in many parts of France, including Centre, Massif central

Massif Central

The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....

, Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

, Ardèche

Ardèche

Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...

, Charente

Charente

Charente is a department in southwestern France, in the Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.-History:Charente is one of the original...

, Charente-Maritime

Charente-Maritime

Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

, Dordogne

Dordogne

Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...

, Saône-et-Loire

Saône-et-Loire

Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...

, the Jura, Calvados

Calvados

The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...

, Puy de Dôme, Loir et Cher, Indre et Loire, Lot, Haute-Garonne

Haute-Garonne

Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...

, Aveyron

Aveyron

Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....

, Tarn, Nièvre

Nièvre

Nièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

, Champagne, Aube

Aube

Aube is a department in the northeastern part of France named after the Aube River. In 1995, its population was 293,100 inhabitants.- History :Aube is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

, Val d'Oise, île de Noirmoutier

Île de Noirmoutier

The island of Noirmoutier is off the Atlantic coast of France in the Vendée department.Parts of the island have been reclaimed from the sea. In 2005 it served as the finish of the Tour de France prologue....

, the Vendée

Vendée

The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...

, around Paris, Maine et Loire, and Drôme

Drôme

Drôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...

.

Sites in Italy

Small numbers have been found in the Mugello valley at the foot of the Apennines North of Florence.