One would hardly believe that all 18 species of wild growing orchids on this page where found within the borders of  Vienna or at a maximum distance of 20 km of it.
To protect this very endagerd species  their exact locations will not be revealed.
Some of them occur more frequently while others are extremely rare. This means, that some species may grow in an area as small as only 5 by 5 meters and there one may find only 5 or 10 individual plants. Some of them can be spotted easyly while others are difficult to find because they are very tiny and/or camouflaged. But everybody who stroll around Viennas meadows, forrests or hills should be encouraged to keep his eyes open. There is a good chance to find very beautiful wild growing orchids.

If you are lucky and find any wildgrowing orchids

Please do not touch this very endangered plants

More species of  wild growing orchids can be found close to Vienna and the surrounding area. For example : Orchis pallens (Pale-flowered Orchid / Bleiches Knabenkraut), Neottia nidus-avis (Bird's-nest OrchidNestwurz), Spiranthes spiralis (Autumn Lady's-tresses / Herbst-Drehwurz), Limodorum abortivum (Violet Limodore/Violetter Dingel) or Epipactis palustris (Marsh Heleborine / Sumpf-Stendelwurz) - just to name a few. This is not a complete list - there are more. Until now I do not have any photos of  further orchids growing in this area. As soon as I will luckyly find one of them and get nice pictures, I will expand this page.

I am very grateful to Diethelm Jobstmann and Horst Krasser who gave me a lot of  hints where  orchids can be found close to Vienna. Without their help it would have been impossible for me to find all this plants, take pictures and create this page.
Many thanks to Brian Allen for providing help on english taxonomy.

- Orchids of Seibersdorf
- Leucorchis albida
- 15 Orchids of the Wienerwald (german)


created : 23.9.2000 - updated : 14.1.2006 - external links updated : 29.1.2022 - minor changes : 29.1.2022 - © Th.Gramanitsch