This small orchid has many interesting details. The white and red blossoms are small, but very attractive. The buds and outer petals are purple brown and look like charred, thus the name.

Although it is possible, to grow this species from seeds, you will have to be patient. It needs five or six years before the first green leaves appear. In the first years, the orchid develops no bulbs like the other Orchis species, only a leafless rhizom which is nourished by the fungus. Many years later, the orchid develops bulbs and leaves and the mycorrhizom withers.

Orchis ustulata grows on semi-dry lime meadows with low vegetation. In the garden it can be grouped with other low orchids like O. morio or Orchis tridentata. This is a similar species which looks like a small Orchis simia.