The campus is in bloom: orchids adorn the grounds
06/02/2026Rare plants can be seen on the Hubland campus: 30 specimens of the orchid, the buck's strap-tongue, are blooming there. The "Living Campus" initiative points this out.
Now is the best time to see the largest native orchid in full bloom. It can be easily identified by its strong, goat-like odour. That's where it gets its name from: Goat's strap-tongue or Buck's strap-tongue. The plant grows up to one metre high and displays its fascinating flowers between mid-May and the end of June.
Around 30 of these rare plants can currently be found in front of the natural sciences lecture theatre building on the Hubland Campus. 2026 seems to be a good year for orchids: "I haven't seen such a large group of orchids on campus in the past ten years," says Johannes Spaethe, JMU biologist and member of the university's "Living Campus" initiative.
The initiative and the Native Orchid Working Group (AHO) are now drawing attention to the existence of this strictly protected species with an information board on site. Incidentally, the common orchid is not the only orchid species growing on the campus: there are also populations of the bee orchid.
Living Campus website
Additional images
