Coeloglossum viride is a small discreet plant that can be found in mountain pastures.
Flowers are small, green or tinged with purple, when it grows in altitude, confering to it a beautiful coloured aspect. The lip is trilobate with a median lobe shortest that the lateral ones. The spur is spherical and filled of nectar.

Blooming is from May to August following altitude.

Further to recent genomic studies, it has been suggested to include this genius to Dactylorhiza under the name Dactylorhiza viridis (LINNE) BATEMAN, PRIDGEON & CHASE 1997, but this inclusion is questionned. Coeloglossum viride is also called "frog orchid".