Scientific name: Orchis mascula L.
Common name: Early-purple orchid
Description
Habit: Plant with 2 ovoid underground tubers. Stem 12-45cm high, stout, usually solid, reddish-brown.
Leaves: 4-8 basal leaves present, several on stem, with few smaller ones above, oblong, usually with dark spots.
Flowers: In a long moderately dense cylindrical spike; flowers purple to reddish-purple, 20mm across, not fragrant; sepals and petals nearly equal; lateral sepals erect; upper one arched forward over the upper petals; labellum broad, convex, 3-lobed; middle lobe the longest, often notched, with a pale, dark spotted area in the centre; spur curved, upwardly directed, stout, slightly shorter than the ovary.
Habitat: Sand dunes, pastures and meadows, acid heaths, eskers, pavement and quarries, mountains and woodlands.
Distribution: Scattered throughout the island but declining in numbers.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: Yes