Scientific name: Dactylorhiza incarnata var. pulchella (Druce) T.G.F. Curtis & B. Sayers
Common name: Early marsh-orchid
Description
Habit: Spindly, stems 15-30cm high.
Leaves: 3-4 leaves, unspotted, less numerous, slightly shorter, linear-lanceolate, broadest near the base, narrowly hooded at apex.
Flowers: Inflorescence dense, initially ovoid, then near cylindrical, with 10-40 flowers present, flowers fuchsia-pink to violet; sepals marked with dots and thin loops; 2 lateral sepals spreading, erect or bent down; petals forming a hood with the dorsal sepal; labellum larger, obscurely lobed or lobed less than half way to base, more or less rhombic, the sides usually strongly reflexed, with distinct thick dark violet markings; spur robust, conical, slightly curved, shorter than ovary; ovary cylindrical, twisted, stalkless.
Habitat: Dune slacks, bogs and marshes, fens and lakeshores.
Distribution: Scattered throughout Ireland.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No
Variation: The colour purple in the flowers can vary.
Varieties similar to var. pulchella:
Dactylorhiza incarnata var. hyphaematodes (Neum.) B. Lojtnant
Very similar to var. pulchella but is very heavily spotted on both sides of the leaf.
Found at marshes, fens and lakeshores.
Dactylorhiza incarnata var. haematodes (Rchb.) Soó
Similar in all aspects to var. pulchella but the leaf is spotted on one side only, usually the upper surface.
Found at marshes, fens and lakeshores.