Native Irish Wild flowers, Early Marsh Orchid , Ballykeefe, county Kilkenny
Early Marsh Orchid
Dactylorhiza incarnata
Magairlín mór
Family: Orchidaceae
Ballykeeffe, Kilkenny
Nigel Borrington
Flowering May-July. Tuberous perennial. Native.
Flowers usually white, pink or purple. (Ssp. coccinea has reddish flowers.)
Narrow, cylindrical flower-spike, lower bracts longer than flowers. Sides of lip strongly reflexed, weakly 3-lobed, 2 U-shaped loops enclosing dotted patches. Leaves erect, keeled, usually unspotted. (Ssp. cruenta, leaves spotted both sides) Hollow stem. Very variable, links to subspecies below. Identifications by Ian Denholm
Damp calcareous soils, meadows, fens, marshes, dune-slacks. Also slightly acidic bogs, damp heaths. Declining due to habitat loss.
Orchids, A poem By : Cassandra Huller
Early March Orchid
Photography : Nigel Borrington
Orchids
By : Cassandra Huller
Round is the shape,
Pink are the petals.
Stem long and tall,
Leaves fluttered over, bent but not broken.
Roots deep in dirt,
Surrounded by a wall.
Some flowers fall but always rebloom~
Nigel Borrington 
You must be logged in to post a comment.