Dactylorhiza incarnata Early Marsh-orchid

A short-stemmed marsh orchid with an inflorescensce of pale pink, carmine or red flowers with the lower lip folded back in a characteristic way. It grows in base-rich marshes and fens, dune slacks and wet meadows where it flowers before the much more common Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa). It was once a frequent member of coastal dune marsh and fens in West Glamorgan but it has decreased markedly in these habitats in recent decades. It is also found in some inland, base-rich, marshy grasslands in the upper Dulais Valley.

Native