Dactylorhiza praetermissa Southern Marsh-orchid

A very common orchid of damp grasslands, roadside verges and dune slacks. It has a markedly southern distribution in Britain, entirely absent from Scotland and much of northern England where it is replaced by Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella). There are no reliable records of Norrthern Marsh-orchid in West Glamorgan, but where the distributions of these two species overlap in other parts of Wales, the endemic hybrid Dactylorhiza x insignis is sometimes found. Southern Marsh-orchid usually has plain leaves, sometimes with dark markings or rings, and the purple or mauve-pink flowers have a broadly elliptic lip, while Northern Marsh-orchid sometimes has small spots on its leaves and the dark, reddish-purple flowers have a rhomboidal lip. Southern Marsh-orchid is widespread and abundant in West Galmorgan and probably the most common orchid in our area. Occasionally, white flowered individuals are found (see photo). The robust hybrid between Southern Marsh-orchid and Common Spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), Dactylorhiza x grandis, is frequent in some parts of the county.

Native