Dactylorhiza x formosa Hybrid Marsh Orchid C DD N
According to new Flora of the British Isles by Clive Stace Edition 3 this is probably the commonest hybrid Dactylorhiza orchid in the British Isles and is found wherever the two parents, Dactylorhiza purpurella (Northern Marsh-orchid) and Dactylorhiza maculata (Heath Spotted-orchid), thrive. In this case both parents were present in good numbers and the plant not only had intermediate characters but hybrid vigour with a flower spike more than twice the length of either typical parent at that locality. Nearby there were also others showing hybrid vigour but these seemed closer to D. maculata and were not as convincing as hybrid plants showing characters of both parental species.
Records for this hybrid are commonest in the area around Inverness where this one was discovered but otherwise are dotted around the British Isles and Ireland but obviously not often found in southern England as D. purpurella is a northern species.
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| Dactylorhiza x formosa Hybrid Marsh-orchid |
Daviot, Inverness, Scotland 27th June 2011
Added on July 10th 2011