Irish wildflowers BSBI map

Irish Marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza kerryensis, Magairlín gaelach
Photographs: Co. Cork and Co. Limerick

Irish Marsh-orchid (Western Marsh-orchid)
Dactylorhiza kerryensis (Dactylorhiza occidentalis)
Magairlín gaelach
Family: Orchidaceae

Flowering time: May-July. Tuberous perennial. Native.

Very variable. Deep red-purple to pinkish-purple flowers in dense flower spikes with spreading side sepals and a broad 3-lobed lip with a narrow, pointed mid-lobe. The lip is strongly marked with crimson dots and streaks. Robust, stocky growth habit, the broad, spreading leaves usually with purple blotches and/or spots.
D. kerryensis var. kerryensis has paler flowers and unmarked leaves.

Endemic to Ireland in damp calcareous grassland, fens, marshes and dune slacks and on roadsides.

Irish Marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza kerryensis, Magairlín gaelach

Irish Marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza kerryensis, Magairlín gaelach

Irish Marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza kerryensis, Magairlín gaelach
Irish Marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza kerryensis, Magairlín gaelach

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