Dactylorhiza traunsteineri   Narrow-leaved or Irish Marsh Orchid R DD N

Dactylorhiza traunsteineri
Re-directed to Dactylorhiza traunsteinerioides

According to Streeter the place where this is supposed to be found most often is at the edges of calcareous fens in marshy ground - exactly where this plant was. The long narrow leaves immediately stand out as something different even though the colour of the flower is typical orchid purple. The other common name for this plant is Irish Marsh Orchid so it was nice to see it in Ireland.

Taxonomists have changed the name of this orchid too and it is now to be known as Dactylorhiza traunsteinerioides and subsumes both this and what we used to know as the Lapland orchid Dactylorhiza lapponica or D. traunsteineri ssp lapponica. In other words taxonomists now believe the identification of D. lapponica was wrong -it was an Irish Marsh-orchid after all. It'll all change again mark my words.

Whatever it's called it has a strange distribution with records dotted about Ireland as you would expect but a fair number on the north west coastal regions of Scotland, a very few in the south of England, some in Anglesey and on the Lleyn but a special group way out in east Anglia.

Edge of Lough Rinnamona, Ireland 23rd May 2005

Added on 26th May 2005, updated 11th December 2008, updated 28th March 2010, updated and re-directed 23rd May 2012

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