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 Southern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa). New Flora of the British Isles (4th Edition, 2019) describes 6 subspecies of which ssp. incarnata, ssp. coccinea and ssp. pulchella are found in West Glamorgan. 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. Dactylorhiza x wintonii (A.Camus) P.F.Hunt, which is the hybrid between Early Marsh-orchid and Southern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa), has been recorded in West Glamorgan but its exact status and distribution are uncertain and not described here.

Native