''Dactylorhiza incarnata'', the early marsh-orchid,
is a perennial, temperate-climate species of orchid generally found growing in wet meadows, and generally on base-rich soils, up to about 2100m asl. The species occurs widely in
Europe
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and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
from
Portugal
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and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
east to
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and
Xinjiang
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.
[Petrova, A.S., Vladimirov, V. & Stoyanov, Y. (2009). ''Dactylorhiza maculata'' subsp. ''transsilvanica'' (Orchidaceae): new for the Bulgarian flora. Phytologia Balcanica 15: 389-392.]
There are several subspecies and also hybrids, rendering the identification of this species more difficult, but typically, the flowering spike is robust with a hollow stem, 25–60 cm tall, and bearing up to 50 flowers. Plants grow to a height of from 15 to 70 cm. The 4–7 erect yellowish-green leaves are hooded at the tip. The inflorescence is 4–12 cm long, with up to 50 blooms. The labellum appears long and narrow, since its sides are strongly reflexed (folded back). The tip is shallowly three-lobed. The flower is often flesh-coloured (the meaning of ''incarnata'') and the labellum normally has loop-shaped markings.
The flowering period is from May to mid-July, dependent on latitude and subspecies.
Subspecies
Many names have been proposed for subspecies, varieties and forms within the species. Subspecies recognized as of June 2014:
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''subsp''. coccinea'' – British Isles
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''subsp''. cruenta'' – from France and Ireland east to Siberia and Xinjiang
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''subsp''. gemmana'' – Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''subsp''. incarnata'' – from Spain and Ireland east to Siberia and Kazakhstan
#''Dactylorhiza incarnata'' subsp. ''jugicrucis'' – Transcaucasus
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''nothosubsp''. krylovii'' ined. – France and Western Siberia
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''subsp''. lobelii'' – Denmark, Norway, Netherlands
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''subsp''. ochroleuca'' – British Isles, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Baltic Republics
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''subsp''. pulchella'' – British Isles, Sweden, France, Austria, Czech Republic
# ''Dactylorhiza incarnata ''nothosubsp''. versicolor'' – Germany and Austria ''(D. incarnata subsp. incarnata × D. incarnata subsp. ochroleuca)''
Hybrids have been reported between ''D. incarnata'' and ''D. maculata'', ''D. praetermissa'', ''D.'' ''purpurella'' and ''D. kerryensis''.
Dactylorhiza incarnata - kahkjaspunane sõrmkäpp Pakri.jpg, Inflorescence
Dactylorhiza incarnata ochroleuca - Niitvälja bog.jpg, subsp. ''ochroleuca''
Mg-k d1002037 dactylorhiza coccinea.jpg, subsp. ''coccinea''
Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp cruenta LC0305.jpg, subsp. ''cruenta''
Black-veined white (Aporia crataegi) male underside.jpg, ''Aporia crataegi'' on subsp. ''latissima'', Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
References
* Turner Ettlinger, D.M. (1976) ''British and Irish Orchids: a field guide''
* Buttler, Karl Peter (1986) ''Orchideen: die wildwachsenden Arten und Unterarten Europas, Vorderasiens und Nordafrikas''.
* Lang, David (1980) ''Orchids of Britain: a field guide''.
* Fitter, A.(1978) ''An Atlas of the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe''.
External links
*
*
Den virtuella floran - Distribution (excluding ssp. ''cruenta''*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q854799
incarnata
Orchids of Europe
Orchids of Asia
Plants described in 1755