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170607 Southern marsh-orchid (2)

Apart from 18 species of rust, there wasn’t a lot of fungi to be found during our foray at Kenfig National Nature Reserve last Saturday but what we did see was a lot of stunning marsh orchids.

Identifying these beauties can be extremely tricky, even for trained botanists, partly because they look very similar, partly because their colouration can vary quite a lot within species, and partly because they hybridise easily with each other. So, although the chances are that these are Southern Marsh-orchids (Dactylorhiza praetermissa), there may also be some Northern Marsh-orchids (Dactylorhiza purpurella) or a mixture of both. Whatever they are, they’re beautiful!

I am, however, quite sure about these next pictures. These are Early Marsh-orchids (Dactylorhiza incarnata). They thrive in damp calcareous habitats so the dune systems at Kenfig suit them perfectly – or, at least they will as long as the dune systems are managed to prevent scrub and trees taking hold: the orchids actually grow best when wind and rain are allowed to destabilise the dunes and move sand and plants around a bit.