IDENTITY RECORD

Early Marsh Orchid

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Dactylorhiza incarnata

DescrIption

I grow to between 20 and 60 cm tall. With my companions the bee orchid and the pyramidal orchid I am one of the early flowering orchids in spring.

Where and when can you find me in the reserve ?

• I live in wet meadows and on the dikes.
• My pale to dark pink flowers bloom in May and June.

What other species might you mistake me for ?

• Unless you have a sharp eye, it’s easy to confuse me with many other types of orchid in my genus.
• One tip to help spot me: on Rohrschollen Island, my flowers are a pale pink color which none of the other orchids have.

Conservation status

• Red list of vascular plants in metropolitan France: Least Concern (LC).
• Red list of endangered vascular plants in Alsace: Endangered (EN).
• Protected in Alsace.

Remember that picking flowers and plants is prohibited in the nature reserves.