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Dactylorhiza purpurella

northern marsh-orchid

Orchidaceae North-western Europe

Attracts Pollinators

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterHigh

HardinessZones 5–7

Overview

Dactylorhiza purpurella is a tuberous perennial orchid 6-16 inches (15-40 cm) tall, growing from palmate underground tubers and dying back to them each winter. The stout, hollow stem carries several broad, unspotted or faintly marked green leaves that taper upward into the flower spike. In early summer it bears a dense, flat-topped to cylindrical spike 1.5-3 inches (4-8 cm) long packed with deep magenta to royal-purple flowers, each about 0.4 inch (1 cm) across with a broad, shallowly three-lobed lip marked with darker loops and dots. It grows in damp, base-rich ground such as wet meadows, marshes, fens, dune slacks, and flushed grassland, mostly in the cooler, wetter north and west of its range. Like other orchids it depends on soil fungi to germinate and establish, so it cannot simply be dug up and moved. The plant is slow to build up and sensitive to drainage, grazing changes, and enrichment, and it declines where wet grassland is lost. Each plant flowers for two to three weeks in June and July.

Native Range

Dactylorhiza purpurella is native to north-western Europe, chiefly Britain, Ireland, and nearby coasts of Scandinavia. It grows in damp, base-rich meadows, marshes, fens, and dune slacks, mainly in the cooler, wetter north and west.

Suggested Uses

Found in conservation grassland, wet meadow restoration, and protected marsh and fen sites rather than in cultivated borders. Where damp, base-rich grassland is managed for wildlife, it adds early-summer purple colour and supports visiting insects.

How to Identify

Recognise it by the stout stem of broad green leaves and the dense spike of deep magenta to royal-purple flowers in early summer, each with a broad, barely lobed lip marked with darker loops. The rich, almost crimson-purple colour and the diamond-shaped flat-topped spike separate it from the paler southern marsh-orchids. Leaves are usually plain green or only faintly spotted.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height6" - 1'4"

Width/Spread4" - 8"

Colors

Flower Colors

purple

pink

Foliage Colors

green

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~3 weeks

Spring Summer

The dense purple spikes open from late May through July, lasting two to three weeks on each plant. Flowering peaks in June across most of its damp grassland range. Bumblebees and other insects visit the flowers, though the flowers give no nectar reward.

Detailed Descriptions

Foliage Description

green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 4-10 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range6.0 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam peat

Drainagemoist

Water & Climate

Water Needs

High

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

Slow; several years from seed to flowering

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

This wild orchid is difficult to cultivate and grows only in damp, base-rich, low-nutrient soil that stays moist through spring and summer, in full sun to light shade. It depends on partner fungi in the soil, so transplanting or growing from seed rarely succeeds outside specialist conditions. Steady moisture and an open, unfertilised sward suit it, while drainage, heavy grazing, or feeding cause decline. No fertiliser is used, as enrichment favours competing grasses. In suitable wet meadows it is left undisturbed to spread slowly on its own. Lifting wild plants is both damaging and, for this protected species, restricted by law.

Pruning

No pruning is needed for this herbaceous orchid. The flower spike is left to set seed where colonies are building, then dies back with the leaves by late summer. The plant overwinters underground as tubers and reappears in spring.