Relations and associations

Heath Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza maculata

If you came across this delightful flower and were unaware of what it was you could easily mistake it for a Common Spotted orchid. In fact even the leaves have a spotting on them like D. fuchsia but this is subtly different. It is in fact D. maculata  the Heath Spotted orchid. It not only shares a genus but has the same range of flower colours and there is also a shared ecology as well. This does tend to result in some areas with hybridisation between the two which can make clear identification difficult. The Heat Spotted has a flower spike which opens more like a Pyramidal orchid and the stem of the flower often has colour visible towards the top.

It has taken some considerable time for us here to find a reliable source of Heath Spotted seed where hybrids have not appeared between this and other species of genus Dactylorhiza. The good news is that we have now been offered seed from a population in Shropshire which is where this photograph was taken. So in a years time it will be possible to offer these lovely plants for sale.