Common Spotted Orchid by Richard Brunton 1/2
Common spotted orchid by Angela Collins 2/2

Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii

The common spotted orchid is the most widespread and familiar orchid in Norfolk. When confronted with a grassland or wet grassland orchid it is much the most likely species, though it often occurs beside many rarer species. Like other orchids in the genus Dactylorhiza, it is very variable and it is prone to hybridisation, making identification even more tricky.

Conservation status

The common spotted orchid, though its unimproved grassland habitat declined massively in the twentieth century, is still common in Norfolk. As long as unimproved grasslands may be preserved in the county, the common spotted orchid is not of immediate conservation concern.

Related questions & advice

Sorry, there's currently no Wildlife Questions and Advice with the specified paramaters.

Details

Did you know? The word orchid is derived from the ancient Greek word for testicle, a reference to the shape of the root in many species.

Though botanists disagree on the true number, there are more than 20,000 species of orchid in the world, most of them in the tropics. Only the daisy family Asteraceae has a similar number of species.

Vanilla is derived from the seed-pod of a tropical genus of orchid.
How to recognise
Where to see
When to see
Find out more
How to help
Share this