Which Fragrant Orchid??

[the young hunter]

hey there !

in 2006 i paid a visit to one of the only sites for marsh helleborine in shropshire and at the same site (which is a fen) there were a number of fragrant orchids amongst the helleborines. i immediately suspected they were marsh fragrants but on close inspection of the pics im not so sure.

altho it was mid july (marsh fragrants flower in july), the sepels were broad and blunt and the lip was small, not very broad and not clearly lobed - more like a heath fragrant. but there are no records of heath or marsh fragrants in shropshire - (but this could be just because 'fragrant orchid' has recently been split into 3 species and there is not enough existing data on distribution yet).

i wondered whether it could be a heath x marsh fragrant hybrid?

heres the pics...





cheers

mike

[ceterach]

Mike

Why not pick a difficult one

The flowers are more or less consistent with G.densiflora and the habitat (assuming it is damp and alkaline as the presence of Marsh Helleborine implies) certainly is: so take the two together and I see no reason why you should doubt your first identification.

As you point out the three species are so similar they have only just been separated and they are tricky.


All the best

[the young hunter]

well i have always assumed it was marsh fragrant but i was never 100% sure simply because the lip was more like heath fragrant.

its probably just a variation within the species because the habitat and flowering time were spot on.

thanks john

mike

[Uncle_Filthster]

Looks like densiflora to me. It's found on a few sites not too far from me and shows a fair bit of variation in the robustness of flowers, not only between sites but between individuals and even on the same plant!