Syn.: Orchis incarnata L., Orchis strictifolia Opitz, Dactylorhiza strictifolia (Opitz) Rauschert
Family: Orchidaceae Juss.
Distribution: Western, Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Southern Scandinavia, Western Siberia.
Ecology: It grows in fens and fens meadows with high level of underground water, from lowlands to foothills.
Description: A perennial herb with an erect stem, 30–60 cm high. The leaves are lanceolate, erect, yellowish-green, unspotted. The spike cylindrical, to 20 cm long, the flowers are pink, rarely white. Flowers from May to June. The fruit is a capsule.
Threat and Protection: The Early Marsh Orchid is a protected plant in some countries (CZ, SK), simultaneously is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
These images were taken in Czechia, Moravia, Obůrky-Třeštěnec and Brno, Hády (from 17. 5. to 29. 5. 2003).
