Dactylorhiza incarnata (L.) Soó subsp. coccinea (Pugsley) Soó

Native

This subspecies of Early Marsh-orchid is found in machair grassland and damp dune-slacks, where it can be extremely abundant. It also occasionally grows on the wet terraces of slumped sea-cliffs, and inland in calcareous fens, flushes and on highly saline fly-ash waste from power stations (P. D. Carey & T. D. Dines in Preston et al, 2002).

In Norfolk, this subspecies of Early Marsh-orchid was recorded from both Holme Dunes and Overstrand Cliffs in Beckett et al (1999). It seems that numbers can fluctuate dramatically from year to year.