 Photo ©
Carl Farmer |
Frequent in grassy places where the soil is not too acid, and on coastal cliffs and beside rocky burns in hills. Height c 15-50 cm. Lowest petal c 6-10 mm wide Skye ID: Bracts (at base of each flower) < 2mm wide, much shorter than flower, membranous, one-veined, coloured like the flowers. In other purplish Skye orchids the bracts are wider, longer, more robust and coloured more like leaves. Other features: Flowers earlier than other orchids. Lowest petal 3-lobed, leaves often spotted. Spur is stout, wider than the bracts. Lower petal has spots only near the mouth, not all over as with the purple Dactylorhiza species. |
