Heath Spotted Orchid

Dactylorhiza maculata

Dactylorhiza maculata, known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to Russia. It is also found in Algeria, Morocco, and western Siberia. It prefers woods, moorland, bogs, marshes, pastureland and meadows.

Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Dactylorhiza fuchsii, the common spotted orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is one of Europe's most common wild orchids, and is widespread across much of Europe, with the range extending eastward into Siberia, Mongolia and Xinjiang. The species is also reportedly naturalised in the Canadian Province of Ontario.

Heath

A heath is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler and damper climate.

Orchid

Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants, living in diverse habitats on every continent except Antarctica. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is in the tropics. Many species are epiphytes, living on trees. The flowers and their pollination mechanisms are highly specialized, attracting insect pollinators by colour, pattern, scent, pheromones, and sometimes by mimicking female insects. Orchids have very small seeds, relying on fungal partners for germination. Some orchids have no leaves, either photosynthesizing with their roots or relying entirely on fungal partners for food.

heath spotted orchid

Noun

1. An orchid of species Dactylorhiza maculata, growing on hills and lowlands across Europe and northern Africa.