Dactylorhiza fuchsii
Common Spotted-orchid
Species Details
An occasional native perennial of grasslands, waste places, marshy areas and woods on base-rich to neutral soils. It occurs throughout Derbyshire, from Torside Reservoir (SK0698) and Moss Valley (SK3880) in the north, to Swainspark (SK2917) and Ticknall Quarries (SK3623) in the south. It has been lost from some sites due to agricultural improvement but these have been balanced by its ability to colonise new, often man-made, habitats. The striking variety Xxrhodochila with uniformly magenta flowers has been recorded rarely, as at Slaley (SK2657) in 2002 and near Buxton (SK0975) in 1984 (Ettlinger 1991). It has the local name of Nightcaps, though this name is also applied to the Heath Spotted-orchid (XXD. maculata) Grigson (1975).