Dactylorhiza alpestris

The Dactylorhiza majalis subsp alpestris is most often considered as a high-altitude form of the Dactylorhiza majalis, but sometimes also as a separate species, in which case it is called Dactylorhiza alpestris. It is found in the wild in the Alps and the Pyrenees, above 1500 m altitude. The alpine orchid differs from the early marsh orchid in that it has a more stocky appearance, flowers with a brighter colour, and a less trilobed, almost entire, spreading lip. Its floral spikes are adorned with purple-violet flowers streaked with dark purple on glaucous green foliage spotted with brown to purple. Plant this garden orchid in the sun, in a small, moist meadow or on the banks of a pond. It tolerates limestone well.

The Dactylorhiza majalis subsp alpestris belongs to the orchid family. Its distribution area is poorly known due to its proximity to D. majalis and other related taxa. In France, it extends from the Pyrenees to the Alps and further east in Europe, up to 2500 m altitude. It is a species of light associated with wet to flooded, clayey and often limestone soils, present in the mountains in waterlogged alpine meadows. From a botanical point of view, the genus Dactylorhiza is separated from the genus Orchis because of finger-shaped roots (Dactyle = finger; Rhiza = rhizome).

The Alpine Orchid is perfectly hardy. Its foliage emerges in spring and disappears early in the season, sometimes as early as August. Depending on the climate, the flowering is a little later than that of the Early Marsh Orchid, in June and July. Other distinctive features are a more stocky appearance, flowers with a brighter colour and a nearly entire and spreading lip. Its leaves are broadly ovate. In the centre of the foliage stands a hollow stem, reaching an average height of 25 cm. The inflorescence is a dense spike adorned with numerous flowers surrounded by long bronze-green bracts. The flowers are a bright purple colour. Each comprises spread-out lateral sepals, an upper sepal, and two lateral petals forming a helmet. The lip is incurved towards the centre, streaked with dark purple on a pink-purple background. The leaves are oblong to lanceolate in shape, almost always spotted with violet-brown.

The Dactylorhiza alpestris establishes itself and self-seeds quite easily in sunny, moist meadows, along the edges of natural ponds, in rich soil, even clayey and limestone. Like many terrestrial orchids, it has some requirements but can become prolific where it thrives. Our plants do not come from wild digging but from specialised nurseries. In nature, this orchid grows among grasses such as Molinia caeruleae subsp. cerulean, you can perfectly reproduce this association in the garden. Also, plant it with alpine plants that prefer moist soil, such as Lychnis flos-cuculi.