Orchid Observers Talk

Difficulty with Dactyhoriza hybrids

  • kathcas79 by kathcas79 scientist

    Hi - as many of you have noticed and commented on TALK, ID for some of the Dactylorhiza field images can be challenging! Some of the marsh orchid and common spotted orchids can hybridise a lot and your many observations, suggestions and clarifications on TALK are extremely valuable to us. For some of the images species ID will be possible from further examination of the photograph, others will probably need further information about parent species observed at the site. For those we cannot definitively ID we will seek verification from the VC recorder or relevant expert. Many thanks for the fantastic field recording effort so far. Check out the blog for latest Orchid Observers news!

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  • Rich_Mielcarek by Rich_Mielcarek

    Conversely both the spotted orchids and at least southern marsh (probably northern as well but I'm not familar with that) are incredibly variable so it is quite easy to say 'hybrid' when in fact an individual plant is just outside the normally illustrated range of a particular species. In the field it is easier because you can look at a number of plants in a colony and come to a 'majority decision'. You are always going to be at a disadvantage trying to identify lone plants from photographs, particularly as often the photos only show the flowers, not the leaves as well.

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  • Rich_Mielcarek by Rich_Mielcarek

    I forgot to mention that both Southern and Northern Marsh have variants with spotted leaves; the Southern Marsh var junialis even has a more heavily marked lip, more akin to a hybrid.

    All in all a bit of a minefield.

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  • MiaG by MiaG

    Would it be possible then when trying to identify - have an "I'm not sure / I don't know" answer? Some of the orchids may also show other species of orchid - so "mixed orchids" or "group shot"

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  • MikeWallerNHM by MikeWallerNHM scientist in response to Rich Mielcarek's comment.

    Completely agree. You really need to see the plants in the field in their habitat and amongst the wider population to come to a 'good' identification. It is for this reason that we would advise people to only upload photographs of the relevant Dactylorhiza that they are sure of the species and NOT potentially confusing hybrids. Of course, you can't always be sure but if you suspect it is a hybrid, please don't upload it to the website.

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