Dactylorhiza majalis subsp. lapponica
Lapland marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza majalis subsp. lapponica, is an orchid found across parts of Europe and Siberia, from the Pyrenees and the Alps to the Carpathians, and throughout central Europe, Scandinavia, and European Russia. It grows on calcareous soils, such as fens and other places with moving groundwater. It is pollinated by bumblebees.
The plant was first described in 1843 as Orchis angustifolia var. lapponica by Laestadius and Hartman, later renamed Dactylorhiza lapponica in 1962, and is now treated as a subspecies of Dactylorhiza majalis. The group has many synonyms—more than 170 names have been used historically. In Britain and Ireland, plants once called Dactylorhiza traunsteineri are now reclassified within the D. majalis group, often as the subspecies traunsteineri or related forms, a change supported by genetic data.
The Lapland marsh-orchid has also been studied for seed germination in vitro (in the lab).
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 02:47 (CET).