Photographs: Co. Clare and Co. Cork

Early Purple Orchid Orchis mascula Magairlín meidhreach Family: Orchidaceae Flowering April-June. Perennial. Native. Loose spikes of flowers are usually purple but sometimes pinkish or white, the shallow-lobed broad lip with a dark-spotted paler patch in the centre. Side sepals are erect and the spur is as long as ovary. The 3-8 basal leaves and 2-3 stem leaves are usually spotted and have blunt tips Usually grows in small groups on neutral or calcareous soil in woods and on roadsides, grassland and limestone pavements. Forms large colonies in the Burren, where the white form often occurs

Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula, Magairlín meidhreach