Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz
Marsh Helleborine
Marsh helleborine is a native orchid of wet, lime-rich ground and one of the most elegant of our wild orchids. Spreading by underground rhizomes to form colonies, it produces upright stems usually 20-50cm tall, set with several narrow, strongly ribbed leaves.
About
Marsh helleborine is a native orchid of wet, lime-rich ground and one of the most elegant of our wild orchids. Spreading by underground rhizomes to form colonies, it produces upright stems usually 20-50cm tall, set with several narrow, strongly ribbed leaves. In summer it carries a loose, one-sided spray of nodding flowers, each a beautiful combination of purplish-brown and pink sepals around a frilled, white lip flushed and crimped at the margin, giving the bloom a delicate, ruffled look.
It flowers from late June through August in damp, unshaded places on neutral to calcareous soils, characteristically in fens, dune slacks, marshy meadows and old gravel pits where competition from taller vegetation is reduced. The open flowers are visited by a range of insects, including bees and wasps. A specialist of wet, base-rich habitats rather than ordinary borders, it is valued in fen and dune-slack restoration and in suitably damp, calcareous wildlife settings.
Also known as
marsh orchid
Synonyms
Amesia palustris · Arthrochilium palustre · Calliphyllon palustre · Cymbidium palustre · Epipactis palustris albiflora · Epipactis palustris ampla · Epipactis palustris elongata · Epipactis palustris ericetorum · Epipactis palustris gracilis · Epipactis palustris longibracteata
Beta — under active development. This catalogue is still being built and accuracy-checked. The information here (including plant identifications, British native status, soil and sun/shade preferences) is provided in good faith for general guidance only and may contain errors or omissions. It must not be relied upon on its own — please confirm details with us before making planting, specification, foraging or purchasing decisions, and never eat or medicinally use any plant based on this catalogue alone, as some species are toxic. To the extent permitted by law, Phoenix Amenity Supplies accepts no liability for any loss arising from use of this information.