Burren Flowers - Early Purple Orchid

Botanical : Orchis Mascula

As Gaeilge : Magairlín Meidhreach

Family : Orchidceae - orchid family

The Early Purple Orchid flowers in the Burren between April and June. The Early Purple Orchid is native to Ireland. It's flowering stem grows to 60cm in height. This beautiful orchid's flowers are mainly purple, but also appear in pink and white. The Early Purple Orchid flowers form in a lax (loosely arranged) spike, 4-15cm high. The leaves usually have purple-black spots. The Early Purple Orchid can be found in limestone pavements, woodland and grassland. The rare white form is found on the west coast of Ireland in the Burren.

Burren Flowers Greeting Cards - Early Purple Orchid

The Early Purple Orchid featured in card pack mbf009 is the rare white variety, mainly found in the Burren. Others in the pack include the Bloody Crane's-Bill, the Burnet Rose, Scurvy Grass and the emblem of the Burren - the Spring Gentian.

mbf009

Other Burren Greeting Cards featuring the Early Purple Orchid

I was fortuante to be able to spend a lot of time back in the Burren this year when the Early Purple Orchid was flowering. Thus, it features in several other Greeting Card packs in my Burren Flower series. The other packs it appears in are below...