Fuchs’ orchid is a showy European orchid growing in moist meadows, fens and forest edges. It is easily recognised by its spotted leaves and pink-lilac flowers with dark markings. It blooms from June to July, sometimes August. In Poland it is a strictly protected species, sensitive to drainage — admire, but do not pick.

Appearance and flowering

This perennial grows up to 60 cm tall. It forms a dense inflorescence — initially conical, later cylindrical — 4.5–12 cm long. The flowers vary from white through pink to pale violet and bear a characteristic pattern of dots, lines and loops on the three-lobed lip. The leaves are narrow, usually distinctly spotted. The species flowers in June and July, occasionally in August.

Occurrence in the Pieniny Mountains

Research conducted in the Pieniny National Park (2000, 2003, 2005) along the Krośnica–Niedzica road confirmed the presence of 12 orchid species. Dactylorhiza fuchsii was among the most frequent, especially in roadside zones. In 2003, 41 flowering shoots of this species were recorded, even in areas strongly transformed by human activity.

Other locations

In the Beskid Sądecki range (Kamienica Nawojowska catchment) the species was assessed as common — 16 localities were recorded, mostly along forest edges and woodland roads. Outside the Pieniny it occurs throughout Poland — from lowlands to the Tatras, Sudetes and Beskids, as well as in lake districts and uplands. In Europe it ranges from the British Isles and Ireland through Scandinavia, the Alps and the Balkans to the Urals and western Siberia. It is also found in Central Asia and locally in North America (e.g. Ontario).

Protection status and threats

In Poland, Fuchs’ orchid is under strict legal protection. In the Pieniny, an additional threat comes from wild boar that dig up and eat orchid tubers, reducing local populations. Other major threats include meadow drainage, intensive agriculture and overgrowing of clearings.

Field observation

It is easiest to identify during flowering, from June to July. Look for it along moist forest edges, meadows, streams and sunny roadside banks. The main identifying features are pink-lilac flowers with dark markings and clearly spotted leaves.

Interesting facts

The genus name Dactylorhiza comes from the Greek words daktylos (“finger”) and rhiza (“root”), referring to the palm-shaped tubers. The specific epithet fuchsii commemorates the 16th-century botanist Leonhart Fuchs. In Poland, pollination of this orchid has been observed by longhorn beetles. The species is highly variable in colour, size and flower pattern, and easily hybridises with other orchids of the genus Dactylorhiza.

Micro-locations – Pieniny (after Bernacki & Błońska 2006)

The Krośnica–Niedzica road section (Pieniny National Park) was divided into eight research sites; each included sub-zones: 1a – roadside ditch; 1b – slopes and graded areas; 2a – verges and banks of former field roads; 2b – undisturbed zone (up to about 100 m from the road).

Abundance scale: I (1–3), II (4–10), III (11–30), IV (31–100); an asterisk * denotes the year of observation (00 – 2000; 03 – 2003; 05 – 2005).

PMR – Polana Mrąznica: 1a-I*03; 1b-IV*03; 2a-II*03; 2b-III*03.
PZA – Polana Zaukier: 1a-I*03; 1b-II*03.
FZZ – Flaki (western slope): 1b-I*03.

Note: In the anthropogenic zone, the total number of D. fuchsii shoots recorded in 2003 was 41 (Table II).

Micro-locations – Beskid Sądecki (after Zelek 2024)

The species was assessed as “common”; a total of 16 sites were recorded in the ATPOL grid squares:

EG16: 43
EG25: 12, 34, 44
EG26: 04, 23, 24, 40, 43
EG27: 30, 40
EG36: 00, 03, 24
EG37: 01, 10

Habitats: forest edges, woodland roads (according to the species list).

Sources

Bernacki L., Błońska A. 2006. Occurrence of orchids along the southern Krośnica–Niedzica road section in Pieniny National Park. Pieniny – Nature and Man 9: 65–70.
Zelek R. 2024. Vascular flora of the Kamienica Nawojowska catchment. Part 1: Protected and threatened species. Fragmenta Floristica et Geobotanica Polonica 29(2): 147–160.

Region Łącko