Marine Biodiversity

 

Habitat: Marram Dunes

Species: Pyramidal Orchid

Scientific name: Anacamptis pyramidalis

Size: 60cm in height

Colour: Magenta flowers with green stems

Distribution: Throughout Ireland, mainly found at coastal or woodland sites

 

 

As the dunes become more sheltered away from the shore, the plant life changes. Here the plant life is made up of grasses, wildflowers and bracken. Wildflowers include wild orchids such as the Pyramidal orchid which flowers between June and August. The Pyramidal orchid is varied in shape as it can have single or several stems which grow to 30cm in height. The flowers are pink in colour and fade as the orchid ages. Their name is denoted through the pyramid-shaped head which can contain 50-100 small flowers.  

The Pyramidal orchid has a distinct smell that attracts many pollinators including burnet moths and butterflies.

Orchids form a symbiotic relationship with fungus in the soil which involves the fungus producing more food for the orchid seeds and in turn, the fungus gaining protection from the orchid’s roots