This is one of Europe's commonest upland orchids and can be found in a variety of habitats though invariably montane up to a height of 2500m. It was first described in 1755 from Sweden and its name refers to the scent of the plant which was thought to be reminiscent of Elder. It has long been known by its common name of Elder Flowered Orchid.
D. sambucina appears in two distinct colour phases and although they both occur in the same colonies, unlike D. romana, it is rare to find intermediates. A salmon pink form has occasionaly been noted and this
has been named as zimmermanii . As can be seen from the illustrations, the red form can be variable in terms of shade whereas the yellow is fairly consistent. Photograph's 2 and 6 come from the Causse region of southern France and depict a plant thats decidedly atypical both in colour and overall form.
It seems most likely that it's been victim of a degree of genetic interferance though the culprit was not immediately evident.
The red form does seem to differ from the yellow in less obvious ways than simply colour, for one thing
it is significantly less common and secondly it flowers up to two weeks earlier.
D. sambucina has a widespread but discontinuous range through the mountainous regions of Europe from
Spain to Russia and from Sicily in the south to Scandinavia in the north. It can be abundant in its
favoured locations.
The illustrations are from the Vercors and Causse in southern France.
