D. traunsteinerioides was first described from Wicklow, Ireland in 1936 by Landwehr and was at first
classified as an Orchis. It has long been known by several common names including Narrow Leaved Marsh
Orchid, Wicklow Marsh Orchid and Pugsley's Marsh Orchid.
Its name unsurprisingly refers to its likeness to the more montane D. traunsteineri.
This species has a limited distribution centred on Great Britain but with stations in Ireland to the west
and northern France to the east. Its an uncommon orchid and one that is undoubtedly in decline due to
the destruction of its habitat. It is a species of damp to wet, neutral to alkaline meadows and fens which
tends to be concentrated in lowland area's, rarely climbing above 200m.
As with most members of the genus it is a willing gene sharer and some populations have been completely absorbed by closely related taxa and most particularly D. praetermissa. The pictures on this page come
from a small fen in northern Hampshire ( England) where D. praetermissa is common and where specimens
showing introgression are frequent. Of the examples illustrated , numbers 3,4,9 and 10 seem so affected.
Typical D. traunsteierioides is a fairly leggy plant with a smallish inflorescence of between 10 and 20
widely spaced individual flowers. The leaves are thin, few in number and clasp the stem. The median
lobe of the lip is long, pointed and is often slightly recurved at the tip (see photo 1).
Many authorities give the flowering period for this species as May/June but in our experience its at
its best in July and these pictures all date from the first week of that month.
.