Hebridean Marsh Orchid, D. ebudensis, has never been elevated to species status by the majority of  orchidologists. However, I have awarded it its own page here because it stands out enough to warrant its own space. The flowers are deeply coloured, reddish purple, with a three-lobed lip. The spike is said to be noticeably one-sided. The leaves may be heavily blotched purple, typical of other hyper-pigmented marsh orchids of the north and west of Britain. The plants are short and stocky, but that may are reflection of where it grows. Itis known essentially from the machair on North Uist, though two small  colonies have been found on neighbouring islands. This habitat can have only existed for a maximum of 3,000 years due to sea level changes. If  the Hebridean Marsh Orchid arose from a unique polyploid event, it was  the most recent involving British Dactylorhiza. The spotted orchid ancestor has been proposed as D. fuchsii hebridensis, with the other being D. incarnata ssp coccinea, which is present nearby and presumably was present then.

A recent evaluation of this plant, using molecular techniques, has placed it as a sub-species of D. traunsteineroides. They share the same fuchsii plastid haplotypes, but those are common haplotypes, also found in Northern Marsh Orchids. The analysis showed that D. ebudensis had a higher proportion of a D. incarnata haplotype. Anaylsis of a single specimen previously, with this finding, prompted the possibility that the parentage involved in the original  polyploidy event was a maternal incarnata and a paternal fuchsii. This is opposite to the other marsh orchids, however it is now proposed that the incarnata components come from hybridisation and introgression with D. incarnata ssp coccinea, followed by a degree of genetic stabilisation. However, it was concluded that this data does not eliminate the possibility that D. ebudensis is a marsh orchid in its own right, but it does reduce the chances of that possibility. Studies of the ITS regions produced the conclusion that while the other four allotetraploid marsh orchids can easily be separated ebudensis sits close to traunsteineroides.

Despite the evidence I find it hard to see as ebudensis as a hyper-pigmented dwarf form of traunsteineri. There already is a hyper-pigmented variety of traunsteineroides - var lapponica. While the flower colour is different, the same shape prevails and it likes the same habitat, with lapponica often growing as a minority of the plants in a traunsteineroides colony.
Could D.ebudensis possibly have D.traunsteineroides as one of its parents? It is possible to have one 4n parent involved in a polyploid event as a few other polyploid marsh orchids have D. maculata as an ancestor. This could this go some way to explaining the molecular similarities of the molecular data between D.ebudensis and D.traunsteineroides.

The Hebridean Marsh Orchid, D. ebudensis, has never been elevated to species status by the majority of orchidologists. However, I have awarded it its own page here because it stands out enough to warrant it own space. The flowers are deeply coloured, reddish purple, with a three-lobed lip. The spike is said to be noticeably one-sided. The leaves may be heavily blotched purple, typical of other hyper-pigmented marsh orchids of the north and west of Britain. The plants are short and stocky, but that may are reflection of where it grows. Itis known essentially from the machair on North Uist, though two small colonies have been found on neighbouring islands. This habitat can have only existed for a maximum of 3,000 years due to sea level changes. If the Hebridean Marsh Orchid arose from a unique polyploid event, it was the most recent involving British Dactylorhiza. The spotted orchid ancestor has been proposed as D. fuchsii hebridensis, with the other being D. incarnata ssp coccinea, which is present nearby and presumably was present then.

A recent evaluation of this plant, using molecular techniques, has placed it as a sub-species of D. traunsteineroides. They share the same fuchsii plastid haplotypes, but those are common haplotypes, also found in Northern Marsh Orchids. More recent analysis showed that D. ebudensis had a higher proportion of a D. incarnata haplotype. Anaylsis of a single specimen previously, with this finding, prompted the possibility that the parentage involved in the original polyploidy event was a maternal incarnata and a paternal fuchsii, This is the opposite to the other marsh orchids, however it is now proposed that the incarnata components come from hybridisation and introgression with D. incarnata ssp coccinea, followed by a degree of genetic stabilisation. However, this it is said that this data does not eliminate the possibility that D. ebudensis is a marsh orchid in its own right, but it it reduces the possibility. Studies of the ITS regions produce the conclusions; that while the other four marsh orchids can easily be separated ebudensis sits close to traunsteineroides.

Despite the evidence I find it hard to see as ebudensis as a hyper-pigmented dwarf form of traunsteineri. There is another hyper-pigmented variety of traunsteineroides - var lapponica. While the flower colour is different, the same shape prevails and it likes the same habitat, with lapponica often growing as a minority of the plants in a traunsteineroides colony.
Could ebudensis possibly have traunsteineroides as one of its parents? Okay to 4n parent in other such polyploids was a D. maculata ancestor, but would this go some way to explaining the findings?