flower
At the beginning of winter I repaired the drains in a very soggy corner of the bottom field and this spring these popped up everywhere! What are they?

first guess is purple wild orchid:

Early Purple Orchid - Orchis mascula ?

How to identify

Early Purple Orchids display up to 50 dark purple flowers arranged in a dense, cone-shaped cluster on a tall spike. The lower lip of each flower has three lobes and the upper petals form a hood. The leaves of the Early Purple Orchid are glossy and dark green with dark spots, and form a rosette on the ground; they appear from January onwards.

Check here

[Edited on 29-5-17 by ken555]

[Edited on 29-5-17 by ken555]

flower
internet pic

Nope they look different to me!

Mine has "spikes" between the petals

Cheers!

EDIT:- Believe it may be "Dactylorhiza purpurella subsp. purpurella" but they are subject to hybridizations which makes ID difficult

Many thanks to input

[Edited on 29-5-17 by v8kid]

AKA northern marsh orchid

quote:

---

Originally posted by ken555
AKA northern marsh orchid

---