A native perennial orchid of damp or wet neutral to chalky soils in marshes and fens and wet meadows. Locally abundant in cattle pastures and marshes across a wide range of soil types. Rarely found on dry chalk where plants are usually quite small compared to the large spikes seen in coastal marshes. Variable in flower markings and leaf spotting; the with ring-spotted forms found in many large populations have been recognized as var. junialis (= pardalina – The Leopard Marsh Orchid).