The densely flowered inflorescence, which is approximately 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 in) long,[9] is initially conical, but distinctly cylindrical when in full blossom.

The seven to fifty blossoms are colored purplish red, rarely light pink or white.

In the lighter central area of the lip the markings are made up of lines, streaks, or dots.

[citation needed] The broad-leaved marsh orchid has a karyotype of four sets of twenty chromosomes (2n = 4x = 80) and a genome size of 14.24 Gbp (2C).

The name became the basionym after Peter Francis Hunt and Victor Samuel Summerhayes transferred the species to the genus Dactylorhiza in 1965.

[citation needed] Many synonyms have been published:[11] Many names have been proposed at the subspecies, variety and form levels.

Dactylorhiza majalis is widespread across much of Europe and north-central Asia, from Spain and Ireland to Siberia and Kazakhstan.

The main causes are the entry of nitrogen via fertilizer, drying out of the habitat, and intensive conversion to pasture.