Daciylorhiza genus is of great taxonomic comp!exity. This comp!exity is fundamentally due to its ability to hybridize among its different species. However, polyploidization is another aspect that adds difficulty to its understanding. Morphological analysis and molecular analysis using AFLP have been performed in this project to characterise a Dactvlorhiza orchid community present at Ferring, West Sussex during the summer of 2004. The results show a community composed primarily of a group of short and tall purpieflowered plants and to a less extent D. incarnata and D. fuchsii. AFLP analysis showed that the purpie plants belong to a same tetraploid group and the original parental lineages correspond to the diploids D. incarnata and D. fuchsii, despite the morphological differences between short and tall purpies.PFCHA-BecasMsc PLANT CONSERVATION65p.PFCHA-BecasTERMINADA