It's been a while since I enjoyed a "Big Day Out" looking for orchids. However, with R staying over, and him not being sure he had ever seen a Fly Orchid (
Ophrys insectifora)? It was a good excuse for the three of us to head into West Sussex to a site I know fairly well, and see what orchid species we could find.
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| Dactylorhiza x mixtum |
Since I last visited Fairmile Bottom, there has been some ongoing work to reduce the scrub and trees on the main grassland - with the insidious Dogwood (
Cornus sanguinea) and birch (
Betula sp.) encroachment being targeted in particular.
This recent clearance seriously affected my "muscle memory" of the site and where certain orchid species might be found, but after 20mins or so of wandering in vain, I finally tripped over a small colony of Frog Orchid (Dactylorhiza viridis), along with a cracking example of what I thought was a strong candidate for
Dactylorhiza x mixtum the hybrid of Frog Orchid and Common Spotted-orchid (
Dactylorhiza fuchsii).
Having forgotten to bring my well thumbed copy of Britain's Orchids along with me, I had to wait until we got home to review the find. Having checked the literature, which only helped to add a level of doubt to my identification, I was chuffed to have the hybrid confirmed by one the books authors Sean Cole, via the Native Orchids of Britain and Ireland, Facebook Group. We are certainly blessed to live in an age where access to natural history experts has perhaps never been easier, which to my mind, is the main reason I remain on certain social media platforms!
Whilst R and A spent more time with the Frogs I headed uphil for Fly Orchid, of which I duly found a handful or so, along with several more Forg Orchids, and a Common Twayblade (
Neottia ovata). The fly orchids did not seem as abundant as I remember them, perhaps suppressed by an encroachmant of Dogwood and Old Man's Beard
(Clematis vitalba)
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| Frog Orchids |
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| Common Spotted-orchid |
Heading to the other end of the grassland we searched for Southern Marsh Orchid (
Dactylorhiza praetermissa), but I could not find any, although I turned up a few potential contenders for
Dactylorhiza x grandis the hybrid Common Spotted-orchid x Southern Marsh Orchid? Having stopped to look at another Common Twayblade, R noticed a Southern Marsh Orchid rosette about a foot beyond it!
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| Dactylorhiza x grandis |
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| Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) |
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| Common Spotted-orchid |
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| Dactylorhiza x grandis (flwr and leaf detail) |
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| Southern Marsh Orchid |
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