Orchids etc. a quick wildlfower fix

Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 11 (Reprise)

I took A back to the site to see the Lizard Orchid (Himantoglossum hircinum), this time I relaxed and started to use the camera rather than rely on the iPhone.

Lizard Orchid

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Lizard Orchids

Bee Orchid

Pyramidal Orchid
(Anacamptis pyramidalis)

Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 11 .. big lizards walk the land once more ..

Another day of orchid hunting and another Big Day Out given the quality of species encountered!

Pyramidal Orchid
(Anacamptis pyramidalis)

Bee Orchid
(Ophrys apifera)

Lizard Orchid
(Himantoglossum hircinum)

Common Spotted-orchid
(Dactylorhiza fuchsii)

Field Cow-wheat

(Melampyrum arvense)

Ivy Broomrape (Orabanche hederae)

Bee Orchid

Common Twayblade
(Neotiia ovata)

Greater Butterfly Orchid
(Plantantera chlorantha)

Chalk Fragrant Orchid
(Gymnadenia conopsea)

Common Spotted-Orchid
author's back garden

Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 10 .. Fairmile Bottom, West Sussex

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.

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 Frog Orchid, and a Common Twayblade (Neottia ovata). The Fly Orchid did not seem as abundant as I remember them, perhaps suppressed by an encroachmant of Dogwood and Old Man's Beard (Clematis vitalba)?

Frog Orchids

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!

Dactylorhiza x grandis

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Common Spotted-orchid

Dactylorhiza x grandis (flwr and leaf detail)

Southern Marsh Orchid

Spotted in the garden!

Common Spotted Orchid

(Dactylorhiza Fuchsii)

How I managed to miss the Common Spotted Orchid rosette in the back garden for so long beggars me. I have been religiously keeping an eye on the Bee-orchid (Ophrys apifera) rosettes five of which were showing over the late winter, but all of whom failed to throw up a flower spike this year.

However, I did manage to overlook it, that is until the 18th of May, by which time it was quite a substantial plant – growing within a foot of the patio, and only three feet away from the garden bench. We went west for a fortnight, and when we got back it was coming into flower.

My understanding is that this specie takes three to four years from seed set to a flowering plant, and only if the right mycorrhizal fungi are present in the soil. If this plant sets seed, I will be sprinkling a little of its “fairy dust” around the rest of the back garden, in the hope of developing a new colony. Some seed may also find its way to the front lawn.

Wildflowers, Garden

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Common Broomrape
(Orobanche minor)

Despite a promising start to the Orchid season, with up to seven Bee Orchid rosettes noted in the lawn, only two came into flower.

More productively - last years pair of Common Broomrape, turned into five flowering spikes this year, although they came and went within the blink of an eye!