It’s closer to home for my next blog, my monthly trip to Raisby Hill.  What a difference a month makes!  The first meadow I walk through is still a mass of Cowslips and Water avens but now there are pink and purple orchid spikes amongst them – mostly Heath-spotted and Northern marsh-orchids, I think, though it is not always easy to tell and I know they hybridise…

In theory, at least, the Heath-spotted orchid, Dactylorhiza maculata, can be distinguished from its relatives by its conical, becoming cylindrical, flower spikes and the fact that its lip is only slightly lobed, with the central lobe shorter and narrower than the side lobes.  This lip is covered in streak- and loop-like markings.  The Northern marsh-orchid, D. purpurella, as its name suggests, has a somewhat shorter spike of deep purple flowers covered in crimson streaks and this time the middle lobe of the lip is longer than the side ones.  Both species are largely pollinated by bumblebees but don’t provide a nectar reward for the bees – instead they rely on the their conspicuously-coloured flowers to attract pollinators.

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Left: Dactylorhiza maculata, Right, D. purpurella

These orchids are easy to spot from a distance but the third type I find when I have a wander round the meadow is Common twayblade, Neottia ovata, with its much less conspicuous flowers.  Their names come from the large pair of egg-shaped basal leaves which are often much easier to spot than the green flower spikes. Neottia are one of the most common European orchids, partly because they are fairly promiscuous in their relationships with both pollinators and the mycorrhizal fungi necessary to support germination and seedling growth (Jacquemyn et al., 2015).

The flowers are pollinated by parasitic wasps, sawflies and beetles.  A wide range of species can collect the pollinia, which lie free on top of the rostellum.  When an insect touches the rostellum, the pollinia are glued to its body by a sticky liquid ejected from the rostellum and can then be transferred between flowers.

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Orchids have really tiny, dust-like seeds without the endosperm on which a developing seedling normally depends, so most rely on a fungal partner to supply water and nutrients from the earliest stages of growth. 

In contrast, the Water avens in the meadow produce large achenes when they set seed, with long hooks derived from the remains of the style.  These aid dispersal when they catch in animal fur or feathers.  These plants spread themselves around in more ways than one, though – Water and wood avens (Geum rivale and G. urbanum) hybridise freely to produce a range of intermediates called G. x intermedium which often have yellow petals but the drooping growth form of Water avens.

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Geum rivale flower and fruit, G. urbanum and G. x intermedium

Climbing up the hill from the meadow to the drier slopes above I find my fourth orchid of the day, the Common-spotted, Dactylorhiza fuchsii but, more excitingly, my first wild Columbines.  These statuesque plants look far too showy to be wild flowers and it’s a surprise to find that they are members of the buttercup family but they are one of the things for which Raisby Hill grassland has SSSI status.

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Left, Dactylorhiza fuchsii; right, Aquilegia vulgaris

The scree slopes are now transformed with a yellow haze of Bird’s-foot trefoil, Hawkweeds and Rock roses, amidst the scrubby willow now shedding its fluffy seeds.

There are occasional blue or purple patches of Milkwort or Wild thyme and some white Bladder campion.    

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Left; Milkwort, Polygala vulgaris: Right; Wild thyme, Thymus polytrichus

Around the quarry itself I find my first spiny Burnet rose of the year amongst the violets still in flower and in the woods the Arum maculatum which was so dominant last month has all but disappeared; it will no doubt become visible again, when its berries turn scarlet. The Hawthorn hedges are finally in bloom (rather late for ‘May’ blossom!).

Walking back alongside the fen area I noticed the damp areas are quickly being colonised by Creeping buttercups – a feast for the eyes.  Intriguingly, the Milkwort on this side of the beck is lilac coloured rather than blue. 

Here is the list of plants in flower for June, with the usual proviso that it’s far from complete, especially with respect to grasses and sedges!

Meadow buttercup	Ranunculus acris
Creeping buttercup	Ranunculus repens
Common mouse-ear	Cerastium fontanum
Bladder campion	Silene vulgaris
Common rock-rose	Helianthemum nummularium
Common dog-violet	Viola riviniana
Cowslip	Primula veris
Lady’s mantle	Alchemilla vulgaris agg.
Hawthorn	Crataegus monogyna
Wild strawberry	Fragaria vesca
Water x wood avens hybrid	Geum x intermedium
Water avens	Geum rivale
Wood avens	Geum urbanum
Tormentil	Potentilla erects
Burnet rose	Rosa spinosissima
Bramble	Rubus fruticosus agg.
Salad burnet	Sanguisorba minor ssp. minor
Meadow vetchling	Lathyrus pratensis
Bird’s-foot-trefoil	Lotus corniculatus
Black medick	Medicago lupulina
Red clover	Trifolium pratense
Common vetch	Vicia sativa
Bush vetch	Vicia sepium
Gorse	Ulex europaeus
Common milkwort	Polygala vulgaris
Herb-Robert	Geranium robertianum
Cow parsley	Anthriscus sylvestris
Hogweed	Hieracium sphondylium
Sanicle	Sanicula europaea
Bugle	Ajuga reptans
White dead-nettle	Lamium album
Wild thyme	Thymus polytrichus
Ribwort plantain	Plantago lanceolata
Yellow-rattle	Rhinanthus minor
Germander speedwell	Veronica chamaedrys
Heath speedwell	Veronica officinalis
Crosswort	Cruciata laevipes
Common daisy	Bellis perennis
Hawkweed	Hieracium agg.
Cat’s-ear	Hypochaeris radicata
Oxeye daisy	Leucanthemum vulgare
Mouse-ear hawkweed	Pilosella officinarum
Dandelion	Taraxacum agg.
Common spotted-orchid	Dactylorhiza fuchsii
Heath spotted-orchid	Dactylorhiza maculata
Northern marsh-orchid	Dactylorhiza purpurella
Common twayblade	Neottia ovata
Quaking grass	Briza maxima
Crested dog’s-tail	Cynosurus cristatus
Common sedge	Carex nigra
Cock’s-foot	Dactylis glomerate

Jacquemyn, H. et al. (2015). Mycorrhizal diversity, seed germination and long-term changes in population size across nine populations of the terrestrial orchid, Neottia ovata.