Orchids 2017

[jeffnsue]

Other forums have a generic orchid thread recording sightings through the orchid season and members post images and information about what’s happening in their area of the country. The BirdForum thread has had as many as 1100 posts in a season but reduced to 452 last year as more people are using the dreaded Facebook. It is useful to know what’s going on but less useful to learn that ‘I’ve not seen anything yet’.

Anyway, I thought I’d get the ball rolling by reposting Early Purple Orchid and Green-winged Orchid taken at Gop Hill in North Wales on 20th April.

Jeff Hodgson

Anacamptis morio - Green-winged Orchid.jpg Orchis mascula - Early Purple Orchid.jpg

[jeffnsue]

Yesterday I went to one of the very few sites in North Wales where Frog Orchids can be found, and they’re just starting to flower:
Frog Plant 2 Eryrys.jpg Frog Orchid Spike 1 Eryrys.jpg

Also beginning to flower there were Twayblade, better plants were to be found nearer home at Alyn Waters.
Twayblade Plant 1 Alyn Waters.jpg Twayblade Floret 1 Alyn Waters.jpg

[jeffnsue]

This is a different variety of Frog Orchid, named v longibracteatatum because of its longer bracts. It grows much taller than the typical variety and last year some of these plants reached 40cm as against 15cm for a good example of a ‘normal’ plant. That in the previous post was around 10cm tall. I don’t know how well these plants will do this year, they are later than last year and obviously suffering from the very dry weather conditions we’ve had up here, with no rain for weeks till this week.

Frog Orchid v longibracteatum.jpg

[catmando]

nice idea
although we don't seem to get the more exotic orchids in this area (unless we are just not finding them ?)

we visited Gamston wood today 21st May 2017, and just a few Early Purple orchids well scattered about in the woods, mainly well off the path, no large groups, just single plants, with several still in bud,

early purple orchid9.jpg early purple orchid8.jpg early purple orchid3.jpg early purple orchid12.jpg

[jeffnsue]

That's the spirit, Catmando, old chap(ess), everything is so late this year, and so prejudiced by the weather. Things have a habit of catching up very quickly, so here's hoping
Jeff

[treehugger]

Some belters there-never seen frog orchid or twayblade myself.

[jeffnsue]

Southern Marsh Orchids now in flower at our local reclaimed landfill site.
Jeff Hodgson

SMO Plant 01.jpg SMO Floret 01.jpg SMO Spike 01.jpg

[jeffnsue]

We’re just back from a week in Suffolk where there are one or two rarities.

We didn’t manage to see the Fen Orchids this year, they are well protected in the few sites where they grow and the whole area was fenced off to protect the habitat. We did however see a rare sub-species of Early Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnata ochroleuca, a variety with creamy-white flowers which grows at only one site in the UK, with maybe 10 flowering plants.

EMO v.ochroleuca Plant 01.jpg EMO v.ochroleuca Spike 01.jpg

[jeffnsue]

There is debate about this next orchid, which grows at the same site as the ochroleuca and elsewhere in scattered sites in southern England. Previously identified as Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza trausteineroides, (also known as Pugsley’s Marsh Orchid), genetic research in 2012 suggests it to be a subspecies of Southern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza praetermissa schoenophila.

This reclassification may not be definitive, the plants are superficially identical to trausteineroides, in which case, as Simon Harrap says, the two species would only be able to be identified by where they grow, with trausteineroides in the north and schoenophila in the south.


Southern Marsh Orchid ssp schoenophila.jpg

[jeffnsue]

Military Orchid is a rare plant but grows in some numbers at a site near Mildenhall where we saw these plants last week. It is said that the sepals and petals form a soldier’s helmet, the lip has two ‘arms’ and two ‘legs’ and the purple spots down the centre of the lip resemble tunic buttons
Jeff Hodgson

Military Orchid Plant 01.jpg Military Orchid Floret 01.jpg Military Orchid Spike 01.jpg