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2011 UK Orchid season updates (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter heakl
- Start date
leptochila
Well-known member
Trip to North Hampshire with a stop off in the Cotswolds (thanks to grandad's superb navigation - not!), yielded excellent numbers of Burnt Orchid and 3 Frog Orchids on the chalk downland near Newbury with 8 Narrow-lipped Helleborines near Gloucester - only one in flower so far.
Mike.
Mike.
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leptochila
Well-known member
I was thinking of going next week but let me know what they say, plans can be changed!
Ian
leptochila
Well-known member
They're some very robust Broad-leaved Helleborines (Epipactis helleborine).
Mike.
Mike.
Yes please, Sean
rmielcarek
Well-known member
Cotswold Helleborines
Narrow-lips looking very smart and fresh today.
Green-flowered, presumed var degenera, - actually found one open and photographable.
Green-flowered, what should be var pendula, still in bud.
Broad-leaved, mainly still in bud but a few starting to flower in the more open areas.
Rich M
Narrow-lips looking very smart and fresh today.
Green-flowered, presumed var degenera, - actually found one open and photographable.
Green-flowered, what should be var pendula, still in bud.
Broad-leaved, mainly still in bud but a few starting to flower in the more open areas.
Rich M
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simonm001
Well-known member
'funny' Broad-leaved
Good to bump into you today - found this 'funny' Broad-leaved Helleborine once you'd moved on. It should be fully open in about 3 or 4 days (Heakl)
Simon
Good to bump into you today - found this 'funny' Broad-leaved Helleborine once you'd moved on. It should be fully open in about 3 or 4 days (Heakl)
Simon
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Nice one Simon, right up my street I like that. Sounds as though it might well be near me, if you could PM me a grid ref I would be very grateful.
Alan
simonm001
Well-known member
Cotswold Helleborines
What better way of spending a showery day but to be out in a southern Beech wood searching in the gloom for Helleborines ?
Plenty of Broad-leaved this year and now in a more advanced state of flowering showing their full colour range. Also managed a photo of the wasp pollinator complete with headgear.
Green-flowered : var. degenera at one site and var. pendula at another.
The Narrow-lipped are a bit thin on the ground this year , I could only find one that wasn't still in tight bud.
Simon
What better way of spending a showery day but to be out in a southern Beech wood searching in the gloom for Helleborines ?
Plenty of Broad-leaved this year and now in a more advanced state of flowering showing their full colour range. Also managed a photo of the wasp pollinator complete with headgear.
Green-flowered : var. degenera at one site and var. pendula at another.
The Narrow-lipped are a bit thin on the ground this year , I could only find one that wasn't still in tight bud.
Simon
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Thanks Simon,
A brilliant find especially as the plant has now produced a second double flower higher up the spike. The higher double flower differs from the first one in that it has a double column structure as well as the double lip. I also noticed that at one bract two completely separate flowers emanated, no idea how unusual that is!
Hello Helen, nice to meet you today and I'm very glad I did, without your pointer I'd have missed the second double.
Alan
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palmarosa
Member
rmielcarek
Well-known member
Finally got my a**e in gear this morning and went to see this Helleborine.
On the lower 'double' flower the extra lip seems to be largely fully formed, with a hypochile and epichile with bosses, it just lacks a column. As well as an extra lip it also has an extra sepal, opposite/beneath the dorsal sepal. If you treat the extra 'lip' as a fourth inner perianth segment this means it has 8 perianth segments (4+4) instead of the normal 6.
The upper 'double' flower is rather different. Although, as Alan says it has a double column, neither hypochile or epichile is fully formed (particularly the one on the left), in fact they both seem more like a cross between a lip and a sepal. It hasn't got an obvious extra sepal like the lower flower, although the dorsal sepal looks a bit like two sepals welded together. Bit of a dog's dinner in fact.
When Messrs Lynes and Cole have finished counting their new Dune helleborines maybe one or both would care to offer their thoughts on how unusual this is in Broad-leaved. Or anyone else for that matter!
Rich M
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davidearlgray
davidearlgray
Probably just another mutant Richard! Although what is the soil type at this site?
Cheers,
Dave.
Cheers,
Dave.
Jonny721
Well-known member
That would be very helpful Sean :t:
rmielcarek
Well-known member
I assume it is limestone, the plant itself was growing under a Silver Birch.
Mind you it is the third oddity this year at this site; the aberrant Pyramids and the albino Greater Butterfly were both there, although neither was that close by.
Rich M
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