rmielcarek
Well-known member
Delforge describes, and has illustrations of, the leaf margins for these helleborines.
So it has. Never noticed that before. Thanks
Rich M
Delforge describes, and has illustrations of, the leaf margins for these helleborines.
So it has. Never noticed that before. Thanks
Rich M
To my huge surprise I came across a var. rosea hiding in a shady corner of a hazel coppice!
Mike.
Hello there Mike/all,
Mike - excellent find today. Gorgeous plant, but does show some chlorophyll tones, so not a full rosea - but to me that makes it more attractive!
Sean
Sean
I can see what you mean but I suspect that might actually be a combined artefact of the strong sunlight pouring through the hazel leaves above and my love of aperture stopping up and down! The greenish tones on the ovaries appeared a pale yellow when the clouds blocked the sunlight.
Mike.
Hi Mike
I was talking about the apparent pale green bract in the background of your close-up, and perhaps also to the underside (ie not refleted light?) of the sepal.
Sean
Autumn Lady's-tresses were in flower last week on the Dorset coast, loads still in bud so should be good for a week or two.
Alan
Palmerosa; I went to Langford Lakes NR today and found a good number of the orchids.
However in one area where there were about 6 plants some manure and wood had been dumped. So bearing in mind what has been said about clearance behind the information board I'm going to contact Wilts WT re protecting the orchids, as they are planning improvements at the site.
Stopped at the Langford Lakes NR on the way back home & saw how much they had damaged the orchid site there.
Went up to the only Violet Helleborine site in Dorset on Sunday & this looks a little damaged as well!
Hi Alan & Rich, did manage to find that BLH viridiflora at the Kilkenny site also checked out the Birdlip area but only 99% on the one there.
Last year I found a few BLH at a new site in Weymouth, but they just seemed “odd”. Only a couple there & none this year, as I don’t think I had seen viridiflora before I wonder if that was what I saw there!
Hi Lorne
Left hand photo is viridiflora but hard to say with the right hand photo as you can't really see the interior of the hypochile.
This variant is, as expected, rather variable, see post #529 above. At the Cotswold site you visited there were plants with various degrees of brown flecking in the hypochile, and others that were identical except that the hypochile was solidly dark brown.
In 2010 Alan found a plant in the Cotswolds that had a green hypochile but narrow purple edges to the petals, and a faint wash of colour to the epichile.
Rich M
Hi Alan & Rich, did manage to find that BLH viridiflora at the Kilkenny site also checked out the Birdlip area but only 99% on the one there.
Last year I found a few BLH at a new site in Weymouth, but they just seemed “odd”.
Only a couple there & none this year, as I don’t think I had seen viridiflora before I wonder if that was what I saw there!
Visited a Spiranthes site in Worcestershire yesterday and found plenty of plants (~600) on what would initially appear to be unsuitable rough grassland. Observed a fly species probing one of the plants, visiting each flower individually but it didn't remove any pollinia.
Mike.
In 2010 Alan found a plant in the Cotswolds that had a green hypochile but narrow purple edges to the petals, and a faint wash of colour to the epichile.
Rich M
I'd be interested to hear how widespread it is, comments from your areas wherever you are folks, please.
Alan
Looks like Eriothrix rufomaculata, a tachinidae species.
Thankyou very much Andrew! I was dimly hoping someone could identify it for me. Do you know if it's a carrion species or would it be attracted to nectar?
Mike.
They are flower feeders but reproduce by laying eggs inside the larvae of lepidoptera.
Regards,
Andrew.