2013 UK orchids (2 Viewers)

[Phil Bishop]

Yockletts and Park Gate

Just back from the Dusky Thrush and called in at these on the way back.
Ladies looking superb in the northern part of Yockletts, maybe 30 or more-best I've seen here. Some fully open, most partial. Early Purples good too. A few Twayblade and one Fly starting to flower, but White Helleborine and what looked like a Greater Butterfly still in bud.
The Herb Paris is at its best too.
Park Gate is full of Cowslips with a sprinkle of Early Purples. A few Common Spotted rosettes found, but could not locate any Monkey.

 

[jpbennett]

Bird's Nest in bud and Sword Leaved Helleborine in flower in Hampshire today.

John & Paula

 

[MarkHows]

Samphire Hoe had loads of Early Spiders out today

Mark

 

[Gareth Stamp]

Kent Orchids

In Kent searching for Orchids when news broke of the dusky thrush - lucky me!

c70 lady orchids looking pretty fine at Yockletts Bank and just the one fly orchid. No flowering monkey orchid at nearby Park Gate Down.

8 man orchid in flower at site in North Kent.

 

[lizard orchid]

Early spider orchid in Northamptonshire - a mistake

Dear All,
I have heard in a new photographic book on orchids in Oxfordshire, Bucks and Berks it mentions Early spider orchid has been refound in Northamptonshire after a long time being absent from the county. This has also been mentioned in one of David Langs orchid books.
Myself and the Northamptonshire county recorder for wild flowers Rob Wilson have tracked the person down and the picture he took is in fact a Wasp orchid and not an Early spider orchid as he thought it was. But this mistake has reached two publications so far.
Just thought I would let everyone know before I get asked where it is in the county.
I wish Early spider orchid had been refound in Northamptonshire.

Brian Laney.

 

[IJS]

Dear All,
I have heard in a new photographic book on orchids in Oxfordshire, Bucks and Berks it mentions Early spider orchid has been refound in Northamptonshire after a long time being absent from the county. This has also been mentioned in one of David Langs orchid books.
Myself and the Northamptonshire county recorder for wild flowers Rob Wilson have tracked the person down and the picture he took is in fact a Wasp orchid and not an Early spider orchid as he thought it was. But this mistake has reached two publications so far.
Just thought I would let everyone know before I get asked where it is in the county.
I wish Early spider orchid had been refound in Northamptonshire.

Brian Laney.

hi Brian
I've got this new book and it does mention early spider orchids. However it says that it used to grow in the Chilterns and in the Cotswolds but states 'this species has not been seen locally for decades' and 'last seen in the 1970s on the Berkshire downs'. There is no mention of Northamptonshire that I can see nor of any recent records.


Regards
Ian

 

[broadbill]

Green Winged & Early Purples out nicely in Suffolk....

Chris

 

[heakl]

Early Spider

Variants seen in Kent last week.
First one could well be flavescens as described by Harrops.
Second one could well be lutea as described by Lang.
Third one has very unusual green markings on the lip.
The right sepal on the fourth one is half sepal, half lip!
The fifth looks to be totally lacking in chlorophyll.

Alan

 

[heakl]

A round one and a narrow one as well.

 

[lizard orchid]

hi Brian
I've got this new book and it does mention early spider orchids. However it says that it used to grow in the Chilterns and in the Cotswolds but states 'this species has not been seen locally for decades' and 'last seen in the 1970s on the Berkshire downs'. There is no mention of Northamptonshire that I can see nor of any recent records.


Regards
Ian

Thanks Ian. Someone must have got it wrong. So mistake is in one publication which is David Langs British Orchids by Wildguides.

Brian Laney.

 

[jeffnsue]

What a great variety of Early Spiders, Alan, were they all at Samphire Hoe?
We're in Kent next weekend and I was hoping they'd still be in flower. Would welcome a steer on where you found them please, by PM if you prefer.

 

[rmielcarek]

Variants seen in Kent last week.
First one could well be flavescens as described by Harrops.
Second one could well be lutea as described by Lang.
Third one has very unusual green markings on the lip.
The right sepal on the fourth one is half sepal, half lip!
The fifth looks to be totally lacking in chlorophyll.

Alan

Alan

the first picture matches one of the var flavescens photos in Turner Ettlinger, the one that is annotated 'possibly var planimaculata sensu Sundermann.'

Love the fourth one! I wonder if this is one of the peloric forms that I understand have been seen at the site in the past.

Looks like you had a productive trip.

Rich M

 

[turntostone]

Went to Pilch Field BBOWT reserve, near Buckingham on Sunday 19th May
Lots of Green-winged but no Early Marsh yet.

 

[slatts]

Variants seen in Kent last week.
First one could well be flavescens as described by Harrops.
Second one could well be lutea as described by Lang.
Third one has very unusual green markings on the lip.
The right sepal on the fourth one is half sepal, half lip!
The fifth looks to be totally lacking in chlorophyll.

Alan

These are really interesting plants. Where were they? I want to go to Samphire this week before the early spider finish. I was searching for early spider in Sussex on saturday. There are two sites with small populations. One is on a bank next to East Dean village with maybe a dozen plants, and then another site past Birling Gap, on a grass bank between the road and the path just north of Belle Tout. There are also some large populations of early purple next to the road just south of here, and by the bend in the road by the Beachy Head carpark.

 

[gpg]

Previously I dropped by to have a look every now & again. Today I decided to join the forum.

I wonder whether anyone else has been struck by the particularly luxuriant growth of the leaves of common spotted orchids this year. Not only that but the spotting seems to be more intense & covers more of the leaf surface.

This is something I have noticed in site after site that has been visited.

Neotinea ustulata is just coming into flower on SPTA.

 

[Dylan Edwards]

Green-winged and Early Purples

Still a profusion of Early purple orchids and a smattering of Green-winged orchids at Bryn Pydew SSSi just outside LLandudno and Conwy

 

[rmielcarek]

Finally thought I should get off my butt and have a search of a few local sites.

Early Purples present at a woodland site in record numbers.

Green-winged - numbers poor at all three sites visited. I also noticed that there were hardly any pale variants this year - two of the sites normally have plenty of pink and pale lipped plants but this year hardly any.

Southern Marsh - just starting to flower.

Rich M

 

[heakl]

These are really interesting plants. Where were they? I want to go to Samphire this week before the early spider finish. I was searching for early spider in Sussex on saturday. There are two sites with small populations. One is on a bank next to East Dean village with maybe a dozen plants, and then another site past Birling Gap, on a grass bank between the road and the path just north of Belle Tout. There are also some large populations of early purple next to the road just south of here, and by the bend in the road by the Beachy Head carpark.

Sorry Slatts, you fell foul of several members of this forum last year with your tendency to bandy on about orchid site information (more above!) on the open forum. It's something I'm certainly not happy about, and I'm unwilling to share information with those that do so.

Alan

 

[heakl]

Alan

the first picture matches one of the var flavescens photos in Turner Ettlinger, the one that is annotated 'possibly var planimaculata sensu Sundermann.'

Love the fourth one! I wonder if this is one of the peloric forms that I understand have been seen at the site in the past.

Looks like you had a productive trip.

Rich M

Finally thought I should get off my butt and have a search of a few local sites.

Early Purples present at a woodland site in record numbers.

Green-winged - numbers poor at all three sites visited. I also noticed that there were hardly any pale variants this year - two of the sites normally have plenty of pink and pale lipped plants but this year hardly any.

Southern Marsh - just starting to flower.

Rich M

Hi Rich, thanks for the info and comments on the Early Spider.

Green-winged on the Cotswolds seem to be very similar to the ones you've been looking at today, although I did find a nice white one with extremely pale pink spots on the lip and a nice small pink one. I've also noticed a higher proportion of dark Early Purples this year!

Alan

 

[jeffnsue]

Well said about detailed disclosure of sites Alan, I'm firmly in your camp.
I see no point in publishing detailed information on an open forum: some people might think a Lady Orchid would look good in a jam-jar!
Some things are better left unsaid.
Jeff