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Orchids in the Midlands (1 Viewer)

Dear Alan,
I have just started using digital so will try and get a picture when I see one. Not sure how to post picture up on web site so all new experience here.

Brian Laney.
 
Hi Alan

This is what you are looking for...this one conveniently had last year's flower spike still attached.

Cheers

Sean
 

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Thanks to everyone who has helped me this year - I have seen some wonderful orchids and had a great time. It's going to seem a long wait until it's time to go out looking at orchids again, and hopefully I'll get to see some more new (to me) varieties next year.
Ladybee
 
Orchid rosettes

I'm pretty sure (thanks to Sean's photo) that I've found Bee orchid rosettes and think that I might have found Fly orchid rosettes as well, have I ?

Happy New Year to all
Alan
 

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heakl said:
I'm pretty sure (thanks to Sean's photo) that I've found Bee orchid rosettes and think that I might have found Fly orchid rosettes as well, have I ?

Happy New Year to all
Alan
Click to expand...

Hi Alan

Could they be Spiranthes spiralis? Look like them, but I've no experience of Fly orchid in the winter - if they do spend the season above gorund.

Sean
 
Adey Baker said:
In order not to hijack other threads such as 'Kent Orchids,' ;) I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread on any orchid topics in the Midland counties.

To start with, anybody got any thoughts on the one pictured below, photographed this morning at Elmesthorpe Plantation near Hinckley, Leics? I presume it's a Common Spotted but...


It was in a shady part of the wood - if not actually the deepest shade under the beech trees then it was far from being in the open. I was checking under the beeches for Birdsnest Orchids when I bumped into it.
As far as I'm aware the soil tends towards acidic rather than lime (the beech trees were planted, they don't really occur naturally hereabouts).
The orchid's leaves have only about three spots on them plus a few slightly blotchy areas.
Its in the same general area as the other Orchids in the wood - Early Purple, Greater Butterfly and Common Twayblade (only found one of these, so far).
Click to expand...

hi, it looks like a common spotted to me. they often grow more spindly in the shade.
 
Ghostly Vision said:
Hi Alan

Could they be Spiranthes spiralis? Look like them, but I've no experience of Fly orchid in the winter - if they do spend the season above gorund.

Sean
Click to expand...

Hello Sean,
According to Harrop's - Fly, Bee and Late Spider produce over-wintering rosettes in the autumn (strangely enough not Early Spider, they usually appear in early spring). I'm fairly sure that the two plants photographed are closely related, far more so than can be seen in the pics, I'll find out and let you know what they are in due course.

Alan
 
heakl said:
I'm pretty sure (thanks to Sean's photo) that I've found Bee orchid rosettes and think that I might have found Fly orchid rosettes as well, have I ?

Happy New Year to all
Alan
Click to expand...
Dear Heakl,
Your second pic is most interesting. Can you tell me what habitat you took the pics such as soil type.
Looking at the twisted leaf structure, these do remind me of the distinct Pyramidal Orchid rosettes.
 
The other species that come to mind was Green winged orchid rosette but as mentioned previously it is all looking good for being Pyramidal Orchid.
I have seen Pyramidal Orchid rosettes a number of time including in Feb at a new site I found in Long Buckby and on a Plantlife workparty in March in Gloucs. I recently saw a good number of rosettes again in March at a site in the north of Northamptonshire where the rosette leaves were twisted on the mature rosettes. It is that twist in the leaves like in your picture that could well make it Pyramidal orchid.
Sorry folks the rosette structure in both pics are wrong for Creeping ladies tresses.

Brian Laney, Northamptonshire.
 
Sorry folks the rosettes are wrong for Common Spotted. I find at a site in Warwickshire that Common spotted orchid rosettes do not start pushing above ground until April.
 
lizard orchid said:
Dear Heakl,
Your second pic is most interesting. Can you tell me what habitat you took the pics such as soil type.
Looking at the twisted leaf structure, these do remind me of the distinct Pyramidal Orchid rosettes.
Click to expand...

Hello Brian,
The second pic was taken at the same time and place as the first one, limestone common land in Gloucestershire. Walking on the very short grass of the common the bee rosettes stood out prominently, a couple of them about four inches across but most only about half that size. It was whilst having a closer look at bee rosettes that I noticed the different, although remarkably similar in many ways, smaller and greener rosettes. Because of the similarity in the rosettes I thought possibly another Ophrys and that could only be insectifera, having looked at the Harrops guide it could well be.

I checked four known bee orchid sites yesterday and found the distinctive rosettes at all of them, at a site where I believe trollii can be found some of the rosettes were rather less glaucous, I'm wondering how significant that is.
I also found more possibly fly rosettes?

The orchid season seems to be all year round and I've got tabs on a few other plants that I think could well be orchid, but I'll leave them for the time being. If anyone else would like to check sites known to them for any of the orchids I would be very interested in seeing what they find.

Two more pics attached, a less glaucous rosette at the trollii site and another possible fly, limestone grassland again but a different site.

Regards to all
alan
 

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Dear Alan,
Your first picture is a bee orchid rosette. Bee orchid rosettes seem to have that bluey green colour/grey green to the upper surface to the leaves.
 
Interseting discussion Alan, I've never tried to look for dormant Orchids. I thought I would have a try for the plants we have marked in the garden.

Couldn't find any growth on any of the four Common Spotted but did find what I assume are the leaves of both the Bee and the Pyramidal. Pictures attached.

Rich M
 

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Yes, agree on your pics. It is still too early for common spotted orchid growth to be above ground just yet. Best try late March/early April.

Brian Laney, Northamptonshire.
 
rmielcarek said:
Interseting discussion Alan, I've never tried to look for dormant Orchids. I thought I would have a try for the plants we have marked in the garden.

Couldn't find any growth on any of the four Common Spotted but did find what I assume are the leaves of both the Bee and the Pyramidal. Pictures attached.

Rich M
Click to expand...

Hello Rich,
Have a look at Sean's photo on Post 283 and my first photo on post 287, I'm certain sure (and Brian Laney is in agreement) that these are both Bee Orchid, and they have a very distinctive silvery/grey (some call it bluish) colour that is evident on both sides of the leaves. Looking at your photos I doubt very much that either is a Bee Orchid, but I have no idea what they might be. On a couple of sites I've found rosettes that I'm equally sure are Bee Orchid but they are certainly greener than the norm, they also have a sort of banana shape when you look down on them (see first photo on post 296), it will be interesting to discover if variations such as trollii can be determined from the developing rosette.

I have spent a lot of time looking round orchid sites since the Autumn Lady's-tresses faded last summer and I have a few other photos that I think could be orchid, in due course I'll no doubt find out what these are, if they do prove to be orchids I'll post pictures of the juvenile plants along with their flower spikes. I hope you will do the same with yours, it will be nice to discover exactly what they are.

Regards
Alan
 
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