2016 UK Orchids (1 Viewer)

I've been waiting for the 2016 orchid season with keener than usual anticipation... and now it's nearly upon us, with photos of Early Purple Orchids emerging at the end of last week on the Channel Islands.

Any day now for the mainland...

Looking forward to seeing everyone's reports and photos on here as the season unfolds.

Happy hunting!

ce

I've made tentative plans but waiting to see which week will be best. 2016 started like everything wwas going to be early, but recent weather may have put everything back.

Peak District orchid rosettes






How exciting, another season is upon us. So two to get us started - Early Purple orchid rosette with a flower bud hiding amongst the leaves and a Bee orchid rosette (I believe).

I'm off down Dorset this Saturday to look for Early spiders, I noticed that someone ( can't remember who ) posted a photo of them flowering last weekend. They also posted a photo of the Sawfly orchid in flower in Dorset, just wondering if it's common knowledge where the plant is located? I know the origin of the plant is questionable, but wouldn't mind seeing it after seeing the photo. I was told the general location last year but not sure exactly, if anyone could DM me it would be much appreciated.

Cheers Ben

Benjamin Ofield said:

I'm off down Dorset this Saturday to look for Early spiders, I noticed that someone ( can't remember who ) posted a photo of them flowering last weekend. They also posted a photo of the Sawfly orchid in flower in Dorset, just wondering if it's common knowledge where the plant is located? I know the origin of the plant is questionable, but wouldn't mind seeing it after seeing the photo. I was told the general location last year but not sure exactly, if anyone could DM me it would be much appreciated.

Cheers Ben

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It was Sean Cole (Ghostly Vision) who posted the photos on Twitter. If you check his latest post:

https://twitter.com/ukorchids

it looks like the Sawfly is past its best and not worth seeking out.

Durlston Country Park is saying today that they have a few Early Spiders in bud.

Happy hunting!

Cheers,
Rog

I'm told the sawfly orchid location is very much and also the origin does sound rather dubious. I presume the flowering time of sawfly orchid is very variable as I saw some on 11th April in Extemadura, last year, which were in perfect condition.

Dorset

Guess where I was yesterday?

Lots of Early Spiders just coming into flower. Quite a few seem to have suffered from the cold nights/strong winds of late with clear damage to the older flowers. I think April 1st is the earliest I've ever been out photographing orchids in the UK!

I was very lucky to find a tiny solitary bee 2 inches from an open flower with pollinia stuck to his head. ID anyone? I'm guessing Andrena.

Saw one very fat female Black Oil beetle and my first Wheatear too.

Mike

Common Spotted-orchid

Just starting to appear at Stover Country Park, South Devon.

Some Early Purples in North Kent have flower spikes about to open.

I take it this is an Early Spider? Durlston CP, Dorset today.

Thanks,

Andy M

Yes it is Andy.

the young hunter said:

Lots of Early Spiders just coming into flower. Quite a few seem to have suffered from the cold nights/strong winds of late with clear damage to the older flowers. I think April 1st is the earliest I've ever been out photographing orchids in the UK!

Mike

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Not sure that the early start to the season has continued; finally managed to find the first Green-winged locally today, about a week later than normal. Only two though, plus 3 still in tight bud.

Rich M

rmielcarek said:

Not sure that the early start to the season has continued; finally managed to find the first Green-winged locally today, about a week later than normal. Only two though, plus 3 still in tight bud.

Rich M

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I think this might be a standard flowering time for early spiders at Dancing Ledge - I've not been there that early before though. They seem to annually win the title for earliest flowering of any orchid population on mainland Britain!

Mike

Early Purples are being reported flowering in Kent and the IOW this week.

Mike

the young hunter said:

Early Purples are being reported flowering in Kent and the IOW this week.

Mike

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There was 1 Early Purple in flower and 1 in bud at the IOW site I visited yesterday. Just checked my records and last year I visited the site on 16th April and found lots of EPs in flower plus 1 Green-winged. No sign of Green-winged anywhere near flowering there at the moment.

Rog

rogpow said:

There was 1 Early Purple in flower and 1 in bud at the IOW site I visited yesterday. Just checked my records and last year I visited the site on 16th April and found lots of EPs in flower plus 1 Green-winged. No sign of Green-winged anywhere near flowering there at the moment.

Rog

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That's very interesting indeed! So perhaps it is a later year after all. We did have extended cold weather up until recently...

Mike

Good to see the orchid season is finally happening. I was just wondering if anybody on this thread could confirm that Lindisfarne helleborine is not considered a full species anymore? not sure if I should make the long trip from Bristol this year!
Also is Hebridean marsh now considered a subspecies of Northern marsh? I can't really find any current information on the situation.

Cheers Ben

Benjamin Ofield said:

Good to see the orchid season is finally happening. I was just wondering if anybody on this thread could confirm that Lindisfarne helleborine is not considered a full species anymore? not sure if I should make the long trip from Bristol this year!
Also is Hebridean marsh now considered a subspecies of Northern marsh? I can't really find any current information on the situation.

Cheers Ben

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Hi Ben

As far as I know, Lindisfarne helleborine is still a full species whereas Hebridean Marsh orchid has recently been 'sunk' into Narrow-leaved Marsh orchid as part of a wider genomic study of that species by Bateman et al.

I'm struggling to find the papers to support this though! Anyone who has access, please link here.

Mike

the young hunter said:

I'm struggling to find the papers to support this though! Anyone who has access, please link here.

Mike

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The hebridean Marsh orchid situation is in New Journal of Botany, volume 2, number 1, back in 2012 - Taxonomic reassessment of the British and Irish tetraploid marsh-orchids, by Bateman and Denholm.

Not sure if you can access it without a subscription.

Rich

rmielcarek said:

The hebridean Marsh orchid situation is in New Journal of Botany, volume 2, number 1, back in 2012 - Taxonomic reassessment of the British and Irish tetraploid marsh-orchids, by Bateman and Denholm.

Not sure if you can access it without a subscription.

Rich

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I'm not sure if I'm breaking any copyright (mods please delete if I am) but here is the abstact from the paper quoted above.....

Spasmodic progress in understanding the morphology of European allotetraploid marsh-orchids of the genus Dactylorhiza achieved in the second half of the twentieth century has in the twenty-first century been largely superseded by rapid progress in the molecular systematics of the group. However, a grand synthesis is still needed to integrate the re-circumscriptions of taxa achieved primarily through molecular data with improved identification ability derived from corresponding morphometric datasets. In anticipation of such a synthesis for the British Isles, we here summarise the taxonomic consequences of recent biosystematic research into the genus. These changes better accommodate infraspecific variation that reflects either local ecologically specialised races or especially regional contrasts in the frequency and degree of expression of anthocyanin pigments. We review recent nomenclatural changes, supporting such changes – and enacting further changes – only where they are clearly wholly unavoidable. Dactylorhiza traunsteinerioides (Pugsley) Landwehr ex R.M. Bateman & Denholm ssp. francis-drucei (Wilmott) R.M. Bateman & Denholm, comb. nov., encompasses all Scottish (and probably some northern Irish) populations of D. traunsteinerioides, including those formerly attributed to D. ‘lapponica’ p.p. and D. ‘ebudensis’; the latter becomes D. traunsteinerioides ssp. francis-drucei var. ebudensis (Wiefelspütz ex R.M. Bateman & Denholm) R.M. Bateman & Denholm, comb. nov. Also, Dactylorhiza praetermissa (Druce) Soó ssp. schoenophila R.M. Bateman & Denholm, ssp. nov., is established to encompass populations located in southeast England, south of a line from the Severn to the Wash, that were formerly attributed to D. traunsteinerioides on the basis of their gross morphology and habitat preference but have genotypes characteristic of D. praetermissa; varietal level may eventually prove more appropriate. A relatively broad morphological circumscription is recommended for D. purpurella (T. & T.A. Steph.) Soó var. cambrensis (R.H. Roberts) R.M. Bateman & Denholm. The evolutionary histories and present conservation status of British and Irish tetraploid marsh-orchids are also summarised


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