Wasp Orchid var trollii..... (1 Viewer)

Out and about locally at Grimley sandpits near Worcester and came upon a single Pyramidal with 5 Bee Orchids on a track adjacent the 2 main pools...

What caught my eye was a single aberrant flower on one of the Bee stems. Straight away i though ‘Wasp Orchid’ but it was one of 5 or so flowers the rest being ‘normal’. The flower had a drawn-out pale edged lip tapering to a wedge as opposed to the bulbuos recurved labellum of apifera. I saw a few trollii in the Cotswolds many years ago but these spikes were composed of all wasp-like flowers. A bit of research reveals that both trollii and apifera can occur on the same flowering spike but this is much rarer recorded than single .var examples.

Laurie:t:

Attached are a coupla photos.

I think that top flower has not fully opened. It still has a way to go and will re-curve like the lower one.

Cheers - i will give that some thought as i visit the site on a weekly basis:t:

Laurie:t:

Definitely a regular bee orchid, the odd flower is just not fully formed.

Definitely a regular bee orchid, the odd flower just hasn't fully developed.

Definitely a regular bee orchid, the odd flower has just not fully developed.