2010 UK Orchid season updates (1 Viewer)

[Living Rocks]

Checked out a few Chilterns sites yesterday

E. leptochila at Warburg now past their best.
E. purpurata probably a week away from flowering, only one plant without chlorophyll at the usual spot this year
E. phyllanthes just starting to flower at Bix
E. helleborine small form near Princes Risborough in full flower, but poured down while I was there so I only got a couple of lousy photos, a change from the gale I got last time I suppose!
Ghost Orchid – Not up yet!

 

[Ghostly Vision]

Checked out a few Chilterns sites yesterday

Ghost Orchid – Not up yet!

Yes they are - in the Black Forest anyway!

Just returned from the best site in Europe and we were a week too early. It is still a late season. That said, we still found in the region of 200 flowering spikes, though most were just poking through.

There seem to be less and less each year here, but the weather may have played a part.

More details to follow elsewhere.

Sean

 

[leptochila]

Narrow-lipped Helleborines near Stroud in Gloucestershire today - One very good plant and one still in bud as well as around 7 smaller plants.

Mike

 

[fearnor]

Violet Helleborine

Violet Helleborine in flower mid Hants (near Petersfield), only 4 plants though, 1 in flower the others still in bud
Regards
Nick

 

[rmielcarek]

Violet Helleborine in flower mid Hants (near Petersfield), only 4 plants though, 1 in flower the others still in bud
Regards
Nick

At our local site I found 15 stems of Violet, none of which were yet in flower.

Rich M

 

[heakl]

At our local site I found 17 stems of Violet, of which only 2 were yet in flower (but both of those were fully in flower!).

On one of these all the old flowers were very dark, at first I thought it was a Broad-leaved. Anyone ever seen a Violet with dark flowers like this?

Rich M

I'm sure you know better than me Rich but just a thought, David Lang's book notes that hybrids between Broad-leaved and Violet have been recorded. Could it be?

All very interesting, many thanks
Alan

 

[rmielcarek]

I'm sure you know better than me Rich but just a thought, David Lang's book notes that hybrids between Broad-leaved and Violet have been recorded. Could it be?

All very interesting, many thanks
Alan

I had that thought so I went back again this afternoon and had a look at both the plants that were in flower (the other one has paler flowers). I now think they are both Broad-leaved - what a prat I am!!

On both the bottom leaf is broader than on Violet but by no means broader than long and they have purple streaks down them. However I've just checked my photos and looked at the bosses on the lip, quite rough like Broad-leaved.

There isn't normally Broad-leaved at this site so it will teach me to look more carefully in future.

Rich M

 

[heakl]

I had that thought so I went back again this afternoon and had a look at both the plants that were in flower (the other one has paler flowers). I now think they are both Broad-leaved - what a prat I am!!

On both the bottom leaf is broader than on Violet but by no means broader than long and they have purple streaks down them. However I've just checked my photos and looked at the bosses on the lip, quite rough like Broad-leaved.

There isn't normally Broad-leaved at this site so it will teach me to look more carefully in future.

Rich M

I've been searching my area (South Gloucestershire) for Narrow-lipped and found a possible today, the bosses are certainly pink and smooth rather than the rough brown of the Broad-leaved that are abundant hereabouts but the leaves aren't exactly as I would expect, please have a look at my snaps and let me know what you think.
Alan

 

[Andrew]

Evening,

Are there any good sites around Cleethorpes for orchids next week?

Regards,
Andrew.

Anyone? :smoke:

 

[Matthebirder]

'Huntingdonshire' Violet Helleborines just starting to open, probably better in a weeks time.

 

[Ghostly Vision]

I've been searching my area (South Gloucestershire) for Narrow-lipped and found a possible today, the bosses are certainly pink and smooth rather than the rough brown of the Broad-leaved that are abundant hereabouts but the leaves aren't exactly as I would expect, please have a look at my snaps and let me know what you think.
Alan

Hi Alan

If you look carefully at your photo you can see the pllant is cross-pollinated.

This makes it a Broad-leaved helleborine. Although Narrow-lipped can occasionally show a viscidium, it never lasts long and th epollen always starts to crumble quite quickly.

See the attached photo of Violet and Broad-leaved helleborines, which are both cross-pollinated.

Rich - your plant certainly convinced me, especially the stem colour, but the flower colour and shape did seem rather odd. Perhaps it is plants like these that convinced people in th epast that Violet X Broad-leaved hybrids occur.

Sean

 

[heakl]

Hi Alan

If you look carefully at your photo you can see the pllant is cross-pollinated.

This makes it a Broad-leaved helleborine. Although Narrow-lipped can occasionally show a viscidium, it never lasts long and th epollen always starts to crumble quite quickly.

See the attached photo of Violet and Broad-leaved helleborines, which are both cross-pollinated.

Rich - your plant certainly convinced me, especially the stem colour, but the flower colour and shape did seem rather odd. Perhaps it is plants like these that convinced people in th epast that Violet X Broad-leaved hybrids occur.

Sean

Many thanks Sean
You will find it hard to imagine just how much your posts on this forum are appreciated, particularly by those of us starting out on the trail of Epipactis and their identification.

Its perhaps a pity that David Lang, in his field guide Britain's Orchids, chose to show the Narrow-lipped with an obvious viscidium, but that's no excuse, the bottom half of the plant never looked right for Narrow-lipped, an obvious case of seeing what I wanted to see rather than what I was looking at.

My search for Narrow-lipped (and a few other helleborine) will continue unabated, again many thanks.

Alan

 

[Ghostly Vision]

Many thanks Sean

Its perhaps a pity that David Lang, in his field guide Britain's Orchids, chose to show the Narrow-lipped with an obvious viscidium, but that's no excuse, the bottom half of the plant never looked right for Narrow-lipped, an obvious case of seeing what I wanted to see rather than what I was looking at.


Alan

Hi Alan

No need to be too hard on David Lang; the plants, in Bucks, have long been mis-identified, partly because leptochila used to occur there, and they are quite anomalous in appearance.

If you check out the Epipactis thread in this forum, there is more info on them.

Even funnier is that a photo of the same plants occurs in another recent British Orchid book with a caption which says "a potentially confusing Epipactis leptochila with labellum slightly wider than normal. Other key characters confirm its identity as this species"

There are no details as to which features these are!!!

All the best

Sean

 

[Lorne]

Green-flowered Helleborine var phyllanthes.
Went up to Langford in Wilts. to check these out, unfortunately not many this year & all gone over accept this small one.

 

[maslyni]

Green-flowered Helleborine var phyllanthes.
Went up to Langford in Wilts. to check these out, unfortunately not many this year & all gone over accept this small one.

Classic phyllanthes.

Nice one Lorne

Mark

 

[heakl]

Epipactis eureka

Epipactis purpurata - achlorophyllous
Just coming into flower in South Gloucestershire.

Regards to all
Alan

 

[leptochila]

Even funnier is that a photo of the same plants occurs in another recent British Orchid book with a caption which says "a potentially confusing Epipactis leptochila with labellum slightly wider than normal. Other key characters confirm its identity as this species"

There are no details as to which features these are!!!

YES! I know exactly the photo you mean, it has plagued me for a while. Those plants seem to have had experts in a pickle for quite some time then. Complete luck I even came across them after visited a much rarer species down the road.

Great orchid book though - by far my favourite in terms of photography.

Mike

 

[davidearlgray]

Hi all, I found at least 70 Violet Helleborines spikes this afternoon at Great Merrible Wood, Leicestershire.
Cheers,
Dave.
http://davidearlgray.blogspot.com/

 

[lizard orchid]

Had a look for Ghost Orchid in the Chilterns but only had three hours to search which is not long really long enough. Woods still looking suitable but deserted due to everyone probably searching Herefordshire. We must not forget the Chilterns. If it re appeared in Herefordshire then it will re appear in the Chilterns one day, I am 100% sure of it.

Brian Laney Botanist Northamptonshire

 

[ceterach]

Had a look for Ghost Orchid in the Chilterns but only had three hours to search which is not long really long enough. Woods still looking suitable but deserted due to everyone probably searching Herefordshire. We must not forget the Chilterns. If it re appeared in Herefordshire then it will re appear in the Chilterns one day, I am 100% sure of it.

Brian Laney Botanist Northamptonshire

Hi Brian

Trouble is so many people will have been looking for it that it will have been trampled before it emerges!|=(|.

All the best

John