2016 UK Orchids (1 Viewer)

[ionh]

Ladle burnts

Definitely on that side of the fort, and main bunch (31 in larger oval) were on a bank that ran into the fort, rather than the perimeter earthworks. There were a couple of pink flowered Frogs there too, very much like we found at Pewsey. A smaller group of 5 were on the inside bank of the perimeter walls. These were notable on that the white was flushed purple at the edges.

I found plants pretty much all the way round the perimeter bank on Saturday, from Steve's locations at "9 o'clock", round the south flank to "3 o'clock". En route to an appointment with bog orchid, so i didn't explore the interior (or comb through for frogs). Didn't do a formal count, either, but a 'wet finger in the air' estimate was approaching 100 burnts -- as Simon says, a huge improvement over a couple of years back, when badly timed sheep grazing stripped everything pretty bare.

 

[muba]

I didn't do such a comprehensive nd accurate survey as you Simon. The temp was hitting 28 and no shade, so I was more than happy with what I found. Definitely on the westof the fort, and main bunch (31) were on a bank that ran into the fort, rather than the perimeter earthworks. There were a couple of pink flowered Frogs there too, very much like we found at Pewsey. A smaller group of 5 were on the inside bank of the perimeter walls. These were notable on that the white was flushed purple at the edges.

Steve

 

[muba]

My local Wrexham newspaper (nothing online though) reports that there has been a planting of Common Spotted Orchids by North Wales Wildlife Trust at the industrial estate nearby.
What is not reported is that the new North Wales prison soon to open there has been built on empty land that was home to Common Spotted, Southern Marsh and xgrandis. The verge outside the barbed wire has been home to a colony of Bee Orchids which will now probably expire when the verge is cut at the wrong time or left to become unkempt.
Add to this that Wrexham Borough Council has changed its roadside mowing time a couple of years ago ensuring large numbers of Common Spotted get hacked down just as they are about to flower.
Any effort to get orchids growing is worthwhile, but this hardly males up for the other destruction and I can only see this as a means for the local MP to get his face in press yet again

 

[rmielcarek]

Went back this Tuesday and the heat has ruined most of the flowers on the plants that haven't been nibbled off.

A lot of my local helleborines, both Broad-leaved and Green-flowered, have suffered from the heat and wilted, or have been slugged and eaten.

Strangely it seems to be those in woodland, where you would expect it to be cooler, that have been impacted, the colony of Broad-leaved that are largely in the open are in fine fettle and starting to flower nicely.

Rich M

 

[muba]

A lot of my local helleborines, both Broad-leaved and Green-flowered, have suffered from the heat and wilted, or have been slugged and eaten.

Strangely it seems to be those in woodland, where you would expect it to be cooler, that have been impacted, the colony of Broad-leaved that are largely in the open are in fine fettle and starting to flower nicely.

Rich M

The Green-flowered at Alyn Waters seem to have been nibbled off just above the leaves. These are mainly in out of the way places and unlikely to have been picked. I blame rabbits. They have a preference for GFH, as the Dunes are not affected. The same happened last year.

 

[Simon1953]

I didn't do such a comprehensive nd accurate survey as you Simon. The temp was hitting 28 and no shade, so I was more than happy with what I found. Definitely on the westof the fort, and main bunch (31) were on a bank that ran into the fort, rather than the perimeter earthworks. There were a couple of pink flowered Frogs there too, very much like we found at Pewsey. A smaller group of 5 were on the inside bank of the perimeter walls. These were notable on that the white was flushed purple at the edges.

Steve

I did have a quick treck up Ladle Hill yesterday afternoon (it's only 3 miles from home) and counted 147 flowering spikes of BTO. Most were well past their best - maybe half a dozen still in reasonable nick. There were a number of multi-stemmed plants, which were good to see. All were along the southern and eastern ramparts or some of the spoil heaps behind these. I found none on the western rampart. My GPS seemed think I was still in Iceland and until I'd done a software upgrade yesterday evening it didn't want to play ball with recording BTO locations. Humph!

I didn't spot any Frogs - the vegetation all seemed a bit lush this year and I couldn't be bothered to search for green amongst the green...

Simon

 

[Gareth Stamp]

Narrow lipped helleborines Gloucestershire

Has anyone had chance to have a look for narrow lipped helleborines in Gloucestershire? Are they in flower?

Thanks

Gareth

 

[muba]

My GPS seemed think I was still in Iceland and until I'd done a software upgrade yesterday evening it didn't want to play ball with recording BTO locations. Humph!
Simon

Funny you should say that.. Recently my camera was reporting that I was in Spitzbergen. I knew it was incorrect as it was way too warm for there.

 

[fgrsimon]

Has anyone had chance to have a look for narrow lipped helleborines in Gloucestershire? Are they in flower?

Thanks

Gareth

Yes they are just starting to flower but they're hardly worth seeing this year, I found about 10 plants most small and puny. Only 3 were a decent size and one of those has been chopped/shriveled. Next weekend would be best but I'm not sure they'll survive that long if the dry conditions persist.

These were all near the B4070, I found none in Buckholt Wood at the sites we went to a few years ago.

 

[Gavin Mac]

Creeping Ladies Tresses

Lots of CLTs in Speyside, Scotland at the weekend. Still a few days away from their best. Couple of rubbish iphone shots attached so you can see where they're at.

 

[JCL]

Northumberland/Durham helleborines

A decent haul on Sunday (after dipping White-winged Scoter on Saturday; grrr). Four Lindisfarne beyond their best, but still more than acceptable. Countless Marsh there, in fine fettle. Twenty-odd Young's open near Newcastle, plus a similar number of Tyne looking good along the river to the west. Dark Reds in good numbers, looking stunning, at Bishop Middleham.

 

[Ghostly Vision]

Back to the Warwickshire Helleborines, which have now been confirmed as Dunes.

The nearest colonies are at Alyn Waters, 100 miles away, and in North Lincs, 125 miles away.

The unusual feature of the Warwickshire plants, which do look exactly like Dune Helleborines ostensibly, is that they ALL start out cross-pollinated, but as they age - if they do not get pollinated - the viscidia disappear and they become self-pollinating.

Cross pollination is common in inland Dune Helleborine, but only at levels of up to c30%. In coastal populations, the traditional ones, it is much less frequent.

So, this new population raises questions about these inland populations, and means a study is in order. Does anyone fancy joining in next season at the start of flowering time?

 

[jeffnsue]

Dunes

And here's another, at Marford Quarry, just two or three miles east from Alyn Waters. Thee plants have been scrutinised over the last three years at least, and the group of plants, which has increased in numbers over that period, was originally thought to be BLH. This plant looks like a pretty good dunensis to me, and Dorts agrees, so that's good enough for me!
JMH

 

[Benjamin Ofield]

Bog orchids

Good trip to the New forest today, still a few bog orchids in good condition.

 

[leptochila]

And here's another, at Marford Quarry, just two or three miles east from Alyn Waters. Thee plants have been scrutinised over the last three years at least, and the group of plants, which has increased in numbers over that period, was originally thought to be BLH. This plant looks like a pretty good dunensis to me, and Dorts agrees, so that's good enough for me!
JMH

Looks good to me!

 

[Ghostly Vision]

And here's another, at Marford Quarry, just two or three miles east from Alyn Waters. Thee plants have been scrutinised over the last three years at least, and the group of plants, which has increased in numbers over that period, was originally thought to be BLH. This plant looks like a pretty good dunensis to me, and Dorts agrees, so that's good enough for me!
JMH

Classic Dune helleborine.

 

[jeffnsue]

Thanks Mike & Sean, it looked good to Clive and me too, though there were others in the group of plants that looked more dubious.
Jeff

 

[leptochila]

Thanks Mike & Sean, it looked good to Clive and me too, though there were others in the group of plants that looked more dubious.
Jeff

Fancy posting some pics of the dubious ones Jeff?

 

[jeffnsue]

Didn’t take any Mike, nothing in flower that looked very different, dismal morning and working against the clock. There were others that had finished flowering and had leaves much more like BLH. Might go back if I get the chance, unlikely, but will certainly watch these plants next year. At Alyn Waters, BLH and DH grow very close to each other, along with GFH and I think the same might be happening here. There are places at Alyn Waters where, if I were so inclined, I could throw a tea-towel over all three species. No GFH at this particular spot at Marford, but the same principle applies in respect of the other two. Dorts reckons there’s no such thing as an Epipactis hybrid swarm, Harrap has a different opinion, I wonder?
Jeff

 

[rmielcarek]

Dorts reckons there’s no such thing as an Epipactis hybrid swarm, Harrap has a different opinion, I wonder?
Jeff

Where does Harrap say that Jeff?

Epipactis hybrids do occur but they are few and far between (and hard to identify). Where they are known to occur (and I'm thinking of two sites that I know of) there are other plants present that are not easily identifiable, so make of that what you will.

Rich M