Ghostly Vision
Well-known member
Do I have your attention?
That might be the headline this year.
I visited the Marlow site for Ghost orchid with Brian Laney yesterday and we searched for 2.5 hours with no luck.
However, there were a couple of nice Narrow-lipped helleborines, but more significantly, two patches of Yellow Bird's-nest - one of which was the largest either Brian or myself had ever seen.
Why is this significant I hear you Ghost-hunters ask? Well, the conditions that YBN require to flourish are almost identical to those that Ghost needs.
As such, this is the closest indicator that conditions are right for Ghost to flower this year in the UK. From the past records I have, YBN crops up several times as growing close by, and also when I saw Ghost in Germany two years ago, there were patches of YBN in the wood nearby.
It is also not too early for Ghost orchid to be flowering at the Marlow site; it last flowered here in 1987, when it was found around the 15th July and it was all over by 24th. In past years here it has been discovered from mid-July through to late August.
I will not divulge the site on this public forum, but please treat this as a request to those who do know the site to make an effort to visit as often as you can from now through the next few weeks. This really could be the year of the Ghost.
If you do find it, it is important to let people knowIMMEDIATELY for a number of reasons:
1. To confirm the re-occurrence of the species via corroboration of your sighting. It will be a massively important event which needs as much detail as possible.
2. To ensure the plant/s can be monitored and wardened to protect them from both people and natural predators such as slugs, deer etc.
3. Potentially to protect them from accidental damage such as horse-riders, cyclists, car drivers etc. (There is a burned-out car in the wood and Horse-riders, Motorcyclists and pedal cyclists were all going through there yesterday). There are a number of ways this can be done and the most suitable need to be assesed quickly.
Protection from slugs is the primary reason to get news to someone quickly. However, news travels fast however hard one tries to prevent it, so protection from people might be the next thing that needs to be carried out. Given the number of people who twitched the LadyXMonkey hybrids in Oxon last year, the re-appearance of Ghost is likely to be a major event that needs to be managed properly. There are plenty of people, myself included, willing to give up time to do so.
The main point of this Email is not to preach, but to alert people of the real possibility that the species might re-appear this year, and to request that as many people as possible who know the site visit to check, as this is the only sure way for this to happen. Hopefully see you there!!!!
Regards
Sean
That might be the headline this year.
I visited the Marlow site for Ghost orchid with Brian Laney yesterday and we searched for 2.5 hours with no luck.
However, there were a couple of nice Narrow-lipped helleborines, but more significantly, two patches of Yellow Bird's-nest - one of which was the largest either Brian or myself had ever seen.
Why is this significant I hear you Ghost-hunters ask? Well, the conditions that YBN require to flourish are almost identical to those that Ghost needs.
As such, this is the closest indicator that conditions are right for Ghost to flower this year in the UK. From the past records I have, YBN crops up several times as growing close by, and also when I saw Ghost in Germany two years ago, there were patches of YBN in the wood nearby.
It is also not too early for Ghost orchid to be flowering at the Marlow site; it last flowered here in 1987, when it was found around the 15th July and it was all over by 24th. In past years here it has been discovered from mid-July through to late August.
I will not divulge the site on this public forum, but please treat this as a request to those who do know the site to make an effort to visit as often as you can from now through the next few weeks. This really could be the year of the Ghost.
If you do find it, it is important to let people knowIMMEDIATELY for a number of reasons:
1. To confirm the re-occurrence of the species via corroboration of your sighting. It will be a massively important event which needs as much detail as possible.
2. To ensure the plant/s can be monitored and wardened to protect them from both people and natural predators such as slugs, deer etc.
3. Potentially to protect them from accidental damage such as horse-riders, cyclists, car drivers etc. (There is a burned-out car in the wood and Horse-riders, Motorcyclists and pedal cyclists were all going through there yesterday). There are a number of ways this can be done and the most suitable need to be assesed quickly.
Protection from slugs is the primary reason to get news to someone quickly. However, news travels fast however hard one tries to prevent it, so protection from people might be the next thing that needs to be carried out. Given the number of people who twitched the LadyXMonkey hybrids in Oxon last year, the re-appearance of Ghost is likely to be a major event that needs to be managed properly. There are plenty of people, myself included, willing to give up time to do so.
The main point of this Email is not to preach, but to alert people of the real possibility that the species might re-appear this year, and to request that as many people as possible who know the site visit to check, as this is the only sure way for this to happen. Hopefully see you there!!!!
Regards
Sean