A trip across the border into Hampshire today to see the Sword-leaved Helleborine. Although described as rare and very local, it can be found in large numbers if you find the right spot. The glades in this small beech wood were showing hundreds of specimens, possibly thousands if we had searched further.
 |
| Display of Sword-leaved Helleborine. |
 |
| Sword-leaved Helleborine |
 |
| Sword-leaved Helleborine |
 |
| Sword-leaved Helleborine |
There were also a few Fly Orchids showing in a shaded glade. These were the first I had seen in a wooded environment and were much smaller than the ones found on open grass.
 |
| Fly Orchid |
 |
| Fly Orchid |
A quick stop on the way back into Sussex gave us sight of fresh spikes of Birds Nest Orchids with one spike just coming into flower.
 |
| Birds Nest Orchid |
 |
| Birds Nest Orchid |
Then a trip over into East Sussex for unfinished business with the Burnt Orchids. We had been out at the end of last week finding more Early Purple Orchids and also a few Twayblades which were starting to show but had ended up searching the wrong area for the Burnt Orchids. Worst still, the area was crawling with Ticks, a good reason for sticking with the long trousers.
 |
| Early Purple Orchid |
 |
| Twayblades |
Today, back on the Burnt Orchids and following a bit more research, we found the right area and managed to see the orchids.
These were the first Burnt Orchids I had seen and they were a bit smaller than I had expected. Two below shown along side a Buttercup for comparison.
 |
| Burnt Orchids and Buttercup |
A few of the flower spikes came up a bit bigger but probably nothing over 80 millimetres. There were hundreds of flower but they were mostly grouped into small areas of twenty to eighty plants. It is difficult to see why they do not spread over a much wider area but there must be something very specific about the conditions prevailing in the preferred areas.
 |
| Burnt Orchid |
 |
| Burnt Orchid |
 |
| Burnt Orchid |
 |
| Burnt Orchid |
The Orchid list is building nicely but I am getting a bit behind on birds. I must try to live up to the name of my blog and make some time to go bird watching. On the other hand, there are a couple more Orchids to see before the month is out.
No comments:
Post a Comment