Fly Orchid f. luteomarginata

This Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera, photographed at a local site in June, displays some characteristics of the rare form luteomarginata. This highly distinctive form, once thought to be a separate species, is characterised by a yellow margin that fades to brown with age. This interesting plant was weakly marked but looked very different from the Fly Orchids that were growing in profusion at the near-by and is far from being a typical example of luteomarginata.

Ophrys insectifera f. luteomarginata - Buckinghamshire, 16/06/2012

Ophrys insectifera f. luteomarginata - Buckinghamshire, 16/06/2012

 Ophrys insectifera f. luteomarginata - Buckinghamshire, 16/06/2012

Compare the flower above with the typical Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera shown below, photographed at the same site a few days earlier..

Ophrys insectifera, Buckinghamshire, 04/06/2012

Fly Orchid

One compensation for the dreadful spring and early summer have been the Orchids, which have been thriving in the wet conditions. In early June I paid a visit to a small local Nature Reserve to check on the Fly Orchids Ophrys insectifera and was amazed at the number I found. A quick search turned up 30 plants and I have since found out that the official count for whole Reserve is many times that figure.

Fly Orchids are rare in the UK and are mainly found in the Southern half of the country. Despite it's name the flower mimics the female Digger Wasp, even producing a Pheromone to entice a male wasp into acting as an unwitting pollinator as it attempts to mate with it. There can be as many as 20 flowers on each spike which can grow as tall as 60 cm, but the plants can be very inconspicuous and hard to find. Although tolerant of a broad range of habitats, Fly Orchids prefer calcareous soils and can be found in Beech woods, grassy places in shade and even fens.

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera (04/06/2012)

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera (04/06/2012)

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera (04/06/2012)

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera (04/06/2012)

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera (04/06/2012)

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera (04/06/2012)

Spring Orchids

Green-winged Orchid Anacamptis morio

Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Common Twayblade Listera ovata

White Helleborine Cephalanthera damasonium

Common Fragrant Orchid Gymnadenia conopsea

Man Orchid Orchis anthropophorum

Greater Butterfly Orchids Platanthera chlorantha

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera

Birdsnest Orchid Neottia nidus-avis

Violet Helleborine var. rosea

Here are some pictures of the very striking rosea form of Violet Helleborine Epipactis purpurata growing by the roadside under Beech trees near Princes Risborough. The plant is large and robust but completely lacking in chlorophyll giving it a strange ghostly appearance. The plant is tinted with purple but really stands out in the dark woods, almost appearing to glow. There is another ghostly plant, much smaller, on the other side of the road and two conventional plants growing nearby. Orchids are dependant on mycorrhizal symbiosis and this allows some species to grow with reduced leaves and little chlorophyll. Violet Helleborine can survive with no chlorophyll at all and these plants are usually more heavily suffused with purple, rather than violet.

It was quite breezy and the light levels very low making it a real challenge to get any reasonable shots of this amazing plant.

Violet Helleborine var.rosea

Violet Helleborine var. rosea showing no chlorophyll

A normal Violet Helleborine Epipactis purpurata taken in July 2006 in South Buckinghamshire