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Tag Archives: Autumn Lady’s-tresses

226/366 Autumn comes early

13 Thursday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature

≈ 2 Comments

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Autumn Lady’s-tresses, autumn orchids, British orchids, British wildflowers, native orchids, Spiranthes spiralis

200813 autumn lady's-tresses (1)It’s two and a half weeks yet till the calendar tells us it’s autumn, and we’re all melting in the heatwave that currently has much of Britain in its fiery grip, yet the Autumn lady’s-tresses are in full flower. These gorgeous orchids are tiny and not easily spotted amongst long grass and wildflowers but, luckily, I saw a report of a find of over 40 plants in a new-to-me location and went for a look early yesterday morning. Success!

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244/365 Autumn lady’s-tresses

01 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, flowers, nature, seasons, wildflowers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Autumn Lady’s-tresses, British orchids, British wildflowers, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, orchids, Spiranthes spiralis

Happy (calendar) Autumn!

190901 autumn lady's-tresses (1)

Today’s plant couldn’t be more appropriate – these are Autumn lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis). True to their name, they usually appear when the weather turns more autumnal, and their twirling spiral form apparently reminded their original namer of the ringlets once popular in women’s hairstyles.

190901 autumn lady's-tresses (4)
190901 autumn lady's-tresses (5)

Though they like to grow in very short turf, Autumn lady’s-tresses are themselves quite small and, surrounded as these were by other wildflowers, especially the superficially similar Eyebright, they weren’t easy to spot.

190901 autumn lady's-tresses (2)
190901 autumn lady's-tresses (3)

Luckily for me, when I was having an early wander around Cosmeston this morning, I bumped into a friend of a friend, who is extremely knowledgeable about the local flora, and he very kindly showed me where these gorgeous little orchids were growing.

190901 autumn ladies tresses (6)

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Autumn Lady’s-tresses

01 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Aberthaw Nature Reserve, Autumn Lady’s-tresses, British orchids, orchid, Spiranthes spiralis

On the first calendar day of autumn it seems entirely appropriate to showcase Britain’s tiny autumnal orchid with the perfectly suited name of Autumn Lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis).

170901 Autumn lady's tresses (1)
170901 Autumn lady's tresses (2)

Growing up to 20cms (7.8ins) tall but often much smaller, these little beauties can be hard to spot – last week I couldn’t find them at Cosmeston (a friend spotted the first-ever sighting of them there recently) though I managed to spot these at Aberthaw Nature Reserve last Sunday. They are mostly coastal plants because they prefer sandy dunes or calcareous grasslands. In a good year, they can grow in colonies of hundreds, as thickly as grass, often in seaside suburban lawns.

170901 Autumn lady's tresses (3)
170901 Autumn lady's tresses (4)

It’s easy to see where the epithet spiralis comes from: the flowers spiral around the stem as they grow, though you might not guess these were orchids at all until you took a close look at the flowers. Their orchid shape is distinctive but the hairiness of the pure white petals seems a little incongruous. I presume the common name of Lady’s tresses comes from a resemblance to spiralling ringlets.

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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