24 Sunday May 2020
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
The occasional smatterings of rain we’ve had in the last few days have eased, ever so slightly, the drought conditions hereabouts, and the flush of new growth that was evident during this morning’s early walk through the fields at Cosmeston included my first Common spotted orchids of the year. Superb!
19 Sunday Apr 2020
Posted in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
I spotted 8 flower spikes of Early-purple orchid (Orchis macula) during my walk last Wednesday, 15 April, though not all the flowers were yet open.
This sighting was earlier than last year’s, which was on 23 April and which the locals told me was earlier than usual. It seems like climate change keeps changing the goal posts for these orchids.
01 Sunday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, flowers, nature, seasons, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, Autumn Lady’s-tresses, British orchids, British wildflowers, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, orchids, Spiranthes spiralis
Happy (calendar) Autumn!
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.
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.
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.
28 Sunday Jul 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
I almost left it too late!
I’ve been keeping an eye on these Broad-leaved helleborines for over a month now: at my first visit, the flowers scarcely showed a tinge of red; at my second visit, on 14 July, a couple were in bloom but most still to open; and this morning, many of them had already started to go over.
And, as today was quite windy, my photos are not very sharp so I’ve added in a couple from two weeks ago.
Hey ho, at least I managed to see them in all their beauty before they disappear for another year.
04 Thursday Jul 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, British orchids, Epipactis palustris, Marsh helleborine, native orchids, orchids, orchids at brownfield site, Rhoose Point Nature Reserve
Like many brownfield sites, the former limestone quarries at Rhoose Point, the southernmost point in Wales, are now a nature-filled paradise, and yesterday one area was positively teeming with these beautiful Marsh helleborines (Epipactis palustris).
As their name implies, these orchids need water to flourish: the First Nature website says ‘This plant thrives in habitats which are usually submerged with water during the winter and maintain high levels of moisture during the summer. Dune slacks are often home to vast colonies, as are fens which are fed by alkaline springs running through limestone rocks – chalk being the other essential element to enable the Marsh Helleborine to flourish.’
I love what Richard Mabey has to say about orchids in Flora Botannica:
These days [their lightweight seed] often fetches up on artificially open habitats, low in nutrients and free of competition (quarries, for example), which replicate orchid-rich natural habitats such as sand dunes and cliff tops. It is this paradoxical, opportunistic quality of many orchids – the exquisite bloom transforming the spoil tip – that has become the basis for the true modern myth of the family, a botanical version of Beauty and the Beast.
The Marsh helleborines (and the many other species of orchid) that grow so well in the old Rhoose quarries are a stunning example of this transformation.
01 Monday Jul 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Some of the beautiful Bee orchids in my local wild places are starting to go over now, punished perhaps by the extreme June heat we’ve been experiencing. So, before they disappear completely for another year, I thought I’d share some of their wonderfully cheery, smiling faces. No two are the same.
25 Saturday May 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
Aberbargoed Grasslands, Bee orchid, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Early purple orchid, Heath spotted-orchid, Lavernock Nature Reserve, native orchids
As more and more orchids are now appearing, I thought I’d post a few photos of those I’ve seen so far this year. The first were the aptly named Early purples (Orchis macula), though this year they were even earlier than usual I’m told – I spotted these beauties at Lavernock Nature Reserve on 23 April.
Next up were these pretty little Heath spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata) found growing at the Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve on 15 and 21 March, when I was visiting for the Marsh fritillaries.
During Monday’s wander at Lavernock I spotted the first open flower of a Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsia) and on Thursday, 23 May, I found the first couple of these at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.
And today’s delightful discovery, also at Cosmeston, was my first Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) for 2019. I look forward to the warm summer days when the fields at Cosmeston are awash with (mostly Common spotted) orchids – they’re a joy to behold!
03 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in flowers, nature, parks, wildflowers
Tags
#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Greater butterfly-orchid, orchid, Southern marsh orchid
For day three of #30DaysWild I went searching for orchids at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I got lucky. The Common spotted-orchids are blooming in good numbers now, two of the small number of well hidden Greater butterfly-orchids are flowering, I found my first Bee orchid of the season, and I think I found my first Southern marsh-orchid as well. It couldn’t get much better than that!
Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)
Greater butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha)
Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera)
Southern marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) (and Common blue butterfly)
01 Friday Sep 2017
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
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).
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.
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.
28 Friday Jul 2017
Posted in flowers, nature, parks, wildflowers
Tags
British flora, British native orchids, British orchids, Broad-leaved helleborine, Epipactis helleborine, orchid, terrestrial orchid
These Broad-leaved helleborines (Epipactis helleborine) are a little past their best but I just had to post about them, partly because I love all of Britain’s native orchids and partly because these are survivors. You would usually find these terrestrial orchids growing in clearings or along path edges in forests and woodlands but these particular plants are growing on the edges of a former rubbish tip, now urban park, in Cardiff. Despite humans dumping thousands of tons of rubbish on their habitat, then covering that over with imported rocks and soil, laying tarmac paths and planting cultivated plants like cotoneaster, these helleborines have somehow survived. The idea of that made my day!
earthstar 
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