Marsh Helleborine

Looking for a clump of Marsh Helleborines (Epipactis palustris) I had seen earlier without my camera I started to think that I wouldn't find them again.

Then I realised that what I had thought was a silvery blaze of creeping willow leaves was in fact thousands of orchids. The Marsh Helleborines were clearly thriving in a large dune slack and it was certainly a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees

Dotted amongst the predominant Marsh Helleborines I found a few other orchids - Common Twayblade and Early Marsh Orchids. There were a lot of Bumble Bees taking advantage of the mass of flowers. The nature reserve at Formby Point Lancashire is so full of flowers that even on a grey summer's day it feels colourful.

Perhaps Marsh Helleborines are the most striking flower native to Britain even when seen on one plant; the spectacle of thousands is very impressive . They are very particular about their growing conditions and flourish in calcareous damp conditions such as fens and dune slacks.

Marsh Helleborines are readily recognisable as an orchid because they are the British native orchid that most resembles the dense flower head of Cymbidium orchids that florists use. N.B. despite the presence of large colonies, don't be tempted to pick them. The orchicds growing in Britain have legislative protection and Marsh Helleborines are one of the species with additional protection because they are declining. (Explanation of legislation coming soon.)

White Common Fragrant Orchid

The Common, Marsh and Heath Fragrant Orchids were only recently recognised as separate species. (They are differentiated by the proportions of the petals in particular the lower lip lobes, and some differences in habitat preference. The clearest indicator for me that this was a Common Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) and not a Marsh Fragrant Orchid or a Heath Fragrant Orchid is that ‘wing’ petals on the sides of the flowers are pointed, narrow and angled downwards.


The first Common Fragrant Orchid I found on the North Downs in Kent did smell - I would say sweet more than particularly fragrant, and as there was only one flowering stem I had to get down to ground level to detect it. Heading off the path I found a colony of hundreds - smelling them before I could see them as in large numbers the smell is almost overpowering.

Most of the orchids in the colony were shades of soft pink and there were a few flowering white; Var. albiflora.

Bee Orchid

Early in the morning when the dew was still on the grass I would walk across the lawn looking for ghostly pink petals and swollen buds caught like moths in the grass. Many years before there had been a small Christmas tree plantation occupying the spot. After two years of giving everyone we knew Christmas trees it was time to get rid of the barren evergreen clump.

Within a year there were a few cowslips flowering in the grass that sprung up. We started by staking the cowslips with canes to mow around them, until one year there were too many cowslips to stake and all the grass was left uncut. Given the chance to flower in June and July we realised that for years dust like orchid seeds had waited in the soil until they had the opportunity of a grassy sward left uncut.

The lips of these orchids are fantastically velvety and do bear a passing resemblance to bees. Because the flowers are a reasonable size and many of the different parts of the flower are clearly differentiated by colour they are a useful flower to look at to get to grips with the structure of orchid flowers. Bee Orchids (Ophrys apifera) grow in open grassland and will quickly colonise disturbed soil, rapidly increasing in number. Although they do not compete well with other plants if the sward becomes too closed they can be found in permanent grassland colonies.

Pyramidal Orchid

The first orchid I learnt the name of. Its bright flowers are easily spotted, often in profusion by roads and the shape of the dense cone of flowers makes the name easy to remember. As more buds open the flowering stem becomes more globular or cylindrical. It remains easy to identify as there are two raised ridges on the base of the flower lip which is unique to this species. It is pollinated by moths and butterflies and the ridges on the petal guide the proboscis to trigger the pollination mechanism.

Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) grows in well drained soil that has calcium in it – from chalky grasslands to sand dunes. It is an early coloniser of new habitats and as such the stirred up soil of roadworks can be ideal. It grows in England mostly in the south central area and not further north than Yorkshire – exhibiting a preference for milder climates. It grows in grass which is close cropped and also where the grass grows taller, the flower still distinctive because of their eye catching colour and shape. It can flower as early as May and as late as August but mostly it flowers from mid-June to mid-July. In Kent and Dorset last year they were fully flowering by mid-June and certainly past their best before mid-July.

Lizard Orchid

Nearly waist high the long flower spike of a Lizard Orchid I found was unmistakeable. Their height varies from 25-90cm. With nearly half the stem covered in the grey-green flowers there is nothing else it could be. Each flower has an elongated twisted lower lip which quivers in the slightest breeze.

The Lizard Orchid (Himantoglossum hircinum) grows on chalk grassland. In England they are at the limit of their range and found only on 19 sites mostly in the south-east it is a plant you are most likely to need to travel to see. 6 of its sites are golf courses – there is some speculation that their seed is being distributed on golfer’s shoes.

Flowering from early June to mid July the one I found in Sandwich Bay, Kent was past its peak. Their growth period is September – April , and flower buds are formed over two growing seasons so abundance of flowers is determined by rainfall over a two year period.

Bird’s-nest Orchid

“That dead looking thing is an orchid?” Even at the height of freshness the flowers of the Bird's-nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-arvis) are pale brown not exciting unless you know that this is not commonly found, and an unusual plant which derives its nutrients solely from fungi.

The name refers to the roots which are reputed to resemble a bird’s nest. I have not seen this myself since I haven’t dug one up and don’t intend to.

The Bird’s-nest Orchid grows in woodland, particularly beech woodland, on chalk soils. It grows where there is a deep layer of leaf mould and the soil is damp but not water logged. It flowers from early May until early July and is more abundant in warm wet springs. Flowers may set seed underground if the flower stem is obstructed from reaching the surface – for example by a rock.

As a saprophyte with no need for chlorophyll or leaves to gain energy from sunlight its leaves are reduced to sheathing scales on the stem. Hard to spot until you know what you are looking for in the leaf litter it found across Britain, especially south-central England.

Early Marsh Orchid

Early Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata)

The Early Marsh Orchid is very widely spread across Britain though it does not occur in abundance and has been lost from many areas. There are five subspecies of Early Marsh Orchid which have different coloured flowers and occur in different habitats.

Dactylorhiza incarnata subspecies incarnata is found in alkaline fens and marshy meadows. Its flowers are a unique shade of flesh or salmon pink unlike that of any of the other orchids found in Britain. The only other flower in Britain I can think of which is almost this colour is Tall Ramping-Fumitory which has pinnate leaves and could not be mistaken for an orchid. So perhaps D.i. subspecies incarnata is one of the few flowers that could be identified here by its colour alone. The flower spikes are often satisfyingly chunky, though sometimes it grows in leaner spikes.

Last year I found D. i. subspecies incarnata in a dune slack at Formby Point, Lancashire. Dunes might not be the first place you think of as alkaline or marshy. Chalk is a very ancient deposit of shells. Calcareous shell debris can collect on dunes and in the hollow between dunes - i.e. the Dune slack – which can be damp enough to support plants that require a damp habitat if part of the hollow falls below the water table.