Monday, 7 June 2010

Seaching in the Pennines again

Mon. 7th June 2010.
                            Yesterday was a humid day with periods of rain but we still set off into the Higher pennines around Ribblehead in upper Ribblesdale. Above 1000 ft  spring still lingers on and the Bluebells and Marsh Marrigolds were still putting on a good show. Amongst  the Blue bells we found the Mossy Saxifrage an alphine of high grassland. Audrey discovered the tiny Frog Orchid amongst the Twayblade Orchids and there was still a good showing of Early Purple Orchids and the tiny Birds-eye Primrose.

                                   Pen-y-Ghent aross the valley


                                                  Rock Rose

                                          Mossy Saxifrage

                                       Early Purple Orchid

This was Audrey's best find of the day the Frog Orchid , it's very difficult to see because of its low height about 3-4 inches and its ability to blend into the surrounding foliage

                     The Frog Orchid is to the left of Audrey's shoe

Frog Orchid, because of the damp conditions the flowers and stem
tend to be green. In a drier location they take on a more reddish brown appearance


         Twayblade Orchid the flower spikes are just beginning to open


                        Twayblades amongst the Marsh Marrigolds

Its June but the Marsh Marrigolds are in full flower at these higher altitudes

                 Bird-eye primrose in one of the small hidden valleys

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5 comments:

  1. Helen7 June 2010 at 19:03

    I haven't come across a Frog orchid before. It seems to have similar colouring to the Man orchids which I also find hard to spot as they blend in so well.

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  2. Shirley7 June 2010 at 22:07

    Hi again David, I too love the frog orchid. I really do enjoy seeing what you see on your walks especially the environments where you see the plants. I was thinking about you last Friday :-)

    I went to our main garden show up here hoping to find an orchid that would grow in my garden. I should have mailed you for suggestions although on saying that the selection available to buy would be limited.

    Probably very ordinary, but Dactylorhiza x Grandis caught my eye. I liked the flower colour and the spotted foliage too. However, if I'd seen the frog one ;-)

    I'll look into propagating this plant perhaps before I plant it. Have you tried this? I'm guessing perhaps you have some in your garden. If so which ones?

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  3. Orchids and Nature8 June 2010 at 07:59

    Hi shirl, No I haven't bought any orchids from suppliers. I must have been very lucky attracting wild orchids into my garden it's probably because I've never used chemicals or fertilizers for about 25 years The seeds have just blown in over the years. On last years count there were 184 orchid spikes,It's difficult to identify them but I think they're mainly Marsh Orchids, Common Spotted Orchids and Southern Marsh Orchids But some may be hybrids with a mixture ofall the 3 species.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Katie (Nature ID)17 June 2010 at 19:51

    Hi, David, I thought you might like this blog's orchids:
    http://citybirding.blogspot.com/2010/06/orhid-puzzle.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Katie (Nature ID)6 July 2010 at 13:33

    Hi, again, David. I noticed you haven't posted in a few weeks. Thinking of you and hope all goes well in your world!

    ReplyDelete