Are orchids protected?

[kimw]

Hi All
I spotted some orchids growing in an industrial estate close to home. I'm not sure what kind they are but I remember them from being a child as ones which used to grow on my grandads croft. I remember being sternly warned never, ever to pick them. Are they protected by law or just grandads?
They were purple spires of lots of flowers. I say 'were' as the council have just mown the grass and the orchids. Such a waste.
If they are not protected can I buy native orchids anywhere? I would love some as a reminder of my grandad.

[kimw]

It's not that I'm a busybody who wants to cause trouble for 'the council' but I would love to save this patch of pretty flowers from being descimated again. (I'm assuming that they will grow back.) Nice, neat grass isn't half as interesting and they cheer up the walk to ASDA.

[dragonfly]

Hya Orchids Are Very Protected If You Remove Or Disturb The Ground You Can Be Fined Or Imprisoned Or Both If You Do Need To Move Them Get A Licence From Your Council

[Chiltern Chris]

Hi,

The short answer to your question is yes, orchids are protected, although some more than others. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 section 13 1(b) all wild flowers are protected from uprooting and some rare plants, including various orchids have more protection in section 13 1(a) against picking & destruction.

However, firstly you need to show that the plants are ‘wild’ i.e. part of a semi-natural habitat and secondly that they are being uprooted or if rare, picked (cut) or destroyed. In any case the Council should identify what they are cutting before they do it again.

Having said that, wildflower habitat normally requires cutting to stop scrub or other rank grasses from dominating, so cutting the grass is good. However, it should be done at the right time of year and the cuttings removed to prevent the soil fertility increasing. I don’t know the circumstances of this case but it sounds like the Council may just be cutting at the wrong time of year through ignorance or for safety reasons e.g. sight lines near a road junction. I’d get in touch with the Council Biodiversity Officers and see if the mowing regime can be changed so there will be flowers in the years to come. Getting in touch with the Council isn’t being a busybody, they have legal responsibilities to Biodiversity.

As an ex local authority Biodiversity officer I can say that staff Biodiversity staff are probably over worked and like it when the public help identify problems for them. I’ve just done an ecological survey of a bit of boring grassland near my house, which belongs to the Council with some management advice and they were happy that someone actually cared about the site and are supporting the changes. So don’t worry, get stuck in and protect your walk.

Good Luck, Chris

[GuyF]

Originally Posted by kimw

If they are not protected can I buy native orchids anywhere? I would love some as a reminder of my grandad.

This site Really Wild Flowers - British wildflower seed, plants, bulbs & orchids for your garden sells a selection of native british orchids, although it says they're not available until the autumn. They're quite expensive, and it would probably be quite hard working getting the right conditions for them to be happy, but it would be very nice to have them.
Guy

[kimw]

Hello again.

Thankyou Chris. I will contact the biodiversity department. Hopefully they will intervene.

The kids and I like our walks and we enjoy seeing interesting plants and beasties (mostly beasties for the kids). We saw a fox for the first time this week. It's amazing how one glimpse has inspired drawings and stories all week and an expensive trip to the zoo didn't

I didn't mean to cause offense Dragonfly. I wasn't about to dig one up.

Thanks again

[kimw]

Thankyou GuyF.