A Beginners Guide to British Orchids

[leifus]

Right, so here's an attempt to give the enthusiastic amateur botanist an insight into the world of orchids. This thread is designed so anyone can add to it - it's not just me!

Orchids are my favourite family of wildflowers because of their diversity and beautiful shapes and colours as well as the stories behind everything from their national status to the shape of their flower and how they are pollinated.

The family Orchidaceae is the second largest in the world, behind Asteraceae (daisy family) but in Britain there are only about 50 species, give or take a few.

They can be found all over the country and in all types of interesting habitats ranging from the chalk downlands to the bogs of Wales to the sand dunes of northern England.

They are split into different types.

1) Helleborines - these are what people might call the 'classic orchid' because they resemble the cultivated orchids. Many grow in woodland, a few on sand dunes with a couple of exceptions.

broad-leaved helleborine:



2) lady's-tresses - there are three species currently in the UK. They are small and white and all look pretty similar!

Autumn Lady's-tresses:



3) twayblades - there are two of these in the british isles. The lesser twayblade is very difficult to find because it is so small and habitat-specific!

common twayblade:



then there are the main bunch or orchids which include the marsh-orchids, the Ophrys orchids which all mimic the insect that pollinates them, the butterfly-orchids and other species. I would list them all here but it would take too long!

I hope this is of some help to get people started, or to keep them going, because I'm not really sure what was wanted, but please ask any questions because I and others would be more than happy to help you!

If you want a really good guide then I fully recommend 'Britain's Orchids' by David Lang. It's absolutely brilliant.

Hope that helps

[Jason Green]

Evening Leifus,

A good thread in prosect. I had the Pyramidal (Sp?!) Orchid in my local park last year but never had the chance to see it as I was elsewhere at the time. So, what Orchid could I expect to see on an average area of grass in London - are there any that are general in distribution and habitat out there? I assumed they were particularly picky in where they grew, and only did so in heaths and the like, prior!

I look forward to seeing how this thread develops, and maybe picking up tips on how I may get to spot my first in 2010!

Take care,

Jason

[Jez]

Many thanks leifus, I really appreciate your time and effort to start a thread for pepes like myself,all the credit to you and I find what you have posted so far easy to take in! You have provided lots of information which I never knew to keep going for a fair while yet!!!

Many thanks once again

Jez

[ChrisR]

Originally Posted by Jason Green

So, what Orchid could I expect to see on an average area of grass in London - are there any that are general in distribution and habitat out there?

In your average garden the ground is way too fertile to support most native species because they have adapted to live in poor soils where competition from other plants is reduced.

However, in any "unimproved" areas you might expect to pick up Pyramidal Orchids, Bee Orchids and Common Spotted Orchids with perhaps a few White Helleborines or Broad-leaved Hellebroines in areas with wooded margins. Marsh Orchids might occur in any undisturbed boggy/marshy areas and if you have any acid heaths you might get Heath-spotted Orchid, if you are lucky - but I am not really up with the distribution of that species - I usually see them in the New Forest.

Of course, if you head west a bit, along the Thames Valley and into the Chilterns you'd fine a lot more of the rarer species, such as the Monkey Orchid on Hartslock SSSI. Just let me know if you want to be shown round some time (I am the warden)

[leifus]

Here are the commonest British Orchids by habitat:

Unimproved grassland - pyramidal orchid, common spotted orchid, common twayblade, chalk-fragrant orchid, autumn lady's-tresses

Deciduous woodland - broad-leaved helleborine, common twayblade

Heath - heath spotted orchid

Marshy areas/water meadows - southern/norhtern marsh orchid (depending on where you are in the country)

Of course the flowering times and location in the UK are all different, but these are all species which are fairly easy to find - at least you see a lot more of these than many of the other helleborines or rarer orchids.

[leifus]

I will do an occasional post on each different type of orchid, summarising it's characteristics and distribution and habitat etc, starting with the commonest first

[leifus]

First up then, one you've already mentioned.

Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis





Height: generally about 15cm tall but apparently can grow up to 60cm although I've never seen such an impressive spike.

Status: locally common

This stunning orchid flowers from mid-june to August on well-drained calcareous (chalk) soils. It can also be found on limestone pavements and other areas with very poor soils such as sand dunes. It is a very distinctive species so can't be easily confused with other orchids, the closest probably being the fragrant orchid.

At first this flower looks like a pyramid, hence the name, but as the spike matures it becomes more cylindrical (see the above pictures). It can vary quite a lot. The flowers have a faint sweet scent.

The pyramidal orchid is commoner in the south but is widespread through England, rarer in Wales and almost absent from Scotland bar a few sites on the West coast.

[Keith Talbot]

Great thread leifus!

My very long list of things to photograph in the New Forest includes Orchids,this thread will be very helpful with id's

Keith

[leifus]

I've decided that instead of doing them by commonest to rarest I shall do them in some sort of structured order so they are sorted into genus's meaning it will be easier to compare the more similar species

[leifus]

Lady's-slipper - Cypripedium calceolus





Height: 30-50cm

Status: Not one you'll be coming across everyday! There is only one native site left and it has been re-introduced to several sites where it had grown in the past. Of course I'm not going to give away any locations, but I'm yet to see this extraordinarily exotic looking orchid

The Lady's-slipper flowers from late May to early June on steep grassy slopes on limestone but also in light woodland of hazel and ash. This flower is unmistakeable and there have been no recorded hybrids.

Most plants have a single flower, the sepals and petals of which are a deep reddish brown behind the stunning yellow, slipper-like lip.

This flower is a classic case of 'conservation in action' having been brought back from the brink of extinction in the UK. The over-collecting for specimens by the Victorians triggered this fall to virtual extinction.