In article , Miss
Perspicacia Tick writes
I've just come back from friends on the Wirral. As we were walking back to
the station, there was a plant on the embankment that I didn't recognise. It
was between 8" and 10" in height and I don't recall seeing any leaves. It
had a thin stem and was crowned with a spire of between 15 and 20 smallish
(about ½") white flowers with deep purple spots. The 'eye' was dark. The
wife asked me was it an orchid as the flowers were certainly orchid-like,
but I don't know of any member of the orchidae family with more than one
flower to a stem.

Depends what you mean as by a stem. Nearly all the british orchids have
a spire of flowers on the end of a stem, and even the foreign orchids
have several flowers to a stem, though each individual flower has a
short stalk coming off the stem.

If it was very pale purple rather than white, it could have been an
orchid. You should have seen some straplike leaves form the base. Best
identification would have come from getting very cloe and looking at the
individual flower - the british orchids have flowers very similar to
miniature versions of the exotic ones.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"