Ragnar wrote:
"Stewart Robert Hinsley" wrote in message
...
In message , mark
writes

Yep, seems to be a Spotted orchid. As for the 'common' bit..hmmmphf! Not
that common because I don't recall seeing one before.

Once you've learned to recognise a plant it becomes often becomes
surprisingly common. I never knowingly saw native Dactylorhiza, except
for a colony in an NT garden, until last year, but I now know of over a
dozen localities. It seems to be commoner than other orchids; I haven't
seen any others growing wild.

--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Common Spotted is about the most common orchid in UK. In some areas the
Early Purple is more common. Marsh and Pyramidal orchids are somewhat
less common and the other couple of dozen species are quite rare or
extremely rare. They only grow on undisturbed ground such as ancient
pastureland or woodland as they take many years to reach flowering size.

A few years back I saw thousands of Early Purples growing on Warton Crag
(near Carnforth in Lancs). Since then I have never seen more than a few
dozen in the same locality. Other species such as Bee Orchid are prone to
this habit of suddenly appearing in huge numbers then nothing for years.

BTW don't dig them up to plant in your garden because (a) it's against the
law and (b) it won't work anyway - they are the fussiest plants known. You
can't even take the seed because it will not germinate.

R.

The seed will germinate, but if it doesn't find its fungal partner it will
soon die.

But you are dead right about the apparently ephemeral nature of many
orchids. I've often looked for bee orchids (in particular) in the same
spot, only to find them "gone". Years later they are back, only to
disappear again. This doesn't seem to be the case with common spotted
orchids, which seem very reliable. If you can get to Wakehurst Place in
mid-late June, you can find hundreds - if not thousands - flowering well
there.

--
Jeff