Dactylorhizas 2012

[Graham Catlow]

Your unknown looks like my elata x majalis

Thanks Mark,
It certainly could be, as it was given to me as an unknown.

[angie]

From today

D. 'Eskimo Nell'
Three views of an unknown.

Thats a wonderful display 

Angie 

[Roma]

Yesterday I went for a walk to photograph Dactylorhyzas a short distance from my house.  I think they are all Dactylorhyza maculata, the spotted heath orchid.  They are mainly white or pale pink without much marking, all growing in woodland, most in boggy conditions, not in open heathland.
The first four are in the ponies' field and sometimes get eaten or trampled.   

[Roma]

A wood a 10 minute walk away.  The Dactylorhyzas are scattered over a wide area, mainly singly or small groups.  The ground is very wet this year.  It is a popular area with dog walkers so there is some trampling near the paths. I only saw one large group of any density.

[Roma]

Two in the wood behind my house.  The ground is drier here.  The Dactylorhyzas are pinker here than in  the other sites and have stronger markings.

[mark smyth]

Nice set of photos.

I saw this giant D. maculata or hybrid yesterday

[mark smyth]

Is the law an a$$?

If I lift primroses and get caught I'm in trouble yet a road widening scheme can destroy them by the 1000s.

A working quarry 20 miles from my house has 7 species of orchid growing at the top of the working face. Many are destroyed as the quarry face moves back. I asked the Environment Agency if the orchids could be moved to a new site.

The answer was ....

[mark smyth]

Only under strict license conditions and each plant must be moved with a JCB shovel of soil.

[Stephen Vella]

sounds like lip service...I really dont think the local council workers or the environmental agency would even care about what they are destroying with the widening of the road ... if you think your doing something for the environment thats going to be buried what would one do??

and they talk about caring for the environment 

[Tony Willis]

About four years ago my next door neighbour who is not a gardener but does a marvellous job looking after my plants when we are away leaned over the fence with a flower spike in her hand and said'is this a weed'.

It was a dactylorhiza which had self sown in her garden and I explained they were quite nice and expensive to buy.

She then said 'I have a lot of of them which have just grown in the abandoned pot'.

Here they are now which demonstrates how easily they self sow in my wet climate.

I expect they are be hybrids of some sort and the seed has blown over the fence

[mark smyth]

Lovely.

[winwen]

Two in the wood behind my house.  The ground is drier here.  The Dactylorhyzas are pinker here than in  the other sites and have stronger markings.

This is a remarkable fact that I can confirm. I do not know if Dactylorhiza maculata are "whiter" because of more moisture or lower pH-level of the soil but at least both together seem to "whiten" the flowers.

[Stephen Vella]

Tony thats a nice one..love those weeds!

[Maggi Young]

Quote from: Roma on July 15, 2012, 10:40:01 PM

    Two in the wood behind my house.  The ground is drier here.  The Dactylorhyzas are pinker here than in  the other sites and have stronger markings.

This is a remarkable fact that I can confirm. I do not know if Dactylorhiza maculata are "whiter" because of more moisture or lower pH-level of the soil but at least both together seem to "whiten" the flowers.

Erwin, that is a most interesting observation.