Wednesday 24 June 2020

Orchids on Carney Commons, June 22nd 2020

Bee orchid - Ophrys apifera
Inspired by the sight of bee orchids in the unmown meadow of friends, I ventured out to Carney Commons to see if I could find any. Last year I found dozens, but when I visited 3 weeks ago I could find none. This time I found a single flower spike. And I found another 8 different kinds of orchids in flower too!
Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis pallustris - one of thousands

Early marsh orchid - Dactylorhizo incarnata ssp incarnata 

Fly Orchid, Ophrys insectifera. Many hundreds of them, but perhaps fewer than last year

Early Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp. pulchella

Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza ssp. fuchsii
Not sure about this. Could it be a rather pale Western Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza occidentalis, or a hybrid? if the latter, between what?
Twayblade, Neottia ovata. Sorry for the photo quality!
Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis
I also found seed heads of Early Purple orchids, Orchis mascula. But it was too early to find any Fragrant orchids, Gymnadenia conopsea - I must return in a couple of weeks!

Thank God for the amazing diversity of this family of plants, displaying his creative power through evolution!