Green-winged Orchids

Field full of Green-winged Orchids, Anacamptis morio, and Meadow Buttercups, Ranunculus acris,
with a Wild Service Tree, Sorbus torminalis, in the distance.   Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

So, we had some good weather over the Bank Holiday Weekend, which surprised a lot of people.  On the Saturday I went with the Orpington Field Club to Marden Meadow, a group of three fields with a reputation for interesting plant life.

They are probably best known for their Green-winged Orchids.  Two of the fields are full of them; more orchids than I have seen in one place before.  Most of them are purple, but some are pink (or "salmon", as the official accounts have it) and a very few are white.

Green-winged Orchid, Anacamptis morio.  Purple, pink and white specimens.  Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

Their name comes from the green stripes in the upper petals, which are there whatever the main colour of the flowers.   There is an alternative name; Green-veined Orchid. 

The walk was led by Irene Palmer, who is something of an orchid specialist and also has a good eye for a photo.  It was she who lined up the image at the top of this entry, which I think is a very satisfactory composition, and combines the orchids, the meadow, and a scarce Wild Service Tree.

Irene also found a bumblebee with an exciting feature; pollinia from the orchids attached to its face.  Again, Irene found the creature and I took the photo.

Bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum, with Green-winged Orchid pollinia, Anacamptis morio.
Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

Orchids bundle their pollen into these packages, and there are various complex ways in which insects are enticed into positions where the pollinia become attached, and eventually transferred to another orchid.  This is made even more interesting in that some orchids do not produce any nectar, so if insects visit them, it is presumably because they resemble flowers which have produced nectar for the bees in the past.  The Green-winged Orchid is one such, and this is evidence that at least one bee has been fooled!