Orchids at Wisley 2016

Rossioglossum grande.  RHS Wisley, 26 January 2016.

While I was at Wisley RHS gardens looking at the exotic butterflies with my friend, I took some photos of orchids.  These are in a small area next to the hot section of the glasshouse, and are always worth a look.

Phragmipedium besseae.  RHS Wisley, 26 January 2016.

Some of them are typical examples of what people think of as orchids, others less so.  All of them are showy, usually a lot more so than our native species.

Paphiopedilum x leeanum.  RHS Wisley, 26 January 2016.

Luckily, they are all labelled with their names.  Many are species, but also, many are hybrids, often artificially bred in a hothouse environment.

Zygopetalum Warringa Wonder gx.  RHS Wisley, 26 January 2016.

The "gx" in the name is short for grex, a word which is used to indicate that the orchid in question is such a horticultural hybrid.  This one was particularly impressive, and I took the photo against the light, which streamed through and illuminated those mauve-striped white petals.  (Pity the background is a bit fussy.)

I also noticed, scattered through the hothouses, many different Streptocarpus and other Gesneriads.  This one was intriguing.

Unidentified Gesneriad.  RHS Wisley, 26 January 2016.

It has little succulent leaves in rosettes.  It wasn't labelled, but the flower is a family Gesneriaceae flower type.  It was in a crack between stones in the side wall, not far from some actual Streptocarpus.  I'd like to grow one if I could identify it!

An Unusual Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, var. rhodochila.  Downe Bank, 27 June 2015.

Dactylorhiza fuchsii, var. rhodochila is a scarce, but widespread, variety of the Common Spotted Orchid.

Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, var. rhodochila.  Downe Bank, 27 June 2015.

This one was known to grow in the Downe Bank Nature Reserve, and Irene Palmer was kind enough to show me just where, so that I could take a few photos.  The orchid flowers are quite prolific this year and it is not easy to spot this one.

I also took a few photos in Downe village while waiting for Irene (I was there early). 

Wall Rue, Asplenium ruta-muraria.  On the churchyard wall in Downe, 27 June 2015.

Wall Rue is a small fern that is happy on dry stone.  Other ferns, on the wall of the church, have frizzled up, but this plant, on the churchyard wall, is bright green and lush.

Barley, Hordeum vulgare.   Downe churchyard.  Downe, 27 June 2015.

A little bunch of Barley is growing next to the church, perhaps escaped from birdseed.  It's like a giant version of Wall Barley, a common wayside grass, and is from the same genus.

Black Horehound, Ballota nigra.  Downe, 27 June 2015.

Over the road, on a tiny patch of grass with a bench, this is Black Horehound.  The leaves are supposed to smell resinous and unpleasant when crushed.  Sometimes they do have a strong smell, but I like it.  It's similar to the smell of Hedge Woundwort, a related plant which you can also find in hedgerows.

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui.   Fence on the track down to Downe Bank, 26 June 2015.

Finally, a Painted Lady found on the track down to the nature reserve.  I was pleased to get a good shot of the underwing, which is less familiar than the top view.  This moth is a regular immigrant to the UK, and we are told that there are hordes of them on the continent just waiting for the right weather to come over.  Clearly, some are already here!

More Orchids

Flower of a Greater Butterfly-orchid, Plantathera chlorantha.  Orchid Bank, High Elms Country Park, 11 June 2015.

I heard of a Greater Butterfly Orchid in High Elms Country Park last year, but was unable to find it.  It turns out I was looking in the wrong place, but this year I had better information.  It's not colourful, but many find the delicate white shapes of its flowers delightful.  I think they are fascinating, but they look to me like wide-open vampire's mouths with long tongues.

Greater Butterfly-orchid, Plantathera chlorantha.  Orchid Bank, High Elms Country Park, 11 June 2015.

(Less so from a distance.)  There seems to be only one specimen in High Elms.  At night, it has a strong scent and is pollinated by large moths.  Those fang-like objects inside the flower are pollinia, clumps of pollen on stalks, and they become attached to the eyes of the moths when they approach for a drink of nectar. 

Fragrant Orchid, Gymnadenia conopsea.  Downe Bank, 11 June 2015.

This Fragrant Orchid is a much more colourful species, but is also pollinated by moths.  Those long, curved nectar tubes are designed for insects with long probiscides.  It has quite a strong floral scent.

Lastly, something unusual:

Variegated Broad-leaved Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine.  Orchid Bank, High Elms Country Park, 11 June 2015.

It's too early for this Broad-leaved Helleborine to be flowering, but it's worth showing because it is naturally variegated, which is scarce.  I saw a normal Broad-leaved Helleborine in the same spot last year and it is possible that this is the same plant, somewhat changed, probably by a virus infection.  Virus infections that produce similar effects are also known among cultivated orchids.

Variegation reduces the viability of plants because they have less of the green chlorophyll that produces the food they need. A virus can also reduce the strength of a plant in other ways, though this one seems to be quite robust. It will be interesting later on to see if the flowers are affected.

Orchid Time

White Helleborine, Cephalanthera damasonium.  Flower showing yellow throat.  Downe Bank, 11 June 2015.

Wild orchids are flowering profusely on the chalk banks in Bromley (the London Borough Of, not the town).  This is a White Helleborine, one of the more common types, seen in many woods at the edge of pathways, which makes one think that like many plants it prefers the edge habitat.  In a place such as that it can have shelter from winds and the worst of the weather, yet not be completely shaded out.

Seldom do the flowers open widely enough to display this yellow throat.  But this was a particularly large specimen.

White Helleborine, Cephalanthera damasonium.  Downe Bank, 11 June 2015.

Usually the flowers stay closed, as most of these are; the plant is self-pollinating.

Near this plant were groups of Common Twayblades and Fly Orchids, both of which are also quite happy in full sun in the open.  This Fly Orchid was on a grassy bank.

Fly Orchid, Ophrys insectifera.  Downe Bank, 11 June 2015.

This one is far from being self-pollinating, and has almost an orchid trademark system.  It is disguised as an insect and puts out pheromones that attract digger wasps.  When they try to mate with the flower, clumps of pollen grains known as pollinia become attached to the genuine insects and are transferred by them.  The plants are quite inconspicuous to the human eye and you need to look carefully to spot them among the grass.

In fact, several of our wild orchids have a disappointing appearance, even close up.  Here is one of the Common Twayblades I mentioned earlier.

Common Twayblade, Neottia ovata.  Downe Bank, 11 June 2015.

A large and healthy specimen, with its single pair of leaves - the "tway blades" - prominently in view, but not exactly a stunner even though it is in full flower.

More orchids next time ...

Downe Bank, June 2010

Bull by the roadside on Cudham Road near Downe, 12 June 2014.

I've been offered a place to park near Downe Bank, but if I don't walk along from Downe village I'll miss things like this bull, sitting at a gate like a house dog guarding its territory.

Burnet Companion, Euclidia glyphica, on a Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii.  Downe Bank, 12 June 2014.

Downe Bank is famous for its orchids, and it's especially useful to get records of what creatures might be pollinating the orchids.  So it was handy to see this tattered old Burnet Companion moth on a Common Spotted-orchid.

Marbled White, Melanargia galathea.  Downe Bank, 12 June 2014.

What really pleased me that day was that I was able to get some good closeups of a Marbled White.  There was only one and I followed it around for quite a while .. this is often necessary with butterflies and moths.

Female Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus.  Downe Bank, 12 June 2014.

Common Blue females come in varying shades of brown.  Some are much less blue than this and can be mistake for a Brown Argus.  With really brown specimens you have to examine their underwing patterns quite closely.

Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis.  A Twayblade, Neottia ovata, in the background.
Downe Bank, 12 June 2014.

These lovely orchids were just coming out.  They are quite prolific this year.  The Twayblade in the background, a green-flowered orchid, is at the end of its flowering period.

Wisley Orchids

Orchids at the RHS garden, Wisley.  3 December 2013.

Orchids at the RHS garden, Wisley.  3 December 2013.

Just to make a change from low key seasonal photos, here are some orchids in the RHS garden at Wisley on 3 December.  The glass house was full of flowers, many of them pink for some reason.   Here are two photos of pink flowers that aren't orchids.

Schlumbergera hybrid, RHS garden, Wisley.  3 December 2013.

 This is one of the prettiest of the Cacti, and probably belongs in Barbie's greenhouse.

Tillandsia stricta, RHS garden, Wisley.  3 December 2013.

The tall plant is actually a cluster of plants supported on a pole.  These Bromeliads don't feed through their roots.  They are epiphytes; they just cling to branches in wet places, like the American "Spanish Moss," and absorb moisture and nutrients through their leaves.

These photos were taken with my iPhone.

Broad-leaved Helleborine

Broad-Leaved Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine, on Keston Common.  14 July 2011.

Once again, I am pulling out some old photos that are worth a look.

This is an orchid that likes woodland edges, a habitat where several interesting plants like to grow.  There are more woodland edges than you might think, when you include the sides of paths and clearings. 

Broad-Leaved Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine, with two Seven-Spot Ladybirds, Coccinella septempunctata.
Blackbush Shaw, Cudham, 19 November 2011.

The first photo shows part of the flower spike in full bloom, right by the roadside on Keston Common.  It's part of a very small group, and I am always concerned that this one will get trampled by passers-by!  The second shot, from much later in the year, is from Blackbush Shaw, where there are many plants in a hedgerow beside a path.