In part three of my orchid-finding guide, it’s the turn of four of our more widespread, but most beautiful orchids to be put in the spotlight. They are all probably flowering not too far from you at the moment, so I hope you get inspired to have a try for them. I've also slipped in a rarity at the end, because who doesn't like a rare?!
Getting the butterfliesFirst up is a ghostly beauty – the greater butterfly orchid. This stately orchid grows in grassland and ancient woodlands. I went to visit a colony recently that is on an old spoil heap at a large quarry. Those fabulous former industrial sites keep on giving! I wasn’t quite sure where to go and it was a huge site but I followed my instinct and trusted my luck, which works remarkably regularly, and after seeing one of the lovely orchids in a strip of woodland, I emerged onto a scene of absolute paradise. Thousands of common spotted orchids were in full flower and I even found a few of the rare all white variety – a first for me.
Common spotted orchids do exactly what it says on the tin - a field or quarry floor full of thousands of these is one of summer's highlights (image cMark Ward)
It wasn’t long before the tall white spikes of the butterfly orchids appeared among the grasses and at the path side and in some spots they were wonderfully numerous. I counted close to 200, easily my biggest count at a single site. Where orchids grown, there tends to be plenty of other great wildflowers, butterflies, day-flying moths such as Mother Shipton and burnet companion and a huge array of bugs and beetles in June.
I love the greater butterfly orchid, but if you can tell how it got its name from looking at those flowers, I’d be very grateful!
Search for the gorgeous greater butterfly orchid in ancient woodlands and grassland (image c Mark Ward)
Feel the buzzNow the name of the second star of the week is easier to understand. The bee orchid can be found in all sorts of grassy areas, including roadside verges, so please stand up for your local verge and tell your local authority if you have orchids growing on them before they get mown.
Bee orchids grow in grassland, verges, quarries and meadows - now is the time to search for this striking flower (image c Mark Ward)
June is prime bee orchid viewing time. I had to look extra hard for the 20 I found at another quarry site because the flowers open in succession and as more and more open, the stem grows taller. All the ones I found had a single flower out and some were still completely in bud. What a beauty!
It is amazing how you can get your eye in with orchids. On most of my hunts over the last three weeks, it’s taken me a while to locate the first specimens of the trickier species such as fly orchid but once you find one, your “search engine” kicks in and you’ll find you can spot more and more. You can train your eye to pick out the tell-tale form among a background of distractions. Give it a try and see if it works for you.
Lizards and pyramidsAs many of spring's star orchids fade away, more come to the fore in June and July. The lizard orchid is one of our most spectacular species, but it's rare and only has a few scattered colonies. I visit one of these most years and I was a bit concerned to find only 20 of them where I'd normally expect 150 or so. Hopefully it's just a temporary blip, or I was being spectacularly rubbish at finding them! Just look at those amazing flowers.
Lizard orchids are said to smell like an old goat and I put it to the test. The answer? A resounding "yes it does" (image cMark Ward)
To be fair (butterfly orchids aside...), most of the UK's orchids have very accurate names and the final one of this weeks' set falls firmly into that category. The pyramidal orchid can be common where it grows in grassland. It's an intense purple-pink and its pyramid of flowers is a real giveaway poking up among the grass.
It may not take you to ancient Egypt, but you can see how the pyramidal orchid gets its name (image cMark Ward)
Even if the sun isn't shining near you, you can be sure that orchids won't let you down. Happy hunting.