We reached a landmark in the reserves development yesterday as we found our first ever orchid growing in one of our chalk grassland reversion fields.
The common spotted orchid was found in Football Field, one of our oldest reversion fields, sown in the autumn of 2006. We are very pleased because this is a flower that can take many years to grow, but now that some of the reversions are coming in to there 7th year we have been hoping that we might start seeing these flowers, and it is a sign that the newly created habitat is headed in the right direction.
Orchids produce tiny, dust like seed that do not contain the energy needed to start the germination process on its own. Therefore they enter in to symbiotic relationships with fungi, which provided nutrients necessary for the seed to germinate. The chance of an orchid seem meeting a fitting fungus is very small, and the process can take many years to occur. It is amazing to think this colourful meadow was still growing wheat in the summer of 2006.
We have been planting orchid seed across the reserve for a number of years now, but this is the first plant we have found. In years to come we could start finding pyramidal, fragrant and bee orchid too!
Keeley