Greater Tongue Orchids - Tiptree, Essex!

When a colony of Greater Tongue Orchids was discovered in Essex during the summer of 2017, the race was on to track the plants down and establish whether they were naturally occurring or had arrived artificially. With just a single photo of several flowering spikes in a field to go on (which was hastily removed from the Facebook page to which it was posted) several of the orchid world's enthusiasts expertly narrowed down the location, and by carefully checking the vegetation on site to that in the photo, were remarkably able to pin down the exact spot where these exotic orchids were growing.

Sadly, by the time they were found all but a very small handful of the plants had completely gone over, and as such, arrangements were kindly made for a number of organised visits last summer so those interested could admire these Mediterranean beauties in all their glory.

Therefore, at the beginning of June last year, me and my Dad made the long journey down to Essex and were met on site by local resident Jonathan who showed us the exact location in the meadows where this small cluster of orchids were growing, thankfully in prime condition despite the scorching sun and allowing for excellent photographic opportunities (despite some tripod issues!).

With around 36 plants in flower last year, the number was slightly down on 2017's showing, but luckily each delicate maroon flowering spike was in top condition (I had actually been away in America the previous week so was a bit concerned the flowers may have been past their best by the time I got there) and the colony had been carefully marked out with several small canes to prevent trampling by unaware dog walkers.

However, despite the excitement of such a remarkable botanical find, the question remains: are the Tiptree Greater Tongue Orchids naturally occurring or did they arrive through artificial means?

With orchid seed being particularly fine and easily carried by the wind, there is of course every possibility that seed from the continent had blown over naturally, with the nearest populations occurring in France, Spain and Italy. However, a number of other circumstances need to be considered before determining whether these continental plants really did make it over here without a little bit of human help.

A single specimen could easily have been planted out by a keen botanist or gardener many years ago, reproducing year on year to result in the small colony seen now (the plants were all restricted to a tiny area about a metre squared in size and found nowhere else on the meadows as you would expect from plants in a natural continental setting). Likewise, seed blown artificially from plants growing in a pot in a nearby garden could have easily kick started a colony.

However, this would be an odd site for a deliberate planting, and no pot grown specimens are growing nearby to our knowledge - even if they were, the Greater Tongue Orchids natural pollinator is not known to occur in Britain, making seed set very unlikely without assistance. 

Upon talking to Jonathan, he explained that decades ago the meadows were used as strawberry fields alongside a plant nursery that amongst other things was known to grow tropical orchids. This therefore creates an entirely feasible scenario of Tongue Orchid seed being accidentally imported - getting in to the mix of soil, clippings and cuttings discarded on site and germinating, eventually becoming established and naturalised - in my opinion the most likely origin.

This is not the first occurrence of Greater Tongue Orchid in the UK however, with a small well-known colony of Greater Tongue Orchids situated at Wakehurst Place in Sussex alongside the introduced Loose-flowered Orchids (never proven but very unlikely to be of natural origin as a consequence). Three flower spikes were also discovered near to the coast in Kingsbridge, south Devon back in 1998, but once again, their origins were never proven - some suspecting seed had come from an artificial source such as a nearby plant collection or agricultural seed mix. 

Small-flowered Tongue Orchids have also previously gotten a very shallow toehold on British soil in the past with individuals cropping up near Rame Head in SE Cornwall, having first been discovered there in 1989, but sadly disappearing in the early 2000s. With seed suspected to have blown in from the continent as opposed to a deliberate planting due to the remote location, it's entirely probable these were the result of natural colonisation from across the channel.

It’s likely that we’ll never know for certain the origins of the Tiptree plants, but whatever their background, the Tongue Orchids have clearly been on site for a number of years now, vegetatively reproducing to increase in number each year and creating a naturalised and self-sustaining population in the process. 

The Tongue Orchids have reproduced vegetatively to cover a small patch of ground in the meadow

Spot the Tongue Orchid! The small patch where the orchids were growing

Unfortunately despite being the only known 'natural' colony in Britain, the Tiptree Tongue Orchids face an uncertain future, with developers knocking on the door eager to build on the site despite the protestations of residents and orchid enthusiasts alike. This year, due to the sensitivities of the site, visitors are also being asked to keep away. Hopefully some sort of compromise can be found, where the future of the orchids is secured and many more people can get to enjoy them for years to come - it would be a real shame indeed if these fascinating plants were to be lost almost as quickly as they were found.

The meadow in Tiptree, Essex where the Greater Tongue Orchids were found

Isle of Wight mini-break - Glanville Fritillaries and Wall Lizards galore!

With beautiful weather forecast for the south coast at the beginning of June last summer, I made the snap decision to take us down to the Isle of Wight in an effort to track down one of our most localised British butterflies – the Glanville Fritillary. Traditionally restricted in distribution to the southern coastal headlands on the picturesque Isle of Wight, I’d never yet had the opportunity to track down this orange-clad winged wonder, and with a day off work on the Friday it was the perfect opportunity to make a long weekend of it.

Glanville Fritillary

After a tedious drive down (suffering the constant delays that is now the M6) to our overnight stop in the New Forest where we spent enjoyable evening filled with churring Nightjars and a Chinese feast big enough to keep us well fed for at least a week, we were soon boarding the short 40 minute ferry to Yarmouth the next day ready for our mid-morning arrival on the Isle of Wight.

The view from the ferry

With the sun shining against a backdrop of clear, periwinkle blue skies, the beautiful rolling chalk cliffs of the southern coasts were truly a sight to behold, the English Channel stretching far into the distant horizon as the sunlight sparkled and danced across the crystal clear waves.

With our first site of The National Trust’s Hanover Point just a short drive from the ferry terminal, we were soon exploring the coastal paths on the edge of the cliffs for our target, quickly spotting two fellow Lepidopterists searching at the base of the path where we were heading. Noticing something small and orange near to where they were kneeling, sure enough, we soon had our first glimpse of the delicate Glanville Fritillary. 

Much smaller and daintier than I had expected and feeding on one of the coastal flowers nestled beneath the cliffs, we had soon located a handful more of these charismatic beauties, bounding powerfully across the vegetation before settling to bask, wings spread wide on the parched earth. Following a tip off from our fellow Glanville hunters, we headed up in to a small sun trapped valley on the side of the cliffs over on a grassy path, where sure enough, a group of around 6 or 8 individuals were feeding and flitting around the lilac coloured thrift – a seemingly favourite nectar source.

Over the course of the next three hours we spent an enjoyable afternoon tracking our orange-checked targets, taking advantage of some individuals’ tolerant nature to get an exceptionally close look, while getting thwarted by several others’ flighty tendencies! 

Named after Lady Eleanor Glanville, a 17thC Lepidopterist who first discovered the species in Lincolnshire, Glanville Fritillaries are sadly now mostly confined to the Isle of Wight, restricted to the southern coastal headlands where they occur in good numbers. The population on the Isle of Wight fluctuates wildly year on year, with some seasons seeing very few individuals while other years enjoy a particular boom in numbers. Whether this is down to the weather conditions or due to a particular parasite is not clear, but numbers on the whole have declined substantially over the last 30 years and Glanville Fritiallaries are now seen as vulnerable in Britain. 

Pleased with our close-up encounters and with our car park ticket due to expire any second, after fuelling up on ice cream we checked out a nearby site off the A3055 for Adonis and Small Blues, but with the wind now having picked up substantially there was very little butterfly activity on the slope, a lone Dingy Skipper and a battered Green Hairstreak the only indication of the many other butterfly treasures lurking out of sight.

After an overnight stop at the delightful Kenbury B&B in Shanklin on the eastern side of the island and a delicious meal of redcurrant duck and garlic buttered chicken just hitting the spot after a long day in the field, we had just enough time on the Sunday morning to visit Ventnor Botanic Garden on the hunt for the brightly coloured and quirky Wall Lizard. 

Wall Lizard!

Thought to be the largest and oldest population in Britain after supposedly being introduced in Victorian times, these bottle green reptiles can be found in certain spots on the Isle of Wight, Ventnor Botanic Garden being a particular hotspot. Sure enough, in our half an hour search amongst the floral masterpieces in the garden, we located several individuals soaking up the sun and basking on the stone walls, including a handful of stunning males scurrying around the plants on the rugged walls surrounding the car park.

Favouring areas that had spots of vegetation in to which the Wall Lizards could run in to cover, we were able to get great views as they basked (in-between instances when curious and intrigued fellow visitors to the garden got a little too close for comfort to them!)

With our time on the Isle of Wight coming to a close and getting back to the mainland for lunch, we had just enough time to check out Soton Common (just outside Southampton) where a population of Dactylorhiza orchids hold several monochromatic individuals. Sadly on this occasion many of the plants had gone over (they appeared to be a hybrid mix of Common and Heath Spotted Orchids) and we at least couldn’t spot any of the full monochromatic flowers that have occurred here in previous years. We did however spot several that displayed some monochromatic traits (with a predominantly pink lip), while the Heath/Common Spotted Orchids that were still in flower were also nice to see.

Partial monochromatic Common Spotted Orchid - note the darker colouration on the lips)

After an enjoyable weekend packed full of birds, butterflies, lizards, orchids and sunshine coupled with the beautiful scenery and hospitality that the Isle of Wight offers, this was a great off the cuff trip for a species that, living in Cheshire, was always going to require a lengthy journey to see. Having well and truly succeeded on the Glanville Fritillary front (with Nightjars and Wall Lizards an added bonus to boot) the Isle of Wight made for a fantastic mini-break and one that I would highly recommend during the Glanville flight season!