Man Orchids at Copper Hill, Lincolnshire!

Man Orchids are one of my favourite species of British orchid, and having last seen them flowering nearly ten years ago, I thought it was time I made a trip back to take another look and get some improved photos of these fantastic plants.

With Man Orchids enjoying a decidedly southerly bias in terms of distribution in Britain, I returned to the same site I visited in 2009 to see them – the botanically rich roadside verges of the Copper Hill reserve in Lincolnshire and the most northerly site in Britain where Man Orchid occurs. 

The Copper Hill roadside verge

Situated just outside Ancaster, the roadside verges that fall under the reserve’s boundary are protected under Lincolnshire’s Protected Roadside Verge Scheme, and as such a particularly rich and diverse mixture of limestone flora is allowed to thrive, including the endangered in Britain Man Orchid.

Benefitting from an escape from the vastly overused council lawnmowers, the Man Orchids, along with a whole smorgasbord of other wildflowers, seem to be doing exceptionally well here, and we counted at least 34 spikes of these unusual orchids along the short stretch of the eastern verge (although the Wildlife Trust volunteers counted an exceptional 50 spikes a few days earlier!). 

Man Orchids are one of the most fascinating species of orchid in Britain (along with the rest of the often-extravagantly decorated Orchis genus) and a closer inspection of the flower spike reveals a column of delicate banana coloured human shaped flowers washed with a delightful rich red and bronze hue, each one impressively mimicking a tiny little man. 

Apparently the flowers also give off the scent of fried onions, although I didn’t sniff them to confirm whether or not this is just a rumour! 

Man Orchids are one of the taller species of orchid in Britain, often growing to around 30cm high

With our native wildflowers in decline over here in the UK, it would certainly be good practice to allow all of our roadside verges to flourish like is the case at Copper Hill, instead of the current trend for our councils to be obsessed with neat and tidy short-mown grass, completely bare and devoid of any floral character at all. 

Man Orchid in situ!

The tank the Man Orchids are next to

Man Orchids in situ!

Parking at Copper Hill reserve is off King Street (NG32 3PY), and the end of May/beginning of June is the best time to visit.

Bird's-nest Orchids on the Great Orme, Llandudno!

Having last seen Bird’s-nest Orchids once before way back in 2010, I was keen to catch up with several plants in bloom on the Great Orme in Llandudno, handily just over an hour away from home. Not being able to get over there to see them last year, late May saw us take a trip over to this botanically rich hotspot to explore the woodlands around the base of the Orme in an effort to try and find them.

Parking up at the Happy Valley car park area and taking one of the small trails into the trees, expecting a lengthy search I was surprised at just how quickly we stumbled across our orchids – looking up the slope we were met with two distinctive caramel-brown flower spikes nestled among the Dog’s Mercury and looming out of the dark understorey gloom. 

At first glance perhaps appearing dead to the untrained eye, on closer inspection they were flowering to perfection, tiny golden florets adorning tall leafless stems in the deep shade of the woodland floor.

A quick exploration of the surrounding area also revealed a third spike hidden a little bit further up into the trees, but we were unable to spot any additional plants in the immediate vicinity. With just three spikes (there were apparently only three plants last year too) this looks to be a very small population, but with extensive woodland carrying on further up the slope it’s highly likely there could well be more in the area.

Although Bird’s-nest Orchids can often be perceived as drab, uninteresting and plain looking due to their uniform brown flowers and stems (especially compared to some of the other more extravagant orchid species), there is actually a subtle beauty to these unusual orchids, with each petal looking as if it has been brushed with a delicious coating of sticky golden honey and almost looking good enough to eat. 

Their lack of leaves and chlorophyll (hence the brown colouration) also adds to their interest, mystery and allure, going against the grain of how plants are traditionally perceived and creating an air of botanical charisma. Completely lacking the ability to photosynthesise from the sun and instead obtaining all the nutrients they need from their fungal hosts deep in the soil, this allows them to tolerate the extensive shade and darkness that other flowers simply can’t manage. 

The Bird’s-nest Orchid has a tangled mass of roots, shaped, unsurprisingly, like a bird’s nest and indicating how it gets its name

With a scattered distribution across the UK and classed as Near-threatened in Britain on the Red Data list, there are only a handful of sites for the Bird’s-nest Orchid in the North West, although the north-east Welsh woodlands appear to be a bit of a local stronghold with occurrences around Wrexham, Mold and Ruthin all in recent years. Notably, 25 plants were also recorded in a small wood just south of Abergele hospital in 2005, as well as another record in 2006 near Bryn-y-maen, south of Colwyn Bay.

Looking back at the historical records it seems Bird’s-nest Orchid was present on the Great Orme back in the 1970’s and up to 1986, but a lack of reports after this time indicates they may have disappeared at the site until recently (I’m aware they’ve been occurring here for the past three years though at least).

Bird's nest Orchid photography in action!

With at least 7 species of orchid present on this botanically rich limestone headland, hopefully the Bird’s-nest Orchids will continue to thrive here in the coming years, expanding their population and continuing to add a sparkle to the jewel in the botanical crown that is the Great Orme. 

Pugsley's Marsh Orchid on Anglesey

With just two native species of orchid left to see in Britain (not counting those elusive Ghost Orchids), we planned a visit during half term to Cors Erddreiniog NNR on Anglesey to find one of my last remaining species – Pugsley’s Marsh Orchid.

A fine specimen of Pugsley's Marsh Orchid - Anglesey

Pugsley’s Marsh Orchids are considerably scarce and local, only growing in a few select locations, including the rich fens of Anglesey.

Stopping over in Llandudno for the night, myself and Alex headed over to this fantastic fen reserve the next day in an effort to locate them, the weather following the trend for the week and providing us with clear blue skies and glorious sunshine.

Treading the path down through the reserve gates and over the boardwalk, we had soon found our prize – a large group of Dactylorhizas nestled within the wet marshy grass right at the end of the trail.

Consisting of a mix with Early Marsh Orchids (subsp. Incarnata) present, I was soon able to pick out the Pugsley’s Marsh Orchids within what I can only presume was a mixture of variations and Dact hybrids – the marked purple flowers didn’t really seem consistent with any species!

Never the less, we found a number of plants that fitted the characteristics of Pugsley’s Marsh perfectly (Mr Orchid himself Sean also later confirmed from photos) and I happily set about photographing these delicate and subtle beauties.

Relatively hard to identify without knowing what to look for, a range of features give Pugsley’s Marsh Orchids a subtle but distinctive appearance. The flowering spike is usually distinctly one sided (with all flowers facing roughly the same way) and there tends to be a limited number (on average 6-14) well-spaced flowers on the spike. 

A typically lop sided flower spike

The lip is also prominently 3 lobed with the central lobe projecting out as a prominent ‘tooth’, while the few leaves are relatively narrow (hence its former name of Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid). The upper stem is also washed purple, as are the upper bracts, and the whole plant seems to have a rather delicate appearance. 

Note the purple washed stem and upper bracts.

A number of individuals in the colony should always be examined to confirm the identity, and Pugsley’s Marsh Orchids rarely bloom as just a single specimen in a mixed colony of Dactylorhiza.

There has also been a considerable amount of research conducted centred on the genetic background and ancestry of Pugsley’s Marsh Orchid. Populations in Norfolk, Suffolk and elsewhere in southern England (south of a line from The Wash to the Severn) were long placed with Pugsley’s Marsh Orchid until 2012, when new genetic evidence suggested that they were instead a subspecies of Southern Marsh Orchid. It now seems that only the northern populations can be classed as true Pugsley’s Marsh Orchids.

I had previously visited Parsonage Moor reserve in Oxfordshire in the search for Pugsley’s Marsh Orchids, but sadly had only come across what at the time appeared to be a hybrid. Regardless, with the recent genetic analysis and revised distribution, this would now have been classes as a subspecies of Southern Marsh anyway.

Southern Marsh Orchid at Parsonage Moor

Alongside the orchids we also found an interesting selection of carnivorous plants (always a favourite of mine) with several dew-drop laden leaves of Round-leaved Sundews visible growing on the moist mossy tussocks, as well as an abundance of Common Butterwort – a new species for me in the wild. Each had several small flies entrapped on the sticky leaves – fascinating, especially as wild carnivorous plants are not something I encounter all too often!

Round-leaved Sundew

Common Butterwort

With just once species of orchid left to see in the UK (Lindisfarne Helleborine) I’ll hopefully be able to catch up with my final target later on in the summer - fingers crossed for a good flowering season up on Lindisfarne!

How to get there:

There is no parking at Cors Erddreiniog itself, but there are spaces in the nearby village of Capel Coch - just a two minute walk from the reserve entrance gate. The post code for parking is LL73 8PH and the reserve is on the east side of the road down a small track next to a white cottage. Once through the gate, follow the track down the hill to a second gate and entrance board sign.