wild orchids from yesteryear

[ian mcdonald]

I thought I would put some orchid photos on dating back many years. The quality is not good on many as they are scanned from slides, also it seems I am the one person who leaves a shop with a short sighted camera. img. 020 is a white bee orchid. img. 019 bee orchid. img. 009 early purple. img 018 green veined orchid. More to follow if you can stand it.

[ian mcdonald]

Creeping ladies tresses img. 011. Man orchid img. 017. Fly orchid img. 027. Birds nest orchid img.013.

[ian mcdonald]

Green flowered helleborine, E. phyllanthes the flowers do not open fully and hang down. This was growing in woodland making it difficult to photograph without the advantage of a swivel screen img. 025. Heath spotted orchid img. 024. Small white orchid img.015. Ladies slipper img. 026. I was not allowed to approach the plant. I wrote for permission to photograph the plant some years later and was told no-one could visit the plant. I do not pass on information about any rare plants now.

[ian mcdonald]

Autumn ladies tresses img. 003. Pyramidal orchid img. 007. Broad leaved helleborine img. 00022. Common twayblade img. 008b.

[ian mcdonald]

Bog orchid img. 2678, difficult to get a good picture in a bog. Greater butterfly orchid img. 005. Lesser butterfly orchid img. 008. Dark red helleborine img. 016.

[ian mcdonald]

Frog orchid img. 1010579. Fragrant orchid img. 014. Lesser twayblade img. 1305. Narrow leaved helleborine img. 09-181.

[ian mcdonald]

Early marsh orchid (pale form) img. 023. Early marsh orchid (dark form) img.09-194. Southern marsh orchid img. 022. Northern marsh orchid img. 1010717.

[ian mcdonald]

Coral root orchid img. 1371. Burnt tip orchid img. 010. Dune helleborine img. 1010798. Not an orchid but could be mistaken for one, Yellow birds nest img. 012. It is a member of the wintergreen family. I have been waiting for a rare orchid in our district to flower for some years. I will post a picture if it does.

[ian mcdonald]

Not the best of pictures but as a field naturalist I am more interested in finding our wild flowers and taking a "record" picture in their habitat. I hope this will inspire people to look for our wild flowers and leave them for others to see. We have over two thousand species of wild plant in the UK, so good luck in your searches.