Britain’s native orchids are undergoing something of a renaissance this year. From the Hebrides to the tip of Cornwall, many of our 50 or so species of orchids are giving some of the most dazzling displays in memory, including some very rare species.
Although often associated with steamy jungles, there are also exotic orchids native to Britain with evocative names that match their outlandish appearance, such as lizard, bee, or monkey orchids. Their unusual shapes, textures, colours and scents are designed to imitate insects, seducing males into having sex with the flower and then cross-pollinating the next flower they visit.After years of suffering from the destruction of their grassland homes, many orchids are finding refuge on roadside verges, golf courses and derelict industrial sites as well as nature reserves.
Orchids also need the right weather, and this year they have enjoyed the warm, wet spring and are flowering well in this month’s sunshine and showers. Climate change is also playing a part in the long-term revival of some of the species. For the first time, the fabulous bee orchid is spreading into Scotland, while the late spider, military and other orchids are at the limit of their northernmost territory in the south of England. Global warming could also explain the surprising appearance of Mediterranean tongue orchids in Devon and Cornwall, and a continental variety of the bee orchid now found in Wiltshire and Somerset.
Management also plays a crucial role, as nature reserves are discovering how to encourage orchids by grazing them early in the year with cattle or sheep. “People were frightened of grazing orchid sites in case the animals trampled or ate the plants, but many orchids grow in grasslands where they can be swamped by longer grasses and shrubs,” said Ian Taylor, a botanist at English Nature.
“Grazing at just the right time cuts down the competition from grasses and helps the orchid seedlings establish themselves.”
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Kent Wildlife Trust has used cattle grazing on roadside verges to encourage several orchids, including the rare man orchid. Many orchids, such as the common spotted orchid and bee orchid, are now flourishing on road verges, which are beginning to replace their old meadowlands as habitat.
Even more bizarre refuges for orchids are industrial heaps. When the Channel Tunnel was dug, millions of tons of chalky clay sludge were dumped on the Kent coast nearby. In 1996 botanists were astonished when they discovered a rare early spider orchid on the waste, and this year their numbers have exploded to 9,000 plants with blooms taller and bigger than ever seen before.
The site at Samphire Hoe, near Dover, is owned by Eurotunnel, and visitors are encouraged to see the orchids, including the common spotted variety.