JH2o Loc: True north of England

A few photos of the orchid family seen in the last two month travelling in the north of England

European lady’s slipper orchid, Cypripedium calceolus, the name translates to “the little shoe of Venus”, is part of the species recovery program and can be seen at a viewing NNR from Derbyshire to Durham in late May early June.

lady's slipper orchid


Lady's slipper


Coralroot orchid, a very small rare saprophytic orchid of dune slacks


Early purple orchid


early purple orchid white form


Southern marsh orchid


Northern marsh orchid


Twayblade


Twayblade, one of our commonest orchids

Dixiegirl Loc: Alabama gulf coast

Very pretty. I love the Lady's Slipper.

macro2009 Loc: Cheshire United Kingdom

Super set, thanks for sharing and posting with the information.

JH2o Loc: True north of England

Thanks for looking Dixie girl; the lady's slipper is also known in North America as the moccasin flower, from its resemblance to a moccasin.

JH2o Loc: True north of England

Thanks Macro2009 for looking

Robbie7 Loc: Northampton. England

Hi JH2o :) Well well I never stop learning here, I don't know why but I had always assumed Orchids were imported and propagated here. A very nice set and thanks for the information. Here is a little relevant information.

Darwin described how the relationship between insects and plants resulted in the beautiful and complex forms which natural theology attributed to a grand designer. By showing how practical adaptations develop from cumulative minor variations of parts of the flowers to suit new purposes, Darwin countered the prevailing view that beautiful organisms were the handiwork of a Creator. Darwin's painstaking observations, experiments, and detailed dissection of the flowers explained previously unknown features such as the puzzle of Catasetum, which had been thought to have three completely different species of flowers on the same plant. In addition, they produced testable predictions including his then-controversial proposal that the long nectary of Angraecum sesquipedale meant that there must be a moth with an equally long proboscis. This was confirmed in 1903 when Xanthopan morgani praedicta was found in Madagascar. :thumbup:

JH2o Loc: True north of England

Thanks for the info Robbie7: There are 65 species of orchid in the UK plus hybrids and variants and moths pollinate a large proportion of these, some of the more attractive ones self pollinate

Bee orchid self pollinating

GeezerGal Loc: Texas

Good shots all. I like the vibrancy of the marsh orchids.

JH2o Loc: True north of England

Thanks for looking GeezerGal the marsh orchid group are the most diverse in the orchid family