Ghost #Orchids (Epipogium aphyllum) galore from several sites across #France including a trio that featured as part of the tour I led for @mariposanature.bsky.social with @dunnjons.bsky.social They have struggled due to drought and heat, especially in the Alps with many no shows at reliable sites

3/8/26 #France - Live from the field at nearly 3000m we find one of the most special #alpine wildflowers - Black Genepi (Artemisia genepi). Used as a flavouring, especially in spirits and ice creams it is a sought-after herb. Seen leading for @mariposanature.bsky.social

2/8/26 #France - Halfway through our Summer #Orchids of the #Alps tour and it has been a fine day botanising at altitude; many fine finds including Dactylorhiza viridis, Gentiana verna, Saxifraga oppositifolia and Soldanella alpina. Leading with @dunnjons.bsky.social

29/7/26 #France - Our First Summer #Orchids of the French Alps tour has kicked off and we have already bagged our first rarity, this fantastic #helleborine Epipactis albensis (syn. Epipactis fibri) near the banks of the Rhône @mariposanature.bsky.social

28/7/26 #France - Ghost #Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum) and a trio of Vanilla #Orchids (Gymnadenia austriaca syn. Nigritella austriaca) resplendent in the French Alps. One of the most important pre-tour recces I have ever carried out, due to the heatwaves throughout the year @mariposanature.bsky.social

19/7/26 #Lancashire - Watching the F1 this afternoon, we were disturbed by loud buzzing at the open window. The culprit was this utterly magnificent beast, the Giant Horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus). She was duly released after a few photographs and I wish her all the best 🥰

13/7/26 #Cumbria - After seeing a lot of cooked helleborines in the Midlands, I didn't have high hopes for the Tyne Helleborines (Epipactis dunensis ssp tynensis) on the banks of the South Tyne. They're a touch early, but pleasingly in great condition 🥰 #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

13/7/26 #Cumbria - With perfect weather and no football on this evening, I had the perfect excuse to get out. The highlight by far was this magnificent Bog #Orchid (Hammarbya paludosa), a real chonker so far as this species goes #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

10/7/26 #Gloucestershire - The Narrow-Lipped Helleborine (Epipactis leptochila) is a Southern speciality in Britain. This lovely plant was the only one still in flower at the sites I visited. 25 years ago I'd have waited until August to look for these #orchids #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

5/7/26 #Cumbria - Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) on #HuttonRoof aren't always "Dark Red". This amazing example is var. albiflora, a particularly rare find with almost pure-white flowers. A great sight for guests of @mariposanature.bsky.social who I was leading for today #wildflowerhour

5/7/26 #Cumbria - The Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) on the limestone pavements of #HuttonRoof never fail to delight. Among my favourites are var. bicolor, or "lemon petal" examples, with fabulous two-tone flowers @bsbibotany.bsky.social @mariposanature.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

4/7/26 #Cumbria - I led a group for the Arnside & Silverdale Natural History Society on the limestone grasslands searching for summer #orchids, and highlights included Frog #Orchids (Dactylorhiza viridis) and Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

3/7/26 #Cumbria - Phwoar! The Dark Red #Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) are peaking on the Limestone pavements above Morecambe Bay, in an array of colours! Tomorrow I take Arnside & District NHS out near Kendal and on Sunday it’s a trip up #HuttonRoof for @mariposanature.bsky.social

29/6/26 #Bolton - Coming across these hyperchromic Common Spotted #Orchids was a hugely welcome surprise this afternoon. Blessed with an abundance of pigmentation, they are often described as a varietal form; Dactylorhiza fuchsii var rhodochila #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

29/6/26 #Bolton - #Orchids galore at this former industrial site where an alkaline grassland has been artificially created due to soda ash waste. Marsh Helleborine & Marsh Fragrant Orchids (L) are present in great numbers, as well as the odd Bee #Orchid (R) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

28/6/26 #Lincolnshire - I managed to sneak away from family engagements to an absolutely stellar sand dune complex on the East Coast, where I've never seen so many Marsh Helleborines (Epipactis palustris) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

21/6/26 #Highland - It wasn't until I went through my photos that I spotted this rare aberration affecting a Coralroot #Orchid (Corallorhiza trifida). Some of its flowers are peloric, the labellum is being expressed by all three petals (resulting in symmetry) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

21/6/26 #Highland - Some lovely examples of Heath Fragrant #Orchid (Gymnadenia borealis) on show in the submontane meadows of the Scottish uplands. Note the shape of the flowers, with the labella greater in length than width and shorter, acute-tipped sepals #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

23/6/26 #Cumbria - It's going to get rather warm later this week, so this evening was the time to get out. I was delighted to come across this plant again, an rare and unusual hybrid between the Northern Marsh and Frog #Orchids (Dactylorhiza x viridella) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

22/6/26 #Cheshire - I don't regularly come across Marsh Fragrant #Orchids (Gymnadenia densiflora) so it was lovely to bump into a few at this former industrial works, a site reminiscent of one I know near Bolton that sports a similarly calcicolous flora #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

22/6/26 #Cheshire - I love an opportunistic visit to a new place, especially if it's near somewhere I'm doing something! This awesome site is an abandoned industrial wasteland home to thousands of #Orchids including Marsh Helleborines (Epipactis palustris) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

21/6/26 #Highland - It was great to meet up with a good friend of mine and visit some of the fine sites South of Inverness, where some very fine plants grow - such as Moneses uniflora, Single-Flowered Wintergreen #wildflowerhour

21/6/26 #Highland - A Lesser Butterfly (Platanthera bifolia) and Small White #Orchid (Pseudorchis albida) growing side by side in a submontane meadow; such a fine sight is always going to be up there with my favourite moments of the year so far #wildflowerhour @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

21/6/26 #Highland - I was just saying how unusual that intergeneric hybrids are, so here's another one - and that's reflective of the rich diversity of the site it was found at. x Dactylodenia varia a hybrid between Heath Fragrant and Northern Marsh #Orchids #wildflowerhour @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

21/6/26 #Highland - #Orchid hybrids aren't particularly unusual, especially among some genera. However, hybrids between genera are rather special - such as this fine example of x Dactylodenia evansii between Heath Fragrant and Heath Spotted #Orchids #wildflowerhour @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

21/6/26 #Highland - Mountain Everlasting (Antennaria dioica) in both male and female forms, growing in huge numbers at this fine site in Northern #Scotland @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

20/6/26 #Lancashire - It was lovely to meet with friends at Gait Barrows for the peaking Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens), a very local #orchid that grows on the Limestone pavements of Morecambe Bay #wildflowerhour @jnnyharris.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

7/6/26 Cumbria - The Northern Marsh #Orchid (L) and Southern Marsh Orchid (R) generally follow a North & South distribution but that is not what defines them. However, there is a line in Cumbria that the latter appears to largely regard as a Northerly limit, at least in this county #wildflowerhour

8/6/26 #Yorkshire - Easily my favourite Dactylorhiza, Pugsley's Marsh #Orchid (D. traunsteinerioides) at Kilnsey. An annual pilgrimage, hoping to visit with company next year @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

Here’s a hybrid between Heath Fragrant and Heath Spotted #Orchids for reference 😊