A Good Orchid Day

The journey from home to Gortlecka Crossroads, in the heart of The Burren in Co. Clare, takes two hours and forty minutes according to the directions from Google maps and to drive there and back in one day would be a hard day indeed. The offer of travelling part of the way and taking a lift with a friend for the remainder of the journey made it a much more reasonable prospect and was one I accepted very gratefully. As well as sparing me the driving this arrangement had the advantage of giving me good company for the day which makes any day out all the more enjoyable.

The limestone landscape of The Burren

The target orchid for the day was the Dark-red helleborine, one of our rarer orchids which has a very limited range – “confined to limestone pavements of counties Clare and Galway” says Brendan Sayers in his book, Ireland’s Wild Orchids, A Field Guide. It was spotted earlier in the week near Eagle Rock by a fellow enthusiast, word went out and the quest was on!

Dark-red helleborine – Epipactis atrorubens

As you can see, it is a beautiful plant and was well worth the journey to find it.

The directions were good and my companion on the day had been to the spot previously so the Dark-red helleborine was found quickly. We would have been delighted to have found one or two but fortune smiled on us and we located about two dozen with a good number in full flower, ready and posing for the camera. We oohed and aahed and gushed in delight and admiration at the little beauties – yes, such a simple beauty can bring great delight and I hope that sense of delight stays with me forever. Age hasn’t dulled it and I hope it never does.

There were other orchids found on the day – almost all of the Irish orchids grow on The Burren – and a big range of interesting wildflowers also but I will confine myself to the orchids in this selection of photographs. Enjoy!

Pyramidal orchid – Anacamptis pyramidalis

Pyramidal orchid – Anacamptis pyramidalis

Common Spotted Orchid – Dactylorhiza fuchsii

A specialty of The Burren, a white form of the Common Spotted Orchid, O’Kelly’s orchid – Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. okellyi

O’Kelly’s orchid – Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. okellyi

Heath Spotted Orchid – Dactylorhiza maculata var ericetorum

Heath Spotted Orchid – Dactylorhiza maculata var ericetorum

Broad-leaved Helleborine – Epipactis helleborine, only just coming into flower, not quite open yet.

Marsh helleborine -Epipactis palustris

Marsh helleborine -Epipactis palustris

Marsh helleborine -Epipactis palustris, one of the prettiest of our native orchids

Common Twayblade – Neottia ovata

Common Twayblade

Common Fragrant Orchid – Gymnadenia conopsea – the fragrance is of cloves, very like the fragrance from garden dianthus.

Common Fragrant Orchid – Gymnadenia conopsea

Common Fragrant Orchid – Gymnadenia conopsea, a white form

Dense-flowered Fragrant Orchid – Gymnadenia densiflora

Dense-flowered Fragrant Orchid – Gymnadenia densiflora

Even out of flower and in seed, it is interesting to find the Dense-flowered Orchid – Neotinea maculata. It is such a small thing that it is always a challenge to find it

Bee orchid – Ophrys apifera, always a favourite!  It is at the end of its season now and this was the only one we found on the day.

This orchid has evolved to look like and so smell like a bee. This attracts male bees to copulate with it and so shake the pollen onto the stamens and fertilize the flower – though it can alsomanage this without the bee!

 

Fly orchid – Ophrys insectifera – another orchid which has evolved to mimic an insect, to attract it to help in fertilization of the flowers.

It is a small little thing and can take a while to find.

My friend’s fingers showing in the photograph to give a sense of scale to help appreciate how small these flowers are.

Lesser Butterfly Orchid – Platanthera biflora

Notice the long “spurs” to the rear of each flower. These contain a drop of nectar to attract pollinating insects. In this case it has to be one with a very long proboscis which could reach in so far.

Lesser Butterfly Orchid

And finally, an odd rock shape on The Burren and the hope that I will be back for a return visit before very long.

A final Dark-red Helleborine – Epipactis atrorubens. Such beauty makes the journey time well worth while!