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Burnt Orchid
Orchis ustulata
This particular photo shows the orchis ustulata without the distinctive red/black top (burnt tip)
it is verging on being an alba except it still has the red spots on the labellum.
May be re-named: Neotinea ustulata
IDENTIFICATION:
Two distinct forms flower at different times of the year.
The early-flowering form E, which is at its best in the third week of May, is small, 5-10 cm tall, with a basal rosette of two to five broad, channelled leaves with prominent veins. There are several sheathing stem leaves and red-tinged bracts. The flower spike is cylindrical and bears 15-50 small, closelypacked flowers. The sepals and upper petals form a tight hood which is dark reddish-brown when the flowers first open, giving the appearance of being 'burned', but fading rapidly as the flowers mature. The lip is white with two rounded side lobes and a bluntly-forked central lobe, marked with discrete crimson spots. There is a short, down-curved, conical spur. The flowers are sweetly-scented.
The late-flowering form L appears in July and August after the early-flowering form has set seed. It also grows in calcareous grassland, although not necessarily south-facing, seldom occurring in the same sites as the early-flowering form. It is usually taller, 8-15cm, as the sward in which it grows is also taller at that time of year. The red colour of the hood remains strong even in mature flowers. The lip has shorter, stubbier lobes but, more importantly, the spots are larger and the edges of the lip are usually magenta-flushed, the colour sometimes suffusing the whole lip, a feature never seen in the early-flowering form. Plants with entirely white, unmarked lips and straw-coloured hoods are occasionally recorded. A unique population growing in a series of damp meadows in Wiltshire has flower spikes well in excess of 15 cm tall.
CONFUSING SPECIES:
None.
HYBRIDS:
None known.
HABITAT
Restricted to closely grazed grassland on chalk and limestone which has remained uncultivated for many years. Often found on south-facing slopes, particularly along terracettes.
POLLINATION
The fly Tachina magnicornis has been recorded frequently as a pollinator. Seed-set is moderate, but plants take over 15 years to reach flowering maturity.
CONSERVATION
This species has suffered a severe decline in the last 70 years, having been lost from 210 of the 285 ten-kilometre squares where it had been recorded. Disturbance and lack of suitable grazing have been major factors in this decline, but it also appears sensitive to extremes of temperature.
DISTRIBUTION:
Principally a plant of chalk and limestone hills in the south of England, but also occurs northwards to Lincolnshire,Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Durham. Found for the first time in Wales, in Glamorgan, in 1993. Absent from Scotland and Ireland. Most populations are small, but it can flower in thousands at some sites.
Height: usually 5-15cm
No. of flowers: 15-50
FLOWERING PERIOD:
Early: early May to June
Late: July and August
Source: http://www.britainsorchids.fieldguide.co.uk/?P=contents&SHC=5&PSD=1 |
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