Wednesday, 9 June 2021
Definite Heath Spotted Orchid
I have had an Orchid in the East Field for a few years that looks pretty Heath Spotted to me, albeit the leaves were a little darkly spotted. The consensus of expert opinion was that it was probably a Heath Spotted but it did seem odd to me to have just one of this species. There are on the other hand a number that look like hybrids between Common Spotted and Heath Spotted so there are some genes around. yesterday I found a 'nailed on' Heath Spotted and it has been confirmed as such by the experts. Strangely I was the same day alerted by my neighbour as to an orchid in his field and that turned out to be a Heath Spotted too. Even stranger the Heath Spotted in my field is right next to a classic Common Spotted and my neighbour has just two spotted orchids in his field - one of each!
The differences relate to the number of flowers and shape of the flower head, the protusion of the central lobe, the shape of the outer lobes, the pattern on the flower, the spots colour and shape on the leaves and the extent of the keel on the leaves. On all counts the latest example is a Heath Spotted.
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