Orchids have a mysterious power over us. We see them as exotic and somehow more exciting than other plants. How thrilling, then, that some species of orchids are growing wild even in London.
Orchid season is on, and you don’t need to travel far to see these fascinating plants in bloom. Many of us assume that they are only to be found growing (or, if we are honest, slowly declining) on our windowsills as houseplants. But there are about 52 different species native to Britain and Ireland. In and around London, you can find half a dozen.
Even in the central parts, orchids have started to pitch up. Their seeds are fine and light and can blow for miles on the wind. Recently, a green-winged orchid, anacamptis morio, came into flower on a green wood in Islington. These plants are beautiful from a distance and then even more so close up. Most of them, including the Islington plant, are a rich purple, with a green-veined “hood” formed by its sepals. If you can travel further to places like Kent and Hampshire, these threatened plants stain meadows a beautiful colour at this time of year.
In woodlands in Croydon, the early purple orchid, orchis mascula, has bloomed. This is taller than the green-winged orchid, with often spotted leaves. You’ll find it with bluebells.
One of the most exciting of all the orchids thrives in Barnes at the London Wetland Centre. The bee orchid, ophrys apifera, is a testament to the magnificence of evolution as it has developed to mimic a solitary bee — not just in appearance, but in smell and texture too. We can’t smell the pheromones that make it seem like a female bee to attract a confused male, but close up we can see that the lip of this plant is actually fluffy.
It happily pops up in urban settings, and on lawns and road verges, which is another reason why these grass swards shouldn’t be mown to within an inch of their boring lives. You wouldn’t want to miss something like this growing under your nose, would you?
