Early Spider Phwoarchid!

First reported last year by Rogier van Vugt, this wildly aberrant Early Spider Orchid is flowering again this year in Kent. A highlight this afternoon, with five further orchid species also seen in flower nearby in a brief window of free time.

And on my birthday, a special gift - a bucket list plant! Early spider orchids, Ophrys sphegodes, in Kent. #orchids #wildflowerhour

Himantoglossum hircinum buffing up ready for the big show in June 🎉💫 #orchids #wild

I've always wanted to see a truly hypochromic Serapias tongue orchid - an extreme one - but until today had only ever looked longingly at photos of these great rarities in books. That changed this afternoon when my Mariposa Nature Tours co-leader Andreas Corso found this beauty... 😳

News from the field: the #orchid season is rattling along here in southern Italy in the wake of a hot, dry spring. Ophrys calliantha is well under way, while Ophrys biancae has almost finished flowering. The timing of our Orchids of Sicily tour has been spot on to catch them all.

Three faces of Dactylorhiza romana on the flanks of Mt. Etna, Sicily, yesterday during the tour I'm co-leading here with Sicilian legend Andrea Corso for Mariposa Nature Tours. Can't decide which I prefer - pale yellow, purple, or the intermediate flavour.

Overcast skies and heavy showers could not dampen my joy at seeing my first #orchids of the year today! In North Wales, the gorgeous Green-winged Orchids, Anacamptis morio are just starting to open! 😍

Green winged orchid (Anacamptis morio) on Gorumna island, Connemara. BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland

#wildflowerhour

Our Orchids of Sicily tour is off to a flying start today, with immaculate Orchis brancifortii & Ophrys grassoana within minutes of our Etna hotel. With Sicilian native naturalist Andrea Corso co-leading with Jon Dunn 🇺🇦, we're getting an unrivalled Sicilian experience already. 😊

Early Spider Orchid - Undidclosed Site 11/4/24 Wild Orchids UK & Ireland Britain's Orchids BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland European Orchids & Wildflowers Hardy Orchid Society 🀣 BBO Wildlife Trust wildflowerhour Flora Conservation UK

12/4/24 Lancs - It's hard being back in the UK, especially after going down with a rotten cold since returning! The sight of multiple spikes of the #orchids Anacamptis morio (Green Winged) and Orchis mascula (Early Purple) definitely cheered me up though! #wildflowerhour

A long way from flowering but a Hertfordshire Lizard Orchid is coming along nicely! #hertsorchids Wild Orchids UK & Ireland Britain's Orchids BNA – Herts branch Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust HNHS & Herts Bird Club BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland European Orchids & Wildflowers wildflowerhour Hardy Orchid Society 🀣

Suspected Ophrys speculum hybrids from Sicily found over the last few days. O. speculum x O. bertolonii and O. speculum x O. sphegodes European Orchids & Wildflowers

Orchis mascula, Glamorgan (06/04/2024)

It's been another memorable day for our Orchids of Rhodes tour, starting with Ophrys lucis a couple of miles from our hotel, ending with two extraordinary hybrids (more on them soon), all via many other orchids, including this lush Ophrys halia found by tour leader Dr Richard Bate.

The stellar orchid hybrid, the lovechild of Ophrys regis-ferdinandii & ferrum-equinum, was still hanging on for our guests yesterday (pic by tour leader Jon Dunn 🇺🇦 from last week), while we enjoyed many fresh Ophrys candica erupting into flower in the countryside near our hotel.

The beautiful child of Ophrys ferrum-equinum and Ophrys reinholdii, known as Ophrys x kalteiseniana.

Our first hybrid bee orchid of the week, seen yesterday, but certainly not our last. We've some treats in store for our guests on our Orchids of Rhodes tour.

First orchid of the holiday. Gennaria diphylla, in fruit here on the Anaga peninsula, Tenerife but I'm confident of finding some still in flower at higher altitude. European Orchids & Wildflowers

24/3/24 Lancashire - April Fool's Day is over a week away and we already have some very #early #orchids popping up. Already approaching full bloom, this Green Winged #Orchid (Anacamptis morio) delighted me more than the view of the sun setting in the background #wildflowerhour

SW France. Good to be here again and following a week of fine weather Early Spider Orchids shooting up in the garden. A few examples, including one with pollinator, a small black bee. Suggestions welcome as to ID . #CharenteMaritime ⁦⁦European Orchids & Wildflowers⁩