Neottia nidus-avis Bird's-nest Orchid C DD N
My early recollections of the flowering time of this plant led me to believe that mid June would be best and little could be expected before then. The Scottish plant was in bud in mid May and the Welsh one at full maturity in early June so perhaps it flowers earlier than I thought.
In 2010 I went to find it in the depths of a wood in Wales and found the single specimen in a very dark place under Taxus baccata (Yew).
Although often said to be saprophytic plant living off the decomposing leaf litter, all orchids with such descriptions have been found to be parasitic. There appear to be no truly saprophytic orchids.
N. nidus-avis is fairly commonly recorded throughout southern England and is found in Wales, Scotland and Ireland too.
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| Neottia nidus-avis Bird's-nest Orchid single floret |
LHS: Woods near Beauly 17th May 2007 RHS: Coed Cilygroeslwyd, near Ruthin, Wales June 12th 2010
Added on 5th February, updated 12th June 2010