Saturday 9 June 2018

Bird's-nest orchid - North Cumbria.

What a privilege to see this beauty today! 

According to the iucn website for red list species..... 

The Bird's Nest Orchid is a terrestrial leafless species that lacks green chlorophyll and has a relationship with a fungus which enables it to obtain nutrition (Gardes 2002). Neottia lives in symbiosis with the fungus Rhizoctonia. The fungus/orchid combination is effectively a perennial saprophyte feeding on decomposing leaf litter, or possibly the mycorrhiza may be shared with nearby tree species. The plants do not appear every year. It grows in woodlands, often on basic soil, under shade in deep leaf litter in beech, hazel and pine forests. The species prefers chalk and limestone soils and also grows in clays and sands that have a chalky or limestone component. It grows in shade, even tolerates heavy shade and flowers from May to July (Bournérias and Prat 2005, Delforge 1995, GIROS 2009, Harrap and Harrap 2009, Lang 2004, Pignatti 1982, Rossi 2002, Vakhrameeva et al.2008). http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/175996/0 

It's declining due to deciduous woodland being destroyed or replaced by conifers - on the continent. It's certainly uncommon in North Cumbria with less than 30 sites being recorded in the whole of Cumbria in the Flora of Cumbria. 




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