From Tom: At Homefield, a wide variety of orchids can be found, within both the grassland and woodland. The highlights were definitely the military orchids (one of only three sites in Britain) and the fly orchids (I've never seen such a profusion of them, or the woodland ecotype).
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| Homefield Wood NR. |
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| Top left to bottom right: military orchid (in flower and bud), broad-leaved helleborine (in leaf), white helleborine (in flower and bud) and greater-butterfly orchid (in bud), common twayblade (in bud and flower), bird's-nest orchid (in bud and flower), early purple orchid (in late flower) and fly orchid (in flower). |
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| Fly orchid in the grassland meadow. |
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| Fly orchid in woodland- these plants were far larger than the grassland flies, with some specimens extending to at least the knee. |
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| Unusual orchid leaves: a grazed plant surrounded by fly orchids in the woodland that I suspect to be a white helleborine without any chlorophyll, and a variegated fly orchid. |
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| White helleborines: the flowers of the white helleborine rarely open widely and appear to be permanently 'in bud'. |
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