A Trio of Helleborines 15th July 2024

In this so far dreadful wet summer any chance of cheering myself up was not to be ignored.Today I was taking up a very kind invitation from Duncan D to join him so he could show me three species of helleborine, Broad leaved, Green flowered and Narrow lipped, all of which would be new for me.

Peter, my erstwhile orchid twitching companion came with me as he also had only seen Broad leaved Helleborine before.

On a mild yet depressingly grey morning we headed for Duncan's house in Cheltenham, a forty five minute drive over The Cotswolds. On arriving just before our agreed meeting time of 10am Duncan was already waiting for us at his front gate. The weather forecast was not very encouraging in that rain was predicted to arrive by noon and already intermittent spots of rain were hitting the car windscreen.

It was not the time to hang about so we set off without delay, heading deeper into rural Gloucestershire and coming to rest in a layby near Painswick.

Duncan pointed out our first target before we had left the car. Broad leaved Helleborines, a dozen or more of varying heights growing close to one another on an unremarkable bank rising up from the road. If so inclined we need not have got out of the car they were so near and obvious. Well obvious if you knew what to look for but having had them pointed out to us we got out of the car and set about photographing them as the rain became a little more persistent

Growing on this bank under overhanging bushes by a busy road they were  far removed from the exotic,charismatic image that one associates with the word orchid.

A very understated orchid, a very British orchid if you like, an appreciation of its intrinsic delicate beauty requiring some cerebral effort and contemplation to be realised. There is  no evidence of the rich colours and flamboyancy  I have seen in the tropical orchids of South America for example  but nonetheless they impart that indefinable sense of satisfaction and achievement one acquires at having seen them, innocuous though they were in their mundane habitat

With obvious broad and ribbed green leaves that spiral around the stem, some of the plants here stood quite tall, with the flowers that had opened showing a lip that was dull pink with a distinctive dark brown centre cradled by pointed green sepals. Plants that are more shaded are said to have flowers that are more green.

Most were yet to bloom but a few were just commencing coming into flower and maybe it will be even more rewarding to return in a week or so to see them all in full bloom.

They are not rare and have been described as widespread and common, growing in woodlands but, as they were here, also to be found on road and track verges where there is adequate sunlight.They have even been discovered in town gardens and in Glasgow, for instance, it is said to be relatively common on wasteground.

We took our time photographing and enjoying them and once satisfied we followed Duncan to a narrow track that led up the bank and onwards at a steep angle up the hillside.

It was now raining steadily but we remained undeterred as we passed a wealth of downland flora. A swathe of purple Betony heads roved across the bank to our left, the purple flowers beloved of butterflies remained untroubled due to the weather with only a lone bee chancing the rain to plunder their pollen.The purple colouration of the multitude of heads in the grass a natural impressionist carpet of colour.

Next came an increasingly scarce plant in the form of Dyer's Greenweed, its lurid yellow pea like flowers clustered on upright stems and looking unfeasibly bright in the dull conditions.I confess to never having heard of it but here it was and very striking it was too. Apparently the yellow flowers were once used for dying fabric yellow, hence the name.

We carried on as did the rain. I  could feel it matting my hair but we were on our way to see the much rarer Green flowered Helleborine so something as innocuous as light rain was hardly going to stand in our way. Duncan had found these helleborines himself and we were told to be really careful when we got to where they were growing, as they blended so well with the grass in which they grew and were quite small, almost insignificant, so being less obvious could be unwittingly crushed by a careless foot.

Arriving on a plateau Duncan pointed them out, a small colony of about ten in a slight depression and most were, as Duncan had said, very small but two were more sizeable. Again it was their rarity that provided that addictive frisson of excitement rather than their appearance and colour, both of which were superficially unremarkable. 

The flowers had a delicate beauty and had just begun to open. The flower buds, that can number up to twenty, hang individually downwards from a thin stalk, are green and pointed and barely open to reveal a paler green interior with a white lip.

The rain continued but we crouched under a birch, which provided some shelter from the rain, photographing and appreciating these much desired helleborines.

When it was time to leave them we carefully circumvented the small depression where they grew to avoid trampling any and departed downhill. The rain continued, light but annoying.

Duncan pointed out some Broad leaved Everlasting Pea, a blousy spectacular pink  but as he said probably a 'fence hopper' i.e not a native plant.The last time I saw this plant was on the Sussex Downs above Brighton when I went to see the Long tailed Blue butterflies that occur there every year and come to the Everlasting Pea to nectar.

Gently descending a track, still in the light rain we stopped to admire pink versions of Pyramid Orchids reminding me of those pink carnations men wore in buttonholes of white dinner jackets back in the day. 

Duncan found a roosting Marbled White, clinging fast to a thin stem of grass as the rain gently fell. Close up through the camera lens we could see one, possibly two tiny red mites attached to its head.

Eventually the track led us into some beech woodland where it was sheltered from the rain which had begun easing anyway. 

On a dull day such as this it was gloomy but here was where we would see our third and last helleborine - Narrow lipped Helleborine. A bank rose steeply to our right and near the top grew our prize.

Narrow lipped Helleborines grow on calcareous soil on steep wooded slopes where the soil is thin and shun sunlight, liking deep shade in ancient woodlands of mainly beech They are now scarce and declining due to loss of habitat from woodland being cleared and conifers being planted. Nowadays they are only found in the southern part of England from Worcestershire southwards.

There were only two of them here and Duncan told us that there had been more but the tops had been nibbled away by what he thought were deer.

To protect the remaining two he had surrounded them with twiggy branches to prevent the deer getting to them.We clambered up the bank to get close and took some photos although in truth it was far too dark for our cameras, made even worse by the dull weather but we did what we could.

Frankly it was exhilerating to see this now rare helleborine which, just like the others we had viewed this morning, was understated and insignificant in appearance but a joy to behold nonetheless.

Like the Green flowered it was pale green, the buds partially opening.The leaves are broad,yellowish green and droopy, growing on a thin stalk.The small flowers are pendulous and set all around the stem and are predominantly green, the sepal and petals being long and pointed, the lip whitish green.

So that was our helleborine treat done and dusted, all courtesy of Duncan. By way of a thank you we retired to a pub and bought Duncan lunch before driving him home.

However one more pleasant surprise lay in store for us close to Duncan's home

Have you ever seen Ivy Broomrape he enquired

Neither of us had.

Turn here and  park over there

I did as instructed and there on the other side of the road was a mass of ivy with the reddish brown spikes of the broomrape rising through and above the ivy leaves.

To all extents they looked like plants that had run their course for this year but on looking closer inconsequential dull pink flowers and buds yet to open were still visible at the tips of some of the spikes

You would hardly give them a second glance,certainly not in a road like this but thanks to Duncan they had not gone unnoticed. We duly did the honours with our cameras, watched by slightly bemused firemen standing beside their fire engine attending some minor emergency.

A truly life affirming morning and many thanks yet again to Duncan for his generosity of spirit and time.