Lady's, Monkeys and The Military 10th May 2025

Another day and another orchid sortie.Very much a novice I am becoming ever more enthused at seeking out these strange and rather wonderful plants

Today I planned a trip to Hartslock Nature  Reserve, yet another of BBOWT's small but perfect reserves.  Here I was going in search of two more orchid species that are a speciality of this four hectare reserve - the Lady Orchid which is nationally scarce and the Monkey Orchid which is classed as vulnerable.

The problem at Hartslock, especially for a beginner such as myself, is that the majority of orchids  there are hybrids between the two species and pure examples of both are very scarce and hard to find amongst the ranks of hybrids which are present in numbers and in a variety of shades of pink and sizes.

However I had been told that this year there was a pure example of a Lady Orchid and also a few pure Monkey Orchids. Peter who had visited Hartslock yesterday gave me guidance as to where to locate them amongst the many hybrids so I decided to take a chance and hope I would be able to identify them which was far from guaranteed.

Hartslock  is not easy to get to as it is located on a very steep hillside overlooking Goring on Thames. 

Looking down from the reserve to Goring upon Thames in the distance

There is nowhere to park anywhere near the entrance to the reserve and therefore a visit requires you to park further down at the beginning of a narrow lane and then walk in for a quarter of a mile.At least that is what I preferrred to do not wishing to fall foul of the local farmer or the affluent residents.

The day was cloudy but it was pleasant enough walking up the lane surrounded on both sides by burgeoning green hedgerows and then, turning down a track, after a couple of hundred metres I arrived at the entrance gate to the reserve.In front of me arose a steep hill with two more small wooden gates which led into the reserve proper.

Not too sure where to go I saw two other orchid enthusiasts looking intently at something outside and just to the right of the two gates and clambering up the hillside to join them they pointed out a Monkey Orchid, a pure one, its demure presence almost overwhelmed by the hedge it grew under.

It soon became apparent that my two new and very friendly acquaintances, making a special trip from Stoke on Trent, knew what they were talking about and generously imparted their orchid knowledge for my benefit and explained to me why it was not a hybrid  

We then indulged in the ritual of taking our photos before passing through one of the gates and moving upwards via a series of very steep steps to an area on the side of the precipitous slope that was taped off to protect the hybrid orchids, ranged on the side of a bank by a small wood.

Hybrid orchids

I was told that originally Hartslock was known as a place to see Monkey Orchids but at sometime in the past a Lady Orchid appeared and subsequently hybrids began to appear and they now dominate the reserve while some pure Monkey and Lady Orchids persist but very much in the minority. How true this  is I have no way of verifying but it is a reasonable supposition.

The hybrids were surprisingly large, some in fact very robust compared to the orchid species I had been viewing these past days and amongst them was a pure Lady Orchid which stood out due to the fact it was smaller and distinctly coloured.

Lady Orchid

Thus in the space of thirty or so minutes I had seen pure examples of both Monkey and Lady Orchids. The Lady Orchid struck a chord with me as it reminded me of a favourite orchid of mine, the Burnt Tip Orchid, the colours of the flowers being a similar dark reddish brown and white but there the resemblance ended. The name derives from the fact the three lobed lip is shaped like a lady in a crinoline, the two, narrow side lobes forming the arms and the central lobe divided into two. The dark reddish brown sepals and upper petals above, form the lady's bonnet. Really lovely.

We admired this specimen for some time, discussing the salient features and taking photographs and then one of my colleagues found what he considered to be two other Monkey Orchids. 

I looked more closely at the hybrids and amongst them found a smaller mainly white orchid tinged with pale pink which to me looked like a Monkey Orchid.None too sure of myself I pointed it out to my friends and they confirmed it was in their opinion a Monkey Orchid. 

I then spent time with the hybrids, marvelling at their fulsome size and variable colours. One in particular being noticeably large and a very attractive deep reddish pink with white flecks and really eye catching amongst its fellow paler pink hybrids.

The area on the bank where the orchids grow is comparatively small and protected by tape which while not being a physical barrier usually persuades people to remain the correct side of the tape and not get too close to the orchids for fear of trampling them.

Two more hybrids

Eventually we stood back content as a Cuckoo called close by from the trees at the bottom of the slope.

Further up the slope beyond the hybrids we found a White Helleborine, still relatively common and plentiful in the southeast of England to which it is restricted.

It was coming into bloom with one flower almost fully open revealing egg yolk yellow in its centre.We found another ten less advanced plants inside the wood as we did a circuit of this small reserve,.

White Helleborine

Before parting with my erstwhile colleagues we exchanged information about the various orchid areas worth visiting in the area and I suggested Bernwood Meadows and they told me I should go to Homefield Wood in Buckinghamshire for Military Orchids which were now flowering

It is a pleasant and relaxing experience orchid hunting as from my point of view there is not the competitive feelings that come with twitching or even watching birds these days and orchids have the distinct advantage in that they remain where they are and do not fly away overnight which results in a more relaxed frame of mind amongst those of us coming to view them and a general feeling of bonhomie to fellow enthusiasts.

We said our farewells and I made my way to Homefield Wood, one of only three sites in Britain where they grow, to try and find the Military Orchids which would be a new orchid species for me.

A forty minute drive took me across the border of Oxfordshire into neighbouring Buckinghamshire and just west of Marlow I descended a very steep hill and turned into a tiny car park at Homefield Wood, owned by the Forestry Commission and part of The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Beauty. The reserve itself is 6.1 acres of undulating slopes and is managed by BBOWT and consists of deciduous woodland with glades and open grassland encompassed in a much larger area of mainly woodland. Specifically I was aiming for a sheltered field sloping up on both sides and through which ran a grass track at the bottom, the field bordered by a hedge on one side and woodland on the other. It was not very far to walk from the car park and passing through a gate off the main track I entered a field of scrubby grassland and scattered bushes but with little idea where the orchids might be.

Fortunately someone was already there and indicated to me where I could find a Military Orchid which he had found earlier. Military Orchids like to grow in chalk grassland along broad leaved woodland edges and true to form the specimen he had found was growing in the leaf litter beside a hazel, in the open at the top of the slope where field met woodland.

Big and robust, with shiny green strap like leaves and clustered flowers pinkish violet in colour, this was a perfect specimen and my first ever sight of this orchid species did not disappoint

They acquired their name from the fact the sepals and petals are folded in such a way they are said  to resemble a hood or more fancifully a knight's helmet with the lower lip shaped like a man, with arms and legs, while lines of spots resemble buttons on a tunic. 

I knelt on the ground and took some photos and later explored the edges of the field.on the opposite side. Here I found another twenty three orchids in various stages of flowering, some near the hedge with others more in the open amongst the grass on the slope but none as advanced as the original one on the other side of the field.

Many were caged to protect them so I had been fortunate that the first one I saw on the opposite side of the field was free of any artificial protection although I had found others uncaged on the other side of the field too.

After wandering around and admiring these orchids I took a track by the hedge that would lead me back to the entrance gate and found half a dozen Common Twayblades. 

Green and undistinguished compared to their more colourful and exotic relatives I realised it had been a very long time since I had seen one so lingered for a while to give them due reverence.

Quite a day!