The Last Orchid of Summer 29th July 2025

 

On the 7th of August last year I went to see a Violet Helleborine, not the usual kind but the much rarer form Epipactus purpurata Var. rosea.see here where the plant lacks chlorophyll causing the leaves to appear pinkish violet and the flowers almost white.It required a journey to the neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire and a longish walk up into The Chilterns. Directions came courtesy of Duncan who has, through our mutual orchid interest become a good friend of mine.

With this in mind it was a pleasant surprise that Duncan kindly alerted me to another Var.rosea but a lot nearer this time, growing in a wood in his native Gloucestershire and we arranged to rendezvous near the wood in which it was growing along with a few normal Violet Helleborines

The day we set to meet was dull and grey with a hint of rain in the air, remember rain? Growing under the trees the helleborines would be difficult to photograph due to the dullness of the day and the partial shade of the mature trees they grew under

We duly met, along with Duncan's brother in law Ian, a 'proper' botanist as Duncan told me by way of introduction. A short uphill walk brought us to the wood where the helleborines and the Var. rosea in particular grew. 

Climbing a bank we walked though the open wood until Duncan pointed out the Var.rosea, which was far from obvious, in fact remarkably inconspicuous, being almost lost amongst all the other plants growing around it.

Violet Helleborine Var. rosea

Smaller in stature than the example I saw last year, nonetheless it was just as desirable and rewarding to see its pale blushed pink flowers, amassed in a cluster at the top of a thin stalk which unfortunately had become bent in the middle but better this than nothing at all..Orchids get nibbled by deer, eaten by slugs you name it, so we considered we were fortunate to see this one no matter if it was not quite perfect and I think you will agree still retaining much of its beauty and allure

We duly paid homage to this even rarer form of a rare orchid, almost overwhelmed by the ground vegetation it grew amongst.Take your eyes off it and you had to be careful, one false step might cause you to unwittingly tread on it which would be unthinkable

Once we felt we had spent time enough in admiring, photographng  and discussing it we moved along further in the wood to view a couple of 'normal' Violet Helleborines.Again they were less than obvious in the surrounding leaves and clutter of plant growth even though they were in full flower. Standing slightly taller than the Var.rosea we had just viewed, twenty or so tiny flowers grew in a loose spike on one side of a slender stalk.

Violet Helleborine

The delicate, pale  flowers were surrounded by long, spreading green sepals, almost like miniature wings and imparting a leafy appearance, whilst the rest of the flower showed a reddish brown centre surrounded by a lip tinged with the subtlest shade of pink. A true delight.

Once the photos have been taken, in situations such as this I like to stand for a while, quiet and pensive, something I am wont to do with many of the orchid species I travel to see. I try to sense the atmosphere or in more prosaic terms enter the orchid's world, the environment that surrounds in this case an unassuming delicate plant growing in a bed of leaf litter and ivy leaves in a quiet wood. Untouched and unregarded except by us.

It was all over in an hour, apart from making a note of these orchid's precise location for any future visit by using What3Words and we retired for coffee and cake and to do battle with the wasps at a nearby outdoor cafe.

So that is it for this year with regard to orchids although there are still Autumn Ladies Tresses to come. I might go to see them where they grow in profusion on Greenham Common in Berkshire but maybe I will wait until next year and try to see some more of our much rarer native orchids.There are still plenty left to add to my list as my burgeoning interest in orchids continues.