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| Dune Helleborine |
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| Dune Helleborine |
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| Early Marsh Orchid |
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| Marsh Helleborine |
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| Marsh Helleborine |
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| Marsh Helleborine |
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| Pyramidal Orchid |
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| Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid |
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| Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid |
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| Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid |
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Ainsdale Dunes - 1st July
A cloudy and cool day at Ainsdale Dunes which slowly brightened up during the morning and by early afternoon there were some butterflies on the wing - Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Skipper and Dark Green Fritillary. However the main purpose of the visit was to check on the progress of the Orchids and Helleborines. I quickly found a few Marsh Helleborines in flower in the wet area near to the entrance, in amongst the much more numerous Early Marsh Orchids, some of which were quite small. I also found an unusual looking, but impressive and stately, plant which I take to be a hybrid Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid. The leaves were completely free of any spots but the (beautiful) flowers seem to have contributions from both species. Along the central path through the dune slacks there were some Dune Helleborines just starting to come into flower and plenty of Pyramidal Orchids all around.