Ophrys fuciflora
Friday 23rd June 2023
Last day of the week, and if I am honest, beginning to feel a little bit better after suffering more than I'd like to admit since knacking my back before going to Svalbard.
This was the first time I have felt sure on my feet since then, happy and confident as my brain ordered them plates to climb a down, and they obeyed and I didn't feel like I was going to come tumbling back down.
But before all that, there was work. And putting out the bins.
Jools went to yoga, so was on bin duty. Made a second coffee and made ready for work.
My colleagues are travelling this weekend, both going to Taiwan, meanwhile I will have an online audit on Tuesday. My audits are loaded to the second half of the year, so for now I try to make sense of our planning "tool", and try to make sense of the chaos.
Its different chaos from the usual general chaos.
I have chosen to pick a fight with someone two corporate levels above me, mainly because I am right and they're not. And because, what the fuck?
Anyway, the morning was spent swapping messages as they were too busy for a call. And is going on holiday at the end of the day.
So I throw a few grenades over the wall before signing off, and smiled to myself.
Jools returned at half one, changes and we go out. It was a glorious afternoon, she was going to go swimming in the harbour, and I was going to meet Graham and look for orchids.
An orchid.
Jools said not to hurry back, so I wouldn't. Within reason.
Drove to Wye where I was to meet Graham, before I got in his car and we drove to another down.
Last week two people posted shots of a rare "yellow" form of a Late Spider, and after some detective work, I decided it was at the site we were about to explore. I had not been here before, and Graham had found it only a few weeks back, where he saw maybe 15 spikes.
We had to limbo under a fence, go along a track then up the down, where we saw the first Late Spiders.
In huge numbers.
And monster spikes too, one with 10 (ten) flowers, and many with unusual lip markings, colouration and one with a yellow spike.
And the spikes kept showing all up to the top of the down, but the orchid we came to find, we did not see.
Two hours passed, and I had to go to pick up Jools, so we walked back down to Graham's car, so he could run me to ours, then back along lanes to Stone Street and the short run to the motorway and to home.
Jools had met an old friend and they had talked for over an hour, so no worries on keeping her waiting.
We went back home, getting back at quarter past five, so time to feed the cats, and get ready for the quiz. Meanwhile, Jools went to collect a Chinese takeaway, so that when the quiz was done, I would be collected and we would go to Jen's for dinner and cards.
ylv is still here, and running interference. She means well, but chaos follows here. Everywhere.
We eat well, then after packing away, we play cards, taking two hours to get through a game of Meld, as Sylv is poorly organised she seems just to stare at her cards. Jools helps here twice, and she wins the hands as a result.
But not John, it was too late for a hand of Queenie. So we went home.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classed as Vulnerable in the Red List of threatened orchids, the Late Spider-orchid is one of Britain's rarest orchids. It is now restricted to a few sites in Kent, where many of the plants are protected by cages to prevent damage by grazing animals and other predators. Like its close relative the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, Ophrys fuciflora has evolved to mimic the form of a pollinating insect, and this facilitates pollination. Interestingly, the particular species of bees that pollinate Late Spider-orchids on mainland Europe do not occur in the UK, and so what little pollination takes place here must be facilitated by other insects, possibly small beetles. Seed-set is very low, and the likely factor which saves the small populations of Late Spider-orchids in Kent is that fully developed plants live for a long time and therefore only a small number of new plants are required annually in order to keep the population stable. The Late Spider-orchid flowers from late May to late July. Ophrys fuciflora is widespread in other parts of Europe from France eastwards to Romania and south to Italy.
Plant: 5-30cm.
Leaves: 3-5 lanceolate leaves form a basal rosette of which the lower leaves lie flat on the ground. They are greenish-grey and prominantly veined. There are 2-3 smaller, more pointed leaves higher up and loosely sheathing the stem.
Bracts: lanceolate and grey-green.
Flowers: the sepals vary in colour from pale- to dark pink with a prominent green 'rib' on their outer surfaces, and they are green-veined on the inner surface. The triangular petals are much smaller than the sepals and sometimes have dark reddish swellings (auricles) towards the base. The lip is a rich velvety dark brown and its shape is noticeably square. Square 'shoulders' at the base of the lip vary in size and are often hairy. The speculum (mirror), which is extremely variable in colour and patterning, radiates from a semi-circular 'necklace' that surrounds the column.
The Late Spider-orchid belongs to the Ophrys genus. Its Latin name derives from the words 'focus' and 'flos' meaning 'bee-flowered'.
There are no subspecies, but there is such considerable range of colour and patterning of the lip as to invite numerous suggested variations, notably Ophrys fuciflora var. flavescens which lacks colour pigmentation and has white sepals and petals, a greenish lip with very faint markings. Two hybrids are recorded, Ophrys x albertiana is a hybrid with the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, while Ophrys x obscura is a hybrid with the Early Spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/oph...
Ophrys fuciflora
Friday 23rd June 2023
Last day of the week, and if I am honest, beginning to feel a little bit better after suffering more than I'd like to admit since knacking my back before going to Svalbard.
This was the first time I have felt sure on my feet since then, happy and confident as my brain ordered them plates to climb a down, and they obeyed and I didn't feel like I was going to come tumbling back down.
But before all that, there was work. And putting out the bins.
Jools went to yoga, so was on bin duty. Made a second coffee and made ready for work.
My colleagues are travelling this weekend, both going to Taiwan, meanwhile I will have an online audit on Tuesday. My audits are loaded to the second half of the year, so for now I try to make sense of our planning "tool", and try to make sense of the chaos.
Its different chaos from the usual general chaos.
I have chosen to pick a fight with someone two corporate levels above me, mainly because I am right and they're not. And because, what the fuck?
Anyway, the morning was spent swapping messages as they were too busy for a call. And is going on holiday at the end of the day.
So I throw a few grenades over the wall before signing off, and smiled to myself.
Jools returned at half one, changes and we go out. It was a glorious afternoon, she was going to go swimming in the harbour, and I was going to meet Graham and look for orchids.
An orchid.
Jools said not to hurry back, so I wouldn't. Within reason.
Drove to Wye where I was to meet Graham, before I got in his car and we drove to another down.
Last week two people posted shots of a rare "yellow" form of a Late Spider, and after some detective work, I decided it was at the site we were about to explore. I had not been here before, and Graham had found it only a few weeks back, where he saw maybe 15 spikes.
We had to limbo under a fence, go along a track then up the down, where we saw the first Late Spiders.
In huge numbers.
And monster spikes too, one with 10 (ten) flowers, and many with unusual lip markings, colouration and one with a yellow spike.
And the spikes kept showing all up to the top of the down, but the orchid we came to find, we did not see.
Two hours passed, and I had to go to pick up Jools, so we walked back down to Graham's car, so he could run me to ours, then back along lanes to Stone Street and the short run to the motorway and to home.
Jools had met an old friend and they had talked for over an hour, so no worries on keeping her waiting.
We went back home, getting back at quarter past five, so time to feed the cats, and get ready for the quiz. Meanwhile, Jools went to collect a Chinese takeaway, so that when the quiz was done, I would be collected and we would go to Jen's for dinner and cards.
ylv is still here, and running interference. She means well, but chaos follows here. Everywhere.
We eat well, then after packing away, we play cards, taking two hours to get through a game of Meld, as Sylv is poorly organised she seems just to stare at her cards. Jools helps here twice, and she wins the hands as a result.
But not John, it was too late for a hand of Queenie. So we went home.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classed as Vulnerable in the Red List of threatened orchids, the Late Spider-orchid is one of Britain's rarest orchids. It is now restricted to a few sites in Kent, where many of the plants are protected by cages to prevent damage by grazing animals and other predators. Like its close relative the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, Ophrys fuciflora has evolved to mimic the form of a pollinating insect, and this facilitates pollination. Interestingly, the particular species of bees that pollinate Late Spider-orchids on mainland Europe do not occur in the UK, and so what little pollination takes place here must be facilitated by other insects, possibly small beetles. Seed-set is very low, and the likely factor which saves the small populations of Late Spider-orchids in Kent is that fully developed plants live for a long time and therefore only a small number of new plants are required annually in order to keep the population stable. The Late Spider-orchid flowers from late May to late July. Ophrys fuciflora is widespread in other parts of Europe from France eastwards to Romania and south to Italy.
Plant: 5-30cm.
Leaves: 3-5 lanceolate leaves form a basal rosette of which the lower leaves lie flat on the ground. They are greenish-grey and prominantly veined. There are 2-3 smaller, more pointed leaves higher up and loosely sheathing the stem.
Bracts: lanceolate and grey-green.
Flowers: the sepals vary in colour from pale- to dark pink with a prominent green 'rib' on their outer surfaces, and they are green-veined on the inner surface. The triangular petals are much smaller than the sepals and sometimes have dark reddish swellings (auricles) towards the base. The lip is a rich velvety dark brown and its shape is noticeably square. Square 'shoulders' at the base of the lip vary in size and are often hairy. The speculum (mirror), which is extremely variable in colour and patterning, radiates from a semi-circular 'necklace' that surrounds the column.
The Late Spider-orchid belongs to the Ophrys genus. Its Latin name derives from the words 'focus' and 'flos' meaning 'bee-flowered'.
There are no subspecies, but there is such considerable range of colour and patterning of the lip as to invite numerous suggested variations, notably Ophrys fuciflora var. flavescens which lacks colour pigmentation and has white sepals and petals, a greenish lip with very faint markings. Two hybrids are recorded, Ophrys x albertiana is a hybrid with the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, while Ophrys x obscura is a hybrid with the Early Spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/oph...