Neottia cordata - a photo on Flickriver

Neottia cordata

Day three of the trip, and a long day on the road as we headed north into Northern Ireland to see a tiny weeny orchid.

But just two sites visits meant a later start of nine thirty, and onto the main roads north.

No sunshine today, clouds and the threat of rain later.

Of which more later.

There is no obvious marker at the border. Other than after that point distances are in miles in the north rather than in kilometres in the Republic.

We were having sat nav trouble, and so stopped soon after crossing the border, and I saw this pier perfectly reflected into the loch.

I pointed it out, and we all got shots.

We drove on, and into the misty forested hills, onto narrower and narrower lanes and then onto tracks, until we came to a dead end, overlooked by a bluff.

A short walk away was the edge of a forest, the trees and vegetation standing in mud and acidic water, and here and there were the tiny green oval leaves and red spikes of the tiny Lesser Twayblades.

I thought about my shots and how I should take them, and these were the results.

We walked further on into the woods, and into the realm of the midges, who were very pleased to see us. It was worth going in however, to see Common and Lesser Twayblades growing side by side, sometimes literally.

A rare sight indeed.

Back into the cars and a long drive to the garage and the Irish Subway to get lunch and provisions before going on to a second site, where we would see Sword Leaved Helleborines.

Yay.

We parked in the reserve car park, before walking into it, we had lunch standing up, then into the woods, where the sun even came out.

Along the path we could see spikes of the Helleborines, but not in great numbers, but that was tempered a few strides later when we came across one beside the path in bright sunshine.

We all got shots.

Down the steep path to the shore of a loch, and we were treated to the rare sight of a female White Tailed Fish Eagle a good distance away in a tree, sitting on the nest where a chick had hatched in the past week.

No shots to share, nor location revealed, but to see the head of the eagle in the scope was a rare treat.

And then the rain started.

Hard.

It was a mile hard climb back to the car, and there was no choice other than to grin and bear it, put one foot in front of the other and get up.

The rain came down harder, we were like eight hobbits racing against time, all looking like drowned rats. My knee took the hour off, so I was able to power up and reach the top of the climb, then stumble along the last 400 yards to the car park.

Soaked to the skin.

All of us.

Sean turned the engine on, and then the blowers. We reversed out and made for Sligo and the hotel, all of us steaming as we sat there, while the rain hammered down some more.

We got back at six, just time to change and have a brew before meeting up to walk to a Japanese-Korean fusion place a five minute walk away.

A table had been reserved, so we all sat down, ordered drinks and two courses, and then ate well. I had tempura prawns followed by some kind of chicken drizzled with sauce and vegetables with rice.

It hit the spot.

And so at half ten we walked back in the dark, as the rain began to gently fall again.

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Previously known as Listera cordata, Lesser Twayblade is a very small, perennial plant. Only reaching about 20 cm high, it grows in among heather, moss and under wet woodland trees. From June to August, between five and twelve flowers (2–3 mm) are borne in loose spikes, each little reddish-green flower having a hood and a lip which is forked. There is a single, shiny pair of heart-shaped leaves (hence 'cordata') about one-third of the way up the stem. This is a native plant and it belongs to the Orchidaceae family.

Pollination is effected by flies, beetles, wasps and gnats. Like all orchids, Lesser Twayblade has a relationship with the fungi on which it grows and from which it derives its nutrition until its leaves are formed, after which it gets its food by photosynthesis. Lesser Twayblade also provides nectar to visiting insects who, in turn, pollinate the plant.

www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=4...

Taken on: May 21, 2024

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Neottia cordata

Lesser Twayblade

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Sets appears in: • Other UK and Irish Orchids • Ireland May 2024 more » • May 2024 « less

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