Several Common Spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza fucshii) appeared in Hermitage Field Community Meadow for the first time this year.
The appearance of this intriguing and beautiful flower marks something of a milestone in the development of the meadow. Although Common Spotted-orchids are not rare plants, we were quite surprised to see them start to colonise so early in the life of the meadow.
The orchids have not been deliberately sown or planted as plugs, but the seed may have been present in the seed bank, or drifted in on the wind, or been present in some of the seed collected from local hay meadows.
