New Plant Species Found in Cornwall 2022 - Part 2

 This blog follows on from Part 1 showing new species I've found in Cornwall in 2022; species I'd never seen before and growing in the wild. 

There were a few new orchid species found too.

 D. x hallii - Hybrid bewteen Southern Marsh and Heath Spotted Orchids.

This hybrid was very common all around Cornwall where both species commonly grow on road verges. It is typically at least 5 times taller than either parent and may or may not have spotted leaves. The flowers will represent whichever parent donated its ovary to the offspring, in this case, Heath Spotted. Surprisingly, not many have been recorded here before, I suspect, because it takes a while to get used to Dactylorhiza, people shy away from them. In Kent, D. x grandis was the common hybrid, which is between Southern Marsh and Common Spotted Orchids.

 

Gymnadenia densiflora - Marsh Fragrant Orchid

When the Fragrant Orchids were split into 3 separate species, it became apparent that we didn't have any Marsh Fragrant in Kent. I doubt they will ever be found there. There the dominant species is Chalk Fragrant and one needs to ignore the name "densiflora" as Chalk Fragrant can have much denser flowering spikes than D. densiflora actually has. However, the petal shape and lengths are different between the two. Marsh Fragrant has a different look to it and it also smells different. The smell is more like cloves rather than the sweet smell of Chalk Fragrant. The only known Cornish site for them is on MOD land near Perranporth which we visited with permission on a Cornwall Botany Group field trip.

Dactylorhiza praetermissa var. albiflora 

White flowered Southern Marsh Orchid

I've obviously seen thousands of Southern Marsh orchids, but until now, I had never seen an all white flowered form. White flowered forms are quite common in other orchids, but seem rare in this species, so it was a great find, though a week or so past its best. On a privately managed site near Bodmin.

 

Dactylorhiza fuchsii var hebredensis - Western Common Spotted Orchid

Until recently, these were subspecies hebredensis but have since been downgraded by some taxonomists to a variant. However, they do look very different to normal Common Spotted Orchids. They are all diminuitive in size (6-8" average), all pink/purple and are only found here near Tintagel on the north coast cliffs. Common Spotted Orchids are quite uncommon in Cornwall, so I hope to return to try and find the hybrid with Southern Marsh (D. x grandis) later this year.

 

X Dactylodenia evansii -Heath Spotted x Heath Fragrant Orchid

A rare hybrid that I found at Rosenannon Downs where it was a new species for the venue. An easy way to tell this type of hybrid is that they usually have a scent as this one did. Both parents grow here, though the Heath Spotted usually flowers earlier than the Heath Fragrant. However, as evidenced here, there must be a crossover in flowering times in some years.

My last new orchid species was the ever elusive and tiny Bog Orchid. I had tried to find them on my own and failed, even where previously recorded. So I attended another field trip and was guided to them by experts. What struck me was they they are almost invisible and easily trampled. They are light pale green, the exact same colour as Sphagnum Moss upon which they grow. Another challenge is they like it to be very wet. You will sink and get wet feet or lose a welly whilst photographing them. At this site, we found over 80 spikes which was good news indeed. I am sure the hot summer of 2022 worked in their favour for flowering, especially as the stream supplying the bog with water did not dry up.

Hammarbya paludosa - Bog Orchid

 That's it for now. That's a long list of new species for my first year in Cornwall and doesn't include the many new species of rushes, sedges, grasses and ferns that I've found either - I may write one for those too. It proves that a change of location to new soils and habitats can provide a wealth of new species to find. Most counties have very rare or uncommon species, sometimes found nowhere else, seek them out and experience the thrill of finding something new.

Take Care

Dave