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Here is a few photos of the Pyramidal Orchids I saw in north-east Leicestershire yesterday.  

Here is a few photos I have taken over the last month or so of the Orchids you can see in Vc 55 (Leicestershire and Rutland). First up is Bee Orchid and Pyramidal Orchid . These two species were actually photographed on a Leicester city park yesterday and I counted at least 28 Bee Orchids and 8 Pyramidal Orchids occurring at this site! Bee Orchid Pyramidal Orchid   Another shot of a Bee Orchid Another shot of one of Pyramidal Orchids            

Over the weekend I took part in the mini bio-blitz at Ketton Quarry LRWT with the Pork Pie posse, Skev, the Llama and Adrian Russell. Flora highlights I saw on and around the reserve included up to thirty Bee Orchids ,and good numbers of Common Spotted Orchids and Common Twayblade . Just before getting to Ketton I also checked out the road verges near South Luffenham and found 289 Pyramidal Orchids spikes, a couple of Common Spotted Orchids and two Knapweed Broomrape spikes.

Greater Knapweed near Saltby Saltby Airfield outcrop Two photos of the rare form Var.chlorantha Bee Orchid Over the last few days (Saturday and Yesterday)I have been completing a few plant surveys for the "Life on the Verge" wildflower project (see the Link). The areas I have checked out included near Pickworth in Rutland and around Saltby Village in Leicestershire. Although I'm a bit of novice when it comes to identifying most wildflowers, the guide supplied by the project helped greatly. The highlights I found included small numbers of Bee Orchids,Southern Marsh and Common Spotted Orchids at Pickworth and Pyramidal and Bee Orchids at Saltby. At the nearby former RAF Saltby airfield I also checked out the limestone outcrop here and to my surprise I found the best bit of Limestone flora I have ever seen in Leicestershire!! Highlights here included a record count of over 170 Bee Orchids and the cherry on cake for me was finding a single plant of the rare form Var.chlorant...