Orchids are among the most recognizable of wild plants. Generally they stand tall and straight with a spike of many flowers. They look exotic to me, some reminiscent of a Japanese pagoda, others remind me of fireworks ready to go off. There are approximately 50 species of Orchid in the UK, many are hard to tell apart fro each other. There are a few listed here:
Orchids
- Botanical Name: Orchidaceae
- Habitat:
Heath Spotted Orchid
Late spring is the time to find Orchids in Scotland, and they are fantastic flowers. Standing tall and erect they look like alien plants that don’t quite fit in. Identifying orchids is a tricky business as there are hundreds of species in the UK. However, the Heath Spotted Orchid is one of the more common ones. If you are out in the hills, walking anywhere over heath land, through peat bogs or marshy areas, this is likely to the Orchid that you see.
Flowering between late may and July, these Orchids vary between white and pink with the pink forming a spotted pattern across the petals . Also look out for the leaves which, like many orchid species are covered in spots. At first its easy to mistake this for some kind of desease, but this is normal.
- Botanical Name: Dactylorhiza maculata
- Habitat: Acid land of heath and bog. I've seen this on mountain sides and within spitting distance of the sea on the west coast of Scotland.
This is a test flower
Test information in here
- Botanical Name: blah blah
- Habitat: lives up a tree
Scottish Plants
Whether its in the hills or the woods, by the sea or on the cairngorms, the subtly of Scotland’s beauty can be found in its plants. The landscape wears them like a taylored suit that fits perfectly whichever way you look at it. In the wild places of scotland platns, animals and landscape form a whole in harmony. And in places where we have had the biggest impact on the environment, we may scare off the animals and quarry out half a hill, but plants still managed to come through.