A year ago, The Diary was moved by Ardnamurchan's wonderful display of wild orchids and the difficulty of identifying them to lump the whole lot under a new species, Dactylorhiza ardnamurchensis (post here). This was the product of pure ignorance and laziness, for which The Diary apologises.
To make matters worse, last year does not, after all, seem to have been exceptional. Despite the errant weather in May, certain fields and some roadsides are, once again, a mass of these delicate flowers, so beautiful that June around here needs to be remembered as Orchid Month.
Mid to late June sees the flowering of four species of orchid around Kilchoan. The most noticeable, on account of its stunning magenta colour, is the Northern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza purpurella (above). The first one appeared in the grass verge near the gate of Meall mo Chridh but more flowered later along the roadsides in Kilchoan itself - many of which, sadly, have since been mown down by the Council - in fields above the road in Ormsaigbeg and between The Ferry Stores and the slipway. As well as the distinctive colour, it is characterised by broad green leaves, a compact head, and a diamond-shaped lower lip to the flower.
The the flowers of the Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, appear in pale lilacs through to whites, with darker spots in a variety of patterns and shades. The lower lip of the flower has three prominent, pointed lobes, and the leaves are often but not always spotted, the spots being broad across the leaf (see picture below). It is in this species that impressively high cylindrical flower heads can be found. While its name suggests it should be the most plentiful, it doesn't appear to be: the few good examples this year have been found in the croft fields of Ormsaigbeg.
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