Taken yesterday of a hybird Orchis simia x purpurea (Monkey and Lady Orchid cross) at Hartslock BBOWT reserve, Oxfordshire. Just a record shot due to lack of background separation, but it is hard to get a low angle without risk of damaging other plants.
D200, Tamron 90mm @ f/16
(Could probably have opened up a bit, but wanted the whole flower spike sharp)
1/45 sec (hadn't realised the shutter speed was this slow until just now, checking the EXIF. I choose this as it was the sharpest shot I took it the flower, but it was windy and I was hand-holding, so it was a surprise...)
ISO 400
Why is this a hybrid, looks like a standard Monkey orchid to my untrained eyes is it just the size of the spike - I only found one lady orchid spike last year - seemed huge compared to the diminutive monkeys
the 'legs' of the monkey are thicker on the hybrid, the monkey orchid's arms and legs are more pink, and the hybrid's head/bonnet is the same colour as the lady orchid's (instead of a paler pink). And as you have seen, it is also much bigger than a monkey orchid.
Also see:
http://www.neurodvpmt.univ-montp2.fr/ann4/Alain/orchids/simxpurp.html
Below is a message from the warden of Hartslock, that I received when it was forwarded onto the Oxon Wildlife Yahoo Group.
>>>>>>>>
As for the hybrids, yes there are actually about 20 plants that appear
to have originated from the same plant(s) and we have been tracking
their progress for about 3 years until this year when 10 flowered for
the first time, at which point we thought they might be hybrids. This
hasn't been officially confirmed but representatives from both the
BMNH and Kew are visiting this week to take samples and measurements.
Three flowering hybrids were lost to slugs & snails at various stages
of their development and I think we will have lost some of the
vegetative plants nearby due to trampling by careless people.
[ Just to remind visitors that trampling is actually the greatest
threat to the plants at the moment. We encourage people to try to
stick to the marked routes and to watch their feet *very* carefully
and to look out for the white tags that mark each plant. Approach the
slope from the bottom so that it is easier to see both plants and tags
and when you see a nice plant don't just walk towards it - pick you
way carefully, avoiding the vegatative and seedling plants as much as
possible. Thanks. ]
As to the phenology this year, it has actually been quite a late year
- exacerbated by the cold, dry Spring. Lady orchids would normally
open first buds in the last week of April and Monkey would open first
buds in the first week of May. Lady orchid was a week late (and was
joined by the hybrids a week later). One Monkey orchid opened about
this time but really the bulk of Monkeys opened about 2 weeks late.
Since the beginning of May we have had reasonable rainfall and this
has brought the plants on a bit.
Parking has become a big problem since our neighbours decided to put
up home-made 'No Parking' signs. For that reason we do suggest that
people park at the station and walk in (a very gentle, scenic 1 mile)
or if they have to park nearby they should pick a spot that doesn't
obstruct any access gates and leaves plenty of room for farm vehicles
to get by. If groups plan to visit then we'd appreciate it if you
could get in touch first and we can perhaps arrange to open the gates
and allow cars into the first field.
This has been a great year for Monkey orchid plant numbers and spread
of plants too. Not only have we exceeded the previous records and have
405 plants above ground; we have also seen a marked increase in the
number of plants growing outside the main colony in the first and last
fields. :o)
Best wishes,
Chris Raper (Hartslock Reserve Warden - http://hartslock.org.uk/)
>>>>>>
Good effort for handholding, it's hard enough getting a good shot using a tripod. Maybe f16 is overkill, f11 or f8 is probably good enough and would help blur the background a bit more. Quite an unusual orchid, not seen one of these before myself, hybrid or otherwise.
Discussion
4 repliesD200, Tamron 90mm @ f/16
(Could probably have opened up a bit, but wanted the whole flower spike sharp)
1/45 sec (hadn't realised the shutter speed was this slow until just now, checking the EXIF. I choose this as it was the sharpest shot I took it the flower, but it was windy and I was hand-holding, so it was a surprise...)
ISO 400
Why is this a hybrid, looks like a standard Monkey orchid to my untrained eyes is it just the size of the spike - I only found one lady orchid spike last year - seemed huge compared to the diminutive monkeys
Mike
I am not an expert, but...
the 'legs' of the monkey are thicker on the hybrid, the monkey orchid's arms and legs are more pink, and the hybrid's head/bonnet is the same colour as the lady orchid's (instead of a paler pink). And as you have seen, it is also much bigger than a monkey orchid.
Also see:
http://www.neurodvpmt.univ-montp2.fr/ann4/Alain/orchids/simxpurp.html
Below is a message from the warden of Hartslock, that I received when it was forwarded onto the Oxon Wildlife Yahoo Group.
>>>>>>>>
As for the hybrids, yes there are actually about 20 plants that appear
to have originated from the same plant(s) and we have been tracking
their progress for about 3 years until this year when 10 flowered for
the first time, at which point we thought they might be hybrids. This
hasn't been officially confirmed but representatives from both the
BMNH and Kew are visiting this week to take samples and measurements.
Three flowering hybrids were lost to slugs & snails at various stages
of their development and I think we will have lost some of the
vegetative plants nearby due to trampling by careless people.
[ Just to remind visitors that trampling is actually the greatest
threat to the plants at the moment. We encourage people to try to
stick to the marked routes and to watch their feet *very* carefully
and to look out for the white tags that mark each plant. Approach the
slope from the bottom so that it is easier to see both plants and tags
and when you see a nice plant don't just walk towards it - pick you
way carefully, avoiding the vegatative and seedling plants as much as
possible. Thanks. ]
As to the phenology this year, it has actually been quite a late year
- exacerbated by the cold, dry Spring. Lady orchids would normally
open first buds in the last week of April and Monkey would open first
buds in the first week of May. Lady orchid was a week late (and was
joined by the hybrids a week later). One Monkey orchid opened about
this time but really the bulk of Monkeys opened about 2 weeks late.
Since the beginning of May we have had reasonable rainfall and this
has brought the plants on a bit.
Parking has become a big problem since our neighbours decided to put
up home-made 'No Parking' signs. For that reason we do suggest that
people park at the station and walk in (a very gentle, scenic 1 mile)
or if they have to park nearby they should pick a spot that doesn't
obstruct any access gates and leaves plenty of room for farm vehicles
to get by. If groups plan to visit then we'd appreciate it if you
could get in touch first and we can perhaps arrange to open the gates
and allow cars into the first field.
This has been a great year for Monkey orchid plant numbers and spread
of plants too. Not only have we exceeded the previous records and have
405 plants above ground; we have also seen a marked increase in the
number of plants growing outside the main colony in the first and last
fields. :o)
Best wishes,
Chris Raper (Hartslock Reserve Warden - http://hartslock.org.uk/)
>>>>>>
Good effort for handholding, it's hard enough getting a good shot using a tripod. Maybe f16 is overkill, f11 or f8 is probably good enough and would help blur the background a bit more. Quite an unusual orchid, not seen one of these before myself, hybrid or otherwise.
cheers
Sean