England's National Nature Reserves

Orchids are often featured as special plants when describing nature reserves. The reason for this is that they are often good indicators of high-quality habitat.

There are over 50 species of orchid found in England and many of them are limited in their distribution by a variety of factors such as their relationship with soil living mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal refers to the symbiotic relationship formed between plant roots and a beneficial below ground, network-forming fungus. This fungus, which is essential to the growth of the plant and germination of the seeds of orchids, will only be present in ground that has not had artificial fertilisers and herbicides applied to it.

Some orchids have taken this fungal relationship to the extreme such as the bird’s nest orchid which feeds only on fungi rather than using photosynthesis.

Orchid flowers are very complex like the bee orchid that mimics the size and shape of a bumblebee to attract pollinators.

Orchids to look out for at this time of year are green-winged orchids with their short purple flowers spikes and sepals is lined with green veins and the taller showier early purple orchid. The former is found in old meadows and the latter in ancient woodlands and old hedgerows.