Species - Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula)
Location - Limestone pavement, Ingleborough, Yorkshire Dales
Grid Ref - SD 79302 73092
A stunning Spring plant which loves non-acidic soil and the Limestone Pavements on the slopes of Ingleborough are a perfect place for them to flourish. I first spotted this plant whilst guiding a group around the Yorkshire 3 Peaks last year, but I didn’t know what it was when I first saw it. I suspected it was an orchid of some kind but a week later with another group on the same walk I made sure I knew everything there was to know about this stunning plant, and it even gets a mention in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
“Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples, that liberal shepards give a grosser name, but which cold maids do Dead Men’s Fingers cal”
In the above quote, the "long purple" is Early Purple Orchid of Ophelia's garland, as referred to by Gertrude in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
