What are hardy orchids?

The particular enthusiasm for orchids within the wider world of plants is so extreme that people often seem to be obsessed with them. Orchid mania, orchid fever and orch-idiot are just some of the terms employed. No-one really knows why there is such an attraction, but it probably has to do with the complex, rather mysterious, sometimes anthropomorphic nature of the flowers.

 

Orchids are the world’s largest plant family with an estimated 25,000 or more different species. Everyone is familiar with the colourful houseplant orchids sold in supermarkets and garden centres. These are what one might loosely call “tropical” orchids. They are epiphytes that grow on the surface of tree branches in the rainforests, high above ground. More than a hundred thousand artificial hybrids have also been made commercially from these species.

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Hardy orchids, though from the same family, have a quite different lifestyle. They grow in the ground, mostly in temperate regions of the world, and are frost hardy. There are many genera of such orchids throughout Asia, Europe, North & South America, Southern Africa and Australia. It comes as a surprise to some people that we have wild orchids in the U.K. In fact there are some 52 hardy orchid species that are native here. Europe has most of the same species plus considerably more as well.

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I will be referring only to hardy orchids throughout this website. A good field guide to the British orchids is the book: “Orchids of Britain & Ireland: A field and site guide" by Anne & Simon Harrap (see Further Information).

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Latin & Common Names of orchids

 

I refer to many individual orchid species in this website and mostly use the Latin name, so here is a list of them with their common English names:

 

Anacamptis laxiflora / Loose-flowered orchid

Anacamptis morio / Green-winged orchid

Anacamptis pyramidalis / Pyramidal orchid

Cypripedium calceolus / Lady’s slipper orchid

Cypripedium reginae / Queen’s slipper orchid

Dactylorhiza elata / Robust marsh orchid

Dactylorhiza foliosa / Madeiran orchid

Dactylorhiza fuchsii / Common spotted orchid

Dactylorhiza incarnata / Early marsh orchid

Dactylorhiza maculata / Heath spotted orchid

Dactylorhiza majalis / Broad-leaved marsh orchid

Dactylorhiza praetermissa / Southern marsh orchid

Dactylorhiza purpurella / Northern marsh orchid

Dactylorhiza viridis / Frog orchid

Epipactis gigantea / Chatterbox orchid

Epipactis palustris / Marsh helleborine

Epipactis veratrifolia / Scarce marsh helleborine

Goodyera repens / Creeping lady's tresses

Gymnadenia conopsea / Fragrant orchid

Herminium monorchis / Musk orchid

Himantoglossum hircinum / Lizard orchid

Neottia ovata / Twayblade

Ophrys apifera / Bee orchid

Ophrys lutea / Yellow bee orchid

Ophrys sphegodes / Early spider orchid

Orchis coriophora / Bug orchid

Orchis mascula / Early purple orchid

Orchis sancta / Holy orchid

Platanthera chlorantha / Lesser butterfly orchid

Serapias lingua / Tongue orchid

Spiranthes spiralis / Autumn Lady's tresses

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