Orchid returns after 27 years

MARSH orchids are flourishing in Henley again after disappearing nearly 30 years ago.

A group of 13 Southern marsh orchids (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) has flowered in Marsh Meadows, an area managed by Greener Henley’s wildlife group.

It is the first time in 27 years that the species has been spotted there.

In 2021, a single Southern marsh orchid grew in a different part of the meadows but it did not reappear last year.

Sally Rankin, who leads the group, said: “An old friend of mine said that she remembered orchids growing here so I was always hoping that they would return. Now they have and I can’t believe it.

“I have been waiting 27 years for them to reappear. They are the first marsh orchids I have seen in Henley and I have lived here since 1987.”

The orchid, which has pink or purple flowers, thrives in chalky, damp soil and flowers in May, June and July. According to the Wildlife Trust, Southern marsh orchids have disappeared from 20 per cent of their historical range due to changing agricultural practices and the draining of damp pastures.

Part of Marsh Meadows has been managed by Henley Wildlife Group since it obtained a licence agreement from the town council in September 1995.

At that time, the area was mown every two or three weeks.

Now plants including meadowsweet, meadow crane’s-bill, trefoil and great burnet grow around three pools.

Volunteers from the group meet once a month to remove invasive species such as Himalayan balsam or nettles which would otherwise engulf the site.

Ms Rankin is not sure why the orchid has returned.

She said: “It is possible that the seed has persisted in the soil. Orchids are associated with a mycorrhiza, a type of fungi like some trees and they need mycorrhiza to be able to grow.

“So whether the more natural management has allowed the mycorrhiza to recover, or whether the orchid’s seed is incredibly fine so it can get blown around, I don’t know. The nearest marsh orchids I know of are in Medmenham.

“That’s quite a long way away and it would be pretty exceptional to bring it all the way here when you think of all the other places the seed could get dumped in the process.

“It’s very hard to say but it’s just amazing that nature’s giving them back to us.” Lex Volkes, a conservation officer at the town council, who works with the group, said: “There’s a lot of misconceptions about how orchids germinate.

“You can transplant them but to grow them from seed you need the network in place. Whatever we’re doing here is allowing the network to grow.”

The group is currently waiting to see the results of putting in marsh lousewort, a parasitic plant which will feed on the reeds.

Mr Volkes said: “We put the seed down a couple of years ago and it’ll come up this year so there will be an opening to the pond forming. It leaves an open space for other species to prosper.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of Pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) have bloomed outside the Fairmile Cemetery after the town council decided not to mow the area. 

Mr Volkes said: “The council has changed the Fairmile cutting plan to allow for more wildflowers to grow. An area outside of the cemetery was also left as I had recognised it had a good number of pyramidal orchids growing.

“The total I counted on a walk in areas left uncut outside the cemetery and along Fair Mile was 460. In previous years these would have not been able to flower.”

The orchids, which grow on chalk grassland, flower in June and July and attract a range of butterflies and moths. 

For more information about the Greener Henley wildlife group, email Mrs Rankin at s.rankin@btinternet.com