Bee Orchid: I think that, if there is one plant that everybody wants to see during the warm summer months, the bee orchid.
It has been years since Bee Orchids have bloomed at penny and this yaer I have counted 20n spikes. It is something of a mystery how bee orchids can disappear for years, and then miraculously reappear. .
It is puzzling until you know a wee bit about its life cycle. The seeds of orchids are tiny and, unlike the seeds of other plants, they contain almost no food reserves. Their seeds do not germinate until they become infected with a soil-dwelling fungus known as mycorrhiza.
Most of the fungi in this group are saprophytic, that is they live on the organic remains of plant material that is present in the soil (humus). More rarely the mycorrhizal fungus can be parasitic, as in the case of early purple orchid and the Lady’s slipper the mycorrhiza, belong to the group of fungi known as the Honey Fungi.
Once the seeds have been infected with the appropriate mycorrhiza, germination and development are very slow. Leaves may not appear until the second, third or even subsequent years.
The variety in appearance can be considerable with differences sepal colour, from electric pink to a much softer pastel pink. The shape of the head and pattern on the labellum can be vastly different from one individual to another.
Yet they are all the same species.
