Roadside Pyramidal Orchids
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Roadside Pyramidal Orchids by Ian Capper as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Roadside Pyramidal Orchids
Image: © Ian Capper Taken: 8 Jul 2008
In the right conditions, Pyramidal Orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) can appear in profusion, and roadside verges in chalk areas often produce these conditions. These ones are on a bank beside the roundabout at junction 8 of the M25, which is where the motorway crosses the North Downs ridge (between junctions 5 and 4, north of Sevenoaks is another site where the distinctive rich pink colour of these orchids brightens up the banks of the motorway, as it starts its ascent back over the North Downs). At this particular point there were almost 200 flowers in a 5 metre stretch of bank, with more at other points around the roundabout. For a close up of some of this group, see Image
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.25958
Longitude
-0.197778