From: "Joel Wilcox" <jowilcox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 08 August 2004 02:48
Subject: [OM] Re: Common Spotted Orchid
> Hi Graham,
> I appreciate this and my wife will also be interested in this photo. Do
> you find these in the wild or are they under some sort of cultivation?
>
> Under the blooms is a white blob that looks almost like a cotton ball. Do
> you recall what that amounts to?
>
> Joel W.
>
> At 06:30 PM 8/7/2004 +0100, you wrote:
>
> >Out walking I saw a lot of flowers growing in conical spikes like lupins.
I
> >made a mental note to check them out when I got home and was surprised to
> >find that they were common spotted orchids. I am not well up on flowers
but
> >I know the characteristic shape of an orchid and these just didn't fit
the
> >bill. When I was next in the area I went in close to have a proper look.
> >Bingo! Orchids galore.
> >
> >http://www.geebeephoto.com/temp/Olympus/Orchid.htm
> >
> >--Graham
> >
> >
> >
> >==============================================
Joel,
They grow wild and at the particular place I first noticed them they were
all over the place. The white blob is known locally as 'cuckoo spit' because
its' appearance coincides with the arrival of the cuckoo. I have always
known it as cuckoo spit but that is the extent of my knowledge. What follows
is courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society website :-)
'Cuckoo Spit' is very common and is secreted by the immature stages of
sap-sucking insects known as froghoppers, presumably as a means of
protecting themselves against predators.
They can distort growth in young plants but generally do no harm. Gardeners
are probably familiar with them because they affect many garden plants
including chrysanthemum, dahlia, fuchsia, lavender, rosemary, rose and
willow. They can be removed without resorting to chemicals, just hose or
wipe them off.
--Graham
p.s. The lady's slipper orchid is so rare in Britain that it is only known
to exist in a single site in Yorkshire and for a recent article in a
national newspaper they had to get special permission to photograph it.
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