Greater Tongue Orchid- Essex, May 2022

 The greater tongue orchid had been on my mind for quite some time before I thought I knew enough about where it was hiding to attempt to find it in the rough Essex meadow where the colony grows. 

The tongue orchids first were noticed here in 2017, and since then, the colony increased rapidly in size. Few people have found the orchids, and those who do refuse to share the whereabouts of the colony. This is a very rare orchid in the UK- occurring in only three places, the entire UK population is probably less than 200 individuals, and it is listed as critically endangered in the UK. 

I initially wanted to go last year, but ultimately decided to go this year instead. I spend a few months thinking about what I had been able to discover, and then pinpointed a 20m diameter search area. When I went out, I was amazed at how close my guess was when I found it. 

I found the field, but it was completely overgrown with plants, making my task harder. So I began walking in the area I expected them to be. Less than 20 minutes after I started, I found the magnificent colony. There were at least 100 plants in the colony now, and it was highly compressed into what appeared to be a single square meter of field!

I admired the orchids for some time, and took a lot of pictures. Some people claim that there arrived here naturally, a claim convincing enough for Princeton;s wildguides to list it alongside the 'native' orchids. Other claim they were accidentally planted here. Given tongue orchids have occurred naturally in the UK before, should it be proven it was introduced here, it was rather reintroduced to the UK!

As I left the area, I thought to myself- Suffolk small-flowered tongue orchid, where are you hiding??