Strange Frog Orchid!

Howard's strange Frog Orchid

Botanist Howard got in touch to tell us about a rather strange Frog Orchid he found while out plant-hunting.

Over to Howard:

"A recent attempt to extend the known range of Field Gentian Gentianella campestris on the wider Ingleborough massif, ended up counting instead many Frog Orchids Dactylorhiza viridis. 

"It was while surveying on Over Pasture (Compartment 31 of the Ingleborough NNR) that I came across a most unusual specimen. 

"After blinking a couple of times it quickly became clear—no, I was not suffering double vision. The plant in question had a normal stem for the first few centimetres, then bifurcated into two perfectly healthy looking spikes".