12/8/26 #Spain - My first total solar #eclipse and hopefully not my last! An absolutely mindblowing experience and a joy to share with the great company of my good friends at @mariposanature.bsky.social and guests

Epipogium aphyllum, the Ghost #orchid. An amazing experience, and something I never thought I'd see. With great thanks to @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social

Tour update 🚨 More bookings made y'day mean our spring 2027 orchid tours are filling up. Just 2 places remain available to join @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social & Dave Fairhurst for the superb Orchids of Crete - nearly 60 species were recorded by our 2026 group! www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Despite the recent drought many members of the Asteraceae or daisy family are looking just splendid. Perfect for this week’s #WildflowerHour! See if you can find one & share your pics this Sunday evening 8-9pm using the hashtag #DaisyFamily. Happy Asteraceae hunting!

Ghost #Orchids (Epipogium aphyllum) galore from several sites across #France including a trio that featured as part of the tour I led for @mariposanature.bsky.social with @dunnjons.bsky.social They have struggled due to drought and heat, especially in the Alps with many no shows at reliable sites

Roger - you look like you've seen a ghost!

Today was Blue Monday, in the very best of ways, with seven species of gentian seen in flower here in the French Alps with the @mariposanature.bsky.social tour I'm co-leading with @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social.

3/8/26 #France - Live from the field at nearly 3000m we find one of the most special #alpine wildflowers - Black Genepi (Artemisia genepi). Used as a flavouring, especially in spirits and ice creams it is a sought-after herb. Seen leading for @mariposanature.bsky.social

If there's more fun to be had than wandering around a mountaintop with friends looking for alpine wildflowers, I'd very much like to know about it. Today was another enjoyable day with the @mariposanature.bsky.social group I'm co-leading with my good pal @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social.

2/8/26 #France - Halfway through our Summer #Orchids of the #Alps tour and it has been a fine day botanising at altitude; many fine finds including Dactylorhiza viridis, Gentiana verna, Saxifraga oppositifolia and Soldanella alpina. Leading with @dunnjons.bsky.social

So, after fourteen years, we finally meet, ms Ghost. #Orchid

Well, hello you. First full day of the @mariposanature.bsky.social Summer Orchids of the French Alps tour, and we saw our first three Ghost Orchid, including this rather fine example. Massive credit to my co-leader, @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social for all his hard pre-tour work in the field.

29/7/26 #France - Our First Summer #Orchids of the French Alps tour has kicked off and we have already bagged our first rarity, this fantastic #helleborine Epipactis albensis (syn. Epipactis fibri) near the banks of the Rhône @mariposanature.bsky.social

28/7/26 #France - Ghost #Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum) and a trio of Vanilla #Orchids (Gymnadenia austriaca syn. Nigritella austriaca) resplendent in the French Alps. One of the most important pre-tour recces I have ever carried out, due to the heatwaves throughout the year @mariposanature.bsky.social

19/7/26 #Lancashire - Watching the F1 this afternoon, we were disturbed by loud buzzing at the open window. The culprit was this utterly magnificent beast, the Giant Horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus). She was duly released after a few photographs and I wish her all the best 🥰

13/7/26 #Cumbria - After seeing a lot of cooked helleborines in the Midlands, I didn't have high hopes for the Tyne Helleborines (Epipactis dunensis ssp tynensis) on the banks of the South Tyne. They're a touch early, but pleasingly in great condition 🥰 #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

13/7/26 #Cumbria - With perfect weather and no football on this evening, I had the perfect excuse to get out. The highlight by far was this magnificent Bog #Orchid (Hammarbya paludosa), a real chonker so far as this species goes #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

10/7/26 #Gloucestershire - The Narrow-Lipped Helleborine (Epipactis leptochila) is a Southern speciality in Britain. This lovely plant was the only one still in flower at the sites I visited. 25 years ago I'd have waited until August to look for these #orchids #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

On the way home from Scotland stopped of at Aviemore. Didn’t find what I was looking for but did find 100+ Creepling Lady’s-tresses growing on a roadside verge #ukorchids #wildflowerhour @ukorchids.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @europeanorchids.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

5/7/26 #Cumbria - Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) on #HuttonRoof aren't always "Dark Red". This amazing example is var. albiflora, a particularly rare find with almost pure-white flowers. A great sight for guests of @mariposanature.bsky.social who I was leading for today #wildflowerhour

5/7/26 #Cumbria - The Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) on the limestone pavements of #HuttonRoof never fail to delight. Among my favourites are var. bicolor, or "lemon petal" examples, with fabulous two-tone flowers @bsbibotany.bsky.social @mariposanature.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

4/7/26 #Cumbria - I led a group for the Arnside & Silverdale Natural History Society on the limestone grasslands searching for summer #orchids, and highlights included Frog #Orchids (Dactylorhiza viridis) and Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Pam McInnes @pammcinnes.bsky.social · 2mo ago

#Wildflowerhour A few of the many stunning orchids seen in South Cumbria yesterday whilst out with Arnside Natural History Group led by orchid expert Richard Bate @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social

3/7/26 #Cumbria - Phwoar! The Dark Red #Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) are peaking on the Limestone pavements above Morecambe Bay, in an array of colours! Tomorrow I take Arnside & District NHS out near Kendal and on Sunday it’s a trip up #HuttonRoof for @mariposanature.bsky.social

Had to put on my crampons on and grow my Chris Bonington beard to see the Snowden Lily on Cwm Idwal, worth it in the end. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @panspecieslisting.bsky.social

Help @bsbibotany.bsky.social what on earth is this? I'm in the field without my book. Gymnadenia and Twayblade right beside, but this site also has Spotted, Heath, Bee, Dense, Butterfly, ALT and Pyramidal

Today has been a *good* day here in the Arctic. A close encounter with a favorite of mine, Northern Clouded Yellow. And equally close encounters with further desirables - Arctic, Lapland, Freija's & Frigga's Fritillary; Arctic, Arctic Woodland & Lapland Ringlet; and more still! #butterflies

29/6/26 #Bolton - Coming across these hyperchromic Common Spotted #Orchids was a hugely welcome surprise this afternoon. Blessed with an abundance of pigmentation, they are often described as a varietal form; Dactylorhiza fuchsii var rhodochila #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

29/6/26 #Bolton - #Orchids galore at this former industrial site where an alkaline grassland has been artificially created due to soda ash waste. Marsh Helleborine & Marsh Fragrant Orchids (L) are present in great numbers, as well as the odd Bee #Orchid (R) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

28/6/26 #Lincolnshire - I managed to sneak away from family engagements to an absolutely stellar sand dune complex on the East Coast, where I've never seen so many Marsh Helleborines (Epipactis palustris) #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

@bsbibotany.bsky.social @botanybeck.bsky.social @lizlouise.bsky.social @stevieparsons.bsky.social @withylake.bsky.social @dunnjons.bsky.social @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social Lovely hot but windy afternoon on Braunton Burrows. Marsh Hellaborine was extraordinary!