The Small White Orchid.(pseudorchis albida).

Is by the strangest of coincidence a small white Orchid, although probably the largest under discussion in this article.

Standing at around 6 inches or more, it is a grassland species, preferring hay meadows, pastureland and grassy areas, ideally in hilly countryside.

Mainly at home in short turf, during the period of May - July it bears a spike of small flowers from white through to yellowish green, carrying a faint scent of vanilla.

The Bog Orchid.(hammarbya paludosa).

Must then be the smallest, at only 2- 3 inches high, and having a liking for very wet ground, it is most likely to be found growing on a cushion of Sphagnum.

It is very probably overlooked amongst its surrounding plant life.

Unusually for an orchid, the lip of the 2-3 mm dia. greenish yellow flower on this species is placed at the top, and not at the bottom, as is common amongst most of the orchid family.

It flowers July - September

The Fen Orchid.(liparis loeselii).

Is one of the rarest, found in fenland in three clearly defined areas of the country. The fenlands of East Anglia, South Wales and North Devon.

In the former region, sadly it is declining because of drainage and disturbance of the wetland areas.

In Wales and Devon it is to be found growing mainly in the areas of marshy ground generally located behind the sand dunes, and it seems that these areas may well be more suited to it than the fenlands after which it is named, as especially in Wales, it would appear to be on the increase.

In the west of the country the two leaves which the plant possesses are broad and blunt and the plants so formed fall into a separate variety called "ovata".

Like the Bog orchid, both varieties possess something not normally associated with British orchids, in that they have a set of two pseudobulbs at their base.

The lax inflorescences bear yellowish-green flowers during May - July.

The Musk Orchid.(herminium monorchis).

In Britain, the Musk Orchid is at the most northerly extremes of its preferred environment.

Consequently it has made its home on the warmer chalk and grasslands of our southern counties.

At around 6 inches tall at the end of June it produces a spike of 20 to 30 bell shaped yellow - green flowers, with a deeply lobed appearance.

The flowers produce a copious amount of nectar, smelling not of musk. but of honey.

Creeping Ladies Tresses.(goodyera repens).

This is a pinewood species, and it is in remnants of The Great Caledonian Forest where you are most likely to come across this Orchid.

It is again around 6 inches tall, and within the large open spaces which a mature natural pinewood develops this plant thrives, it is a plant of the northern parts of England and Scotland, although curiously enough, it seems to have taken a foot-hold within the pine forests which have been created in North Norfolk, presumably introduced at the same time as the seedling trees from Scotland.

It is not entirely confined to the pinewood, sometimes appearing in mixed pine and birchwood, and will endure amongst heather and heathland shrubs.

The name "creeping" is from the plants habit of sending out long runners, through the pine needled forest floor, which bear upright flowering spikes of around 4 inches tall with around 10 to 14 white scented flowers per spike, There is no spur to the flower, and the lip is unlobed, with a grooved end which folds over at its tip, flowering season June - August.