[Aran, Aran Islands, Canon EOS 5d mk ii, flower, Inishmore, Irish, orchid, postcard, pyramidal orchid, wild orchid, wildflower, Wild Flower Calendar, winning images, >500 >1,000 views, three features]

This wild Pyramidal Orchid was photographed on a sandy grass verge, by the road side near the airstrip on Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Ireland.

The dense slightly pointy head is typical of this type of wild orchid. As was the location. It is typically found on coastal paths, sandhills and other sandy grassland particularly in lime-rich soils.

Botanical name: ”Anacamptis pyramidalis“.

Wild orchids depend on a special relationship between their roots and certain fungi. (The particular fungus varies with the type of orchid.)

It is thought that the mycelium (thread-like growths through the soil) of the fungus provide nutrients to the tiny orchid seeds. Without the fungus in the soil, the orchid seed will not germinate. Some orchids require the presence of the mycelium throughout their lives some need it only at the time of seed germination.

The mycelium of fungi tend to colonise an area of soil. If they come up against another fungus of the same species they will merge into a single organism. If they come to territory of another species of fungus they will repel each other.

An orchid can produce thousands of tiny seeds, they blow on the wind – but a seed will only germinate if it lands on soil with the appropriate fungus. Hence ground that looks to the human eye like a suitable habitat might have no orchids while a patch nearby may have a huge number.

This is also why there is no point in digging up an orchid to transplant it – unless you also bring a ton or two of the surrounding soil, with it’s mycelium intact, the orchid will wither and die in the new location.

This version of the photograph was cropped square for my Wildflower Calendar, it is also available here cropped 7×5 to suit printing as a Greetings Card.

	Wildflower Calendar	Greetings Card

History of this Image on Redbubble

1. 14th Nov. 2010 This flower photograph uploaded to RedBubble
2. 19th Nov. 2010 featured in: “Endangered or Vulnerable Plants” .
3. 23rd Feb. 2011 featured in: “Closeups in Nature”
4. 8th Mar. 2011 it had been viewed 100 times.
5. 3rd Sep. 2011 one of the top-10 in a group Challenge
6. 4th Sep. 2011 featured in: “Endangered or Vulnerable Plants”
7. 3rd Dec. 2011 Joint winner of November Challenge in the “Endangered or Vulnerable Plants” group
8. 8th March 2012 View Counted reached 500

 
Techie Photography detail:
    Image Mode: Canon Raw
    Lens: EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM zoom (at 70mm),
    Camera: Canon 5d MkII
    Exposure: f16 1/100