The Orchids of Hutton Roof

With updates each year from 2022 to 2025

In memory of Bryan


Remembering Bryan John Yorke (3rd January 1948 - 28th May 2022).

 A hugely knowledgeable but utterly humble man. He loved this area, and enjoyed sharing its natural riches through his informative and delightful blogs. 

They will continue to be available, for reference and discovery.

Thank you, Bryan, for your warmth, wisdom, and wit.



FRONT PAGE AND INDEX

 



I took this photo in 2012 and typical of what you expect of a atrorubens photo: B.Yorke  (Click over to enlarge)


"Flowers of a purple colour (both petal and sepal), flowers to two sides of the stem only, a purple stem, leaves opposite one another by alternatives and which profile themselves at a sharp upright angle etc etc.  But things don't always turn out like that! so please carry on and read these pages and then you may (or may not find) normal even MORE fascinating" One thing is for sure IT IS A EVER CHANGING STORY.......OF BOTH DEVELOPMENT AND INTRIGUE.



These pages have been started to share with you my research notes together with regular reports of what is happening with the beautiful plants the "EPIPACTIS ATRORUBENS" and E. Helleborine's which choose to have their home on Hutton Roof Crags. I am currently collating all the information and including much more on a regular basis (more so during the Orchid season itself, so please keep coming back to check us out.   

It is such a pleasure to share with you photos and information.

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Please click over the indexed items below to go straight to what you want to read 

Click here for Hutton Roof Crags and it's Reserves - A Short history how it got it's status - together with the types of orchid we have and how many are present.  
 
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Click here for help with the Identification of our nationally rare "hybrid" between the Dark Red Helleborine and  the Broad Leaved Helleborine 

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Click here to see the history of the hybrid together with some of the hybrid examples which we have on Hutton Roof. 

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Click here to read and see examples of our Bicolors  

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Albiflora (A pallid form of atrorubens) 
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Pallens and Lutescens (pallid forms of atrorubens) 

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Plants with White or Cream Epichile/Boss etc

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The four natural predators of our orchids  (complete)

***Beware of Ticks (factsheets)

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Lovely Plants - Straight Atrorubens

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Interesting plants to get to the bottom of

Unanswered situations
Interesting unusual specimens
Specimens still not classified and the verdict is out!

Cages and Protection for Orchids

Early Purple Orchid - Gallery (Hutton Roof)

Fly Orchid - Gallery (Hutton Roof)

Common Spotted Orchid - Gallery (Hutton Roof)

Green Winged Orchid - Gallery (Silverdale)

Interesting Orchid Notes 

Diary Pages 2017

Diary Pages 2018

Diary Pages 2019 

Diary Pages 2020

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My beloved Hutton Roof,
A special place for Epipactis and a place where
The straight forward has become the rarity
And the rarity has become the norm.

Rubens or Borines which do you want?
A Schmalhauseneii mix for you Sir!
Today can be the purple wash,
Tomorrow can be the green wash.

But we have some green ovary specials,
With a brownier flower to bear and stare,
Called No.9, 9a,9b,9c and so on and on and on
And away until they are gone!

We have some Lemon Petalled beauties,
Small, mediums and largest and blessed,
Green stems or purple stems we have the mix,
Stunning our pupil since 2014 that’s young

What about a Palens Ma’am,
In Lutescens mix or you can have a green cream flavour,
Both are staring “wimperley” but this is only part
Of a start of something far more special.

Here we have the very first on English soil I am told,
Called “Albiflora” and what a little gem it was
It lacks a lot of colour dear “Albi” green and  white,
I even looked through transparency at some of its sight!

Make a path to the bottom of this hill
Where flowers of purpurea live out their days,
It’s a sort of red wine colour they display some years,
Darker with canopy, lighter with sun.

To my North I can see a Helleborine change
Which is so pale and bright!
Often called a special or by name
Viridiflora’s sight.

(Poem I wrote July 2016)

Odd Diary Snippets for putting on social media as and when required.

 

January 8th 2022

I have today spent my time sorting out this years photos showing the many varieties of E. Atrorubens which we do have on Hutton Roof, Cumbria.
























































































































January 3rd 2022




This is a beauty and one I have given the local nickname "Wheat". We have three "wheats" almost replicated and spread out over my research area. They are probably 200 yards apart from one another and so unusual in the fine colours they show. You may note that with this variety the yellow (or base colour) is not just seen in the shorter petal but it has also made impact on the sepal as well. Also you will find that the sepal does not have that dark purple or red but more of a light red to brown colour. Very attractive bicolored specimen. NOT thought to display any features of hybridization as yet! although I must say it does have some very light green features. To have the contrasting light green, strong yellow and light brown really shows the plant off in a special sort of way.


January 2nd 2022

On the 26th July 2021 I did find a strange looking helleborine which did have some replicated features.



30th December 2021

17d (of which were 17,d,e,f) is a very special specimen and one that has gone darker by its age. It was first found by PMG who kindly told me about it and those days (2017) it was a triplet but since has lost its brothers and sisters in the follow up years up until 2019. Again it is another which is unique with nothing like it anywhere else in the study area. Although it is in a very much swarming area which I have mapped as Specimens 17 with sub names of a,b,c etc this plant now sits solitary and like I said earlier has darkened by age. When I say darkened I dont in this case mean the epichile and boss which have stayed the same, but refer more to the sepal. Like I said its a oddball, because it does not have any notable significance to the way any of the other 17s profiles and their builds. But when you stop and stare at this beauty you soon realise you have something really special. Another considered hybrid. But what on Hutton Roof are not hybrids! (only joking!!)






30th December 2021
We have 6 specimens on my small research plot that have white/cream epichiles and bosses. What do you think the reason behind those specimens standing out in the way they do? Well one thing is for sure they are all bicolors to a degree! and they are all thought to be hybrids. NOW THEN we could go further and say well what about the 11 PALLENS which we are lucky enough to have in our small field they too all have white/creamed or white/creamed and red speckled epichiles and bosses. For obvious reasons I can rule out Bicolor, but you know it has on occasions entered my mind if they too have some hybrid connection (but not for today!). Enjoy for now our CREAM/WHITE EPICHILES and remind me to tell you about a plant that once had a white epichile which today that same plant has a cherry red epichile and boss! (a story for another day perhaps!)

17d
55c
74
33
55?
66

30th December 2021

You might be interested to see the whole of the Specimen 15 family. They consist of parent 15a, 15b, and 15c which are a triplet group and do have protection by wire cage. Then if you go about 10 yards to the South you find 15d and 15e. If we then go back to the main parents and look about 2 yards to the NW of the family group you see the most beautiful 15h which is well hidden with a closeby juniper separating it from the parent. Here are some photos showing the whole family so far recognised or perhaps I should say diagnosed. They are all hybrids of E.atrorubens x E. helleborine. There are still a couple within this diameter field which I am still considerating. It is really good because the builds are so similar in every respect, bunch around the stem, same flower profile, same leaf and same leaf behaviour. Only minor differences! If you were to see this plant anywhere else you would instantly knew where it belonged. A fabulous family I have seen grow from a 2 plant to a 6 plant family. I always used to nickname these has my "Hyancinths"

15d (1st offspring) 2019
15d and 15e (1st offspring) 2021
Parents mums or dads 2014
parent 2015
1st offsprings again 2021
15h 2nd offspring
15h 2nd offspring
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