Epipactis Atrorubens and More: Pale or Light form Variants

Pale form No.1 (top pavement)

Pallid form No.1 (Helleborine) Variant (2016) - (Click over to enlarge)

2016 Pale form No.1 on top pavement

This is a little beauty and stands at about 16" high and is strikingly light in colour. It matches up with a Pale form description with all areas light green and white/cream with no traces of red or purple. Some may call it Chlorantha. The inner hypochile (cup) is also in this case light green.

This photo shows the brown stalks circled in red which I mentioned earlier
which would be green on a pure "Chlorantha No.1" 2016
(Photo: Bryan Yorke)

The specimen lies deep within a small copse and is in close proximity to Specimen 15 and 16 Schmalhausenii plus other atrorubens. Also within a metre you can find the first of several beautiful specimens of helleborine which are hi-vigour and stand tall. Some of these fall into the straight forward category of Broad Leaved Helleborine but within a small distance (2ft) lies a pair of beauties which qualify for the title of "Purpurea variant" and have that purple throughout.

I also have another couple of very light helleborine specimens on Hutton Roof Crags which meet the criteria of pallid forms.

2017 Update (Pale form or light form North No.1)

Moving on into 2017 and the next photo is of the same plant but you will notice that the plant has regained some colour and looks like it may be reverting back to a "normal" helleborine or "reactivation of its genes".

Pallid form No. 1 Same plant as above in 2017 (Click over to enlarge)

2018 Pale or light form (Top pavement) No.1 - Never showed.

2019 Pale or light form (Top pavement) No.1 - Never showed.

2020 Pale or light form (Top pavement) No.1 - Never showed.

2021 No show presumed no longer with us.

(below) Pale form No.2 (Top pavement)

This is a very nice plant (below) which I found yesterday on Hutton Roof (31st July 2017). It is very pale plant . It is really spaced out between the flowers. By the way of interest is that this plant lies in the middle of "Juniper" and is only about 10 yards NW of the "Pallid form" shown at the top of the page.

Pallid or light form No.2 Nice clean plant found on 31st July 2017 (Click over to enlarge)

That same plant showing close-up - found 31st July 2017 (Click over to enlarge)

2018 Update Pale or light form North No. 2

Stunted growth to a few inches and then dieback - because of severe heatwave drought situation

2019 Pale light form North No. 2

Never came through again since

2020 Pale or light form North No.2

Came through OK, and straightened up by 30th July, but still no flowers.

2021 Update on Pale 2 (Top pavement

Came through with flowers to full maturity.

(below) Pale or light form No.3 - top pavement

Also on the same day I found this very small "light phase" helleborine (below) which is about 10" high and some 30 yards West of the plant shown above. It is within a couple of yards NW from Escarp 11 and 12 and also close to two more "normal" sized helleborines.

Pallid form North 3 - A lovely 10" light phase helleborine found on 31st July 2017
(Click over to enlarge)

Chlorantha or light form no.3 - The same plant close up (Click over to enlarge)

(24th August 2017)

Light phase in E. Helleborine this year has featured two specific plants which have been about 20 yards apart from one another. The tallest plant (Pale or light form No.2- Top Copse) was about 18" tall and was growing through a Juniper bush. The plant to me looked spectacular especially in that its flowers were well separated between the depth and gave the plant a rather special look. I have caged this one to try and save it from predation. Above are photos of the plant in situ and also a close up of the flowers.

The second "Light phase" plant of our E. Helleborines this year was a smaller plant called (Pale form or light form No.3 on Escarp) and this was well protected on all sides by being in the gryke of limestone. This plant stood at about 10" and again showed very pale features. Both areas in question eg: Top Copse and also Escarp have had several light phase flowers over the recent years.

It has already been noted this year that a "Pale form or light form No.1" from last year started to turn back this year with the same plant gaining more colour back to the original. I have also seen this regular with several plants over the recent years. So it is nice to photograph and record these just whilst they are showing well as a "light phase" plant. It will be interesting to see how these two (Pale No.2 and No.3) light forms turn out next year.

2018 Pale form 3 - Not recorded

2019 Pale form 3 - Not recorded

2020/2021 no longer with us

NOW MOVING OVER TO THE LOWER PAVEMENTS WERE WE DO HAVE A FURTHER SEVEN RECORDED PALE FORMS

Pale form No. 1 (low pavement)

(Pale or Light forms)