Country diary: A tiny orchid with mighty powers of deception | Oliver Southall

Wolstonbury Hill, West Sussex: The fly orchid looks like no fly I've ever seen - its target insect is a wasp. And if you see one being pollinated, you're one up on Charles DarwinMany British orchids are named for their animal or humanoid appearance. List some and you have all the characters for a nursery-rhyme tale of transformation and trickery: lady, frog, man, fly and spider. Today's protagonist is the fly orchid (Ophrys insectifera), a subtle conjuror of alternate realities and a plant I'm fortunate to encounter yearly on my local South Downs hill. Favouring the dappled interface of chalk grassland and woods, it flowers here from mid-May. It's hard to spot amid the bugle, wild marjoram, agrimony and dock, but once I have my eye in, I find upwards of 20 plants.While they look like no fly I've ever seen, the tiny blooms do have an uncannily insectile appearance. This is mostly down to a special petal, the labellum, which is minutely modified for luring in pollinators. Up close, I can see how its edges are curved back just so, a sleight of folding which gives the illusion of volume. An iridescent blue patch at its centre suggests the sheen of folded wings. Continue reading...