Orchid Summer: In Search of the Wildest Flowers of the British Isles

by Jon Dunn

Overview

A heady celebration of the beauty and history of the wild orchid species of the British Isles, embraced in one glorious and kaleidoscopic summer-long hunt by naturalist Jon Dunn

From the chalk downs of the south coast of England to the heathery moorland of the Shetland Isles, and from the holy island of Lindisfarne in the east to the Atlantic frontier of western Ireland, Orchid Summer is a journey into Britain and Ireland's most beautiful corners. The flowers that are the focus of this treasure hunt are exquisite and diverse. Some resemble insects and develop scents that mimic the smell of a virgin female wasp in order to lure male wasps to sample their unsatisfying charms. Some tower above the surrounding vegetation; others are vanishingly small and discrete. Some are sweetly scented; others smell of ripe billy goats. Some can be readily found but some will prove more elusive – none more so than the last to flower, the rarest of them all, the ghost orchid…

Capturing the intoxicating beauty of these rare and charismatic flowers, Orchid Summer is also an exploration of their history, their champions, their place in our landscape and the threats they face. Combining infectious enthusiasm and a painterly eye with a deep knowledge that comes from a lifetime's passionate devotion to their study, Dunn sweeps us up on his adventure, one from which it is impossible not to emerge enchanted and enriched.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408880906
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	03/08/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jon Dunn is a natural-history writer, photographer and tour leader based in Shetland, who travels worldwide searching for memorable wildlife encounters. A childhood exploring the water meadows and abandoned orchards of the Somerset Levels and the droves and ancient woods of Dorset's Blackmore Vale spurred a lifelong passion for all things natural history based. His Shetland home features otters on his doorstep, and summer evenings watching porpoises from the kitchen window. Once stalked by a mountain lion in Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental, he generally prefers experiencing wildlife on his own terms and not as part of the food chain.

jondunn.com / @dunnjons
Jon Dunn is a natural history writer, photographer and tour leader based in Shetland, who travels worldwide searching for memorable wildlife encounters. A childhood exploring the water meadows and abandoned orchards of the Somerset Levels, and the droves and ancient woods of Dorset's Blackmore Vale spurred a lifelong passion for all things natural history based. His Shetland home features Otters on his doorstep, and summer evenings watching porpoises from the kitchen window. Once stalked by a Mountain Lion in Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental, he generally prefers experiencing wildlife on his own terms and not as part of the food chain.

jondunn.com / @dunnjons

Table of Contents

Map ix

1 The first orchid of them all 1

2 Sawfly and the early spiders 15

3 The men, ladies and monkeys of Kent 39

4 Sex, lies and orchid pollination 63

5 An Irish interlude 85

6 The trouble with marsh orchids 101

7 The lady's slipper 125

8 Military manoeuvres 151

9 Butterfly collecting and the fight for the Fens 163

10 Orchid hunting in the simmer dim 183

11 Reptiles and old goats on the Royal St George's 211

12 Highland fling 225

13 Holy helleborines and heavy metal 241

14 To helleborine and back 265

15 My lady's-tresses 291

16 Hunting ghosts, chasing shadows 311

Epilogue 333

Acknowledgements 335

Species list 337

Glossary 339

Notes 347

Index 349