The Purbeck coast is spectacular at any time of the year. The orchids are the main attraction in spring (April-June), sea birds are extraordinary in the winter and spring, Adders are spectacular in February, but in July butterflies are king. It is a wonderful thing to keep visiting a habitat to enjoy its flora and […]

We have many flamboyant orchid species but this one is rather low but charming, it unusually has more colour on the reverse of the flowers than on the front. Prosthechea kautskyi is native to Brazil where it grows in the coastal forests of the Mata Atlantica. We have seen similar species in Brazil clothing the […]

Our section with the greatest number of species is the Cool Americas section. This reflects the extraordinary bio-diversity of the mountains of South and Central America. The country withg the greatest number of orchid species is Colombia and this beautiful species is endemic to Colombian cloud forest above 2000m. Authorities describe the species as producing […]

One of our mini-miniatures is back in flower. This tiny member of the Vanda family is just 2cm across and is one of our smallest orchid species. Schoenorchis fragrans comes from the Eastern Himalayas where it grows in warm lowland forest which we know well from visits to Sikkim and Assam. The forest here is […]

Orchid Project followers are always asking about students who have left school and I am delighted to pass on the news that Zoe Barnes has just graduated from Plymouth University with a first in Environmental Sciences. It seems that she spent most of her final year under water (she is now a passionate diver) with […]