Autumn Lady's Tresses

Autumn Lady's Tresses Spiranthes spiralis (Fr. Spiranthe d'automne) is a species of orchid. The scientific name translates as 'spiral flowered spiral'. Fair enough...

There are around 40 species of Spiranthes around the world, of which four are found in Europe. Most of them are native to the Americas, but there are a few in Australasia too.

Autumn Lady's Tresses grow on chalk and calcareous soil in open dry habitats. Typically you would find it in abandoned unimproved pasture, grassy slopes, stable former terraces on calcareous land, roadsides, old lawns (especially those that also host a wide range of fungi such as Hygrocybes), and lawn cemeteries. Although it generally prefers open areas, it can also be found on the edges of woodlands, like the ones in these photos. 

This species is widespread in France but uncommon and localised. It flowers at the end of the growing season and this may limit how far north its distribution extends and at what altitude it can be found, as snow will inhibit the germination of seeds.

Because of its small size (at most 20 cm high) and discreet colouration it is often overlooked. If you do spot it though it is easy enough to identify, because of the distinctive spiral arrangement of the flowers. The leaves and the flowers appear at the same time, in late August and early September. A rosette of four or five leaves will be formed, and the flower stalk will appear from just beside the leaves (not from the middle of the rosette). The spiral of flowers can be clockwise or anticlockwise.

 

Ingrid aims her big lens at a tiny orchid.

The tiny flowers, if you can get down that far, are sweetly scented and provide nectar to attract diurnal insects. The visitor in my and Ingrid's photos is a Great Banded Furrow Bee Halictus scabiosae (Fr. Halicte de la scabieuse), easy to identify because of its two tone yellow abdominal bands. The white flowers of the orchid are only 5 mm in length and surrounded by bracts covered in dewy hairlike glands. 

Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter.

Like most orchids it has a strong symbiotic association with a mycorhizal fungus for exchange of nutrients.

Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter.

These photos were taken last year in the commune of Bossay sur Claise.