UNSpecial N° 697 • Juillet - Aôut 2010
A SWISS ORCHID STORY
Early June is the time for Bee Orchids in Switzerland, which are rare but still occur in a number of nature reserves, and a few turn up along roadside verges and other odd places.
However the Swiss propensity for “propre en ordre” (as well as probably more importantly the use of fertilizers in the fields above these roadside embankments) make the survival of these hardy hangers-on precarious.
“Don’t mow, rare plants, thank you”. Who was the Good Samaritan who saved these plants?
Each year we delight in finding a few Bee Orchids, and this year were very happy to see for the first time a rare white variety (Orchis apifera var. basiliensis). This was thanks to some Good Samaritan who had erected a little fence surrounding six orchids with a note “ne fauchez pas plantes rares”. There was also a seventh orchid some 50 cm above the fenced area and this was marked with a stake. This was Monday morning, and the bank, near Trélex, had not yet been mown.
A rare white variety of Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera var. basiliensis in full flower.
Returning to the site in the afternoon, we noticed that the verge had been mown but the little fenced patch had received a reprieve. However the stake next to the “outlier” had been carefully moved next to the ones marking the “square”, so one of the seven orchids got cut. Another plant had disappeared and a third trampled, so five plants, one in a sorry state, remained in a tiny square of longer grass.
While the fact that the people mowing the lawn avoided this little patch was very good, a slightly larger patch could have been left that would have saved all seven plants. Or better yet, why does the verge have to be mown at all, or so early? Leaving the verge with taller grass doesn’t mask visibility for cars, although it does make Switzerland a little less “tidy”. But in this year celebrating biodiversity, perhaps better management of road verges needs to be considered. In Switzerland, a small country where every square metre of land counts, road verges are often the only habitat left for species that once grew where there are now houses, agricultural fields and commercial centres. But many thanks to the unknown person who saved these extraordinary plants from being mown; if anyone knows who he or she is please contact me!