Vinny Blood

Lots of fresh Habenaria tridactylites at 1050m above Guimar on Tenerife yesterday 4-12-2025; Gennaria diphylla approaching flowering & Neotinea maculata rosettes appearing. Amazing site, somewhat treacherous. 💜🌋

Day 5 of my #orchid #AdventCalendar

Here is a couple of pics of Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum robertianum).

#OrchidsOfRhodes

Truly nauseating. It's like Infantino is saying "So you thought Blatter was the pinnacle of FIFA corruption? Hold my beer...".

Habenaria tridactylites flowering in an unreachable spot at 2998ft asl on La Gomera today 😃 @orchidvinny.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

2nd day of December so I think 2 pics are justified!

'The Orchid of Light' - Ophrys lucis / Ophrys argolica subsp. lucis.

#Orchids #OrchidsOfRhodes #AdventCalender

Smoky Bracket (Bjerkandera adusta) on oak in the New Forest 25.10.25. The fruting bodies of this species can morph, and are often more bracket-shgaped than this. They were following the contours of the fissured bark in this case. #mushroommonday

Grassland fungi for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildfungihour - Octopus Stinkhorn a.k.a. Devil's Fingers (Clathrus archeri) in the New Forest 25.10.25. Has an affnity for areas of short grass where gorse has been burnt/mulched. Decent numbers this year! #mushroommonday

Forgot to post this from 11th October! A truly magnificent Bearded Tooth (Hericium erinaceus).

Proud to share that our article - Biarum persicum, a new species from Iran, and the resurrection of Biarum platyspathum (Araceae) - has just been published in the Phytotaxa journal!
doi.org/10.11646/phy...
Thank you to Dr. Maruf Balos and Ramiar Majidi for their nice teamwork

Terrific find Andy! 😃

A picture of a small sundew with carnivorous leaves at the base and an orange flower at the top of a short stem. This plant is growing on a lush bed of moss and is covered in early morning dew drops

Endemic to southern parts of Australia, the carnivorous Pimpernel Sundew (Drosera glanduligera) with its lovely orange flower. This one was growing on a lush bed of moss and was covered in early morning dew drops

#ozflora #wildoz #fierceflora #nativeplants #inaturalist #nature

Fantastic to be part of the 2025 Rhodes Odyssey - and seeing this species for the first time (in the wild) was a definite highlight! ☺️

🤣

On the 30th September, after a week of pretty much 12-hour days of DIY (laminate flooring), I took a half day off. Forced myself out of bed at 6 a.m. to visit the New Forest. Well worth it to see and hear this magnificent Red Deer stag bellowing (vaping?) not long after sunrise.

A fresh Comma Butterfly feeding on Choisya ternata in Bournemouth Gardens today. Love the jagged wings!

Lost lives & #Lifelines for today’s #Leptember

I just passed the site these photos were taken on. It’s been destroyed, all habitat scraped away down to dirt.

I must be the only person in the world to even notice or lament the loss of that place & the homes for nature it provided.

It's nice when sometimes the wildlife comes to you. Held out my hand for this male Common Darter - and he appreciated the offer of a warm, sunny perch in the September sunshine ☺️ #odonata #dragonfly

Here's a couple of still shots of the Convolvulus Hawk Moth in Bournemouth today. So fluffy!

I confess I have been a little jealous of those lucky enough to see Convolvulus Hawk Moth following the influx this year. No longer jealous - after seeing this one on my neighbour's fence in Bournemouth today ! 😁😍

Name that orchid…

The encephaloid fruiting body of Cauliflower Fungus (Sparassis crispa). Seems to be a good year for them. New Forest 09.09.25. #fungi

Hare's Foot Inkcap (Coprinopsis lagopus). New Forest 06.09.25. Wonderful how it becomes translucent as it ages!

Three hoverflies from the same genus Volucella - from left to right V.pelucans, V.zonaria and V.inanis.On Pilostegia viburnumoides (a relative of Hydrangea) in Bournemouth Gardens 04.09.25

A few Autumn Lady's-tresses on the Dorset Way verges today, 10 days ago there were none. A nice end to Summer 😃 31-8-2025. @ukorchids.bsky.social @orchidvinny.bsky.social

Out of interest, are the leaf rosettes emerging with the flower spikes? I noticed the leaves are coming through on a damper lawn in Bournemouth - but not on the dry turf in the New Forest.

I'd say it is a pretty normal year for Autumn Lady's-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) at Dawlish Warren NNR. Lots in full flower, many coming through and more to come 😃 19-8-2025. @warrenbirding.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social @rogercharding.bsky.social

A misty and magical sunrise in the New Forest 25.08.25. Perfect to see the main flush of Autumn Lady's-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis). Literally tens of thousands of spikes pushing through the parched turf. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #orchid

Haven't checked this year - will drop in either before or after work this week.

Spiranthes spiralis sunrise - Autumn Lady's-tresses in the New Forest 16.08.25. Thousands pushing through the dry turf and pony poo right now. Most still tight in bud - but some like this with open flower. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Astounding! Love the first photo too 🙂