July 25, 2006
Haut Jura - plants
To escape the heat and the crowds on the 14th July holiday weekend, I joined Yves Massin for a weekend of walking, camping and butterfly watching in the Haut Jura (primarily in the Foret de Risoux). Fortunately Yves knows his plants much better than I do, and was able to identify many of the interesting specimens (mostly orchids) that we saw.
A tiny Black Vanilla Orchid (Orchis vanillé) with Ringlet sp.
Common Twayblade (Listère à feuilles ovales)
A past-its-best Heath Spotted Orchid (Orchis tacheté)
Lesser Butterfly Orchid (Orchis à deux feuilles), the only individual we saw.
Royal Helleborine (Epipactis sanguin)
Round-headed Orchid (Orchis globuleux)
The attractive Martagon Lily (Lys martagon) was scattered throughout the forest.
In the damp areas adjacent to the Lac des Joux were many Marsh Helleborines (Epipactis des marais)
Fragrant Orchids (Gyymnadenie à long éperon) were common throughout - this one is garnished with a Yellow-winged Darter.
We saw several parasitic broomrape (orobanche) growing close to the bases of conifers.
