Wild orchid blooms in Dales 100 years after it was declared extinct

THE public are to get the chance to see Britain’s rarest exotic flower in the Yorkshire Dales for the first time, after it was declared extinct in 1917.

The Lady’s Slipper orchid (Cypripedium Calceolus) which was dug up for gardens and collections as early as the 1600s and was sold on Skipton and Settle markets in Victorian times, was thought extinct until a single plant was rediscovered growing at a remote location in the Yorkshire Dales in 1930.

The single flower was fiercely protected and over the ensuing decades, its seeds were slowly introduced in other locations across the country, including the 12th century Kilnsey Park, near Skipton, where the orchid now grows alongside more than 150 species of wildflower.

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Now a six-day festival is being held at the estate next month to allow the public to see the wild plant, which is heavily guarded during its flowering period each year to prevent theft or damage.

Jamie Roberts, managing partner at Kilnsey, said: “We are very excited to be launching the first Wild About Orchids Festival at Kilnsey Park and to showcase the beautiful and delicate Lady’s Slipper, which can be seen here for the first time by the general public.

“We can only pray that the orchid flowers this year.”

The wild orchid festival runs at the estate from June 4 until June 10.