The 1st September marks the meteorological start of autumn and what better piece of nature to share with you than this rather special orchid – the autumn ladies tress.
The tiny white flowers are twisted in spirals around the stem – alluding to a lady’s long hair curled into tresses ie long locks
It is a species of short cropped grassland often on chalk, limestone and sand dunes – it does occur on Dartmoor but is not common and can be hard to find but once you get your eye you tend to see dozens and dozens of them.
These individuals were photographed at Dawlish Warren over the bank holiday weekend.
A Dartmoor blog 