The orchid “Lady's slipper”. Photo credit: Bodo Schackow / AFP / Profimedia
A rare orchid, whose species was about to disappear from the United Kingdom, was first observed in the wild after a break of almost a century, thus rewarding long efforts to conserve nature, several experts in this field announced on Tuesday, Agerpres reports.
The orchid “Lady's slipper”, in the form of a yellow and purple petals, had the reputation of a missing species at the beginning of the 20th century in the United Kingdom, after becoming the victim of the excessive harvest associated with the enthusiasm of the general public in the Victorian era (1837-1901).
But in 1930, a lonely flower was seen in an isolated place in the Yorkshire Dales Park, located in northern England. Her location was kept in secret, and teams of volunteers succeeded themselves to avoid the flower from being stolen.
For the first time since that discovery, almost a century later, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and other nature conservation associations have detected a new orchid in a place to reintroduce the species in June 2024.
Two years ago, this organization received a subsidy from Natural England, the public body in charge of protecting the environment, in order to increase these orchids and then replant them in regions adapted to their specificities.
“The fact of seeing a healthy population of the lady's slipper returning to her origin region and being able to reproduce gives us a real hope for the future,” said Jono Leadley, who manages this project for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
DID YOU CATCH US ON @Channel4news Last Night? 🌼
After Decades of Work, One of Britain's Rarest Wildflowers is back in the Wild for the First Time in Nearly 100 years – Thanks to @Yorkswildlife!
📺 Skip to 48:48 to watch: https://t.co/rohgbyo9eb pic.twitter.com/2fentqpno3
– The Wildlife Trusts (@wildliferusts) June 3, 2025
Efforts to recreate a sustainable population of this rare flower began in the 1990s, especially at the Kew Gardens Royal Botanical Garden.
A public appeal was launched then to recover the few orchids of wild origin and belonging to private people, in order to try to reproduce them.
“The attempt to save the orchid of the lady's slipper in England is one of the conservation projects carried out by the Royal Botanical Garden for several years,” said Mike Fay, coordinator of the Kew Gardens research department.
