Autumn Lady's-tresses close to home

North Oxfordshire, sitting on ironstone and clay, is not rich in orchids.  The nearest reliable sites from Hook Norton are more than 15 miles away.

Well that has all changed - ok, just a bit.  Last year the joint vice county recorders for Northamptonshire, found a single plant (?) of Autumn Lady's-tresses in Banbury (it's in the administrative county of Oxfordshire but the botanical vice-county of Northamptonshire, so they weren't trespassing).   A  mere 11 miles from Hooky, I went to the site yesterday to see for myself.  Its on an industrial estate to the east of the town centre which was part of the expansion of Banbury alongside the M40. 

There were 6 flowering spikes in all, though one was damaged, on a landscaped road verge, which fortunately had not been mowed for two or three weeks.   Only in the one place though possibly because other verges are kept mown rather more regularly.   My priority now is to try to convince the owners and maintenance contractors to restrict mowing until after tha plants have fruited.