Wild orchid flourishing in woodland near Ardingly in West Sussex

A company creating “habitat banks”, spaces designed to increase biodiversity, says it hopes that a rare orchid species found growing at its site in West Sussex will spread to neighbouring areas.

As part of its work delivering habitat restoration in line with the government’s Biodiversity Net Gain policy, Environment Bank manages a stretch of woodland near Ardingly.

It was there that a thriving population of early purple orchids, with links to both Shakespeare and Christianity, has been discovered.

Matthew Dodds, associate ecologist at Environment Bank, has spoken glowingly about this “beautiful find”.

“They’re quite strongly associated with ancient woodlands…the habitat bank that we have at Ardingly encompasses a small strip of ancient woodland and that’s where we found the orchids,” he told BBC Radio Sussex.

Mr Dodds explained that the company created “colonisation points” in the hope of expanding this habitat bank.

It is part of the wider aim of restoring habitats – in this case, an orchid which remains quite, albeit not “wildly”, rare.

Environment Bank’s work is funded by the Biodiversity Net Gain policy which requires developers to achieve a 10% minimum biodiversity net gain on any project.

Mr Dodds said: “If the company can’t deliver the biodiversity net gain on the site that they’re developing, then we take the money from them and deliver habitats which are then secured for 30 years on our habitat banks.”

While rare in modern times, this orchid is mentioned in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and also has an association with Christianity.

“They were believed to be the orchid that grew at the bottom of Christ’s cross…which meant that they’ve got little spots on their leaves, and that was thought to be from the drops of blood from the crucifixion,” added Mr Dodds.