The Cairngorms Up-Close: Gallery
[CAIRNGORMS UP-CLOSE] [DEEPGREEN.EARTH]
Group: UNCOMMON PINEWOOD HERBS
Creeping lady's-tresses (Goodyera repens)
Where and when encountered: Glenmore Forest Park on 28 July 2023
About: The orchid creeping lady's-tresses grows in the herb layer of coniferous woodland, especially that of Scots pine, and has a preference for slight-to-moderate shade in moist moss and needles. Caledonian pine forest in the Scottish Highlands contains most of the remaining core populations of this species.
Twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 3 June 2024
About: Twinflower is a creeping perennial of pine woodland (and, occasionally, birch woodland or previously wooded sites). Most populations in the plant's core range – the eastern Highlands of Scotland – consist of isolated patches of a small number of clones, where there are only limited prospects of seed production.
Editor's note: Conservation work is being carried out to transplant clones into new patches, with the hope of restoring natural seed production.
One-flowered wintergreen (Moneses uniflora)
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 20 June 2024
About: One-flowered wintergreen is a wildflower of pinewoods with a Great British distribution almost entirely restricted to the Scottish Highlands, including the Cairngorms. Like other true wintergreens, the plant supplements photosynthesis by deriving energy from soil fungus.
Lesser twayblade (Neottia cordata)
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 15 May 2026
About: Lesser twayblade is an often-overlooked herb of habitats such as wet heath, blanket bog, carr woodland, and pinewoods. The Scottish Highlands are the stronghold for this species in Great Britain.
Serrated wintergreen (Orthilia secunda)
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 8 June 2026
About: Serrated wintergreen is an evergreen perennial principally of damp pine and birch woodland, as well as moorland, growing with blaeberry and heather. Most of the plant's range in Great Britain falls within the Scottish Highlands.
Intermediate wintergreen (Pyrola media)
Where and when encountered: Anagach Woods on 5 July 2022
About: Intermediate wintergreen, an evergreen perennial, is predominantly a plant of the Scottish Highlands, where well-drained soils in woodland and on heathland are favoured. Like other true wintergreens, the plant supplements photosynthesis by deriving energy from soil fungus.
Selected galleries
[ALL-TIME HIGHLIGHTS] [ARCTIC ALPINE PLANTS] [BUMBLEBEES] [BUTTERFLIES] [COLOURFUL MOTHS] [DRAGONFLIES] [FORBS] [GALLS] [GRASSLAND ORCHIDS] [INSECTS OF EXPOSED RIVER SEDIMENT] [LONGHORN BEETLES] [PINE-ASSOCIATED FUNGI] [PLANT BUGS] [SAWFLIES (ADULTS)] [SHIELDBUGS] [SOCIAL WASPS] [TRUE FLIES: AWL-FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: CRANEFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: DANCE FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: DUNG FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: FRUIT FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: HOVERFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: HOUSE FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: MARCH FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: ROBBERFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: SNIPEFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: SOLDIER FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: TACHINID FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: THICK-HEADED FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: TREMBLING-WING FLIES] [UNCOMMON PINEWOOD HERBS] [WOODY PLANTS]