Wildflower makes a special appearance during week of celebration

A wildflower has taken up residence for the first time ever at a coastal meadow.

Denbighshire County Council’s Biodiversity Team made a new discovery while running a public event to promote Wildflower Week on Prestatyn’s Beach Road East Meadow.

The Council’s Wildflower Meadows Project started in 2019 and has seen over 10,000 individual plants recorded across all sites involved so far. In 2023, along with the county roadside nature reserves which take the total number of wildflower sites up to 140, there will be just over 70 acres of meadows helping and protecting local nature

The first ever Wildflower Week aims to unlock the bustling life of the county’s meadows through a number of events for the public to enjoy.

And during the event at Prestatyn which included Buglife Cymru on hand to talk about the meadow insect residents, a pyramidal orchid was discovered by the team.

The wildflower has pink flower spikes that forms a pyramidal shape and is usually located on chalk grassland, coastal habitats, scrub, roadside verges, old quarries and railway embankments.

Pyramidal orchids flower in June and July and will attract a variety of butterflies and moths.

Liam Blazey, Biodiversity Officer said: “It was fantastic to find this plant which is very rare across the UK at our site here in Prestatyn. Our meadows are all about bringing back the biodiversity we have sadly lost over the years for our future generations and this really does showcase what our project is all about.”

Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “These sites are extremely important in helping tackle the impact of climate change in the county, they are giving our nature a much stronger chance of surviving and thriving for our future generations to enjoy in Denbighshire.”

The pyramidal orchid has been recorded by the Biodiversity team who manage and monitor all the species found on the county’s meadows to help protect and grow future support for them.

This project has also been funded by Welsh Government, through the Local Nature Partnerships Cymru ENRaW project.

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