Giant orchids found growing wild in UK for first time

Giant orchids (Himantoglossum robertianum) in France. The flowers are typically found in southern and central Europe. Photograph: Hemis/Alamy

Giant orchids that can reach a metre tall have officially been found growing wild in the UK for the first time, having become established hundreds of miles north of their native range in the Mediterranean.

The “stately” plants were discovered on a grassy slope near Didcot in Oxfordshire by Hamza Nobes, a 29-year-old trainee nurse, who wishes to keep the exact location a secret.