"It was thought that this rare orchid had become extinct on the Estate due to collection by collectors however a new population was recently found in the summer by Mr Michael Waller.

Mr Waller said: 'I was driving back from our holiday cottage in mid-Wales when we decided to stop at a floating peat bog to photograph the bog asphodels and sundews. After hearing that the bog orchids had become extinct in the valley since 2007 I thought there was no chance of finding any but this time I was lucky and to my great surprise I managed to locate 10 flowering plants in one small area of the bog'.

The bog orchid (Hammarbya paludosa) is normally found in acid peat bogs along with mats of saturated sphagnum mosses and other plants such as sedges, cross-leaved heath, bog asphodel and round-leaved sundew.

It usually flowers from July to mid-September and can have up to 15 yellowish-green flowers.

Sadly it has declined in the UK due to loss of habitat, grazing livestock and theft by collectors.

I'm really happy and extremely grateful to Mr Waller for getting in contact. We are keeping the exact location a secret as the bog orchid is classified as endangered on the Welsh Vascular Plant Red List and is in need of protection.

The Welsh Orchid Survey 2009 is run by Powys Flora Conservation. Those wishing to take part in the survey are being asked to record any orchids seen in Wales by taking photographs and e-mailing them to me at plantsinpowys@yahoo.co.uk. The survey will continue to run until the end of the year."

Article written by Dr Elisabeth Harris.