‘Holy grail’ ghost orchid rediscovered in UK for the first time since 2009

Location of recently found sample of Britain's rarest plant kept secret to protect it from enthusiasts and poachers

Britain's rarest plant, a holy grail" orchid, has been rediscovered for the first time since 2009, and scientists are now working to protect it from slugs, deer - and poachers.

The ghost orchid was discovered earlier this month by Richard Bate, a dental surgeon, orchid lover and member of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI).

Herefordshire and Shropshire: Found flowering in only five years between 1854 and 1910, followed by a 72-year gap until 1982, and then a 27-year gap until the last sighting in 2009.

Oxfordshire: Discovered by a schoolgirl in 1924, the ghost orchid was found flowering in about a dozen years between 1924 and 1979.

Buckinghamshire: First found in 1953, the ghost orchid was recorded in bloom in 25 of the years between 1953 and 1987.