Orchid splendor on the Rochusfeld

The nature preserve "Nunkirche and Rochusfeld" near Sargenroth is really quite a small area, but the slow-growing perennial matgrass meadows (nardus stricta) here have a biodiversity that cannot to be found elsewhere in Hunsrück. Also of note, Rochusfeld has a high percentage of endangered wild plants and plant species. These are threatened much less by picking than by changes to their living conditions, which have occurred very rapidly over the last decade, giving the plants no, or much too little, time to adapt. While in the past the increase of agriculture in combination with the drainage of wetlands and excessive fertilization of even poor grassland was the main threat, global warming has now contributed to this. The result is that the more difficult climatic conditions make the traditional location of native plants increasingly questionable.

Every year, during the first weeks of May, Rochusfeld offers a display of orchids, ranging from deep red to violet, of a special kind: It is the season of Spotted Orchids ("Manns-Knabenkraut") when thousands of bright, radiant blooms cover the field. This is truly an impressive sight since wild orchids have become very rare in our modern cultural landscape. So the task of protecting the annual orchard splendor of Rochusfeld for future generations falls to this nature preserve near Nunkirche.

For further information: Neumann H., Die Historie, Gegenwart und Bedeutung des Orchideenstandortes Rochusfeld an der Nunkirche bei Sargenroth/Hunsrück. AHO-Mitteilungsblatt Hessen/Rheinlandpfalz 1, 1983: 5-9