Mucronate: ending abruptly in a short stiff point. An extension of the midrib.
From the Latin ‘mucro’ meaning point or edge.
Spotted Medick (left)
Common Vetch (right)
Field margin with wildflowers that can support butterflies in arable farmland
Livestock grazing is essential to maintaining grasslands in the mountains of Europe. Extensive cattle grazing has been shown to be the most beneficial but any extensive system is good
Grassland butterflies are declining across Europe, but how do we reverse that trend? We have just produced a report with some simple guidance to land managers and policy makers on how to 'Bend the curve' and help increase butterflies and other pollinators. www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...
Spot the moth…..Early Grey, Xylocampa areola. Flies March to May. Larvae feed on Honeysuckles
A patch of Sea Storksbill by the cafe at Hannafore, Looe today, not recorded in this area since 1992, so nice to refind it.
Erodium maritimum
Cotyledon: a seed leaf. One of the first leaves to emerge from a germinating seed.
From the Greek ‘kotyledon’ meaning cup-shaped.
Beech (left)
Cleavers (right)
Like clockwork.
Bract: leaf-like structure, usually on the upper stem.
From the Latin ‘bractea’ meaning thin metal plate.
Sheep’s-bit (left)
Wild Carrot (top)
Oxford Ragwort (bottom)
With it being World Book Day, I wanted to mention our BMS books.
Bk 1: focuses on grassland indicators with range of assocd species. Bk 2 has >200 different plants + assocd species. Example pages below.
£10 each: £2.70 postage for one, £3.90 for two,
bigmeadowsearch@gmail.com
Petiole: the stalk of a leaf. Attaches the leaf blade to the stem. Petiole characteristics can be useful for ID.
From the Latin ‘petiolus’ meaning little foot or stem.
Lesser Celandine: two-channeled
Daisy: winged
Common Sorrel: angled
Hart’s-tongue: scaly
Ciliate: fringed with hairs (cilia). Usually used in relation to leaf margins.
From the Latin ‘cilium’ meaning eyelash or hair.
Examples: Great Wood-rush (left), Honeysuckle (top) and Germander Speedwell (bottom).
Nipplewort, Lapsana communis: Look out for the rust fungus, Puccinia lapsanae, on young leaf blades and petioles. Seeing a lot of it around here at the moment
Latex: coloured sap, usually white. (Can be poisonous and a skin irritant).
From the Latin ‘latex’ meaning fluid or liquid.
Examples Greater Celandine (left), Dandelion (top), Petty Spurge (bottom).
That's why feeders are bad idea in Willow Tit/Marsh Tit habitat, in addition to attracting & boosting survival of their competitors: Blue Tits and Great Tits, which are individually at lower risk as they don't obsessively collect seeds. More in the book: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit...
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Love plants of Rue-leaved Saxifrage (Saxifraga tridactylites) at this stage of their short lives, their beautiful little rosettes gearing up to do their flowery thing in a few weeks time. Real urban pioneers, you can find them on pavements & walls in many towns & cities #UrbanPlants
Simply had to pause for a closer look at this teenie weenie forest of Common Whitlowgrass (Erophila verna) growing on a mossy pavement in the Ouseburn Valley.
Squatting definitely required to appreciate them fully! 👀 #pavementplants
Blackthorn! No it’s Cherry Plum! No it’s Blackthorn! Sort it out. Cherry Plum has green twigs, no thorns, reflexed sepals and flowers now. And is pretty gorgeous. Blackthorn equally so but in a few weeks #Wildflowerhour
Red Dead-nettle, Lamium purpureum. Leaves less than 5cm long with 4-12 blunt teeth per side. Secondary veins end at a tooth apex. Terminal tooth usually wider than long. Leaves, especially upper ones, may become purplish. Petiole 1-5cm long
Mistletoe, Viscum album. Evergreen. Parasitic. Round, repeatedly forked, brittle twigs. Leaves can be 3-5 whorled. Leaves leathery, yellow-green, 3-8cm long and 0.5-3 cm wide.
A Juvenile Flounder (Platichthys flesus) showing off its camouflage.
County Clare, Ireland.
Cormacscoast.com walking tours
This is a super resource for anyone trying to build their understanding of plant assemblages - particularly for ecologists carrying out habitat surveys. Heartily recommended!
Lesser Spearwort, Rannunculus flammula. Hairless. Stems can be purplish. Undivided leaves. Hydathodes visible on weakly toothed leaf margin. Basal leaves have long furrowed stalks 3-7 parallel main veins with raised midrib on under surface.
Spear Thistle, Cirsium vulgare. Leaves dull greyish green, lobed, up to 30cm. Hairy underneath. Leaf margins have spines with swollen yellow base
A 2nd edition of my Plants and Habitats book is now out and available from the Natural History Book Store: www.nhbs.com/plants-and-h.... Main differences from 1st edition: many species added and nomenclature & further information (e.g. habitat classifications) updated. I hope people find it useful!
Pignut, Conopodium majus. Hairless. Basal leaves 2-3 pinnate, up to 15cm, arise singly from tuber and wither quite quickly.
Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum. Leaves in the basal rosette are reflexed towards the apex. Two prominent hydathodes and brown scale at leaf apex. Leaves rolled when young. Hairs on both leaf surfaces up to 1.5mm long. Leaves are minutely serrate
... I learned from Nikos [Louvros] and from Corfu ...: swim early, before the day warms and when the water still has a faint bite. Swim after lunch, when the sea feels silky. Swim at dusk, when the surface holds the day’s heat and the light becomes thick and slow. www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...
Today is ‘Celandine Day’ so in true ‘Blue Peter’ style, here is one I made earlier
For ‘Celandine Day’ here are contrasting examples of leaf colour variation on adjacent Lesser Celandine plants
Green-ribbed Sedge, Carex binervis. Tufted. Leaves matt green above and glossy light green with dark veins below. Leaves up to 8mm wide and up to 30cm long. Leaves turn orange-brown and often overwinter. Rounded ligule
I recently found the downy mildew Hyaloperonospora erophilae on Erophila sp. on dune slack in Aberdyfi. Possibly the first British record though there are some English records of the similar H. praecox and some "Hyaloperonospora sp." on the same host from South Uist.
#WildPlantDisease #FungiFriends
