Despite the drought I was lucky enough to see a wide range of plants in flower on my travels last week. Here is a selection from Rye Harbour, part 1. Part 2 in thread. Names in alt text. #WildflowerHour
Martin
@botanicalmartin.bsky.social
currently writing 'Finding England's Ancient Grassland' Botanical surveyor and artist based in the Tees Valley, England. If it's about plants, I'll be interested. http://theintermingledpot.wordpress.com
Carline Thistle this week on the far dark cliff at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, where I was collecting Small Scabious seeds to hopefully use in the community garden by the funicular and at a new garden site in Redcar #WildflowerHour
Quite possibly a gall. Two gall midges gall the ovaries of various Campanula spp. Ellis' site says the flowers remain closed ( bladmineerders.nl/en/parasites...), but Redfern & Shirley don't. @galling.bsky.social may know. Worth asking @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social to keep an eye out.
Contarinia campanulae – Plant Parasites of Europe
bladmineerders.nl
White form of Red Bartsia growing at the edge of an informal grassy path in a sub-urban piece of abandoned* farmland #WildflowerHour *not sure it can be called rewilded if the intention to do so to the land wasn't there initially?
Some late flowers on Dyer's Greenweed at the weekend near Whitby when we were helping Zeke Marshall collect seed for the Millenium Seed Bank. This form is semi-prostrate (plant grown in pot from earlier in the year) and sprawls amongst the surrounding vegetation @wonkyeggs.bsky.social
Growing up in Kent, we would always call hedge bindweed ‘Grandmother pop out of bed’ We would squeeze the base of the flower and they would pop into the air #CommonNames #WildflowerHour
this is interesting - one small change to the flower and it looks like a completely different species Anyone seen anything like it before?
Donna Rainey@donnarainey4.bsky.social · 2d agoI'm assuming the unusual looking flowers on this Harebell are caused by a gall. #wildflowerhour
Wonderful to see Nationally Scarce Round-headed Rampion Phyteuma orbiculare, aka Pride of Sussex at Beachy Head. Lovely curved globular Flowers with unusual anchors on stigma tips. Grass-of-Parnassus Parnassia palustris Ainsdale NNR @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
Be inspired by witches, gods, giants, saints and beasts in a new exhibition on #folklore tales from North #Yorkshire by feminist artist collective H.A.G.S. at @northyorkmoors.org.uk 📍Danby Lodge Centre 📅 Open until 13 Sep 🖼️ Hag stones by Alice Grey
A new challenge this week for #WildflowerHour, hope you enjoy it! Any wild or naturalised bloom that you find, squirrel out those evocative common names, the quirkier the better!
wildflowerhour@wildflowerhour.bsky.social · 5d agoFor #Wildflowerhour this week find a wild or naturalised bloom with quirky #CommonNames! Pictured is Scutellaria galericulata, commonly named Skullcap, Hoodwort & Helmet Flower as the flowers were likened to the galerum worn by Roman soldiers ! Share your finds this Sunday 8-9pm!
I found this Migrant Hawker at Arnside Knott today, and since it stayed put when I approached, I decided to get in for a close-up. @nationaltrust.org.uk @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social
This in Applied Vegetation Science @jvs-avs.bsky.social by Wiene Bakker and co-authors looks like a very topical study: Grassland Management in a Changing Climate: Insights From a Dutch Road Verge Study onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #openaccess
Grassland Management in a Changing Climate: Insights From a Dutch Road Verge Study
Experiments in Dutch roadside grasslands (2021–2023) indicate that warming-related plant diversity losses can be mitigated through adjusted mowing regimes, particularly in high-productive sites.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Really interesting experiment showing how cutting twice a year for three years increases species-richness in a nitrogen-rich* environment. The second cutting in November makes sense given wetter, warmer winters *no difference for low-nutrient sites
Markus Wagner@wagnermarkus.bsky.social · last wk.This in Applied Vegetation Science @jvs-avs.bsky.social by Wiene Bakker and co-authors looks like a very topical study: Grassland Management in a Changing Climate: Insights From a Dutch Road Verge Study onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #openaccess
Saw-wort is quite variable in habit - it can be surprisingly chunky, but this is the most slender and elegant version I've seen!
David Tilsley@dntilsley.bsky.social · last wk.The last of the Saw-wort (Serratula tinctorial) at Trendlebere Down (East Dartmoor Woods & Heaths NNR) - smothered by bracken and trampled by cattle and ponies, but still hanging on. #DaisyFamily #WildFlowerHour
Fleabane providing a pop of yellow on the Cleveland Way between Boggle Hole and Ravenscar this week #WildflowerHour #DaisyFamily
A few weeks ago, we came across this beautiful white + pale form of common knapweed at Distillery Meadows in Wiltshire. A little botanical surprise #DaisyFamily #WildflowerHour
Some Sneezewort in full flower at Billingham's floodplain meadows - I don't seem to see it all that much but when you look at the BSBI Atlas 2020 map it's found pretty much everywhere in Great Britain plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9... #Wildflowehour #DaisyFamily
I was on Staines Moor again this week. The heavily grazed grassland is like a desert, but the Musk Thistle, Carduus nutans, seems to be thriving. Must be a combination of being too prickly to eat and having a very deep tap root. #DaisyFamily #WildflowerHour
The main flower on Wild Angelica plants has now started to set seed, but all the secondary flowers were fully open when I went to Billingham Bottoms floodplain meadows this week #WildflowerHour
On the way back today this awesome old Pear tree, that grows at the base of a raised section of railway, had dropped ripe fruit - all very small but smelled incredibly boozy. Sadly all seemed to have damaged on dropping so nothing I could sample for taste
Seed collection of the Floodplain Meadow ecotypes of Common Knapweed and Great Burnet today. I think I was maybe a week late as the Field Voles? mice? had beaten me to quite a few of them. Scattered the seeds in a nearby (ungrazed/uncut) floodplain field to see what happens
Super-fluffy clone of Creeping Thistle all along a road verge. Creeping Thistle is surprisingly variable in flower colour, spread and fluffyness, although the latter only for female plants
An example of plant fasciation in Rosebay willowherb.#wildflowerhour
New paper out 😊 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Plant species richness is key for restoring grassland butterfly assemblages
The results indicate that successful restoration of grassland vegetation and butterflies is strongly linked. To fully restore target butterfly assemblages, future grassland restoration should aim to ....
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Mostly finished but still some amazing Yellow Horned-poppy (Glaucium flavum) in flower #ByTheSea for #WildflowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
