It takes a brave ladybird to seek cover amongst the hostile-looking hairs of Bristly Oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides) but in mid-October who could resist the shelter of a sunshine yellow canopy? #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Making a colourful early autumn display at Far Ings Nature Reserve, a ragwort with narrow leaves. Narrow-leaved Ragwort (Senecio inaequidens) perhaps? #wildflowerID #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

This small #cabbagefamily plant was growing beside a path through reed beds alongside the Humber Estuary. I think it may be Marsh Yellow-cress (Rorippa palustris) #wildflowerhour #wildflowerID @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Until this week I thought all gorse was Gorse. Not so! This, adorning a Cornish cliff top, must be Western Gorse (Ulex gallii)? #wildflowerID #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

A new one to me, here’s Wild Madder (Rubia peregrina) for #wildflowerhour, a member of the bedstraw family. Spot the 4-angled stems, whorled leaves, curved prickles and black berries. Growing on the wild and windy Cornish cliff top. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

For the #wildflowerhour #favouriteplant challenge I give you Traveller’s-joy (Clematis vitalba). AKA Old Man’s Beard. Pictured here in late afternoon sunshine in the #hedgerow of a North #Cornwall golf course and giving this traveller joy! @bsbibotany.bsky.social

A day late for #wildflowerhour, Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) and Mexican Fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus) growing as #wallplants at Bodiam Castle yesterday. Would it be wrong to suggest the castle walls are the real stars here? 🏰 🌱 @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbi.bsky.social

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) at @nottswildlife.bsky.social Attenborough Nature Reserve last week. Intensely golden in the late afternoon sun, at the end of a walk and natter with an old friend. #DaisyFamily #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

There for the butterflies (lots and lots of them!) but couldn’t ignore Corn Mint (Mentha arvensis) in Grafton Wood, Worcestershire. With visiting bug, I think Red-spotted Plant Bug (Deraeocoris ruber). #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

I’ve never noticed Red Bartsia (Odontites vernus) before. Well worth a closer look. At a newly-established nature reserve on the outskirts of Bath. #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

I found a mystery plant at the edge of the Kennet & Avon Canal, near Bath. Could it be Apple Mint (M. x villosa)? Perhaps escaped from one of the pretty rooftop container gardens on a narrowboat moored nearby? #wildflowerhour #wildflowerID @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris) ones, twos, threes and fours, in shades of gold and aubergine. At a parched grassland Cotswold nature reserve this week. Not exactly #wetlandplants. #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Unperturbed by the drought, here is Wall Lettuce (Mycelis muralis). Easily overlooked but there is beauty in the detail. #StillFlowering #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social #pavementplants #urbanplants

Betony, Betony (Betonica officinalis). So good I’ve posted it twice. Last week and this. Near Hathersage, Derbyshire #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

A Tale of Two Thistles. Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) and Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare). Near Hathersage, Derbyshire #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

I went back and looked closer at my yellow Dandelion look-alike. Now with photos of the bracts, stem and leaves. They were coping with the heat better than me 🫠 . Does this help? #wildflowerhour #wildflowerID

Jenny Harris@jnnyharris.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A friend showed me a new walk in the Hope Valley. Weaving up and down through open meadows full of butterflies and dark woods patrolled by wood ants. The standout flowers were Betony and Harebell, plus a branched yellow daisy I don’t yet know. Perhaps a hawk’s-beard? #wildflowerhour #wildflowerID

A friend showed me a new walk in the Hope Valley. Weaving up and down through open meadows full of butterflies and dark woods patrolled by wood ants. The standout flowers were Betony and Harebell, plus a branched yellow daisy I don’t yet know. Perhaps a hawk’s-beard? #wildflowerhour #wildflowerID

Skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata) growing in the dam wall of a disused millpond. Two-lipped untoothed calyx with a flange or scale at the back of the upper lip. Though I can’t say that was uppermost in my mind as I hung over the edge trying not to drop my phone in the water 😁 #wildflowerhour

For the #InvasivePlants challenge, a monster-sized specimen of the monster that is Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera). Growing in the Rivelin Valley amongst remnants of Sheffield’s early industrial heritage #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Lesser Butterfly-orchid on the bank of a disused railway line. Beautiful, simply beautiful. Feel the sun on your back. Breathe in the smell of nearby fragrant #orchids. #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

20/6/26 #Lancashire - It was lovely to meet with friends at Gait Barrows for the peaking Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens), a very local #orchid that grows on the Limestone pavements of Morecambe Bay #wildflowerhour @jnnyharris.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre) lighting up a limestone pavement in Cumbria on the longest day of the year. Growing alongside Wild Thyme (Thymus polytrichus) and making me late again for #wildflowerhour ! @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

You’re all invited to the #PollinatorPals party at the Meadow Buttercup, Yorkshire Dales! #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social @speciesrecovery.bsky.social

A glorious display of red and pink Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber) set off by the acid-green flowers of Alchemilla mollis, plus Bush Vetch, Ivy, bindweed and Cotoneaster #ChurchyardFlowers #WildflowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Since starting #NoMowMay, and a patch of #NoMowSummer, the tiny Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia) has become a regular among my #LawnFlowers. But until today I’d not looked close enough to spot the glinting tiara of glandular hairs on the fruits #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Such a convincing insect-mimic is this Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera) that a spider has turned up to lie in wait for a tasty lunch 🍽️. My new favourite orchid. Just one of 14 species seen in Kent this weekend with expert help from @mariposanature.bsky.social #wildflowerhour #orchidchallenge

Facing up to my Fabaceae fears this week, I think these are Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis) and Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) at RSPB Rainham Marshes today. Just look at the stipules on the one and the colour of the other! #wildflowerhour

Lots of these at RSPB St Aidan’s this week. I know it’s Carrot family, it looks similar to the celery in my fridge but nothing in my wildflower book seems to fit exactly. Hopefully I can rely on a friendly #wildflowerhour botanist to help me out! #wildflowerID

Of the techniques available to stay warm on a cold December morning, here’s one I’ve not tried yet. Make like a feather duster Grey Heron, Porter Valley, Sheffield #heron #localparks @everyheron.bsky.social #dentistswithherons

Currently rereading @dunnjons.bsky.social The Glitter in the Green and am happy to confirm it is indeed the perfect antidote to winter. Full of sunshine, adventure and the very best type of glitter ✨

Jon Dunn@dunnjons.bsky.social · 2y ago

Blimey. There's suddenly a LOT more people here. Hello! For those who weren't on the bird site and don't already know, amongst other things, I write stuff, and with Christmas coming up, maybe a joyful book about orchids, or one about hummingbirds, might be a colourful antidote to winter and Now?