Monday 30 May 2011

Images from a walk. Part Three (1) - Wild Flowers

                                                                              

                                                                BEACON HILL AND  SURROUNDS 
                                                           BUCKINHAMSHIRE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          As I seem to have quite a few images of wild flowers for this post, and to save boring you too much, I've divided it into two parts (Ha! Ha!).
So this is Part Three (1) of the series of images taken on my walk around the area between Ivinghoe Beacon and (including) Incombe Hole.
Annual Wall-Rocket
 The alternative name for the Annual Wall-Rocket is Stinkweed, because its stem contains the chemical Sulphuretted Hydrogen which gives off the smell of  'rotten eggs'!

Bladder Campion
 As dusk falls the Bladder Campion gives off a clove like scent which attracts bees and night-flying moths.

 
Common Fumitory
 The name fumitory comes from the Latin meaning 'smoke of the earth' and where it grows in numbers and is seen from acrooss a distant field it gives the impression of a grey, smokey haze.


Stinging or Common Nettle
 The well known 'stinger'.  Also food for the caterpillars of the Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies.


Common Vetch
 The Common Vetch was introduced to England from the Continent for cattle food and then found its way onto waste ground and now occurs mainly in the South of the country.


Salad Burnet
 The leaves of the Salad Burnet, when crushed, smell of cucumber and can be used in salads.


White Campion
 The White Campion grows mainly on arable land and roadside verges but where it grows close to its relative the Red Campion they will interbreed to produce pink flowering plants.


Wild Mignonette
 The Wild Mignonette is a shorter relative of Weld, which the flowers of can be used to make a vivid Yellow dye.

Yellow Archangel
The Yellow Archangel closely resembles the White Dead-Nettle the main difference being the striking Yellow flowers. The flowering stem is square and the leaves give off an unpleasant smell when brushed or damaged.
Part Three (2) to follow!

6 comments:

holdingmoments said...

Enjoyed this post Trevor.
A few plants there I didn't know, and the little 'facts' along with each plant was very interesting.
I'm never too old to learn ;-)

The Herald said...

Thanks Keith. I must admit that I didn’t know the identities of some of them but doing the research and finding the info was quite interesting! ;o)

Roy said...

These are some fabulous images Trevor and what a great way to set them out.

The Herald said...

Thanks Roy. I'm glad you liked them. ;o)

Sondra said...

I just hopped over via Keith's blog and IM so glad I did, what a lovely presentation of your wild flower photos, I always enjoy the wild flowers I come upon on my travels--there is always a new one to learn about.

The Herald said...

Sondra,thanks for visiting my blog and I'm pleased you liked what you found. Please visit again soon. (more wild flowers on the way!) ;o)