Lock-down Adventure No 15 - My Fifth Flora Survey

18th May 2020

The four flora surveys so far have produced a total of 32 species of flower that I have been able to photograph in flower which is not bad when you consider that my route is mainly around the margins of a hay field which is periodically sprayed. So today the target was eight new species to bring the grand total to 40 species.

One of the commonest plants around the margins of the field is Hemlock, a highly poisonous plant. It is an umbellifer of the same family as the familiar Cow Parsley which is harmless. Cow Parsley is the first to flower and is now coming to the end of its season whereas Hemlock is tall and lush and just starting to come into flower. The easiest way to identify Hemlock is to look at the stems which are sturdy, round and covered in red or purple spots.

The flower heads are similar to Cow Parsley but whatever you do, do not touch any part of the plant. Even pulling the plants up by the stems can result in the toxins being absorbed by the skin and making you ill. If ingested it can be fatal.

Also along the hedgerow margins the minuscule Cut-leaved Geranium was starting to show through. This plant has one of my favourite Latin names Geranium dissectum reflecting the deeply cut nature of the leaves.

In one corner of the field is a single specimen of Wild Radish. This comes up in the same place every year and is the only place that it is found in the area. The flowers are often yellow but can also be white as in this example.

Down Morgans Walk the Greater Stitchwort is still in full flower and has a long flowering season. However its diminutive cousin, the Lesser Stitchwort, is now starting to show but is nowhere as flamboyant.

There is plenty of Great Plantain around, but it has yet to throw up any flower spikes, but this if the flower spike of the lesser known Ribwort Plantain. The showy Dog Rose was also in flower.

On of the fields at the far end was a blaze of yellow from the Meadow Buttercups. These are superficially similar to the Creeping Buttercups but have a totally different leaf structure.

But then the biggest surprise of all. Up to now the only species of vetch that I had encountered was the very common Bush Vetch and I couldn't understand why there wasn't any of the red Common Vetch. Well today at the far end of Morgans Walk we took a different return route and after a few yards I came across some Common Vetch. In fact on the way back the whole hedgerow was full of Common Vetch but no Bush Vetch. How odd is that?

And to finish off the day in the same new area was a single plant of the showy Red Campion which surprisingly hasn't been present anywhere else.

Well that is another nine species bringing the grand total to 41 species so I wonder if that magical fifty is on the cards?