One Tree Hill, April

View over the Weald from the lookout point at One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

I was at One Tree Hill with the Orpington Field Club in March.  This new visit was part of the summer extension to the wild flower course I have  been taking.  We covered part of the same circuit and it was interesting to see how things had moved along.

This time the weather was better, often with sunshine, and only a smidgeon of rain.  I took my SLR with me and I was able to get plenty of decent photos of some of the things I had missed out on the last time. It's a good site for wildflowers; there are quite a few even round the edges of the car park.  It was there I took this:

Fresh Oak leaves and immature catkins.  One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

New leaves, glossy and delicate, look delicious.  The background wasn't really that dark but the use of flash makes it seem so.

Early Dog Violet, Viola reichenbachiana.  One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

This is a side view of the flower of the Early Dog Violet.  We also saw another species in flower, the Common Dog Violet, distinguishable (usually) because the spur of this one is dark, and that of its Common relative is white.  But you can also find hybrids ...  Luckily there are also other distinguishing features.

This was the first time I saw the little Wood Speedwell, in the grass by a path:

Wood Speedwell, Veronica montana. One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

There are quite a few Speedwells, some of them looking very similar until you bend down for a closer look. 

There were plenty of Bluebells in the woods, with here and there a white specimen.

White bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta.  One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

This is just a sport or form of the native Bluebell species, not a hybrid or garden escape.  You can see the flowers all tending to one side of the stem, and they have long tubes which do not open much at the ends, both typical signs of the native.  These do not seem to crop up in every wood.  I saw none in Lilly's Wood the other day.

This next is the flower spike of a Cherry Laurel.

Cherry Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus.  One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

That's rather pretty, but the tree as a whole is a bit of a nuisance in our woods.  It's an invader, and with its robust prolific habit and big leaves it tends to out-compete and shade out our natives.

We saw some Wild Strawberries and some Barren Strawberries, plants that look very similar but are of different genera.

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca.  One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

Sue Buckinhgham identified this as a Wild Strawberry, though to my much less experienced eye it has some of the signs of being a Barren Strawberry.  But Sue really is an expert so I will go with her ID.

Last flower for today: a Wood Forget-me-not.  These self-seed in my garden, so I know them well.

Wood Forget-me-not, Myosotis sylvatica.  One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.

And to finish, a fungus.  We found a fallen Elder branch which was covered with these, which these days are called Jelly Ears.  They are soft, floppy and gelatinous to the touch.

Jelly Ear, Auricularia auricula-judae, on fallen Elder, Sambucus nigra.  One Tree Hill, 27 April 2012.