Three Fields from 2016

Hayes Street Farm with Sowthistles and Scented Mayweed.  5 July 2016.

Here are three fields from a folder of things I thought I might put on the blog.  This one is a field on Hayes Street Farm, quite close to my house, which I think must have been sown for green manure.  It was harvested several times during the year.  These plants all occur naturally in this area, but so many similar types all together is not normal.

But because it wasn't fertilised or tended, this field produced a great crop of smaller wildflowers during the year, some of which are quite scarce.  Keep it up!

View of the valley behind Leaves Green, 16 May 2016.

This is one of several dry chalky valleys in the London Borough of Bromley, which extends well out into the countryside.  The yellow flowers are buttercups.

View across fields to the Enfield Road bridge over the River Medway, Leigh, 12 May 2016.

This spot near Leigh is a good area for botanists.  This particular field doesn;t seem to have anything unusual in it, but the display of dandelion flowers and seed heads makes it worth seeing.

But flowers are for the warmer months.  Next time, something more wintery.

Riverside Invertebrates In May

Mayfly, Ephemera vulgata.  Riverside near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

Along the Medway we saw lots of interesting insects, though as all the others in the party were botanists there were only a few I could get them interested in.  This was one, because it is such an iconic river creature; a Brown Mayfly, the short-lived adult of a common European species often imitated as a dry fly by fishermen.  I caught one in my hand as it flew past (not this one!)

This is pretty, but there was a much more spectacular species flying in the riverside meadows.

Banded Demoiselle, Calopteryx splendens.  Male.  In a riverside meadow near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

When these shiny damselflies flutter past they certainly catch the eye.  They confused me at first; they are as showy as dragonflies, yet they hold their wings like the damselflies they are.  The females are just as shiny, but a different colour, and they don't have the cloudy band in their wings.

Banded Demoiselle, Calopteryx splendens.  Female.  In a riverside meadow near Leigh on 19 May 2012

There were also some Large Red Damselflies around, pretty creatures that if the shiny Demoiselles weren't there I would think were the best things I would see.

Large Red Damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula.  Male.  In a riverside meadow near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

Damselflies hunt other insects.  But less macho creatures can also be handsome.

Dung Fly, Scathophaga species.  Riverside near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

Like this Dung Fly.  Still, probably my favourite creature from this trip appeared at lunchtime on a fleece worn by one of the group.

Weevil, Curculio species.  In a meadow near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

This is probably a nut weevil and I think it is quite amazing that it can manipulate those antennae that are attached halfway along its curving snout.  But they move back and forth quite easily, and can be folded back and hinged to be parallel with the snout.

There were also various other beetles and lots of spiders and flies .. but I will end this post with what we saw as we got back to the village green where our cars were parked.  This is so very traditional as to be a cliche, yet it was a pleasure to see.

Cricket on Leigh village green, 19 May 2012.

All photos were taken with my EOS 60D and EF 100mm macro lens.

Wildflowers Near Leigh - Green

Leigh village green, 19 May 2012.

This is more of that well-kept village green at Leigh.

As well as the flowers in my previous post, there were several interesting plants that had not yet come into bloom.  Here are three to avoid.

Hemlock Water-dropwort,  Oenanthe crocata.  By the Medway near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

This was probably the most startling, because it looks so innocuous.  The Hemlock Water-dropwort is said to be the most poisonous British plant.  It is sometimes mistaken for celery or another edible species; the stems, leaves and bulbous roots are all appetising to some unlucky foragers. This plant was new to me, and I did my best to memorise it. 

Hemlock,  Conium maculatum.  By the Medway near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

Then there were specimens of the actual Hemlock as well.  It is a larger plant altogether.  This one is still young.  Hemlock is easier to recognise and avoid; it has purple blotches on its stems and when it flowers it gives off a strong and distinctive smell.

There are plants of three distinctly different scales here, all in the same Umbellifer family.  The small white-flowered umbels belong to Cow Parsley, currently flowering profusely by paths and roadsides.  It won't get any larger than this. The next up is the Hemlock, which will grow another few feet and might double in size, and to the right you can see a single leaf of a baby Giant Hogweed, the largest herbaceous plant in Britain, which can get up to 5 metres.  It would be interesting to come back here in a couple of months!

Giant Hogweed, Heracleum mantegazzianum.  Near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

Giant Hogweed is also to be avoided.  Its sap can sensitise the skin to sunlight, resulting in painful blisters.  Some Umbellifers are nice, giving us vegetables and herbs, but this selection is the very opposite.

Some of the grasses are showing up well.

Meadow Foxtail, Alopecurus pratensis.  Near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

Something had been eating the tops of many of these flower-heads.  There were shortened grass leaves, too.  The many droppings in the area suggested geese to one of the group, which is a fair guess as they are grazing birds.

I'll finish with a view of the river.

The River Medway near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

Wildflowers Near Leigh

Leigh village green, 19 May 2012.

We parked around the edge of this tidy village green and walked towards the river.  The weather was mild, becoming hot and sunny later on.  This was another Orpington Field Club outing, and the intention was to see something of the water-loving plants that grow by the Medway.  It was a good day; I saw several plants and insects for the first time.

Celery-leaved Buttercup,  Ranunculus sceleratus.  Near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

This was the one I found most interesting.  Yet another species of buttercup, recognisable as such because of that ring of buttery yellow petals, but with fleshy stems and hairless leaves, probably because it lives with its roots in water.  It was in a shallow pond where we took our lunch break.

The same pond was almost full of this plant:

Brooklime, Veronica beccabunga.  Near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

Not new to me, but very pretty, just starting to flower.  It's another Speedwell, which I have seen many of this year.  According to my wildflower teacher Sue Buckingham, its Latin name is memorable because it bungs up the beck.  But look how similar this is in general appearance to the buttercup.  Hairless, with fleshy leaves and stems.  This form must be suited to the shallow-water niche.

This one was also growing in wet ground, but not actually in a pond:

Large Bitter-cress, Cardamine amara.  Near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

It was new to me.  It's related to Hairy and Wavy Bitter-cress, which are common garden invaders, and also the Cuckoo-flower which grows in woods and hedgerows.  It has rounder leaflets than the common types, and one should also look for six violet anthers.

Winter-cress, Barbarea vulgaris.  Near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

Another one I hadn't seen before.  This plant was growing right on the edge of the river bank; I could have removed that twig before taking the photo, but only at some risk.

Growing some way out of reach was this flower.

Dame's-violet, Hesperis matronalis.  Near Leigh, 19 May 2012.

I refer to the two pale inflorescences, not the blue Russian Comfrey to the right or the deep pink Red Campion on the far left.  You can see how full of vigorous wildflowers this area is. 

Dame's-violet is a wild flower that used to be brought into gardens because of its flowers and its pleasant scent, which was strongest in the evening. 

I will finish with two common and familiar flowers.

Elder flowers, Sambucus nigra.  Near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

The beautiful creamy flower-heads of the Elder bush, which make delicious wine.  This grows quickly and easily in so-called waste ground and there is even one poking over my garden fence.

White Dead-nettle, Lamium album.  Near Leigh on 19 May 2012.

This also grows everywhere, but I couldn't resist taking a closeup to show how hairy the flowers are.

It's called a dead-nettle because it doesn't sting, even though the leaves look so similar to the Stinging Nettle.  They grow in the same places, often mixed in the same clumps, so it's useful to be able to tell them apart, which I learned to do at about age 4.