Rosebay Willowherb

Rosebay Willowherb seeds, Epilobium angustifolium. High Elms Country Park, 22 August 2011.

A photo from last Autumn. Rosebay Willowherb is also called fireweed. Some say it is because the seeds blowing away from the vivid flowers look like smoke from a fire. Others, that it likes to grow where there has been a fire.

It is certainly an early urban coloniser. In London, after World War II, it grew in the craters where buildings had been blown up in the Blitz. Where I grew up, near Newcastle, we often saw it where rows of houses had been demolished.

The flower of this species is what the crab spider I posted recently was sitting on.

Cherry Stones

Cherry stones eaten by a vole.  High Elms Country Park, 20 September 2011.

When a small area of grass and wildflowers in High Elms Country Park was mown, this hoard of cherry stones was uncovered. They were a few yards from the tree, and a small pathway between the stones and the tree could be seen (gone by the time I saw it). It was pointed out to me by Nick Hopkins, one of the rangers, who is pretty sure that the creature responsible was a vole, probably a short-tailed vole, Microtus agrestis. They must have been brought here, a spot which was well under cover at the time, and then eaten in safety. It's interesting to see that it's not just the sweet outer part of the cherry that attracts wildlife.

Turkey Oak

Acorns of Turkey Oak, Quercus serris.  High Elms Country Park, 20 September 2011.

The Turkey Oak is not native to Britain, but is widespread, possibly introduced because it gorws fast and looks decorative. It is required for the sexual generation of a gall wasp, Andricus quercuscalicis, that causes knopper galls on our native oaks in its alternating parthenogenetic generation. So knopper galls are now quite common, though their frequency varies a lot and this year they are quite rare in this locality.  I expect to post some photos of plant galls later on.

Turkey oaks are distinguished by their leaf shape, bristly bud tips, and those tentacle-like protrusions on the cups of the acorns, sometimes described as "mossy."

Even though this is a good year for nuts and berries, I could only see these two acorns on this tree.

Wild Service Tree

Wild Service Tree, Sorbus torminalis, at High Elms Country Park.  20 September 2011.

It may be called Wild, but this young tree is actually tame, having been planted here in the grounds of High Elms. It is scarce in Britain, and is usually only found in ancient woodland.

This is a healthy specimen, and is actually symmetrical. The only reason the full tree has not been shown here is that there was a car parked on the right, and the colours clashed.

The fruits of this tree are said to be edible, but only after they have bletted, a process of partial decay and fermentation. On the tree, they are hard and tooth-resistant. Allowing a fruit to go soft and over-ripe sounds odd, but it is required for a few fruits. Medlars, for example, which you will not find easily, as they were more popular in Mediaeval times; and persimmons, which are rather more common.

Berries of a Wild Service Tree, Sorbus torminalis, at High Elms Country Park.  20 September 2011.

Beech Mast

Beech tree, Fagus sylvatica, with mast. High Elms Country Park, 20 September 2011.

This is a good mast year, an old term for a year in which woodland fruits and nuts are abundant. And the fruits of the beech tree, Fagus sylvatica, are often called mast. They open and fall to thr ground quite readily. We do not find them tasty, but squirrels are quite happy to eat them.

I showed some beech flowers back in May.

Nuts of the beech tree, Fagus sylvatica. High Elms Country Park, 20 September 2011.

Hips and Holly

Rose hips, Hayes Common, 22 September 2011.

Two more of the many types of berry which are so prolific this year. Rose hips are sweet, tasty and nutritious, but the seeds inside are surrounded by tiny sharp hairs, and if you try to eat one whole you will have some difficulty clearing the hairs from your tongue afterwards.

Hips are a good source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and when I was at school, the children were offered 3d. a pound for all they could bring in. They are eaten and drunk in many forms; the ones we brought in were destined to be pressed to produce rose hip syrup.

Holly berries, Ilex aquifolium. Hayes Common, 22 September 2011.

Holly berries are popular decorations at Christmas, but some will fall, and they are also popular with birds, so there are likely to be many fewer than this when the season comes.

There's a spider lurking at the top right!

Sycamore Seeds

Sycamore seeds, Acer pseudoplanatus.  High Elms Country Park, 20 September 2011.

The Sycamore is a species of maple, not native to the UK, but widespread and readily seeding. The seeds grow in pairs, but fall singly with the motion of an autogyro.

I posted a photo of Sycamore flowers back in May.

Wild Carrot Seeds

Wild Carrot, Daucus carota ssp carota, on Burnt Gorse, High Elms Country Park, 15 September 2011.

Another view of a Wild Carrot, this time with the seeds well developed. An earlier shot is here: Wild Carrot flower head.