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Tag Archives: British wildflowers

April woodland wanders

01 Sunday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, plants, walks, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, woodland walks, woodland wanders, woodland wildflowers

I couldn’t resist sharing the floral delights from my various wanders in the local woodlands during April. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have – the wildflowers have been simply gorgeous!

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New bloomers

10 Sunday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, Spring colour, spring wildflowers

In which I share a little video of the latest wildflowers to bloom in my neck of the woods …

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Flowers and Cuckoos

03 Sunday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in spring, wildflowers

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Arum maculatum, British wildflowers, Cardamine pratensis, Cuckoo-pint, Cuckooflower, Lady's-smock, Lords-and-ladies, Milkmaid

The coincidence of the pale and delicate Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) coming into bloom at the same time as the first Cuckoos arrive back from over-wintering in Africa is the likely origin of this wildflower’s common name, though several other wildflowers also bloom at this time and, with the climate changing, the flower’s blooming and the bird’s arrival no longer coincide very precisely. Perhaps the alternate Lady’s-smock and Milkmaid are more appropriate names.

220403 cuckoo flower

Another wildflower that is known in some areas as Cuckoo flower, as its flowers open around this time, is Arum maculatum. I know it best as Lords-and-Ladies, but many call it Cuckoo-pint (rhymes with mint), for which there is a somewhat more risqué explanation: pint is short for pintle, meaning penis. I’m sure you can all see why.

220403 cuckoo pint

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Woodland wildflowers

27 Sunday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in wildflowers

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British wildflowers, Lesser Celandine, Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage, Wood anemone, woodland wildflowers

Earlier this week I walked to one of my local woodlands to check what wildflowers were in bloom. The sparse scattering of Wild garlic flowers and just one plant with open Bluebells were a little disappointing but the carpet of lush plants under the trees held great promise of the beauty to come. The Wood anemones, Lesser celandine and Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage were a delight, as were the other wildflowers dotted here and there. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

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Redshank and Coltsfoot

21 Monday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, wildflowers

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British wildflowers, Coltsfoot, Redshank

Not a combination you see every day: a Redshank passing some golden Coltsfoot, growing near the river’s edge …

220319 redshank and coltsfoot

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Modestly cheerful

13 Sunday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Common whitlowgrass, Erophila verna, signs of spring, sping wildflowers, Spring colour

‘Modestly cheerful’ – this is how Richard Mabey describes Common whitlowgrass (Erophila verna) in Flora Britannica. He continues: ‘The small white flowers are amongst the first to appear in March, and are followed by seed-pods a little like miniaturised versions of honesty’s.’

220313 common whitlowgrass (1)

He also explains that the name is due to the plant’s use by medieval herbalists to treat whitlows, not a medical condition I was familiar with but which the Oxford Dictionary defines as ‘an abscess in the soft tissue near a fingernail or toenail’. I don’t recommend a Google image search as the condition looks quite gruesome, but these wildflowers, often present in large massed displays, are a delight.

220313 common whitlowgrass (2)

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Late winter wildflowers

27 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, early spring wildflowers, late winter wildflowers

The title of today’s post may be later winter wildflowers but, in fact, my video includes some glorious hints of the spring colour we can all expect to see very soon. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed finding them.

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Name that rosette, 1

13 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in plants

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British wildflowers, identifying early plant growth, plant identification, plant rosettes

This is a personal learning journey that I thought I would share, and some of you can probably help along the way. Call me mad if you want, but I’m trying to work out what plants will become from looking at their early growth. This may be a very short journey as I may get so frustrated that I quickly give up, particularly as I’m already uncertain about one of today’s examples, but here goes…. Working from left to right, I think these are Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvensis) and Daisy (Bellis perennis), then Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) and today’s head-scratcher. It may be Prickly sow-thistle (Sonchus asper). It may be I’m biting off far more than I can chew trying to identify this plant at this early stage. Any ideas anyone?

220213 creeping thistle
220213 daisy
220213 teasel
220213 unknown

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Damp daffs

06 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, daffodil, water droplets on flowers, yellow flowers, yellow wildflowers

Despite being battered by drenching rain and storm-force wind gusts these hardy daffodils were still looking gorgeous.

220206 damp daffodils (1)

In fact, the remaining water droplets seemed only to add to their beauty.

220206 damp daffodils (2)

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Winter yellow

23 Sunday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, wildflowers in winter, winter wildflowers, winter yellow, winter-blooming wildflowers, yellow wildflowers

Limiting my palette to yellow, for the challenge and the sunshine cheeriness of the colour, I went searching for wildflowers in bloom in my local area this week. These are the dozen I managed to find …

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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