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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Herb Robert

Wild and flowering

16 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, Bush vetch, Garlic mustard, Herb Robert, Honesty, Red campion, Shining crane's-bill, Spring colour, spring wildflowers

These gorgeous wildflowers are now blooming in the sunnier, more sheltered spots I pass on my daily walks:

210416 bush vetch

Bush vetch (Vicia sepium), the first of the vetches I’ve seen this year.

210416 garlic mustard

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), also known as Jack-by-the-hedge

210416 honesty

Honesty (Lunaria annua), originally a garden escapee but now naturalised in the local countryside

210416 red campion

Red campion (Silene dioica)

210416 herb robert

Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) and, below, its cousin, Shining crane’s-bill (Geranium lucidum). As you can see, the flowers of these two are very similar but the leaves are quite different.

210416 Shining crane's-bill

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68/366 Pavement plants

08 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

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#PavementPlants, #WildflowerHour, British wildflowers, Coltsfoot, Common cornsalad, Daisy, dandelion, Herb Robert, Lesser Celandine, primrose, Red dead-nettle, Shepherd's purse

Now that Spring has sprung, the folks who run #WildflowerHour on social media are issuing weekly challenges for followers to focus their searches around. This week it was #PavementPlants, searching for any plants in bloom that were growing in the cracks or along the edges of their local pavements. Challenges like this do mean you get some odd looks from people when you’re photographing your finds but I’m very used to that these days.

Here’s what I found: Coltsfoot (I love how tenacious these plants are – they were pushing up between the cracks in an old set of steps connecting two local streets); Common cornsalad; Daisy; Dandelion; Herb Robert; Lesser celandine; Primrose; Red dead-nettle; and Shepherd’s-purse.

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A family of Linnets

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, plants, wildflowers

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Ely embankment, Herb Robert, Linnet, Linnet family, Linnets feeding on Herb Robert

I went for a wander along the Ely embankment yesterday and was delighted to discover a family of five Linnets, two adults and three exceedingly cute juveniles, all feeding on Herb Robert seeds. They started off with Mum and Dad feeding the youngsters but the kids soon got impatient and wanted more food more quickly.

180809 linnet (1)

Mum or Dad has just plucked one of the Herb Robert seed pods while …

180809 linnet (2)

… youngster is watching to see how this food-gathering process works.

180809 linnet (3)

“Now if I can just reach …”

180809 linnet (4)

“Gotcha!”

180809 linnet (5)

“Now I’ve got the idea, I can help myself.”

180809 linnet (6)

Youngster looking rather pleased with itself.

180809 linnet (7)

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Some crane’s bills

11 Friday May 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 1 Comment

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British wildflowers, crane's bills, geranium, Geranium lucidum, Geranium Robertianum, Geranium rotundifolium, Herb Robert, Round-leaved crane's-bill, Shining crane's-bill, spring flowers, spring wildflowers

The word geranium comes from the Greek geranos, meaning crane, so named because of the likeness of the plant’s seed case to the bill of the bird. Thus, in the plant world, the crane’s-bills are the wild geraniums.

180511 round-leaved crane's-bill

’Tis the time the geraniums begin to bloom and I’m trying to learn which is which, so I thought I’d share a few I’ve found during recent perambulations. The first is the Round-leaved crane’s-bill (Geranium rotundifolium).

180511 herb robert

This next is the one most people can name. It seems to grow almost anywhere and makes even a rubbish heap look beautiful: Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum).

180511 shining crane's-bill

At a quick glance, this Shining crane’s-bill (Geranium lucidum) looks a lot like Herb Robert … and then you notice how different the leaves are.

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‘Dedicated Naturalist’: Herb Robert

03 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by sconzani in 'Dedicated Naturalist' Project, flowers, nature, wildflowers

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botanical drawing, Dr Mary Gillham, Geranium Robertianum, Herb Robert, Mary Gillham Archive Project, plant anatomy

A snippet from my volunteer work on the ‘Dedicated Naturalist’ Project, helping to decipher and digitise, record and publicise the life’s work of naturalist extraordinaire, Dr Mary Gillham.

171103 Herb Robert (1)

As part of my current work to research and write the story of Mary’s life for the project website, I was, this week, going through items from Mary’s university days – she held a BSc in agriculture and botany from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth and a PhD from the University of Wales at Bangor. Amongst the treasures Mary had retained was a folder of botanical drawings, and I couldn’t resist choosing a few to scan for the website and also to share here.

171103 Herb Robert (2)

The paper Mary used is tissue-thin so doesn’t scan well – the details on the reverse show through – and I’ve had to clean this up a lot on photoshop. It’s still not great but I love the level of detail in these drawings and, as Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) is still to be found blooming here and there (photographed yesterday), this seemed a good flower to feature.

171103 Herb Robert (3)

For the full story about the Mary Gillham Archive Project, check out our blog, https://marygillhamarchiveproject.wordpress.com/  and follow our progress on Facebook and on Twitter.

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Herb Robert

12 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by sconzani in nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Cranesbill, Death comes quickly, Geranium Robertianum, Herb Robert, herbal medicine, Knecht Ruprecht, Red Robin, Robin Goodfellow, Storksbill

One of the highlights of yesterday’s walk was seeing this little geranium in flower. Though thought to have an offensive odour – some say it smells of burning tyres, others that it emits has an unpleasant mousey smell, hence one of its common names, ‘stinking Bob’ – I admit I haven’t noticed its stink and instead find myself attracted to its delicate ferny foliage, its reddish stalks, and its pretty pink flowers.

170312 Herb Robert (1)

This is Geranium robertianum, most commonly known in Britain as Herb Robert but with a plethora of other common names which, in part, reflect the folklore around it: Storksbill, Crow’s foot, Death comes quickly and Red Robin are just a few of its 100-odd regional variants. The origins of the name ‘Robert’ are disputed – some attribute it to the abbot and herbalist Robert of Molesme, others to Saint Robert or Rupert of Salzburg, and there appear also to be associations with the German hobgoblin Knecht Ruprecht and the English equivalent Robin Goodfellow (Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream). (You can read more in this excellent blog on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website.)

170312 Herb Robert (2)
170312 Herb Robert (3)

Herb Robert has long been valued by herbalists, for its healing properties – everything from wounds and toothache to its supposed ability to increase oxygen at a cellular level in the human body, thus assisting in the body’s fight against cancer. Personally, rather than ingest it, I think I’ll just continue to enjoy the dainty dabs of colour this pretty little plant adds to the countryside of my walks.

170312 Herb Robert (4)

p.s. Some of these photos were taken last summer.

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Bute Park wildflowers

17 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bluebell, Bute Park, Common dog-violet, Daisy, dandelion, Germander speedwell, Golden saxifrage, gorse, Greater stitchwort, Green alkanet, Herb Robert, Lesser Celandine, primrose, Red campion, Sweet violet, White deadnettle, Wild garlic, Wild strawberry, Wood anemone

This weekend I could have paid £12 to see what I’m sure would have been gorgeous flowers and inspirational displays at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Flower Show being held here in Cardiff’s Bute Park but, as I don’t have that kind of cash to splash at the moment, I decided to see what flowers I could find in Bute Park for nothing. With 18 different types of wildflowers currently in bloom I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Enjoy!

160417 bluebell
160417 daisy bellis perennis
160417 dandelion
160417 dead nettle white
160417 geranium robertianum herb robert
160417 germander speedwell
160417 gorse
160417 greater stitchwort Stellaria holostea
160417 Green Alkanet Pentaglottis sempervirens
160417 lesser celandine
160417 opposite leaved golden saxifrage
160417 primrose primula vulgaris
160417 red campion
160417 violet blue
160417 violet white
160417 wild garlic
160417 wild strawberry
160417 wood anemone

There were: Bluebell (mostly Spanish but I found a few natives) (Hyacinthoides non-scripta); Daisy (Bellis perennis); Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale); White deadnettle (Lamium album); Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum); Germander speedwell (Veronica Chamaedrys); Gorse (Ulex europaeus); Greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea); Green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens); Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria); Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium); Primrose (Primula vulgaris); Red campion (Silene dioica); Common dog-violet (Viola riviniana) and Sweet violet (Viola odorata); Wild garlic (Allium ursinum); Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca); and Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa).

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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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