Three campions

26 Sunday Nov 2023

Tags

Bladder campion, Red campion, Silene dioica, Silene latifolia, Silene vulgaris, White campion

Here are three campions I’ve found during this week’s walks. The first was a late-flowering surprise I found on Wednesday and is in the best condition of these three campions as it was photographed before the hard frost we had yesterday, Saturday. This is the lovely Red campion (Silene dioica).

231126 red campion

The White campion (Silene latifolia) also looked lovely when I saw it on Wednesday but these photos were taken today so the flowers were showing the effects of the weather, drooping, wet from this morning’s drizzle, the petals almost transparent but still pretty. I’ve included a second photo, a side view of the flower so you can see the difference between White and the third campion, below, which also has white petals.

231126 white campion

And this is the third campion of the week, very much past its best now, with the merest slivers of petals still remaining. The shape that gives the Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris) its name is very obvious and, once again, I’ve included a second image, this one taken in June, to show this pretty flower at its best.

231126 bladder campion

By the sea

20 Sunday Aug 2023

Posted by sconzani in plants, seaside, wildflowers

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Tags

#WildflowerHour, British wildflowers, Echium vulgare, seaside wildflowers, Silene latifolia, Tanacetum vulgare, Tansy, Teucrium scorodonia, Viper's-bugloss, White campion, Wood sage

This week’s challenge for #WildflowerHour was ‘What can you find blooming along the coast?’. I’ve had a couple of walks around parts of Cardiff Bay this week and could’ve included a lot of plants but have selected just four.

230820 vipers-bugloss

As Cardiff Council has (amazingly!) refrained from cutting the Barrage grass in recent months, the few Viper’s-bugloss (Echium vulgare) plants that were previously growing there have increased markedly. There must be over 50 plants now spread across the expanse of the Barrage, and the blue flowers make a lovely contrast against the grass green.

230820 tansy

I rarely see Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), so this single plant, thriving on the sandy slope below the children’s playground on the Barrage, was a delightful surprise.

230820 white campion

Growing just along from that Tansy plant, was this lone White campion (Silene latifolia) plant. It wasn’t looking as healthy as the Tansy but was covered in seed heads so I think it was just past its best.

230820 wood sage

This Wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia) was a total surprise as you wouldn’t necessarily expect a plant with ‘wood’ in its name to be growing alongside a seaside path. My book says it prefers acid soils but, when I googled, I found many examples of Wood sage growing on scree slopes, amongst limestone, and close to sand dunes, so I guess it’s very adaptable.

A new wildflower meadow

02 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers

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Tags

Corncockle, Cornflower, Field bindweed, Gypsywort, Radyr Weir, Sopawort, Taff Trail, Tansy, White campion, wildflower meadow

Last Monday was a holiday here in Britain so I took myself off for a long walk along Cardiff’s River Taff, starting at the new hydro-electric scheme at Radyr Weir. While the Archimedes Screw turbines that power the scheme were impressive to see in action, it was the adjacent wildflower meadow that I loved best. It appears newly planted so was perhaps part of the reinstatement plan following the hydro scheme’s construction.

160902 wildflower meadow (2)

Though late in the season, the flowers were in full bloom, providing a welcome feast for bees, wasps, flies and hoverflies. I imagine the flowers were an off-the-shelf wildflower seed mix but they were still lovely, especially my favourites, the eye-popping red of the poppies and blue of the cornflowers.

160902 wildflower meadow (1)

Strolling along the adjacent, much older pathways I also found other beautiful wildflowers so today’s Floral Friday photos include the Corncockle (Agrostemma githago), Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Gypsywort (Lycopus europaeus), Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis), Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) and White campion (Silene latifolia sub alba).