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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: white wildflowers

Spatling Poppie

09 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bladder campion, British wildflowers, Silene vulgaris, white wildflowers

According to Flora Britannica, this plant is ‘one of the favourite food-plants of the little insects known as froghoppers, notable for surrounding themselves with protective froth whilst feeding. John Gerard … called it “Spatling Poppie”, “in respect of that kindle of frothie spittle, or spume, which we call Cuckoo spittle, that more aboundeth in the bosomes of the leaues of these plants, then in any other”.’

210609 bladder campion (3)

Gerard’s ‘Spatling Poppie’ is today better known as Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris), and I think it’s fairly obvious where the name ‘bladder’ came from – the calyx of the flower head looks swollen, as if inflated with air or water. According to the Plantlife website, the plant’s other common names include Cowbell, Maiden’s tears, and Common Bladder Catchfly ‘even though it doesn’t technically catch flies’.

210609 bladder campion (2)

This is not a flower I see often locally, so I was delighted to find several clumps growing amongst wildflowers at the edge of a local road. A roadside verge is a typical location for Bladder campion, and these lovely wildflowers can also be found under hedgerows, in fields and meadows.

210609 bladder campion (1)

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359/366 Winter white

24 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in animals, birds, flowers, fungi, lichen, winter

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

the colour white, white in nature, white wildflowers

With no chance of a white Christmas for me, I thought I’d share some of Nature’s whiteness instead.

201224 1 snowberry
201224 2 cow
201224 3 oxeye daisy
201224 4 cat
201224 5 bindweed
201224 6 goat's-beard
201224 7 mute swan
201224 8 snowman
201224 9 sheep
201224 10 Honey fungus
201224 11 horse
201224 12 yarrow
201224 13 lichen
201224 14 White Spindles
201224 15 white campion

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178/365 Oxeyes

27 Thursday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, daisies, Dog daisy, Horse daisy, Moon daisy, Moonpenny, Oxeye daisy, white wildflowers, wildflowers

I’ve gone butterflying today – fingers crossed I’ll have some beauties to show you tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope these Oxeye daisies will brighten your day as much as they always do mine.

190627 ox-eye daisy (j)

These are Leucanthemum vulgare, also known as Dog daisies, Horse daisies, Moon daisies, Moonpennies and Marguerites. Once abundant in agricultural grasslands, they’ve been driven out of those areas, mostly because of the industrialisation and chemicalisation of modern farming, so now they’re the early colonisers of brown-field sites and roadside verges, and flourish in unimproved grasslands.

190627 ox-eye daisy (a)
190627 ox-eye daisy (b)
190627 ox-eye daisy (c)
190627 ox-eye daisy (d)
190627 ox-eye daisy (e)
190627 ox-eye daisy (f)
190627 ox-eye daisy (g)
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190627 ox-eye daisy (i)

If you want to know more about these cheery flowers, check out Plantlife’s website, which always has a wealth of fascinating information about Britain’s wildflowers.

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63/365 Sweet violets

04 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Sweet violet, Viola odorata, violet, white wildflowers, wildflowers

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When I see violets, I always think of my nana Johno, my mother’s mother. She always had violets growing in her garden and would often pick a few to bring inside so she could enjoy their sweet scent. I spotted these particular violets on my way to Cosmeston this morning, growing wild on a grassy bank. I wasn’t able to smell them but I’m fairly sure these are Sweet violets (Viola odorata), which, as well as the traditional purple colour, can also be found in this pretty white variation.

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Taking great pleasure …

27 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#FloralFriday, autumn colour, autumn flowers, British wildflowers, white wildflowers, wildflowers, yellow wildflowers

‘Who would live happily in the country
must be wisely prepared to take great pleasure in little things.’
~ Henry Beston, in Northern Farm: A chronicle of Maine, Reinhart & Co, 1948

171027 Bindweed
171027 Sow thistle
171027 Daisy
171027 Dandelion agg
171027 Yarrow
171027 Buttercup agg

 

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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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