This has been a year of astonishing growth: more grass than we have ever seen, nettles at head height, trees and shrubs sagging under the weight of blossom. Our common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) is standing seven feet tall in places with flower-heads the size of dinner plates.
Continue reading “Hogweed”
by Ian Bushell
Continue reading “A walk in the park”
This is Stachys sylvatica, commonly known as hedge nettle, hedge stachys or hedge woundwort. It is growing at the far end of Lambrok Meadow.
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If you look closely enough, you can see that the nettles are beginning to flower. If you look even closer you will find a whole miniature ecosystem living in the nettle bed: sap suckers, nectar feeders, predators and terrifying creatures that hunt the predators.
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Chris Seymour’s pictures of the park’s common spotted orchids.
Elena Aschiopoaiei has emailed her pictures of rain-soaked larch cones in the park.
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Dog roses (Rosa canina) are in flower in the park’s hedges. We are promised good weekend weather so come and see.
This is hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata), by some accounts the UK’s most poisonous plant.
Continue reading “Hemlock water dropwort”
Common spotted orchids from DKG
The first common spotted orchid of the year, photographed by Ian Bushell. Send in your own orchid photographs to friendsofscp@outlook.com and we will publish them all.
.o0o.
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The yellow iris are in flower!
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Barbarea vulgaris also called bittercress, herb barbara, rocketcress, yellow rocketcress, winter rocket, and wound rocket
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In the middle of the park, the hawthorn blossom is pink; not uniformly pink but definitely pink in places. It seems to be confined to the hedges at the bottom end of Sleepers Field right through to the hedge at the top of the little triangular field that doesn’t have a name. It’s very pretty.
Continue reading “Pink hawthorn”
This is common mouse ear (Cerastium fontanum), sometimes called mouse ear chickweed. It grows all over the park for most of the year.
Continue reading “Common mouse ear”
Veronica serpyllifolia
Header picture: Suzanne Humphries
Others: as attributed,
Germander speedwell – Veronica chamaedrys
