Botany
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What’s Flowering? 9th – 15th February (7) – Bonus Spanish Edition
Ten of my favourite finds from my trip to the Málaga Province. From the cliffs and valleys of El Chorro, to the pine forests and scrublands of Sierra Negra. Here are ten flowering plants to look for in Spain in February.
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This Week in Photos: 12th-18th January (3)
Floodplain regen – Burdock de Mestral – Female Hazel – Traveller’s-joy – Cracked Willow
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Arable Finds in Leigh
Fodder vetch Vicia villosa, Crimson clover Trifolium incarnatum and Flax Linum usitatissimum from an arable bird mix. Leigh, Worcestershire. 07.11.25
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What’s Flowering? 21st-27th April 2025 (17)
It’s really beginning to feel like spring, with hawthorn starting to flower, St Mark’s Fly are abundant over on Hartlebury Common and cow parsley is just getting going. In the woods, wild garlic is in full flower, and the bluebells are beginning to pass their best. We’ve had some mixed weather, but it has mostly…
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What’s Flowering? 14th-20th April 2025 (16)
This week, It was generally a wet and cold, but the botanising was augmented by my birthday trip to North Wales. We visited the Nannau estate for the Precipice walk and then the Torrent Walk – both near Dolgellau. I suppose the most conspicuous thing is still the bluebells, but the wild garlic and hawthorn…
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What’s Flowering? 7th-13th April 2025 (15)
It was warm this week, with highs up to 19 degrees Celsius. Bluebells have started to fill the air with their distinctive fragrance in woodlands and hedgerows alike. We have reached peak Cuckoo-flower, which is springing up along hedge banks and damp grassy places all over the county, along with Jack-by-the-hedge.In arable fields, rapeseed is…
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Walk: Salwarpe to Severn via Droitwich Canal
The Walk (7km / 1hr 48mins) Last weekend Lauren and I decided to meander our way along the Droitwich canal from St Michael’s Church to the confluence where the River Salwarpe meets the Severn at Hawford. We started the day by dropping one car off at the end point along Hawford Lock Lane behind the…
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ID Tip: Early Dog vs. Common Dog Violets
Early Dog Violet (Viola reichenbachiana) vs. Common Dog Violet (Viola riviniana) These two violet species are fairly similar in appearance and are often found growing together in woodlands and hedgerows. Early Dog Violet (1) has a spur that is usually darker than the petals and has short sepal appendages. Common Dog Violet (2) has a…
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ID Tip: Three-nerved Sandwort Vs. Common Chickweed
Three-nerved Sandwort Moehringia trinervia is a member of the Campion family worth looking out for in woodlands and waysides on acid soils. Here it was found in growing on a sandy woodland ride at Shrawley Woods, Worcestershire. It differs from the ubiquitous Common Chickweed Stellaria media by having sepals longer than petals, petals entire –…
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Lesser Chickweed (Stellaria pallida): Hartlebury Common 19.02.24
Stellaria pallida Lesser Chickweed – 19.02.24 Whilst rummaging in the short turf of Hartlebury Common I spotted this diminutive member of the Campion family Caryophyllaceae. It is odd amongst Stellaria in that it often has no (or only minute) petals, which is quite a distinctive feature. -It also has just 1 to 3 stamen, which…
