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As well as this page there are two other natural history
pages on this site - and |
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A month by month diary of the wildflowers of Bradley
Stoke
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February
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In February you can see the first lesser celandines
of the year in bloom on the banks of Stoke Brook near the path by Sherbournes
Brake. The flowers which open in the sunshine are 20-30mm wide and
have 8 to 12 narrow-elliptical petals of a bright glossy yellow.
The heart-shaped leaves are of a shiny dark green. The plant is
between 5 and 25 cm tall. Lesser celandine grows on woodland floors,
hedgerows and damp, grassy places in partial shade. The roots form
small tubers.
Flowers from February to May.
A photo and a botanical painting of celandines below.
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March
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During March wood anemones start to flower in Webbs
Wood. The flowers are about 20-40mm wide and have white petals with
purplish pink veins and are often flushed with blue or pink on the outside.
The leaves are in three parts with pointed toothed lobes. The plant
stands 6-30cm tall and grows on woodland floors. The wood anemone
is sometimes known as the wind flower as according to legend they never
open when the wind blows. Both the wood anemone and lesser celandine
are in the Ranunculaceae or Buttercup family.
Flowers March to May.
A botanical painting of wood anemones below.
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Also at about mid March time the blackthorn is coming
into bloom. The site of these shrubs covered in a mass of small
white flowers is sometimes called the "blackthorn winter."
The red-tinged stalks have long spines. The flowers, which appear
before the small narrow leaves, were used to decorate wedding cakes and
produce sloes - a small, dark, bitter fruit eaten by birds, badgers, foxes
and, in the past, by man. Blackthorn is seen all over Bradley Stoke
as it makes a good hedge for livestock and forms particularly dense clumps
by the brooks. The wood was sometimes made into clubs (the Irish
shillelagh) or walking sticks. Like other plants that have white
flowers and dark fruit it may have had some kind importance in pagan religions.
Below is a botanical painting and two photos of blackthorn
blossom by Stoke Brook.
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April
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| During April the first bluebells
flower. The sight of a wood carpeted with the violet-blue flowers
of the bluebell is unique to North-West Europe being native only to that
part of the world. Unfortunately the flowers do provide a temptation
and sometimes people can be seen picking them. Please do not pick
the bluebells. Instead leave them to be enjoyed by others - picking
the flowers not only removes the pleasure of the sight of them for others
but reduces the plant's chances for reproduction (no flowers means no seeds)
and walking on the plants breaks their leaves and can cause irreparable
damage. Digging up a bluebell and transplanting to your garden is
not only a waste of time (as the plant is unlikely to survive) but is an
offence under the Wildlife and Conservation Act 1981. Picking the
flowers is also an offence under the same act. Just enjoy the
sight and don't become one of those people who contribute to the steady
loss of natural beauty and magic from our lives. |
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Bluebells in Webbs Wood
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More bluebells in Webbs Wood
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May
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| This month sees a great increase in
the number of wildflowers. Most noticeable in the woods are the ramsons
especially in Savages Wood and Webbs Wood where they thrive beside the
bluebells. The elliptical pointed leaves smell of garlic - cooking
diminishes the aroma. The white six-lobed flowers are held on an upright
stalk in a cluster up to about 30cm from the ground. The photo below
on the left shows ramsons in Savages Wood in early May and on the right
a painting. |
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| I recently saw a cowslip - the
first I have seen here in eight years. These relatives of the primrose
with their stalked clusters of dark yellow flowers are familiar to many
people as a garden flower. |
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Hawthorn blossom, which first appears in May,
is a common sight in the area as this tree was often used to make stock-proof
hedges. The flowering of the hawthorn traditionally denotes the
start of Summer. On warm still nights the sweet hay scent of the
flowers can be quite powerful.
Garlic mustard is a common plant seen in the hedgerows.
It grows to about 120cm in height and has broad roughly-triangular pale
green leaves with small white flowers at the top of the stem. The
most notable feature of the plant is the garlic aroma given off by the
leaves when crushed. A painting of garlic mustard below.
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| Ground ivy also has leaves
which give off a pungent smell when bruised and in the past was used for
flavouring ale. The violet-blue two-lipped flowers and dark-green
kidney-shaped leaves of the plant make it quite distinctive. Maximum
height is about 30cm. Ground ivy can be seen by the side of the path
by Stoke Brook before it enters Sherbournes Brake near the willow
planting. A painting below. |
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June
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| Red campion is a plant with rose-red
flowers and soft hairy oval leaves on an upright stems up to 90cm tall and
is seen in or around woods and hedgerows and likes a lime-rich soil.
The picture below shows the male and female flowers with the seed pod at
the top. |
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| Meadowsweet is another
common but nonetheless interesting plant which is seen at the edges of woods,
hedgerows and on the banks of the brooks. The dark green pointed,
"toothed" leaves and frothy heads of creamy white flowers are
quite distinctive. The plant grows to about 60 - 120cm. The
flowers smell sweet and if crushed between the fingers create a scent reminiscent
of Germoline. The plant was used in the past for making herbal tea
and flavouring mead - hence the name. It was also strewn on the floors
of dwellings as a sort of air freshener. A painting below. |
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July
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| One of the most noticeable plants
to be found in flower on the banks of the brooks in Bradley Stoke is Indian
balsam also called Himalayan balsam. These tall (up to
about 7 feet) hollow-stemmed plants with their pointed, serrated leaves
provide a colourful display of pink, red and white hooded flowers which
Mrs Sharon Ubank describes as looking like raspberries and cream (I know
I keep going on about if you are a Bradley Stoke resident you really should
read her book "Landscape of the Past: The hidden heritage of Bradley
Stoke" - see the nature page for info on
how to order a copy). This plant was originally introduced to Britain
as a garden flower but is now naturalised. The ripe seed pods burst
open at a touch to fling the seeds in a spectacular fashion. Painting below. |
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| At this time of year you can also see
St John's-wort. It appears as a tall (up to about four feet)
plant with yellow star-shaped flowers and grows on open ground near woods
and hedges. If the leaves have small translucent dots it is the perforate
variety of St John's Wort. A preparation of the plant is still used
in medicines. Painting below. |
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| Another plant with yellow flowers is
tall melilot seen on open ground and growing up to about four feet.
The leaflets are in threes and the small flowers are in spikes at the top
of the plant. It was once thought to have medicinal properties. |
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August
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| At this time the purple-loosestrife
can be still be seen in bloom by the banks of the lake near Webbs Wood.
The tall spikes of purple flowers grow up to 120cm. The leaves are
broad and spear-shaped. Photo below. |
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| Tufted vetch
thrives on open ground and is a common site. The flowers start pale
purple but fade to an impressive shade of violet-blue. The plant climbs
up tall grasses and hedgerows by use of the branched tendrils at the end
of the leaves. The leaflets are paired and spear-shaped about 5-25mm.
Painting below. |
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Another plant which uses tendrils to climb
is meadow vetchling. This can be seen in rough grass and
brambles by the side of paths and woods. The clusters of yellow
pea flowers are quite attractive. The seed pods (shown in the picture
below) are black and about 25mm long. The individual flowers are
about 15mm across. Painting below
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September
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| Many of the flowers have faded but
some you will still see in September and even October such as red campion,
tufted vetch and common vetch. If you do not see small (10-15mm) purple
flowers of the bittersweet in the woods between July and September
you may see the bright red fruits later in the year. Bittersweet clambers
up trees and shrubs up to a height of 200cm. The leaves are oval and
pointed sometimes with lobes at the base. The flowers are similar
in size and form (though not colour) to those of the tomato and potato to
which bitttersweet is related. The berries are poisonous. Painting
below. |
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October to January
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| More a time of fruits and seeds than
flowers - look for the haws of the hawthorn, sloes on blackthorn, blackberries,
crabapples, acorns, hazelnuts and the ash "keys" - seeds which
resemble medieval keys. In the new year the hazel will produce
the welcome sight of yellow catkins and close examination of the twigs will
reveal the tiny red male flowers. Two paintings below. |
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| For further reading I recommend the
"Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe"
by David Sutton published by Kingfisher. Also take a look at an excellent
site for paintings of wildflowers - The Liber
Herbarum. |
As well as this page there are two
other natural history pages on this site - and
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