Wednesday 27 May 2020

25th May 2020 - Snippets of Wealth - Cleavers, Sm Pearl Bordered Frittilary etc



Brimstone on Silene dioica -  Red Campion
Photo: Slape Ln, Burton In Kendal 25th May 2020

I also had a further Brimstone and two Orange Tip males, plus the bonus was a
Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary with flitting behaviour whilst briefly feeding on Geranium robertianum Herb Robert It just would not let me have a photo and so here I must delve into the archive of a Small Pearl bordered from previous years.

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary
Photo: from earlier archive 16th June 2012 - Hutton Roof


Geum urbanum - Wood Avens
Photo: Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal 25th May 2020

I just had to stop and check out these Wood Avens. Normally you would see 5 petals, but here within close proximity I found one with 6, one with 8, and one with 9 petals.


Urtica dioica (Common Nettle)
Photo: Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal

Plenty of the Common Nettle which I will spend time photographing in due course.
I remember "Nettle Beer" as a child over in Heysham Village, I wonder if they are still selling it!

They say if you grab a nettle straight on it will not sting you! I am not sure about that one, but if you brush into a nettle with your hand has you walk past it will sting you.  But the saving grace is, that there is always a dock leaf close by and that for me always proves to be the antidote.


Just a lovely piece of old ivy vine which you can let your thoughts
disappear into! and what do you find?

And now I wanted to take a photo or two of galium aparine or known locally as cleavers, and well known as a sticky plant which attaches itself to everything.  I often wonder if the inventor of velcro got their ideas from this very plant!

Most cleavers I see regular on the roadside verges or on the sides of the footpaths and bridleways are usually up to about  (30cm) 12", but these I photographed today well stretched out were 88cm (34 1/2") although I believe they can grow up to 300cm.


 Galium aparine (Cleavers)
Photo: Shows the head of the plant including small flowers
Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal 26th May 2020

  Galium aparine (Cleavers)
Photo: Shows the head of the plant including small flowers
Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal 26th May 2020


  Galium aparine (Cleavers)
Photo: Shows the head of the plant including small flowers
Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal 26th May 2020

  Galium aparine (Cleavers)
Photo: Shows the head of the plant including small flowers
Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal 26th May 2020


 Galium aparine (Cleavers)
Photo: Shows the head of the plant including small flowers
Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal 26th May 2020


Geum rivale (Water Avens)
Photo: Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal on 25th May 2020

Geum rivale (Water Avens)
Photo showing the stem and leaf structure
Photo: Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal on 25th May 2020


Geum rivale (Water Avens)
Photo showing both Water Avens and Wood Avens
Photo: Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal on 25th May 2020


Melica uniflora (Wood Melick)
Slape Lane, Burton In Kendal on May 25th 2020

We do have Melica uniflora (Wood Melick) throughout Hutton Roof and its reasonably common.  We are also fortunate to have the very rare Melica nutans (Mountain Melick)

The Nutans shows the leaves stained purple, and also the fruits hang individually from very short stems coming off the main stem.


Yet the Uniflora have several stems branching off from the main stem which may have two or more fruits hanging from it. 


 Galium odoratum (Sweet Woodruff)
Rarely do you get the perfect light!
Photo: Lancelot Clark Storth (CWT) on Mon May 25th 2020

Its so rare I get the right light especially with this particular species, when you can just snap away without problem with the settings eg: automatic will do. Usually all the whites merge into one and you cannot get the individuality of that special bedstraw petal! well today is the exception to the rule, it was a great pleasure...I could have snapped away all day.

 Galium odoratum (Sweet Woodruff)
Rarely do you get the perfect light!
Photo: Lancelot Clark Storth (CWT) on Mon May 25th 2020

 Galium odoratum (Sweet Woodruff)
Rarely do you get the perfect light!
Photo: Lancelot Clark Storth (CWT) on Mon May 25th 2020

 Galium odoratum (Sweet Woodruff)
Rarely do you get the perfect light!
Photo: Lancelot Clark Storth (CWT) on Mon May 25th 2020

Euphrasia (Eyebright)
Photo: Shows flowerhead - Lancelot Clark Storth (CWT) on 25th May 2020


Euphrasia (Eyebright)
Photo: Shows leaf - Lancelot Clark Storth (CWT) on 25th May 2020


 Common Cow Wheat







Polystichum aculeatum (Hard Shield Fern)
Shows a young frond here with severely repetitive deformed pinnae
Photo: Lancelot Clark Storth (CWT), Hutton Roof on May 25th 2020