Enchanter’s nightshade, Circaea lutetiana. It has small pinky white flowers between June and August. it’s a ‘hairy’ plant with hairs seen on the leaves (both sides) and leaf stalks (petioles). Despite its name, enchanter’s nightshade is unrelated to other nightshades. It actually belongs to the willowherb family. WT. Photo: Stephen Middleton
Common Valerian, Valeriana officinalis. It bears sweetly scented pink or white flowers that attract many fly species, especially hoverflies. It is consumed as food by the larvae of some butterflies and moths. Valerian has been used as a herb in traditional medicine since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. Hippocrates described its properties, and Galen later prescribed […]
Herb Robert, Geranium robertianium. One of the commonest wildflowers on Parkland Walk, coping admirably through dry spells and in dry, gravelly or stony ground. Herb-robert is a foodplant and nectar-source for many invertebrates including bees, hoverflies and the barred carpet moth. It was traditionally used as an antiseptic, as well as to treat stomach upset and nosebleeds. Its leaves are […]
Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. The species has evolved to be especially attractive to long-tongued bees such as the common carder bee. The brightly coloured flowers and dark spotted lip attracts the bee, while the lower lip of the flower allows the insect to land before climbing up the tube. In doing so, the bee will drop pollen from other foxgloves. As […]
Common vetch, Vicia sativa. A member of the pea family, Common vetch is able to make its own nitrates, a special nutrient essential for healthy plant growth.
Common knapweed, Centaurea nigra. Also known as ‘black knapweed’, Resembles a thistle. It is in bloom from June to September and is a huge favourite of all kinds of butterflies, including common blues, marbled whites and meadow browns.
Borage, Borago officinalis. Flowers are normally blue but some pink examples can be found. The flowering season tends to be quite long from June to September. Can be confused with Green alkanet (also edible) but Borage flowers have pointed point tips at the end of each petal. WT
Zig zag clover, Trifolium medium. Similar to red clover but for narrow stipules and by having longer thinner leaves which grow on a zig zagging stem.
Rosebay willowherb, Chamerion angustifolium. This species is abundant in wet slightly acidic open fields but it has earned the nicknames ‘fireweed’ and ‘bombweed’ as a result of its tendancy to colonize quickly on burnt ground and bomb sites during World War II. The plant’s rise from a local rarity is closely linked to the expansion of the railway network making it […]
Red campion, Silene dioica. There are five pinkish petals which are deeply notched at the end, narrowed at the base and all go into an urn-shaped calyx. The nectar of the flowers is utilised by bumblebees and butterflies. Crushed seeds of red campion have also been used to treat snakebites. WT
