Wild Flowers of Leazes Park

Anthriscus sylvestris I have thought good to call Hedge or Field Parsley (because it growes upon hedges and in plowed fields very plentifully everywhere) Gerard Sixteenth Century on 'Bastard Parsleys' Clusters of white lacey flowers along roadsides, canal-sides and parks are a feature of late spring. Although you can occasionally find sickly looking hogweed trying to flower, even in January, I have never seen it at full height until much later in the year. This means that cow parsley is the first member of the Apiaceae to really get going and for that reason it will be discussed first. Banks of cow parsley are a feature of late spring Not everybody likes cow-parsley and an article in the Independent called cow parsley ' the countryside killer ' on account of its overabundance in our country lanes. In over-fertile soils, along with nettles and bramble, cow parsley can out-compete other flowers and in doing so reduce overall plant diversity. There is good evi...

Repetition is the essence of the plant Theophrastus 372-287BC This post will review a family, several members of which will be putting in an appearance in the park over the next few weeks. The Apiaceae is one of the most distinctive of all plant families and its members were the first to be lumped together into a distinct grouping as long ago as the end of the 16th century. This was on account of the shape of the inflorescence called an umbel which in turn gave rise to the old family name the Umbelliferae. That family name has gone, at least in part, because some flowers from other families also have umbels. The members of the Apiaceae that we will discuss over the coming weeks are cow parsley  Anthriscus sylvestris , hogweed  Heracleum sphondylium  and finally my favourite wild carrot  Daucus carota . Habit Members of this family often have stout stems that are ridged and hollow, a recipe that gives them the strength and rigidity that can allow members ...

Hyacinthoides non-scripta Saphire Queen of the mid-May; And every leave and every flower Pearled with the self same shower. Keats 'Fancy' 1918 Drifts of bluebells in the dappled light under the trees If you were looking for a quintessentially British flower, perhaps the bluebell ( Hyacinthoides non-scripta ) would be it. Bluebells do occur in other countries but bluebell woods carpeted with the flowers are a rather British thing. Although you don't see magnificent drifts of bluebells in Leazes Park there are enough of them to light up a walk and make it worth taking time to stoop down and examine the flowers and provided COVID-19 hasn't taken away your sense of smell have a good old sniff. Taxonomy Bluebells belong to the Liliaceae or Lily family which are monocotyledons (abbreviated to monocots). Monocots, when they emerge from the seed, have a single cotyledon or embryonic leaf, as opposed to dicotyledons (dicots) that have two.  Mature monocots ...