New Forest wildflowers

In July 2021 we took Ethel the campervan to the New Forest in Hampshire for the weekend and stayed at Hollands Wood campsite near Brockenhurst. I love it that we can park in amongst the trees.

Plants in the boggy field

Right next to the campsite is a very wet field where we found some flowers that were new to me.

Bog pimpernel – Anagallis tenella

I found this tiny flower was under my feet in the grass. The leaves are the more rounded ones in the first pic, not the ones with red stems. I was quite pleased how well the second image came out considering how much zoom I was using!

Lesser Water-plantain – Baldellia ranunculoides

I’m afraid I couldn’t get a decent pic of this, although I found it in various locations over the weekend. The main problem being that it tended to grow in ditches where I couldn’t reach and I didn’t have my big camera with me. It’s the white three petalled flower with the yellow centre.

On the edge of woodland

Tormentil – Potentilla

In a dryer area I found this Tormentil, which is similar to one I had seen on a previous visit to a different part of the New Forest. However on reading more about them I see that there are a few hybrids and although Potentilla erecta has four petals, so can other hybrids such as Potentilla anglica sometimes.

Common spotted orchid – Dactylorhiza fuchsii

I’ve seen a lot of Common spotted orchids this year. I remember it was a wetter spring than last year, maybe that has something to do with it?

Common cow-wheat – Melampyrum pratense

This flower was new to me. I usually have a mental starting point – it’s either a Genus I recognise or it looks like something else I know. So this time I used google lens, which made some suggestions. Once I came across Cow wheat it was clearly right. I found it growing on a bank above a ditch on the edge of a path through woods.

I also visited the New Forest in spring a few years ago.

This year was a good year for orchids.

More about our campervan Ethel (scroll to bottom of that page).