Spotting flowers growing wild in South East UK
Still some plants in flower Despite being a dry month there were still some species flowering Rosebay Willowherb – Chamaenerion angustifolium Wild Carrot – Daucus carota gall – Keifferia pericarpiicola This was the first time I’d found these little pink balls on Wild Carrot, and I had to look up what they were. Old mans…
I was up on Seaford Head in August again for the Moon Carrot survey. There were about ten of us and the numbers of Seseli libanotis were good. I haven’t included photos of them here because I did that last year! In 2022 we had a very dry late summer and the Moon carrots were…
Burnt-tip Orchids in Sussex Neotinia ustulata grows in a few places locally The Orchid is on the Red List but locally frequent because it likes the short chalk downland turf. I’ve heard that another local haunt is Mount Caburn near Lewes. Last year I was pleased to be able to catch it in flower in…
Local Leguminosae The Pea family Fabaceae or Leguminosae includes many flowers including Vetches and Vetchlings, Clovers, Bird’s Foot Trefoil and many more. There seemed to be quite a lot of these legumes when I visited the Last Meadow in Seaford in early June. A blooming meadow But there were flowers of all types blowing in…
Flowering in August, September and October While out walking near my home in Seaford Sussex here are some blooms I came across. These are in addition to my various trips up Seaford Head in August! Wildflowers around the town Field Bindweed – Convolvulus arvensis This small flowered bindweed likes my garden. Wild marjoram – Origanum…
Wildflowers on a nature walk A week after counting Moon Carrots on Seaford Head I was back up there with Seaford Natural History Society on a nature walk lead by Sussex Wildlife Trust. As for the last few posts, I have marked any chalk grassland indicator species with an L. I didn’t photograph last weeks…
Wildflowers of Short Cliff and inland Short Cliff is the next cliff along from Hope Gap travelling East. If you head inland towards South Hill Barn you cross a large area of short grass which is managed by Sussex Wildlife trust using grazing. This area is bounded to the West by an area of scrub…
Wildflowers of Hope Gap After counting Moon Carrots on Seaford Head Nature Reserve in Sussex, I kept my phone at the ready for photography and walked home slowly. This post is in two parts because I took so many photos! This part will be about Hope Bottom and the area around Hope Gap where we…
Seseli libanotis is a rare UK wildflower Seaford Natural History Society counts wild plants of Moon Carrot every year to monitor numbers. Being a clifftop plant, coastal erosion means that the whole colony is in danger of failure in a single rock fall. Moon carrot grows on our chalk cliffs The plant is found right near…
Summer evening walk with many wildflowers I went for an evening walk after being recommended a visit to Cradle Valley on the outskirts of Seaford. I was particularly looking for Burnt orchids but came across many beautiful flowers including three more orchids: Fragrant orchid, Common Spotted orchids and Pyramidal orchids. Other highlights were finding many…