What I do on Mondays!

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What I do on Mondays!
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buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 14 12:12 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

It is quite intense blue with some purple in it. We get that and weld growing in our local country park. When Butser Ancient Farm was there, we used to get some of the weld for dyeing yellow. A good clear colour. Sounds like you have similar soil to us Buzzy.

These were seen on a trip to a limestone quarry.

My house and garden are on heavy clay (former brick pit!)

Henry

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15968

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 14 6:09 am Post subject:
We are on chalk, but just down the road, where I was brought up, we have brick clay. There used to be several brick works there, and we have gault clay as well. Not sure if that is the same, but both awful to live on. Our soil is very light, but must say I prefer it on the whole.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 14 11:20 pm Post subject:

This Monday the prettiest thing (in my view) was one of these (actually several of these but this one was conveniently positioned for photography).

This is a gall on White Willow, called variously Cabbage Gall, Rosette Gall or Artichoke Gall. It is a much modified bud. Caused by a Gall Midge - apparently the naming of these galls is still 'under discussion', and there may be more than one species of midge involved.

These galls gradually turn brown and withered and remain visible on the tree throughout the winter, but at this stage are very beautiful.

Henry

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15968

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 14 7:19 am Post subject:

That is lovely Buzzy. Have never seen one of those, but not that familiar with white willow. We get goat willow and common sallow in the wood, and of course the usual planted weeping willows in gardens.

Have you ever seen a larch rose? They are the flowers, but aren't often noticed.

Yesterday evening I went round a park with the Trefoil Guild. It is a fairly ordinary park with the usual open grass for kickabouts, tennis, childrens play area and an enclosed bowling green, but there are a few trees. They have published a 'tree trail' so people can see about 10 different ones that are in the park. Most are oak, with a moderate number of ash and silver birch, but there was also lime, hornbeam, white poplar and supposedly Lawson cypress, but they had been cut down after presumably breaking in the high winds over the winter. Not a spectacular trail, but may be interesting to those that know nothing about trees. I was able to add a bit to the information in the booklet.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 14 10:47 pm Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

I have photographs of Larch roses, but taken on slide film (remember colour slides?).

One of these days I'll get round to digitising some of my slides!
(But don't hold your breath.)

Henry

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15968

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 14 6:52 am Post subject:

I have loads of slides too; quite a lot of them 21/4" square ones. They really should be digitised as some of them are very historic.

Was in the woods yesterday and saw a lot of butterflies including a white admiral, and on the field edge a marbled white. We have loads of silver washed fritillaries around at the moment in the woods too, as well as the common ones such as whites, red admiral, possibly a peacock, and lots of meadow browns along the field edge. Could be a good butterfly year.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 14 12:06 pm Post subject:
Yesterday we had a woodland walk. Saw a few butterflies, including a White Letter Hairstreak way too high for photography. Found several Broad Leaved Helleborines, growing in the shadiest part (fortnight at f11 country ). This is the best one:- Some of the others were rather stunted, and one appeared to have been nibbled by some rampaging herbivore! Henry

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15968

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 14 7:20 am Post subject:
Brilliant again Buzzy. We are supposed to have one of the helliborines, but I think the man doing the survey mistook a Solomon's seal, as they leaves are similar in May when the survey was done. I have found all his other plants, but never that one although I have been looking 11 years now.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 14 11:24 pm Post subject:

This Monday we had another good walk.

Amongst other things we found

Dodder - a parasitic plant that has no roots and no visible chlorophyll. It gets all it wants from the plants it parasitizes. I didn't check what these plants were actually attached to, but it looks as if it likes grasses.

We also found a particularly splendid cluster of

Clustered Bellflower! There were lots of these on the site this year - more than the 'old hands' have seen before.

Also saw a nice Oak Bush Cricket, but photogs of insect generally take more time than I'm prepared to spend on a walk!

Henry

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15968

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 14 6:51 am Post subject:
I have heard of Dodder but not actually seen it. I assume it has roots of some sort into the plant it paritisises. The bell flower picture is lovely too. We have ivy leaved bell flower out in the woods at the moment and it is a lovely patch of blue against the green of the leaves.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 14 10:34 pm Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

I have heard of Dodder but not actually seen it. I assume it has roots of some sort into the plant it paritisises. The bell flower picture is lovely too. We have ivy leaved bell flower out in the woods at the moment and it is a lovely patch of blue against the green of the leaves.

Yes, Dodder has things called haustoria, which are its equivalent of roots, and they penetrate the host plant's tissues and absorb nutrients and water.

Henry

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15968

Posted: Wed Jul 30, 14 6:34 am Post subject:
Thanks Buzzy. Odd plant. We get toothwort in the woods which is a parasite, but the exact nature of its relationship with its host isn't completely known. I have read that the toothwort may trap insects and exchange nutrients with the host plant, so more symbiotic.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Wed Jul 30, 14 4:40 pm Post subject:
A nice name Dodder, I wonder what the name comes from?

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Wed Jul 30, 14 11:11 pm Post subject:

Bodger wrote:

A nice name Dodder, I wonder what the name comes from?

The internet says:

Origin of DODDER

Middle English doder; akin to Middle High German toter dodder, egg yolk
First Known Use: 13th century.

Am completely puzzled as to what egg yolks have to do with it. If the flowers had been yellow.....

Will see what Geoffrey has to say (if anything) tomorrow.

Henry

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15968

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 14 7:16 am Post subject:
Doesn't it also mean to walk unsteadily? That would fit better as it meanders over the grass.

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