12th April 2009 (Sunday)
Off south to the fringes of the Mendips today, in search of several species in particular of which I ultimately found none! No sign of Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem, nor Bird-in-a-bush (
Corydalis solida) nor Bladdernut (
Staphylea pinnata)... but, despite those failures, there was plenty around to grab my interest!
Exploring around the villages of Stoke St. Michael, Mells & Great Elm produced four new species for the list;
Common Juniper (
Juniperus communis), which was well-naturalised in the woods around Great Elm,
Abraham-Isaac-Jacob (
Trachystemon orientalis) in a hedge at Stoke St. Michael,
Greater Chickweed (
Stellaria neglecta) by the streamside path at Great Elm and, nearby, a single bush of
Gagnepain's Barberry (
Berberis gagnepainii) just about coming into flower.
(
Abraham-Isaac-Jacob, Trachystemon orientalis)
(
Greater Chickweed, Stellaria neglecta)
(
Gagnepain's Barberry, Berberis gagnepainii)
Another
Berberis,
Thunberg's Barberry (
Berberis thunbergii) was plentiful in the Great Elm woods, with both purple-leaved and normal forms self-seeding freely amongst the scrub layer. Banks & walls in the village had
Great Forget-me-not (
Brunnera macrophylla), whilst the usual
Wood Anemones (
Anemone nemorosa),
Wood-sorrel (
Oxalis acetosella) &
Common Dog-violets (
Viola riviniana) made for a fine splash of colour
(
Thunberg's Barberry, Berberis thunbergii)
Sight of the day, though, was without a doubt at Mells, where a fabulous carpet of
Balkan Anemones (
Anemone blanda) turned the approach to Mells Manor blue & white!
Balkan Anemones, Anemone blanda)
A couple of
Snake's-head Fritillaries (
Fritillaria meleagris) were well worth a photo, even though I've seen quite a lot of this species recently, and I've also managed to get my head in a spin over a dead-nettle (
Lamium) growing nearby
It's probably just
Red Dead-nettle (
Lamium purpureum) but, for some reason, doesn't look quite right...
(
Snake's-head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris)
(As-of-yet-unnamed dead nettle; opinions welcome, please...
)