Tuesday 26 April 2011

Wild Flowers (1): 2011 count

Yellow Pimpernel, beside a stream in South Wales, April 2011

When I was in junior school in Kent in the 1960s, we had an ongoing wild flower count one summer term. Each pupil had to find as many species of wild flowers as possible. We recorded our finds after every weekend, and attempted to learn the names of ten new species for a test each Friday.

During the course of the term, I noted a total of 144 species, including a few garden escapes. Perhaps inevitably, we picked one or two Daisies and Buttercups along the way, but we soon learned that some plants were rare, and that e.g. the sight alone of an Orchid was more than sufficient for our purposes.

I thought it would be interesting to note the wild flowers I see this year. I used The Concise British Flora in Colour by W.Keble Martin when I was at school. Once again, I will be happy to include any plant featured in that book.

The list to date is as follows (and - just to underline this - I have no intention of picking these flowers!) ... I shall add flower names as I come across new species. I don't intend to post a photo of every 'find', but I will add the occasional picture, and I plan to include livelinks when there is a photo available.

  1. Snowdrop (South Wales, location A) - January
  2. Primrose (ditto) - January
  3. Cowslip (ditto) - April
  4. Daisy (South Wales, location P) - 26 February
  5. Dandelion (garden!) - April
  6. Wild Garlic (South Wales, location A) - April
  7. Bluebell (ditto) - April
  8. Wood Anemone (ditto) - April
  9. Wood Sorrel (ditto) - April
  10. Toadflax (ditto) - April
  11. Herb Robert (ditto) - April
  12. Pink Campion (ditto) - April
  13. Solomon's Seal (ditto) - April
  14. Cow Parsley (lanes, South Wales) - April
  15. Wild Arum (South Wales, location A) - April
  16. Cuckoo Flower | Lady's Smock | Cardamine pratensis (South Wales, location W) - April
  17. Coltsfoot (South Wales, location A) - April
  18. Speedwell (South Wales, location A) - April 
  19. Violet (South Wales, location A) - April
  20. Poppy (South Wales, location A) - April 
  21. Dog's Mercury (South Wales, location A) - April
  22. Snakeshead Fritillary (South Wales, location A) - April
  23. Horsetail (South Wales, location W) - 21 April 
  24. Lesser Celandine (Yorkshire, location M) - April
  25. Wild Wallflower (Yorkshire, location S) - April
  26. Marsh Marigold (South Wales, location A, D1) - April
  27. Gorse (South Wales, Gower lanes; Yorkshire coast) - April
  28. Yellow Pimpernel (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
  29. Buttercup  (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
  30. Early Purple Orchid (South Wales, location A) - April
  31. Yellow Flag  (South Wales, location W) - 31 April
  32. Groundsel (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
  33. Dove's Foot Cranesbill (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
  34. Yellow Trefoil (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
  35. Fumitory (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May

3 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

that's an excellent idea Caroline, I've just started listing first sightings of birds for the year and should do the same for flowers

Caroline Gill said...

I look forward, CGP, to hearing more if you decide to follow suit!

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

I try to record my sightings of wild flowers and love to try to id new ones with my collins book of UK wildflowers. I suppose it's my camera that keeps the date record just now rather than me blogging about them - I just wish I had the time to blog about them as I have grown to appreciate wildflowers so much now.