Wild Flowers (2): 2011 count update

Bugle

As some of you regular readers may know, I took part in an ongoing wild flower count one summer term, back in the 1960s, when I was at junior school in Kent, UK. 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. Early Purple Vetch (South Wales, location A, D1) - April
28. Gorse (South Wales, Gower lanes; Yorkshire coast) - April
29. Yellow Pimpernel (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
30. Buttercup  (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
31. Early Purple Orchid (South Wales, location A) - April
32. Yellow Flag  (South Wales, location W) - 31 April
33. Groundsel (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
34. Dove's Foot Cranesbill (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
35. Red Valerian  (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
36. Yellow Trefoil (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
37. Ramping Fumitory | Fumaria capreolata (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
38. Red Clover (South Wales, location A) - May
39. White Clover (South Wales, location A) - May
40. Wild Strawberry (South Wales, location A) - May
41. Chickweed (South Wales, location A) - May
42. Goosegrass (South Wales, location A) - May 
43. Bugle (South Wales, location A) - May 
44. Common Cinquefoil (South Wales, location A) - May  
45. Early Wintercress (South Wales, location A) - May  
46. Ox Eye Daisy (South Wales, M4) - May  
47. Sorrel (Worcester) - May  
48. Pink Valerian (Worcester) - May  
49. White Valerian (Worcester) - May  
50. Dog Rose (Worcester) - May   ......................................................... First Fifty!
51. Common Comfrey | Symphytum officinale (Worcester) - May   
52. Field Bindweed | Convolvulus arvensis (Worcester) - May   
53. Shepherd's Purse (Peterborough) - May   
54. White Dead Nettle | Lamium album (Peterborough) - May
55.  Purple Dead Nettle (Peterborough) - May  
56.  Alkanet (Herefordhshire, location C) - May 
57. Yellow Cinquefoil (Herefordshire, location C) - May  
58.  Welsh Poppy | Meconopsis cambrica (South Wales, location A) - May  
59. Teasel (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
60. Purple Loosestrife (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
61. Woody Nightshade (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
62. Ragwort (Worcester) - May 2011
63. Bird's Foot Trefoil (South Wales, location T) - 19 May 2011
64. Common Vetch (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
65. Ragged Robin (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011 
66. Blackberry (South Wales, location D2) - 22 May 2011
67. Burdock (South Wales, location D2) - 22 May 2011
68. Common Hemp Nettle (South Wales, location D1) - 22 May 2011
69. Periwinkle (South Wales, location W) - 24 May 2011 
70. Lesser Stitchwort (South Wales, location W) - 24 May 2011 

List updated on 24 May 2011. Have you spotted any interesting wild flowers in your neck of the woods recently? There are more flowers on Professor P. Brain's blog here.