Walk leader, Gemma Bode, plant name recorder, Mitch Crossingham, photographs and web article by Gill Stott
March 28th was our first signs of spring walk for this year. Gemma led a group of about a dozen on a short, flower rich walk from the shop car park. After a few steps onto the playing field area we were introduced to some typical early grassland plants indicative of unimproved grassland. Field woodrush, a short rush with leaf-like leaves common in grasslands and parks. Its common name is Good Friday grass so well timed.
As we walked over towards the gap in the hedge in the far corner Gemma pointed out a cluster of sweet violets. Unlike common dog violets that have no smell, these do. Although some of us tried to get a slight hint of a scent, non was forthcoming – perhaps too early in the year! Amongst the sweet violets lesser celandines were flowering too, an early welcome to spring flowers around Easter time. Knapweed although too early to flower was already showing a healthy growth of leaves. I remember last Autumn seeing a charm of goldfinches dropping in to feast over a field of them on the common. It attracts butterflies and bees too.
Once onto the small lane the verge bank had several plants which we were introduced to: ribwort plantain, a plant used commonly by children to wrap the stem round underneath the flowerhead and ‘shoot’ it off. Then ground ivy – attracting comment as it seemed to bear less resemblance to the ivy we see growing around trees and walls, although it does creep like ivy. Gemma informed us that it belonged to the dead nettle family.
Next we saw…Common dog violets and early dog violets, Lords and Ladies (common around here), pignut, red campion, dogs mercury ( poisonous as the name mercury suggests) , polypody fern, bittercress, ladies smock or cuckoo flower, goose grass, primroses, shining cranesbill, herb robert, red campion, germander speedwell, yarrow, dead nettle, cow parsley (leaves), lungwort, white dead nettle, oxy eye daisy, cats ear, common orchid, barren strawberry and daisy. Quite a list for a walk of a few hundred meters! Not all were flowering but showing early leaf growth. Pignuts are so named as they have small tubers in the soil – ‘nuts’ which pigs and badgers dig up to eat.
The next Signs of Spring Walk will be posted soon.