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Tag Archives: garlic mustard

Spring on the Bryn

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, hoverflies, Insects, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, tree folklore

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

ash tree, Bee-fly, chequered hoverfly, common field speedwell, cowslip, dog mercury, eupeodes latifasciatus, garlic mustard, hart's tongue fern, ivy-leaved speedwell, oak tree, wood anemone, wood sorrel

Recent outings have been ambles rather than rambles as I’m getting back to fit after being laid low for a few weeks by some kind of virus, which also accounts for the recent absence from blogging. I’ve found it most frustrating, especially at this time of year too when there’s so much going on. But I’m keen to catch up and already have a lot to share, so here’s a mostly-pictorial view of Bryn Euryn as I saw it on two beautiful sunny-day ambles in the last week of April.

There are a lot of Ash trees on the Bryn, thankfully all of which appear to be healthy at the present time and they seem to have had an exceptional amount of flowers this year. The flowers start off a dark pinkish-purple but now most of them are over now and the clusters are mostly green.

Ash tree flowers are almost over

Ash tree flowers are almost over

Some trees have produced so many flowers that now the clusters are green, from a distance it gives the illusion that they are in leaf.

Spent flower clusters give ash trees the illusion of being in leaf

Spent flower clusters give ash trees the illusion of being in leaf

Looking more closely at the tree in the photo above, there are a few  leaves already appearing.

New ash leaves opening

New ash leaves opening

Naturally, once I had seen the ash leaves I had then to check out the oaks to guage if we are in for a ‘splash or  a soak’ this summer. On the day I took the photo of the ash the oaks were all in tight bud.

21/4/15- Oak leaves in tight bud

21/4/15- Oak leaves in tight bud

But three sunny days later I was amazed to see that leaves had begun to open and not only that, insects had already moved in.

24/4/15-New oak leaves with insects

24/4/15-New oak leaves with insects

For anyone that has no idea what that last bit was about, a traditional English way of predicting whether the summer will be wet or dry was based on whether the oak or the ash trees opened their leaves first.

“When the oak is before the ash, then you will only get a splash; when the ash is before the oak, then you may expect a soak “

So things appear to be fairly even in the rainfall prediction stakes so far.

Robin singing from high in an ash tree

Robin singing from high in an ash tree

It was a perfect spring day, the sun was shining the sky was blue and a host of birds were singing. Along the quarry field edge the vegetation is growing up quickly although there’s not much flowering yet. Celandines are beginning to fade and some dandelions have already set seed.

Vegetation on woodland edge-celandines, nettles & arum

Vegetation on woodland edge-Lesser Celandines, nettles & arum

Cuckoo Pint or Lords and Ladies-Arum maculatum

Cuckoo Pint or Lords and Ladies-Arum maculatum

There was a single male Orange Tip butterfly racing along at their normal break-neck speed and one female Small White that obligingly settled on a bramble.

Small White (f) on bramble leaf

Small White (f) on bramble leaf

150421TGNW-BE1-Chequered Hoverfly(m) -Melanstoma scalare

Tiny male Chequered Hoverfly-Melanstoma scalare (enlarged)

I was quite surprised to see a good number of hoverflies about, all looking shiny and fresh, so I assume they were newly-emerged.

Hoverfly-Eupeodes latifasciatus

I think this is Eupeodes latifasciatus

As I was checking out a splash of colour that turned out to be from this escaped garden plant, I was happy to see this little bee-fly arrive to take its nectar. One of my favourite insects, they look cute and furry but are classified under the general heading of ‘robber-flies’ and their larvae live as parasitoids in the nests of mining bees.

An escaped garden plant attracting a bee-fly

An escaped garden plant attracting a bee-fly

There are two species of pretty blue speedwell flowering here, one is the familiar Common Field Speedwell

Common Field Speedwell- Veronica persica

Common Field Speedwell- Veronica persica

and the other is the even tinier-flowered Ivy-leaved Speedwell.

Ivy-leaved speedwell-Veronica hederifolia

Ivy-leaved speedwell-Veronica hederifolia

You could easily overlook this rather sprawling untidy plant, and you’d probably pull it out of your garden as a ‘weed’, but as with all speedwells, on closer inspection its tiny flowers are really pretty.

Close-up of flower of ivy-leaved speedwell

Close-up of flower and leaves of Ivy-leaved Speedwell

In the woods the tree canopy is still open but there are small new leaves on some trees.

24/4/15-Tree canopy still open

24/4/15-Tree canopy still open – new beech leaves in foreground

Wood anemones are still flowering

Wood anemone-Anemone nemorosa

Wood anemone-Anemone nemorosa

and there was one patch of Wood Sorrel.

Wood Sorrel-Oxalis acetosella

Wood Sorrel-Oxalis acetosella

Harts Tongue fern fronds unfurling

Harts Tongue fern fronds unfurling

Garlic Mustard is beginning to flower- if you never have, try crushing a leaf they really do smell of garlic…

Garlic Mustard - Alliaria petiolata

Garlic Mustard – Alliaria petiolata

and another plant that doesn’t smell too pleasant, Dog Mercury, is also displaying its spikes of rather insignificant small pale green, petalless flowers.

Dog Mercury - Mercurialis perennis

Dog Mercury – Mercurialis perennis

There are still ivy berries on some plants, although those left are probably still there because they are difficult for their chief consumers, blackbirds and bulky old wood pigeons to reach.

Ivy berries

Ivy berries

In the open wildflower meadow cowslips are blooming. I love their graceful fragrant flowers and the sight of them always takes me back to childhood when it was still OK to pick bunches of them and we used them as part of the floral decorations for the school May Day celebrations.

Cowslip-Primula veris

Cowslip-Primula veris

Hawthorn is now green with fresh leaves.

Fresh hawthorn leaves

Fresh hawthorn leaves

Part 2 to follow ….

 

 

 

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Seven days later…

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by theresagreen in nature of woodlands, nature photography

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

ash leaves, dog mercury, Fairy Glen, garlic mustard, herb robert, shades of green, speedwell, spring flowers, woodland flowers

It would seem Mother Nature has finally reached the point at which she is fed up holding back until we get a decent spell of warmer weather to declare it really is Spring, and decided to go for it regardless. In just seven days the progress of new growth bursting forth has been almost unbelievable and in Fairy Glen, the energy output is almost tangible.

I never cease to be amazed by the sheer number of shades of green, the beautiful shapes and textures of leaves.

Shiny new ash leaves

Shiny new ash leaves

soft new beech leaves shaking out the wrinkles

soft new beech leaves shaking out the wrinkles

Sycamores already have flowers

Sycamores already have flowers

holly leaves

holly leaves

blackthorn blossom is almost over now

blackthorn blossom is almost over now

Ferns are stretching upwards and unfurling cautiously, reluctant to unclench their delicate tips until they’re sure its warm enough.

fern fronds are almost unfurled

fern fronds are tall and almost unfurled

Plants on the woodland floor know their days in the sunlight are numbered and are rushing to flower; some such as the dog’s mercury are almost done already.

dog's mercury

dog’s mercury

130517tgflwr4-garlic mustard flowers & buds

garlic mustard

Here and there the palette of greens is highlighted with delicate touches of pink and blue.

130517tgflw4-herb robert against tree bark

herb robert

speedwell

I could be happy living in a permanent state of Spring.

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Spring greens

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by theresagreen in Local Nature Reserves, Nature, nature of woodlands, nature photography, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

common ash, dog mercury, eristalis pertinax, Fairy Glen, fern fronds, garlic mustard, horse chestnut, sycamore leaves, tapered drone fly, wild arum, woodland flowers, woodland wildflowers

Recent rainfall has given a boost to the growth of  new vegetation and in the woodlands fresh greenery, in a myriad of shades and forms abounds….

Perfect new leaves of Sycamore - Acer pseudoplatanus

Oak before ash, in for a splash

Ash before oak, in for a soak ..

Leaves of the Ash tree are breaking from their tight buds

Horse chestnut trees seem to be in differing stages of growth; some still have new leaves breaking from their ‘sticky-buds’, others are in full leaf , while yet others are flowering.

Horse chestnut leaves breaking from their 'sticky-bud'

A fully open horse chestnut leaf

Horse chestnut tree with flower buds

Eristalis pertinax -Tapered drone fly - basking on new leaves of bramble - rubus

A fern frond unfurling

Another 'garlicky' plant; Garlic mustard -Alliara petiolara is an erect herb of open woodlands and disturbed soil that has dark green, heart-shaped, scallop-edged, deeply veined, long-stalked basal leaves that grow up to 5" across. Leaves are a food plant of the Orange Tip butterfly larvae.

Garlic mustard flower buds

Ferny leaf of Cow parsley - Anthriscus sylvestris

Dog's mercury-mercurialis perennis

The furled green spathe of a wild arum (cuckoo pint, lords & ladies)

The green spathe unfurls to reveal the purple spadex

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