• Home
  • about
  • about the photographs
  • Rhos-on-Sea
    • St.Trillo’s Chapel
  • Bryn Euryn Local Nature Reserve
  • Bryn Pydew Nature Reserve
  • Mynydd Marian
  • Coed Pwllycrochan Wood
  • Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve
    • Grey Seals in North Wales
  • Great Orme
  • Llanddwyn Island & Newborough Warren
  • The Wales Coast Path
  • Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes

everyday nature trails

everyday nature trails

Tag Archives: hoary rockrose

Beautiful blooms and some rare treats (1)

26 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by theresagreen in Beetles, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, grasses, Insects, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature photography, North Wales, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

brachypodium sylvaticum, burnet rose, common rockrose, Cryptocephalus hypochaeridis, Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages, false brome, foxglove, hoary rockrose, Jewel beetles, small shiny metallic green beetle, speckled wood

160604-BE6-View across field

160604-BE15-Foxgloves

Foxglove-Digitalis

The first week of June was full of the promise of a glorious summer to come. A  run of warm sunny days had brought forth perfect and prolific blooms and began to coax out the butterflies.

June 4th

Along the woodland trail that circuits the lower slopes of the Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, the early summer wildflowers are peaking. Foxgloves are at their perfect best, with stems full of open blooms graduating upwards to buds. There are not many plants on this site, but they seem to be gradually increasing in number year on year.

Honeysuckle is blooming prolifically, the best I have ever seen it and it smells heavenly.

160604-BE19-Honeysuckle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wild strawberry patch is also full of flowers, promising a bumper crop to come,although it is in danger of becoming overwhelmed by encroaching ivy and other vegetation.

160604-BE23-Wild strawberry flowers

Wild Strawberry

 

Birds were heard but not seen, concealed by the dense foliage of the tree canopy; Chiffchaff, Wren, and Blackbirds were all still singing between nesting duties.

 

160604-BE20-Blackbird

A Blackbird male paused from singing to hunt  on the woodland track

False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum

False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum

 

Some of the clumps of grass that grow along the woodland tracks are flowering now. This is False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum, a perennial grass common in woodlands where it prefers the shade of the canopy.

 

 

 

 

160604-BE3-Sunlit False Brome

Flowering False Brome

Oak leaves are already being eaten

Oak leaves are already being eaten

One of the more severe winter storms brought down three Scots Pines. Two have been sawn up and cleared away but the largest has been left where it fell and poignantly continues to live, now producing new cones.

New cones on fallen Scots Pine

New cones on fallen Scots Pine

New leaves on Yew tree

New leaves on Yew tree

Beautiful fresh Speckled Wood butterflies were out in number and busy patrolling territories or sitting on leaves, wings closed in wait for intruders or potential mates.

160604-BE22-Speckled wood on ash

Speckled Wood on Ash leaf

Up the steps and into the small open meadow the first impression was of lush greenery. The grass is growing long and closer inspection reveals it is studded with purple and white clovers, yellow Common Rock-rose and buttercups and the curiously flowered salad burnet.

160604-BE24-Adder's field

160604-BE30-Grasses

A variety of meadow grasses with Common rockrose and Salad burnet

Along the edge of the tree-line another burnet, the beautiful Burnet Rose (visible centre left of the photograph above) is also in full flower. It too smells divine and was absolutely buzzing with a variety of bumblebee species revelling in the pollen and nectar bounty on offer.

160604-BE27-Burnet rose patch

Burnet rose with Tree bumblebee

Burnet rose with Tree bumblebee

In previous years I have noted that the Burnet roses have played host to a bright orange fungus, this is Rust fungus Phragmidium rosa-pimpinellifoliae. It doesn’t appear to harm the plants, but this year the fungus is almost as prolific as the blooms themselves.

160604-BE26a-Burnet rose with fungus

Burnet roses with Rust fungus

On the small rocky outcrop at the top end of the field there are pretty clumps of Common Rock-rose-Helianthemum nummularium.

160604-BE37-Hoary rockrose

160604-BE31-Shiny emerald beetle

Cryptocephalus aureolus

A glint of emerald green drew my attention to a tiny shiny beetle in the centre of a Rock-rose flower. This little Jewel beetle doesn’t appear to have a Common name, so is known by its Scientific name of Cryptocephalus aureolus. The generic name of the beetle and its relatives refers to the insects’ heads being hidden under the pronotum. This is a new species recording for me here on the Bryn, which is not to say they haven’t always been here, just that I hadn’t seen one till now

I saw some little butterflies from here, a couple of Common Blues and Small Heaths, but all flying low in the long grass and in no mood to settle to pose for portraits.

Onwards and upwards along the Summit Trail, taking the track that comes out at the bottom of the steep ‘downland’ slope. This is often a good place to find Common Blue and Brown Argus butterflies, but not today, although there were a good number of Small Heaths to be seen, again not settling for me.

160604-BE38a-Summit Trail woodland

Summit Trail

I progressed fairly slowly up the steep slope and near the summit was  attracted to a sheltered corner backed by trees, bordered by raspberry brambles and where the ground was covered by Common Rock-rose and Bird’s-foot Trefoil flowers. I was drawn there by the sight of a small brown butterfly, which I hoped may be a Brown Argus, but which turned out to be a female Common Blue.

160604-BE42c-Dingy skipper on bramble

Then I noticed a slightly larger brown flutterer that I thought at first was a moth. A closer view changed my mind, this was a butterfly and although it was rather faded and a bit tattered round the wing-edges, was the right size and shape for a Skipper. Old records for the site indicate the presence of the Dingy Skipper-Erynnis tages, whose common name may not inspire much excitement, but this is a fairly uncommon butterfly in the UK, with recorded sightings at sites in North Wales not exceeding low single figures. I hope now my ID is right – if anyone knows better, please let me know!

Dingy Skipper

Dingy Skipper from a distance

I’m sure I’m not alone here, but I get nervous when I’m confronted by a new-to-me species of anything; especially when I’m aware this may be my one and only chance to record a sighting. So, I find I hold my breath, begin to panic slightly that I won’t get a photograph that will help me confirm its identity back at home and pray no-one will pass close by and disturb my target. My ‘technique’ thereafter is quite basic – to start from a distance and gradually move in closer, capturing as many images as I can before my subject takes off!

160604-BE44-Dingy skipper

Dingy Skipper-Erynnis tages

This particular butterfly was not making things easy and was restlessly flitting about amongst the flowers, staying low to the ground and frequently hidden amongst the plants. I felt quite dizzy staying focussed and following it around, probably down to lack of oxygen intake from the not-breathing. As ever, I would have liked more opportunities for photographs, but did manage to get a couple of fairly clear images that at least have given me my sighting record.

160604-BE45b-Dingy skipper underside

Dingy Skipper underside

After a few moments the butterfly took off away down the hill and I lost track of it. The camera battery also chose that moment to expire and as this had been a spur of the moment, travel light walk, I had no spare with me!

I have written detailed posts about many of the subjects mentioned in this one, so rather than repeat myself, I have added links to click onto if you would like to see more about any of them. For more about the Dingy Skipper, go to http://butterfly-conservation.org/679-1101/dingy-skipper.html

 

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Bryn Euryn a walk of several parts. Part 2 – Rare Rockroses

04 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, common rockrose, helianthemum canum, helianthemum chemaecistus, hoary rockrose, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn, wildflowers with yellow flowers

I reluctantly left the Long-tailed Tits to their labours and headed up though the woods towards the summit.

Emerging from the shelter of the trees near the summit of the hill I was confronted by a chilly breeze and on another day would have headed for the more sheltered side, but I wanted to see the Rockroses, which are at their best and most prolific on the exposed limestone cliff on this side. Happily the reward was well worth putting up with a bit of discomfort for; the sunshine yellow flowers on the edge of the cliff and cascading down the rocky hillside were spectacular.

The stiff breeze made focusing on the flowers in the following photographs a bit tricky though. The Latin name Helianthemum translates as sun flower, which refers to the flower’s habit of opening up on sunny days and closing on sunless ones. Being very sunny today there was a profusion of blooms but those out in the open were waving about, so I tried for ones in the shelter of rocks which were then shaded.

Cliff smothered with golden rockroses-Bryn Euryn, North Wales

Large clumps of Rockroses spilling down the exposed limestone

There are two species of Rockrose found here; one is the Common Rockrose –Helianthemum nummularium and the other is a species more common to the Mediterranean than the UK, the Hoary Rockrose Helianthemun canum, which is one of the specialty plants of this reserve.

Common Rockrose-Helianthemum chemaecistus

Common Rockrose-Helianthemum chemaecistus

The Common Rockrose is an evergreen plant, an undershrub, usually prostrate and spreading. The small leaves are a dark grey-green above and grey-white and woolly-hairy beneath. Flowering from April-July, it is common on chalk downs and an occasional plant in other types of grassland, but always on dry and base-rich soil.

Rockrose flower with two tiny and one minuscule beetle

Rockrose flower dotted with two tiny and one minuscule beetle

The flowers of the native Rockrose are usually bright sunshine yellow, but may also be darker gold or even pale orange. Flowers are 12-20mm across, with 5 slightly crinkled petals. Each flower last only a day, but there are many of them. In the flower centre is a tight cluster of stamens.

Common Rockrose is a good provider of nectar for various species of bee and is also the foodplant of several species of moths and butterflies such as the Brown Argus, Green Hairstreak and the rare Silver-studded Blue. Many of the flowers I looked closely at today were playing host to at least one, usually more tiny little beetles.

Hoary Rockrose – Helianthemum canum (L.) Baumg

Status: scarce

Hoary Rockrose flowers

Hoary Rockrose flowers

As I already mentioned, the Hoary Rockrose is one of the specialty plants growing on Bryn Euryn and its major British stronghold is located just a few miles away on the Great Orme in Llandudno. The plant is restricted to Carboniferous limestone. It is found on rocky outcrops and on the face of scars and cliffs, often on the upper parts of outcrops and in sparse vegetation on shallow soil near the edges of cliffs. It can be very abundant on steep, rocky, exposed, often south to west-facing sites, of 0-540m, which are prone to summer drought, which fits the location in which plants are most prolific here on the Bryn.

Hoary Rockrose-Helianthemum canum

Hoary Rockrose-Helianthemum canum

H. canum is a shrubby, mat-forming perennial. Plants flower freely and set abundant seed unless they are subjected to particularly heavy grazing. There is no specialised means of dispersal. Seeds produced in one summer germinate gradually over a long period but the successful establishment of seedlings requires a period of damp weather long enough for young plants to develop a root system which will withstand subsequent drought (Griffiths & Proctor 1956).

Hoary Rockrose flowers

Hoary Rockrose flowers

The flowers are smaller than those of the Common Rockrose, just 8-15mm across, but there are many more of them.

There are five slightly crinkled petals and at the centre of each flower there is a crowded cluster of golden stamens.

Factual extracts are from : The Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=plant/helianthemum-oelandicum

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve

19 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Butterflies of Wales, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

ash tree, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, common rockrose, early purple orchid, hoary rockrose, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

27th April

I haven’t seen much of the countryside since I’ve  been here in North Wales, other than through a car window, and I was very keen to see some spring flowers and fresh greenery. I know the wildflowers in Spain will be amazing when I get back there next week, but the native British wildflowers have an altogether gentler and more subtle beauty that I love. I have been planning to make a trip to the local nature reserve on Bryn Euryn, and as I will only be in the locality for a couple more days I decided to head there this morning.

Bryn Euryn is a limestone hill rising to 131metres (365 ft) above sea level and a well-loved local landmark of Rhos-on-Sea that is now a Local Nature Reserve. Its slopes are clothed with a mixture of woodland and grassland, part of which has been declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest. From its summit their are extensive panoramic views over Rhos-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay and across to the mountains of Snowdonia in the west. 

I parked in the small car park that is surrounded by trees, and as soon as I got out of the car I heard a Chiffchaff ‘singing’. I couldn’t see him,but as I tried to locate his whereabouts a Robin flew into a nearby tree and also began to sing. Moving off towards the beginning of the track that leads up to the summit of the hill I stopped to watch a Song Thrush hunting on the woodland edge where it borders a grassed area.

I soon came upon a patch of bluebells growing alongside some wild garlic whose flowers are almost finished. There were a few wood anemones still flowering, but they too are all but over; wild strawberry plants were flowering along a length of the path edge in dry shade, they have a long flowering period beginning in April and continuing until October, with fruits appearing throughout the summer. It was lovely walking in the dappled shade of the woodland, listening to the birds singing and coming across flowers that gave me the opportunity to make a stop on the fairly steep upward climb. A special find was a sunlit Early Spotted Orchid growing beneath the trees. The presence of this delightful bloom, together with that of bluebells and wood anemones is a sign of an ‘old wood’,  indicating that this area has never been anything other than woodland.

Purple Spotted Orchid

Dog Violet

There was a pretty patch of little blue/purple dog violets and the surprise of a Cowslip plant on a steep bank; this one must have strayed from the grassy downland on the other side of the hill; the more usual habitat of Cowslips.

Cowslip

Rock Rose

At the top of the hill you emerge from the woodland onto a surprisingly large expanse of open grassy heathland. There were large patches of yellow flowers growing here, taking a closer look I saw there were of two separate species; I recognised rock rose, but was unfamiliar with the other. Looking it up when I got home I realised it was Hoary Rockrose, one of the plants named on the information board in the car park that is apparently very scarce in the British Isles.

Hoary Rockrose – Helianthemum canum

The views from the top here are truly spectacular, extending from the Little Orme around and across Rhos-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay with the mountains of Snowdonia to the west. The only downside, at least from this side of the hilltop, was the traffic noise arising from the busy A55.

A panoramic view of Rhos-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay

View from Bryn Euryn summit – mountains of Snowdonia on far horizon

View across summit of Bryn Euryn to Conwy Estuary and beyond to Snowdonia

Germander Speedwell

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

Turning around I walked across to the other side of the summit, passing through a shrubby area, the woodland edge, where there are shrubs and small trees growing. Here, Hawthorn is in full bloom and I stopped to watch a furry bumblebee as she burrowed into the leafy debris on the ground beneath.

Hawthorn, or May blossom

I discovered another early purple orchid plant here, this one had an earlier, or perhaps even last year’s, dried flower spike attached.

I reached the true summit of the hill, which has a concrete trig point on it that is part of the nationwide network built by the Ordnance survey to create their maps of the UK in the old days before computers.There is also a board depicting how the ancient hill fort may have looked. I was very surprised to come across an extensive patch of orchids here, I roughly counted them and estimated at least 100 flowers.

Summit of Bryn Euryn with Trig point & mass of purple spotted orchids in the foreground

The Fort

The summit of Bryn Euryn was once occupied by a small but strong fortification. This may have been the ‘Bear’s Den’ mentioned by Gidas the Wise and thought to have been a stronghold of Cynlas the ‘Red Butcher’, king in Rhos around the middle of the sixth century. Only the faint traces of the limestone rampart’s foundations are  visible today, protruding through the turf and ringing the summit of the hill, to remind us of its former importance.

It was much quieter and more peaceful on this side of the hill and I sat for a while enjoying the sunshine and the view out to sea and across to the Little Orme.  Two Red Admiral butterflies were flying around the nearby shrubbery, one kept attempting to sun itself on a bramble leaf, the other kept disturbing it, the basking one chased after its disturber then returned to the same spot etc. etc. It took a lot of patience to get the photograph.

Red Admiral basking on new bramble leaf

Speckled Wood on a leaf on the ground

Even trickier to photograph was this Speckled Wood. Once again there were two of the insects chasing one another – these little butterflies are especially territorial, but I wanted to get a photograph as they were much paler in colour than the ones I had been seeing in the garden. That made getting the photograph even harder, as when they did land it was on dried leaves and they were so well camouflaged I couldn’t find them through the lens.

There are some beautiful trees growing here, including Ash, whose leaves are quite well grown now.

new ash leaves

They brought to mind the old country rhyme about their predicting the forthcoming summer weather:-

“Ash before oak, look for a soak, oak before ash, look for a splash”

I had a quick look at a neighbouring oak and would say they were pretty much on a level, so hopefully that means some rain, but not too much.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...
Follow everyday nature trails on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

MOST RECENT POSTS

  • Conwy Marine Walk February 15, 2022
  • Blowing Away the Cobwebs January 26, 2022
  • On the Trail of the Jackdaws of Conwy Town January 17, 2022
  • The Butterfly Effect July 31, 2021
  • Wintergreens January 17, 2021
  • The Wilds behind the Sea Wall August 18, 2020

OLDER POSTS

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR?

MY WILDFLOWER BLOG: where the wildflowers are

Snowdrop

Snowdrop

Winter Heliotrope

Winter Heliotrope

MY SPANISH BLOG: nightingale trails

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca
Follow everyday nature trails on WordPress.com

Social

  • View teresamaygreen’s profile on Twitter
'But it is the common species that keep the living world ticking over and provide most of our experiences of wildlife, and I would argue that maintaining the abundance of these is as important a conservation priority as maintaining the existence of rarities'. Richard Mabey

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Top Posts & Pages

  • The blackberry bramble
    The blackberry bramble
  • Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes
    Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes
  • The life of a Yellow Dung-fly
    The life of a Yellow Dung-fly
  • Seeing red and black
    Seeing red and black
  • Grey Seals in North Wales
    Grey Seals in North Wales
  • Great Orme
    Great Orme
  • The Cockchafer or Maybug
    The Cockchafer or Maybug
  • The Foxglove - of Fairytales, Myths & Medicine
    The Foxglove - of Fairytales, Myths & Medicine
  • Butterflies of the Great Orme
    Butterflies of the Great Orme
  • about
    about

MY WILDFLOWER BLOG

where the wildflowers are

Recent Posts: nightingale trails

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca

Wildflowers and Nightingales

Breakfast with Lesser Kestrels

Asphodels

The Mediterranean Steps in Spring

Blogs I Follow

  • Know Your London
  • Wildonline.blog
  • definearth
  • sunshine and celandines
  • restlessjo
  • Art in Nature
  • Travels With My Aunt
  • Ray Cannon's nature notes
  • Lyreades
  • Discovering Belgium
  • westmediterraneanflora.wordpress.com/
  • wadertales
  • letting nature back in
  • Bug Woman - Adventures in London
  • Becky in Portugal
  • the crone
  • Eat Starch
  • ultimatemindsettoday
  • earthstar
  • One World, Two Feet
  • Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog
  • arctic-cycler.com
  • Everything Digital
  • NavasolaNature
  • This and That Continued
  • Nature on the Edge
  • Naturanaute
  • Brandon Hill Nature Blog
  • alder & ash
  • Winging It
  • Gardening Jules
  • GeoTopoi
  • Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)
  • Life in Kawagoe
  • Say It With A Camera
  • a green bough in my heart
  • Science on the Land
  • Dreaming In Stitches
  • 3rdstorey.wordpress.com/
  • Save Mangar Bani

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Know Your London

A good place to find out about the history of Inner London. There’s no fake-history on this Website.

Wildonline.blog

British Wildlife & Photography

definearth

writing about the environmental issues nobody is writing about.

sunshine and celandines

These are a few of my favourite things.

restlessjo

Roaming, at home and abroad

Art in Nature

The ‘Beauty of the Moment’

Travels With My Aunt

Random notes on the travels of a Welshman who has been allowed out to play after finishing his chores. OK so I don't travel with my Aunt, but I am usually under the adult supervision of my long suffering wife.

Ray Cannon's nature notes

Every picture tells a story

Lyreades

Discovering Belgium

Tips to explore this fascinating country!

westmediterraneanflora.wordpress.com/

widlfowers in the western mediterranean

wadertales

letting nature back in

at home and further afield

Bug Woman - Adventures in London

Because a community is more than just people

Becky in Portugal

The Joy of Slow Travel

the crone

opening the door to ideas

Eat Starch

Easy vegan food

ultimatemindsettoday

A great WordPress.com site

earthstar

a celebration of nature

One World, Two Feet

Explorers sharing adventures from around the globe.

Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog

Mindfulness, Philosophy, Spirituality, Meditation, Awareness, Religion, Nature Photography

arctic-cycler.com

arctic-cycler goes global.

Everything Digital

Some of my own digital photography and inspiration for my textile art - 'Hellebore Textiles'

NavasolaNature

Nature needs Nurture

This and That Continued

Jenny Diski - Writing and stuff.

Nature on the Edge

Wildlife photography along the urban edge

Naturanaute

Plants and people, from urban jungles to lush rainforests

Brandon Hill Nature Blog

Documenting Bristol's urban wildlife in and around Brandon Hill Nature Park - home of Cabot Tower and Bristol's oldest urban park

alder & ash

A permaculture plot in Suffolk

Winging It

Feathery fumblings from amateur birders

Gardening Jules

Birds, Bees, Flowers, Trees - Organic & Wildlife Friendly Gardening

GeoTopoi

Places and photographs

Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)

Coastalwalker.co.uk - walking around the British coastline, very SLOWLY.

Life in Kawagoe

Japanese daily sight

Say It With A Camera

Mike Hardisty Photography

a green bough in my heart

- rambles from a lover of nature, and the nature of things

Science on the Land

Dreaming In Stitches

a mingled yarn

3rdstorey.wordpress.com/

Graphic designer based in Sydney Australia, that isn't much for words and all about pictures.

Save Mangar Bani

Aravalli's sacred ancient forest grove

  • Follow Following
    • everyday nature trails
    • Join 352 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • everyday nature trails
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: