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Tag Archives: wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

Mellow autumn

23 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by theresagreen in Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, coastal habitat, coastal walks, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

autumn woodland, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, common buzzard, eyebright, galls on back of oak leaves, hawthorn berries, silver birch, spangle gall, speckled wood, St John's Wort, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

Me it delights in mellow autumn tide,                                                                       To mark the pleasaunce that my eye surrounds,                                                 The forest trees like coloured posies pied,                                                            The uplands mealy grey and russet grounds;                                                Seeking for joy where joyaunce most abounds…….                                                                                from Autumn by John Clare

Autumn certainly has been joyous this year and even the blustery tail-end effects of hurricane Gonzalo have failed to provoke most of our habitual complaints about the weather. Temperature-wise, a  walk I took on Bryn Euryn just a couple of weeks ago felt more like early summer than approaching winter and although many of the signs of autumn were in place, there were a surprising number of wildflowers in bloom and butterflies, bees and various flies on the wing.

Quarry-field cliff crowned with autumn colours

Quarry-field cliff crowned with autumn colours

Teasel  seed-heads amongst thistles

A prickly selection – teasel seed-heads amongst thistles

The woodland tracks are covered with layers of dried fallen leaves that rustle when stepped upon and the soft musky scent of their decaying matter fills the air.

Sun-dappled woodland track covered with dry fallen leaves

Sun-dappled woodland track covered with dry fallen leaves

Wild clematis is prolific throughout the reserve and curtains of the fluffy dried seed-heads is draped over vegetation of varying heights and is living up to its common name of Old Man’s Beard.

Fluffy seed heads of wild clematis or 'old man's beard'

Fluffy seed heads of wild clematis or ‘old man’s beard’

The individual seed-heads are prettily composed and shine silver in the sunlight.

141002(6)TGNW-Bryn Euryn-Old man's beard close-up

Clusters of silvery filaments make up a seed-head of wild clematis

The bountiful crops of haws on the hawthorn trees are still untouched by birds and have turned a rich ruby red.

Rich pickings still to come for hungry birds

Rich pickings still to come for hungry birds

Hawthorn leaves also turning red

Hawthorn leaves also turning red

Although there are bountiful berry crops, the oak trees do not seem to have produced many acorns this season.

Oak tree with bracken in the foreground

Oak tree with bracken in the foreground

Oak leaves turning colour

Oak leaves turning colour

There are ‘crops’ of spangle galls though.

141002(17)TGNW-Bryn Euryn- Spangle galls on oak leaves

Spangle galls on oak leaves

Before climbing up the steep track through the woods on the way to the summit I sat for a few minutes on a rock to note down what I’d seen so far and was scrutinised for a few seconds by a buzzard that flew in over the treetops. This is a favoured spot of the locally resident buzzard, known to local visitors to the site as Lucifer and if you are here for any length of time you have to be quite unlucky not to get at least a glimpse of him here. He was accompanied by his mate today and didn’t linger, moving away in a leisurely circling kind of way towards Penrhyn Hill and the Little Orme.

Buzzards circling Penrhyn Hill

Buzzards circling Penrhyn Hill

I noted: ” I’m sitting on one of my favourite rocks. It’s around noon, the sun is high in a blue sky with just the faintest wash of wispy white cloud and is so hot I can feel it burning my legs through my jeans. The grassy areas have all been cut but a few wildflowers in bloom including rockrose, harebell & a bit of hogweed. There are butterflies, mostly speckled woods, but also a red admiral. Drone flies come to bask on the sun-warmed rocks and several wasps are seeking available food sources. Birds are still fairly quiet, I’ve heard the occasional song of a Robin and Blue and Great Tits calling to one another as they flit around foraging for food, but apart from the ever-present Crows everything else is keeping a low profile.”

Moving onwards and upwards along the track that leads out onto the ‘downland’ side of the hill I could hear drying leaves crackling in the heat of the sun. On the woodland edge there were several speckled woods flitting about, pausing often to settle on oak leaves. All appeared to be dark in colour and were not fully basking, but holding their wings partially closed.

Speckled Wood basking on an oak leaf

Speckled Wood basking on an oak leaf

I photographed another insect here too: it looked like a small bee but was behaving more like a hoverfly.

Cute insect looking like a small bee and behaving like a hoverfly

Cute insect looking like a small bee and behaving like a hoverfly

There is a beautiful silver birch tree on the woodland edge. Its leaves are beginning to turn colour and it has attractive fruiting catkins that look like a bit like a small slender fir cone from which, during the winter and aided by birds, tiny winged nutlets will be released.

141002(26)TGNW-Bryn Euryn- Silver birch fruits

Silver birch leaves and fruiting bodies

141002(27)TGNW-Bryn Euryn- Silver birch fruit

Close up of fruiting body

The grass has been cut on the hillside too and the ground is criss-crossed with a lattice of bramble stems. There are a few plants of the wild Goldenrod still in flower, while others have gone to seed.

Goldenrod-Solidago virgaurea

The dry flower head with seeds attached looks as pretty as the fresh flower.

Goldenrod gone to seed

Goldenrod gone to seed

There was a fair amount of scabious still in flower and was attracting a busy little Carder Bee.

Scabious still flowering

Scabious still flowering

There were a few eyebright plants still with their usual white flowers, and one that I came upon had pretty pink-purple edged petals with a yellow patch in the centre.

Eyebright with purple-pink edged petals

Eyebright with purple-pink edged petals

The views from the hillside were outstanding today as it was perfectly clear and bright which rarely happens in the summer months.

Looking down onto woodland across the hillside. Carneddau Mountains in the background

Looking down onto woodland across the hillside. Carneddau Mountains in the background

Little Orme & Penrhyn Bay village

Little Orme & Penrhyn Bay village

The sea was almost flat calm and in as many shades of blue as I have ever seen it.

The sea in many shades of blue

The sea in many shades of blue

Looking down the coast to Abergele & Rhyl

Looking down the coast to Colwyn Bay, Abergele & Rhyl

 

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Summer on the woodland edge

16 Tuesday Jul 2013

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

aphantopus hyperantus, bramble flowers, dark brown butterfly with rings on its wings, dark red flowers with leaves like nettle, hedge woundwort, Pyramidal Orchid, Ringlet, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

I almost always begin my walks within this site with a meander around the edge of the grassy area in front of the car park, both of which are located on the bottom of what was once a quarry. The old excavations have left the small field sheltered by limestone ‘cliffs’ on two sides and it is bordered on all sides with trees, mostly ash and sycamore. Along one long side there is a border of mixed shrubby and herbaceous vegetation creating a stretch of my favourite habitat; woodland edge.

The wildflowers that grow here are not spectacular and tend towards the robust end of the plant spectrum, but they support a diverse number of insect species so are great hunting grounds for the likes of me, armed with a camera. There’s plenty of hogweed here, already featured in the last post, then there are nettles, dock, the sticky green cleavers or goosegrass and new this month, the magenta spikes of Hedge, or Wood Woundwort. It often grows in the company of nettles and having similar leaves it blends in with them until the flowers show; the photograph below shows both plants.

Hedge or Wood Woundwort

Hedge or Wood Woundwort-Stachys sylvatica growing amongst stinging nettles

Growing in hedgerows, on woodland edges, roadside verges and various shady places, Hedge Woundwort is not a particularly stand-out plant as far as its looks are concerned. A member of the mint family, Labiateae, it has a distinct aroma, one of those that is hard to describe, but which most wildflower guides refer to as ‘unpleasant, particularly when crushed or bruised’. I must have a strangely developed sense of smell; maybe as a result of working with essential oils, but I don’t find it offensive at all.

A brown-lipped snail was hiding under a dock leaf

A brown-lipped snail was hiding under a dock leaf

Brambles are often a component plant of the woodland edge flora. They are  flowering now too and are also sought after by a wide variety of insects.

Bramble flower

Bramble flower

From the field I walked up the steps following the ‘woodland trail’, making a diversion around the border of another meadow area. I stopped at a spot where there were several brown butterflies fluttering around amongst the long grass and shrubbery. My first assumption was that they were Meadow Browns as I’m used to seeing them throughout most of the site at this time of year, but stopping to watch properly I realised that although there were Meadow Browns there, most were actually Ringlets.

A Meadow Brown nectaring on bramble flower

A Meadow Brown nectaring on bramble flower

The Ringlets were very mobile and fluttering around mainly within the stems of the long grass, as they characteristically do. On the occasions when one paused in its circuiting to take nectar from bramble flowers or to rest low down on a leaf or grass stem, the insect would either be obscured by grass stems or disturbed by the dive-bombing of another butterfly or a bee. I waited patiently for ages, just watching them until I got the opportunity to grab a shot of one on bramble leaf. It posed nicely, but turned out to have chunks missing from its wings, poor thing.

Ringlet with damaged wings

Ringlet with damaged wings

I wasn’t giving up now though, and standing around in the warm sunshine in this peaceful spot, surrounded by lush greenery and time to watch the insect world go by was not exactly a hardship. Every now and then the butterflies disappeared from view for a few minutes, most probably touring another part of their territory, but while waiting there were other insects to watch. One particularly interesting performance was provided by three hoverflies. The two smaller ones were hovering around and bothering the larger one on the bramble flower; two males competing for the attention of a female who eventually got tired of them and saw them both off. The hoverflies are of a small Eristalis species, but the photographs aren’t good enough to determine which one.

Two male and one female eristalis hoverflies

Two male and one female eristalis hoverflies

Two male hoverflies expressing interest in a female

Two male hoverflies expressing interest in a female

Another chance of a Ringlet arose, this time a perfect subject, but a bit further away and hiding its head and body behind the bramble’s stamens. I got the ring pattern this time though.

Ringlet - Aphantopus hyperantus

Ringlet – Aphantopus hyperantus

Standing around in the direct sun was starting to get uncomfortable, so I left the Ringlets to their chasing to find a bit of shade. As luck would have it I soon came upon more of them and one posed beautifully on a bramble leaf in the dappled shade of an oak tree.

Ringlet resting with wings open

Ringlet resting with wings open

Ringlet – Aphantopus hyperantus

The rings on the hindwings give this butterfly its common name and make it unmistakeable when seen at rest. The uppersides are a uniform chocolate brown that distinguish this butterfly from the closely-related Meadow Brown that can often be found flying within the same areas. A newly-emerged adult Ringlet is a surprisingly beautiful insect, the velvety wings providing a striking contrast with the delicate white fringes found on the wing edges. The dark colouring also allows this butterfly to quickly warm up – this butterfly being one of the few that flies on overcast days.

14/7/13-Meadow Brown-Bryn Euryn

The Meadow Brown also has a dark brown upperside, but eyespots are ringed with orange

Dog Roses-another shrub often found on a woodland edge

Dog Rose – another shrub often found on a woodland edge

Walking out into what is effectively a large clearing in the woodland I came upon another two butterflies, one a rather faded female Common Blue, the other a much fresher Small Heath.

Female Common Blue

Female Common Blue

Small Heath

Small Heath

A surprise find here and a pretty note on which to end this section of my walk was a single Pyramidal Orchid, the first one I’ve seen here on Bryn Euryn.

Pyramidal Orchid

Pyramidal Orchid

 

53.308051 -3.749941

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Dare we cast a clout now May is out?

09 Sunday Jun 2013

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, buff-tailed bumblebee, germander speedwell, grey-green lichen hanging from tree, hairy rock cress, hawthorn in flower, may blossom, salad burnet, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

The last day of May was overcast and cool but I wanted to go back to the Bryn to photograph a plant I had spotted there on the rocky cliffs amongst the rockroses but forgot about until I got home. I took a different route up to the top today, passing through the grassy meadow area to see what I could find there.

Cow parsley -Anthriscus sylvestris

Cow parsley -Anthriscus sylvestris

A first bloom of Common Vetch-Vicia sativa

A first bloom of Common Vetch-Vicia sativa

There’s a lot of Ribwort Plantain, whose flowerheads I find fascinating, every one seems slightly different to the other.

Ribwort Plantain flowerhead

Ribwort Plantain flowerhead

The star of the flower show today was definitely the May, the blossom of the Hawthorn. Perhaps we can all ‘cast a clout’, now that May is out, both the blossom and the month.

A beautiful spray of May blossom, or Hawthorn, looks like a bridal bouquet

A beautiful spray of May blossom, or Hawthorn, looks like a bridal bouquet

Close to where I stopped to photograph the May blossom I noticed the more unusual Salad Burnet plant. This is one of those plants that is very easy to overlook as it seems to really blend in to its surroundings, but once you have it in your mind’s eye you then notice them in other places.

Salad Burnet-Sanguisorba minor

Salad Burnet-Sanguisorba minor

The leaves are very pretty, and as the plant’s name suggests, are edible.

Salad Burnet has very pretty, pinnate leaves

Salad Burnet has very pretty, pinnate leaves

The Oak trees are fresh-coloured and in just about full leaf now.

Oak tree

Oak tree

Fresh new oak leaves

Fresh new oak leaves

On a rocky outcrop there were low-growing common rockroses, bird’s foot trefoil, kidney vetch, almost over but attracting the attention of a number of little ginger-headed bumblebees, small patches of wild thyme and taller-growing hawksbit flowers.

Wild Thyme growing with Common Rockrose

Wild Thyme growing with Common Rockrose

I wasn’t able to get a particularly good photograph of a bee, but I  liked the lichen-covered rock in this one.

A small ginger bumblebee on Kidney Vetch

A small ginger bumblebee on Kidney Vetch

The patch of bird’s-foot trefoil had obligingly placed itself near the edge of a rock, so taking an eye-level picture was a nice option. I didn’t notice the ‘Cuckoo-spit’ until I looked at the photograph. I’d forgotten about Cuckoo-spit. I must remind myself what generates it, some kind of thrip, I think.

Bird's-foot Trefoil with Cuckoo Spit

Bird’s-foot Trefoil with Cuckoo Spit

Hawksbit against limestone rock

Hawksbit against limestone rock

There seem to be masses of the beautiful blue Germander Speedwell here this year, I don’t remember it being this prolific before.

Germander Speedwell-Veronica chamaedrys

Germander Speedwell-Veronica chamaedrys

I finally got up and around to where the plant I had come to find was located; probably not as exciting as you’d expected, but I was pleased to find it. The plant is Hairy Rock Cress, an under-stated little plant with tiny white flowers like most members of the cress family, not at all showy like its golden-bloomed neighbours, but none the less interesting. Even though it’s flower’s are almost over and it’s going to seed.

Hairy Rock Cress. Also in picture are kidney vetch, salad burnet & rockrose

Hairy Rock Cress. Also in picture are kidney vetch, salad burnet & rockrose

The scientific name for Rockrose, helianthemum, means sun-flower. They don’t bother to open up on dull or damp days, particularly the little blooms of the Hoary Rockrose.

Flowers of Hoary Rockrose close on dull, sunless days

Flowers of Hoary Rockrose close on dull, sunless days

It was getting quite late on now, but there was one more distraction to waylay me before heading back down the hill. A Mistle Thrush was out hunting on the path around the edge of the rocks, which I had to stay and watch as I’d not seen one here before. When it flew off with its gatherings I took a photograph of the top of a lovely Ash tree which has houses of Rhos-on-Sea below and peeking through its leaves.

Ash tree on Bryn Euryn, Rhos-on-Sea behind

Ash tree on Bryn Euryn, Rhos-on-Sea behind

On the way down through the woods I spotted some very pretty Oak Moss lichen hanging from some twiggy branches; I don’t know why I’ve not noticed it before, there’s quite a lot of it.

Oak Moss lichen- Usnea florida

Oak Moss lichen- Usnea florida

Almost at the bottom of  the hill, I couldn’t resist taking a final picture of a Buff-tailed Bumblebee that was either excavating a hole or looking for an existing one to spend the night in.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee making or seeking a hole

Buff-tailed Bumblebee making or seeking a hole

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Bryn Euryn walk continued: Part 3

08 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Local Nature Reserves, Nature of Wales, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, cowslip, early purple orchid, orchis mascula, primula veris, rhos on sea, views from Bryn Euryn, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

The views from the Bryn are always worth the steep climb up to the top and change according to the season, the weather and the time of day. The southerly side overlooks part of Rhos-on-Sea and part of Colwyn Bay town, divided by the duel-carriageway of the A55, whose traffic noise can be loud and rather intrusive, so not the spot to  seek peace and quiet. Beyond is Colwyn Bay and inland a patchwork of woodlands, golden gorse and neat farmed fields set upon rolling hillsides sloping around and down to the Conwy river and estuary.

Panoramic view from the south of the summit of Bryn Euryn

The gorgeous view from the south side of Bryn Euryn (click to enlarge)

I was heading now towards the true summit, where the not-too-beautiful triangulation (trig) point marks the highest point.

The trig point on the summit of Bryn Euryn looking south-south-easterly (ish)

The trig point on the summit of Bryn Euryn looking south to south-easterly (ish)

Last year there was an impressive patch of at least a hundred Early Purple Orchids on the approaching grassy slope (behind  the other side of the rocky bit in the photograph), but this year although there are still a good number there are a lot less. Having said that, those I saw are beautiful specimens, of good height and their stems thick with flowers. The success of Orchids is affected by seasonal weather, they are affected by drought, numbers may vary even in areas they otherwise frequent, which is part of their allure of course.Their less than predictable appearance and their wonderfully exotic beauty combine to make each discovery just as exciting as it was last year or the year before.

_______________________________________________________

I can still remember the excitement of discovering my first Early Purple Orchid, growing exactly where it should be, on the floor of the old woodland next to our house. I was probably about aged ten at the time and had no idea what it was, but it looked very special to me and I couldn’t wait to look it up in my ‘Observer’s Book of Wild Flowers’, which I still treasure because I love the descriptions written by the lady author of the book. I would quote it here but it’s currently in a box in a storage unit in Spain, so I’ll have to manage without for now.

Early Purple Orchid –  Orchis mascula

Early Purple Orchids-Orchis mascula

Early Purple Orchids-Orchis mascula

In flower from April to June, the Early Purple Orchid is a species of old broadleaved woodlands, where they are generally widespread, but they also occur in rich grasslands, on road verges, on limestone pavement and on heathy ground in the South and West of the British Isles.

‘Therewith fantastic garlands did she make

Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies and long purples

That liberal shepherds give a grosser name’

But our cull-cold maids do dead-men’s fingers call them’.

It is claimed that when William Shakespeare wrote those lines in Hamlet, his ‘long purples’ referred to the Early-purple Orchid.  The lines were spoken by Gertrude and referred to the coronet which Ophelia was wearing when she drowned.

A short-medium perennial that can reach 40cm, the stem is also often flushed with purple. There are usually 3-5 unstalked basal leaves, oblong in shape, pointed, parallel-veined and glossy green blotched with purple.

Flower colour can vary in shade from quite a dark purplish-red to pink or even white and are distributed in  dense or loose spikes of between 10-30 flowers. Each flower has a narrow purple bract, purplish-grey ovary, three sepals and three petals.

Flowers of Early Purple Orchid

Flowers of Early Purple Orchid

Side sepals spread backwards, upper one joins to the upper two petals to form a hood; lower petal forms tri-lobed spurred crimson-dotted lip, 8-12mm long. At the back of the flower one unstalked anther holds two pollen masses on stalks that adhere to heads of visiting insects for cross-pollination; below the anther the stigma surface receives pollen brought from other flowers.

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A few minutes taking in the view more or less east towards the mountains on the edge of Snowdonia , then onwards and downwards via the grassy slope on the north side of the hill.

The A55 snakes towards  the Conwy Estuary with view of Snowdonia beyond

The A55 snakes towards the Conwy River & Estuary with views of Snowdonia beyond

The rough grassy area was, as I’d hoped, generously sprinkled with Cowslips. Not as showy as the Orchids or as bright as the Rockroses, but with a special understated beauty of their own. I was slightly concerned I may have missed them at their best as they are flowers I associate more with late April-early May, but thanks to the late start to Spring this year I caught them just in time before they start to ‘go over’.

A field full of Cowslip

A field full of Cowslips, their heads held aloft on stiff stems were dancing in the wind like little flags

Cowslip -Primula veris

I have a great affection for Cowslips and seeing them growing in numbers in a grassy meadow takes me back to my childhood in an instant. In Northamptonshire, where I grew up in the 50s and 60s, lovely golden-yellow cowslips were numerous, particularly in the damper grass meadows grazed by cows. One of life’s little treats back in the day was to pull a flower from its little green sack and suck the nectar from the base of the tube. And before it became necessary to ban the picking of wild flowers, we used to pick bunches of them for the house  as they have nice long stems and looked lovely in a jam jar on the kitchen windowsill. We picked them to add to garlands and to decorate  the ‘throne’ for the May Queen during our school’s Mayday celebrations. Occasionally we even got to pick lots of them to be made into Cowslip wine.

Cowslip- Primula veris

Cowslip- Primula veris

I assure you though, it wasn’t our picking that caused the Cowslip’s serious decline, we couldn’t possibly have picked even all of those growing in a single field. It had much more to do with the rise of intensive farming and old grassland being ploughed over to create more space for growing other crops.

Thankfully the plant’s numbers are on the rise again, partly due to raised awareness but probably owing  more to the sowing of seed on roadside verges and in wildflower meadows. So once again the Cowslip can raise its  graceful nodding heads above the grass blades and be counted in generous numbers once again. I won’t be picking any though, just taking photographs.

130522TGLNR-flr-Cowslip flowerhead with fly-Bryn Euryn (4)

The leaves of the Cowslip are wrinkly and hairy and form a basal rosette, similar to those of the Primrose. 

The yellow-orange flowers (8-15mm) are held in a one-sided umbel which is borne on a softly hairy, sturdy stem.  The individual flowers are comprised of five joined petals, each flower bearing orange spots in the centre, and are deliciously scented.

Cowslips and plaintains

Cowslips and plaintains

A final gaze at the view from here over the tops of the trees below, across the golf course to Penrhyn Bay and on the horizon the Little Orme skirted on its left side by the road to Llandudno climbing Penrhyn Hill.

View from the north side of Bryn Euryn

View from the north side of Bryn Euryn

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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

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Late summer on Bryn Euryn

08 Saturday Sep 2012

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

agrimony, black knapweed, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, carder bumblebee, gatekeeper butterfly, hemp agrimony, hoverflies, Meadow Brown, nodding wild onion, peacock butterfly, ragwort, red-tailed bumblebee, self-heal, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

The soggy conditions created by the rainfall this year have not been ideal for many late summer wildflowers and, perhaps as a result of that, it seems to me that there has been a drop in some insect populations. I was on the lookout for flower beetles, in particular soldier beetles, which in  previous years have been prolific, and struggled to find many at all.

I spent a couple of hours roaming the pathways of Bryn Euryn on one sunny afternoon in mid-August, ignoring grey clouds rolling in at my peril, getting caught right at the top in a proper downpour. There is  almost always something interesting to photograph here whatever the weather though, and these are my offerings for that day.

There were very few plants still flowering on the lower field edge, but the first one, the Great Willowherb, often mistaken for Rosebay Willowherb, is one I’ve wanted to mention for a while and will do at greater length soon.

Great willowherb is often mistaken for rosebay willowherb

Common Mallow-Malva sylvestris

banded Snail on a bindweed leaf

Greenbottle fly-Lucilia caesar on Hogweed flowers

Most of the hogweed plants are setting seed


Self-heal- Prunella vulgaris

In the clearing at the top of the steps that cut through the lower woodland is a bramble patch that always seems to attract an array of nectar-seeking insects. Today there were a good number of hoverflies, most the one photographed below, but there were a few other Eristalis species too.

This attractive hoverfly is Helophilus pendulus, common names are Sun Fly as it does enjoy basking in sunny patches, and The Footballer referring to its colours and stripy patterning

Eristalis on Wild Carrot- Daucus carota

I headed a bit round to the open grassy area that this time last year was covered in purple flowered knapweed and buzzing with dozens of insects,  but now was looking quite bedraggled and bereft of colourful blooms. There was some knapweed, but hardly enough to go around apparently as most of the flowers had more than one bumblebee or hoverfly competing for its bounty.

Black Knapweed-Centaurea nigra

Red-tailed Bumblebee on knapweed flower

Common Carder bee on knapweed

In amongst the long damp grass was a pink flower that I recognised from last year but didn’t get around to identifying. This (I believe/hope) is an unusual plant of the allium family, common name Nodding Wild Onion or Allium. The pink bell-shaped flowers are  tiny and have protruding stamens; very pretty.

Nodding Wild Onion-Allium Cernuum tangled in amongst the long damp grass

A closer look at the pretty little flowers

There were a few plants of Agrimony – Agrimoniia eupatoria

The other staple of late summer nectar, Ragwort, is also flowering of course. I can’t not include it here, so thought I’d just put in a close-up of an individual flower to show how pretty they really are.

Close up of Ragwort flowers

One flowering plant that is relishing the damp conditions and flowering prolifically here was Hemp Agrimony. Its flat, open flowers are very attractive to insects; great for butterflies.

Hemp Agrimony-Eupatorium cannabinum

A partially-open flower head of hemp agrimony

There were a few butterflies about, but as the clouds came over and the air cooled those that were out and about were not very mobile. Meadow Browns were most numerous but most were fluttering about low down in the long grass. I spotted one on Hemp Agrimony, also a single Gatekeeper and was taken by surprise when a Peacock (butterfly!) flew right in front of my face. I did photograph them all, but by now it was minutes away from the onset of the downpour and quite dark, so the resulting images are a bit grainy, but there for the record.

Meadow Brown on Hemp Agrimony

Gatekeeper – Pyronia tithonus

Peacock – Nymphalis io, looking a bit faded and worn, on hemp agrimony

Tiny acorns are beginning to show on the oak trees

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Blooming Bryn Euryn

11 Friday May 2012

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, flower folklore, Local Nature Reserves, Nature, nature of woodlands, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

cowslip, Dandelion, early purple orchid, flower folklore about cowslip, hart's tongue fern, hawthorn in flower, welsh poppy, white-tailed bumblebee, wild strawberry, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn, woodland flowers, woodruff

The local nature reserve on Bryn Euryn is a popular venue for a wide variety of walkers and is not usually the place I head for if I fancy a long peaceful walk. But, if you happen to get the timing right there are occasions when you can meander around and almost have the place to yourself. So it was on a damp afternoon a couple of weeks ago when I went there just to see what there was to see.

The small meadow next to car park was golden with dandelions that were attracting the attention of a number of bumblebees.

Dandelion – taraxacum officinale -visited by a white-tailed bumblebee

Some of the flowers have already gone to seed.

Dandelion seed head

Harts Tongue ferns are a feature of the local woodlands here and already quite well grown.

Harts tongue fern. The plants grow on neutral and lime-rich substrates, including moist soil and damp crevices in old walls, most commonly in shaded situations but occasionally in full sun.

The new leaves are a bright shiny green

Harts Tongue Fern – Phyllitis scolopendrium. The plants are unusual in the genus of ferns as they have  simple, undivided fronds. The leaves are 10–60 cm long and 3–6 cm broad, with sori (A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) that are arranged in rows perpendicular to the rachis. ) In plants a rachis is the main axis of the inflorescence or spike. In ferns it is also the part of the axis to which the pinnae are attached.

The plant’s common name derives from the shape of its fronds, being thought to resemble a deer’s tongue: hart was an alternative  word for “stag”, from the Old English heorot, “deer”. The sori pattern is reminiscent of a centipede’s legs, and scolopendrium is Latin for “centipede”. 

This fern was recommended as a medicinal plant in folk medicine as a spleen tonic and for other uses.

Whilst still in the cover of woodland I spotted a Long-tailed Tit foraging amongst tree branches and a Song Thrush out on the  path also hunting. I saw and heard several Robins, Blue and Great Tits and Chiffchaff. A family of Magpie were also out and about, five of them up near the summit and there were Greenfinch lower down around the carpark.

I changed my route slightly today, mainly to avoid the uphill track through the woodland which was very muddy and quite slippery, choosing instead a surfaced one that leads around the base of the Bryn (hill). Happily, being more open and less shaded, there were plants growing here I would otherwise have missed.

Wild strawberry plants growing along the edge of a woodland track

Wild strawberry – Fragaria vesca very much resembles a miniature garden strawberry and similarly produces delicious tiny sweet berries. It is a very common plant throughout the British Isles and Western Europe found growing on all but strongly acid or waterlogged soils.

Hairy stalks bear 3 oval leaflets, also hairy and a bright shiny green. The leaflets have strong side veins, are broadest above the middle with sharp marginal teeth.

There is a similar-looking plant, the Barren Strawberry, which has duller grey-green leaves.

I was really pleased to find a Welsh poppy in flower along here, I used to have them in my garden when we lived in South Wales and loved them, especially where they seeded themselves amongst blue forget-me-nots.

Welsh Poppy -papaver cambricum

The Welsh Poppy has been adopted as the logo of the Welsh political party, Plaid Cymru

The Welsh poppy (Meconopsis cambrica) is a perennial plant native to south-western England, Wales, Ireland and Western Europe. Its favoured habitat is damp, shady places on rocky ground, and although its common name is ‘welsh poppy’, it is also native to south-western England, Wales, Ireland and Western Europe. In its most westerly locations, it is increasingly found on more open ground with less cover. It is also especially well adapted to colonising gaps and crevices in rocks and stones, which has enabled it to colonise urban environments, sometimes growing between paving slabs and at the edges of walls.

A grey squirrel paused in its tracks on a tree branch, keeping one eye fixed on me

Another favourite plant from my childhood, the cowslip, was also present here growing along the path edges, so I was sure there would be more once I reached the grassy slope of the lower hillside. I was not disappointed, there were beautiful masses of them.

Part of a mass of flowering cowslips

Cowslip – Primula veris

Cowslip – Primula veris, also variously known as Herb Peter, Paigle, Peggle, Key Flower, Key of Heaven, Fairy Cups, Petty Mulleins, Crewel, Buckles, Palsywort, Plumrocks.

According to folklore, cowslips first grew from the ground where St Peter dropped his keys and this is recorded in the French, German, and Old English names (clef de Saint Pierre, Schlusselblumen, and Key of Heaven respectively). The name cowslip, on the other hand, derives from the old English name, cūslyppe  or cowslop, because the plant used to grow best in meadows frequented by herds of cows.

The species name vēris means “of spring”.

Despite its pungent choice of habitat, the flowers of the cowslip have a lovely, almost-apricot scent and not so long ago were sufficiently and reliably abundant to allow them to be picked and used to make deliciously fragrant cowslip wine. (Now of course it is illegal to pick flowers from the wild so if you want to try it you’d have to find an alternative supply.) Cowslip is frequently found on more open ground than Primula vulgaris (primrose) including open fields, meadows, and coastal dunes and clifftops. Nowadays the seeds are often included in wild-flower seed mixes used to landscape motorway banks and similar civil engineering earth-works where the plants may be seen in dense stands.

Herbal medicine

The traditional medicinal uses of cowslip are widespread and the different parts of the plant are still commonly used to treat a variety of complaints as wide ranging as lung disorders, insomnia, gout,arthritis and anxiety. The herb is also reputed to have beneficial effects on the heart . (Active ingredients include saponin glycosides, including primulic acid, primulaveroside, and primveroside; volatile oil; tannins; flavonoids, including luteolin, apigenin, kaempferol, and quercetin; phenolic glycosides). Its flowers and leaves are rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, potassium, calcium, sodium and salicylates which help strengthen the immune system through its antioxidant properties and by lowering the cholesterol level.

Cowslip can effectively alleviate headaches but is not recommended to those who are allergic to aspirins, because of its high quantity of salicylates (the main basis for aspirin).

This herb is also used in cosmetics, used as an ingredient in face creams for its regenerating effects.

The cowslips were wonderful, but an even bigger treat were the orchids, masses of pretty early purple ones.

Orchids are always a special sight, especially the first ones to flower, the Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid-Orchis mascula

Finally lifting my eyes from ground level and the flowers, I was surprised to realise that the highest peak in our view from here across to the mountains of Snowdonia actually had snow on it.

The view to the snow-capped peaks of the Carneddau Mountains

Hawthorn blossom flowering in a sheltered spot

New oak leaves

Amongst some shrubby bushes, including the hawthorn, I came across a little flower I had almost forgotten about as it is so long since I saw it last, the delicate white-flowered Woodruff.

Woodruff- Galium odoratum

Woodruff –Galium odoratum is an herbaceous perennial plant  native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. Other common names include woodruff, sweet woodruff, and wild baby’s breath.

It grows to 30-50 cm (12-20 ins.) high but it is a weak-stemmed that is often found lying flat along the ground or supported by other plants it  prefers partial to full shade in moist, rich soils.

The flowers sweet smell is due to the presence of the odiferous agent coumarin; this scent intensifies as the plant wilts that persists on drying, and the dried plant is traditionally used in pot-pourri and as a moth deterrent. It is also used, mainly in Germany, to flavour May wine (called “Maiwein” or “Maibowle” in German), syrup for beer (Berliner Weisse), ice cream, and medicinally as a herbal tea with gentle sedative properties, but beware, high doses can cause headaches, due to the toxicity of coumarin.

A final view of Bluebells & Wild Garlic

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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

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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.

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‘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

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