Wild flowers

[Karen L]

My Dad made wine. My bedroom had a cupboard where all the hot water pipes ran under the floor boards and he decided it was the perfect place for his demi-johns. Many was the night I fell asleep listening to bubbles. He made all sorts, but the memorable ones were quince (from the bush in the garden), blackberry (which my brother and I imbibed aged about 6 and 9) and elderflower, which was a wonderful, sparkling wine.

 

[tony from suffolk]

I used to make lots of wine, mostly using hedgerow fruits such as sloes, blackberries & elderberries. Once I had a good formula, mostly using a mix of sloes, blackberries, and elderberries, with some dried elderflowers, it was rather splendid. I did experience a nasty incident once…

I was syphoning off a recently fermented demijohn into a clean one, and to achieve a good suction I'd place the full demijohn on top of our tall fridge-freezer, the clean one on the floor. For reasons unclear, I grabbed the syphon tube & crouched down to feed it into the jar, pulled it, brought the full demijohn down onto my head, and knocked myself cold. I woke up on the floor in a gallon of red wine.

Good fun! I've been teetotal for a long time now, but it was an interesting hobby.

 

[Lankyman]

brought the full demijohn down onto my head, and knocked myself cold. I woke up on the floor in a gallon of red wine.

Too much alcohol is definitely bad for you!

 

[kay]

Took a friend out for some orchid hunting today and we were in luck:

Twayblade
View attachment 26971
Pyramidal Orchid - not looking very pyramidal at this point
View attachment 26972
Frog Orchid - a very lucky find!
View attachment 26973
Bee Orchid - pink
View attachment 26974
... and a white Bee Orchid

Could the Pyramidal be a Fragrant? It's also a bit pale for Pyramidal.

 

[kay]

I'm inclined to agree that it's a Musk Thistle (or Nodding Thistle). They like lime.

And I'd agree with the wild basil id too.

 

[Karen L]

Could the Pyramidal be a Fragrant? It's also a bit pale for Pyramidal.

I think you're right. I've just looked both flowers up and now I'm not sure at all.

 

[Karen L]

I think you're right. I've just looked both flowers up and now I'm not sure at all.

It's a bit pale for a Fragrant as well. Orchids are so tricksy!

 

[kay]

I think you're right. I've just looked both flowers up and now I'm not sure at all.

Next time you see a pyramidal, try sniffing it

 

[kay]

It's a bit pale for a Fragrant as well. Orchids are so tricksy!

And that's before you try to work out which of the three species of Fragrant that you're looking at! ((I think your "pyramidal" is a pretty good colour for a fragrant)

 

[Karen L]

Next time you see a pyramidal, try sniffing it

Of course, forgot that!

 

[Karen L]

And that's before you try to work out which of the three species of Fragrant that you're looking at! ((I think your "pyramidal" is a pretty good colour for a fragrant)

Crikey, I had no idea. Most of the Fragrants in this area are much darker than that.

 

[bagpuss]

Ragwort, possibly a controversial one!
Watercress farm, rewilding/wetland restoration
The meadows last night were signicantly cooler than the woods, open paths etc.

 

[pwhole]

Rosebay willowherb or Fireweed, Little Matlock, Sheffield

 

[Lankyman]

Ragwort, possibly a controversial one!
Watercress farm, rewilding/wetland restoration
The meadows last night were signicantly cooler than the woods, open paths etc.
View attachment 27035

The volunteers I used to be part of have regular ragwort pulls on some reserves around Arnside Silverdale, especially where horses or cattle graze. It is very good for (among other things) cinnabar moth caterpillars and they do a pretty good job of munching it.

 

[Lankyman]

Rosebay willowherb or Fireweed, Little Matlock, Sheffield

Not many people know that decades ago this was almost extinct. The government decided to build long, narrow nature reserves to encourage it and now you can drive along them for miles seeing the fantastic displays. A great success for nature! Fact.

 

[kay]

The volunteers I used to be part of have regular ragwort pulls on some reserves around Arnside Silverdale, especially where horses or cattle graze. It is very good for (among other things) cinnabar moth caterpillars and they do a pretty good job of munching it.

The caterpillars absorb the poisonous substances from the ragwort and it turns them poisonous. The colouration is so that predators can readily recognise them

 

[Lankyman]

The caterpillars absorb the poisonous substances from the ragwort and it turns them poisonous. The colouration is so that predators can readily recognise them

I've often wondered about this. I know that a lot of plants, animals, fungi etc are very garishly coloured presumably to ward off predators. What went wrong with strawberries and raspberries?

 

[alanw]

I've often wondered about this. I know that a lot of plants, animals, fungi etc are very garishly coloured presumably to ward off predators. What went wrong with strawberries and raspberries?

They *want* to be eaten. The seeds pass through a digestive system unharmed and are spread around in fertiliser. Some seeds *need* that - "digestive scarification".

 

[Lankyman]

They *want* to be eaten. The seeds pass through a digestive system unharmed and are spread around in fertiliser. Some seeds *need* that - "digestive scarification".

I think coffee for the wealthy 'needs' a similar process

The World's Rarest Coffee. Naturally Refined By Elephants.

Naturally refined by elephants, Black Ivory Coffee (aka elephant dung coffee) is the world's rarest and most expensive coffee.

blackivorycoffee.com

 

[pwhole]

Pendulous Sedge.