The Figwort Family or Scrophulariaceae and their Uses.

The Figworts or Scrophulariacea is a family wich has many introduced ornamental plants, through planting in the garden. It used to be much larger but has been split since the new molecular system of classification (APG III) came into place.

Water Figwort or Scrophularia auriculata (by M.S.)

The name Figwort is only just represented by the genus Scrophularia in the B.I..

The individual genera of Scrophulariaceae are all unique in their general appearance. The uses are mainly for wildlife and garden plants, but the Figworts and Mulleins also have medicinal uses which you can read up about on the next page.

It has been split into four additional families:

  • Paulowniaceae,
  • Phyrtmaceae,
  • Calceolariaceae and last
  • Veronicaceae.

Other changes are:

  • The semi-parasitic Pedicularieae has been moved to the Orobanchaceae family.
  • The Buddlejaceae are now amalgamated with the Scrophulariaceae.

Hopefully more about those families in future blogs.

More info and pictures can be found through the links provided. The pictures used in this post are by Mike Poulton (M.P.) of Ecorecord and Rudi Pilsel (R.P.), Derrick Forster, Matt Summers (M.S.) as well as from Wikipedia Common.

If the plants are found in the Flora of Birmingham and the Black Country a FBBC will be added behind the Common name in the contents page below.

Contents:

Verbascum or Mulleins

  • V. blattaria or Moth Mullein FBBC

V. virgatum or Twiggy Mullein FBBC

  • V. phoeniceum or Purple Mullein (Introduced & Naturalized)
  • V. pyramidatum or Caucasian Mullein
  • V. bombyciferum or Broussa Mullein FBBC
  • V. phlomoides or Orange Mullein FBBC
  • V. densiflorum or Dense-flowered Mullein FBBC

V. thapsus or Great Mullein FBBC

  • V. chaixii or Nettle-leaved Mullein

V. nigrum or Dark Mullein FBBC

  • V. speciosum or Hungarian Mullein (probably the finest species according to Stace)) FBBC

V. pulverulentum or Hoary Mullein FBBC

V. lychnitis or White Mullein FBBC

Scrophularia or Figworts

4 native and 3 Introduced & Naturalized species

S. nodosa or Common Figwort FBBC

S. auriculata or Water Figwort FBBC

S. umbrosa or Green Figwort

S. scorodonia or Balm-leaved Figwort

  • S. scopolii or Italian Figwort
  • S. vernalis or Yellow Figwort FBBC
  • S. peregrina or Mediterranean Figwort

Phygelius capensis or Cape Figwort FBBC

Chaenostoma cordatum (syn. Sutera cordata) or Bacopa FBBC

Nemesia strumosa or Cape Jewels FBBC

Limosella aquatica or Mudwort FBBC

L. australis or Welsh Mudwort

Buddleja or Butterfly-bushes

  • B. davidii or Butterfly-bush FBBC
  • B. alternifolia or Alternate-leaved Butterfly-bush FBBC
  • B. x weyerana or Weyer’s Butterfly-bush FBBC
  • B. globosa or Orange-ball-tree FBBC

Diascia barbarae or Twinspur FBBC


Continue reading “The Figwort Family or Scrophulariaceae and their Uses.”

The Valerian Family and its uses in the B. I.

The Valerian Family is again a small plant family in the B.I. and I choose to do this as it comes before the family of last week which was the Teasel Family.

The best known is probably the Common Valerian although perhaps the Red Valerian is now a lot more common, especially here in the Midlands!

Centranthus ruber or Red Valerian on pavement along A458 Halesowen Rd (by M.P.)

More info can be found through the links provided from online websites and the pictures are by Mike Poulton (M.P.) and Ian Trueman (I.C.T.) of Ecorecord and Wikipedia Common.

If the plants are in the Flora of Birmingham and the Black Country a FBBC will be added behind the Common name of the plant in the main contents.

Plate 43 of Valereniaceae and Dipsacaceae families from
The Concise British Flora in Colour by W. Keble Martin

Above also the other half a page of Plate 43 in the Concise British Flora in Colour, showing mainly some members of the Valerian family. In the last post the Teasel family half was shown. The Common Teasel is also mixed in the picture above. This book was aquired by myself for the Kew Diploma Course in 1986 as one of the reference books to get! Still a beautifully illustrated book with 1486 species illustrated in 100 plates of all the flowering plant families of the B. I. The work was completed by W. Keble Martin in 60 years and first published in 1965.

Contents:

The Valerian family only has 3 genera:

Valeriana

Plants of the World Online accepts over 420 species and hybrids. In the B.I. 4 species can be found but 2 are true natives.

Centranthus

There are about twelve species in the genus but we know only C. ruber, which in non native.

and Valerianella

73 species are listed in Wikipedia but in the B.I. we know of 5 species; 2 native and 3 are Archaeophyte. Ripe fruits are essential for determination of the correct species.(Stace)

Continue reading “The Valerian Family and its uses in the B. I.”

The Teasel family and their Uses in the B.I.

The best know Teasel is Wild Teasel or Dipsacus fullonum (by Matt Summers)
Most of the other native members of the Dipsacaceae or Teasel Family (From The Concise British Flora in Colour, Plate 43, by W. Keble Martin, 4th Edition 1978, designed and produced by George Rainbird Ltd.)

The Teasel family or Dipsacaceae came to my attention again now we are nearing Christmas time and I am hunting around for attractive seedheads to utilize in the yearly Christmas wreaths we are making.

There are many proud stems left in our Bee Garden at my allotment but I had to remove several which were dropping accross the pathways, which won’t go to waste!

I learned from Stace that this family has now moved to be family 140, situated in between the Valerianaceae before and the Griseliniaceae & Pittosporaceae after. These last two are both non-native families, originating from New Zealand. The next family is the Araliaceae or Ivy family, which is very familiar and a post about ivy and its uses can be found here.

More info can be found through links provided from online websites and pictures are by partner Matt Summers (M.S.), Mike Poulton of Ecorecord (M.P.) as well as from Wikipedia Common.

Above also this time half a page of Plate 43 in the Concise British Flora in Colour. This book was aquired by myself for the Kew Diploma Course in 1986 as one of the reference books to get. Still a beautifully illustrated book with 1486 species illustrated in 100 plates of all the flowering plant families of the B. I. The work was completed by W. Keble Martin in 60 years and first published in 1965.

The Teasel family only has 5 genera with few species on the B.I.. Most of the plants below are also found in the Birmingham and Black Country:

Contents

Dipsacus spp. or Teasels

Cephalaria gigantia or Giant Scabious

Knautia arvensis or Field Scabious

Succisa pratensis or Devil’s-bit Scabious

Scabiosa spp. or Scabiouses

Continue reading “The Teasel family and their Uses in the B.I.”

The Heather Family or Ericaceae

Calluna vulgaris or Common Heather/Ling in Sutton Park (Picture by M. P.)

This time of the year, late summer or early autumn, the Heather family or Ericaceae, come to their own!

Many heathlands and mountain sides are painted purple with Calluna vulgaris or Common Heather or Ling as it is also known by.

Vaccinium myrtillus or Bilberry (by Hajotthu in Wikipedia)

The Vaccinium myrtillus or Bilberry put on their orange and red coats. Not many people know that this family is also very ornamental in Autumn!

According to The Wild Flower Key they are “shrubs (and rarely trees) with simple , usually narrow leathery, mostly evergreen leaves without stipules. Petals are joined into a tube and the fruit is a berry or capsule.

Attractive , distinctive family, mainly low shrubs of acid soils.”

In Stace it is family number 108 and is placed in between two exotic families: the insectiverous Sarraceniaceae or Pitcherplant family and the Garryaceae or Spotted-laurel family.

Stace describes 17 different genera, 5 of which are non-native and introduced as ornamental in the Victorian era or later. All will be listed below in the contents and more fully described on the next page with their known ethnobotanical or wildlife uses.

  • A link on the Scientific Name is usually information of the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora and the information of ecology of that plant in the B.I. also comes from that website. The link on the Common Name is often from Wikipedia or another good website in the U.K.
  • When described in the Flora of Birmingham & Black Country FBBC is added next to the plant in the contents below.
  • Most of the ethnobotanical uses are of Wikipedia or PFAFwith links provided.
  • Picture credits by Mike Poulton (M.P.), Matt Summers (M.S.) or from Wikipedia Commons.

Contents:

Arbutus unedo or Strawberry-tree

Arctostaphylos or Bearberries

Empetrum nigrum or Crowberry FBBC

Rhododendron or Rhododendrons

R. ponticum and R. luteum or Yellow Azalea FBBC

Phyllodoce or Blue Heath

Kalmia or Sheep-laurels

Daboecia cantabrica or St Dabeoc’s Heath

Calluna vulgaris or Heather FBBC

Erica spp. or Heaths FBBC

Andromeda polifolia of Bog-rosemary

Leucothoe fontanesiana or Dog-hubble

Gaultheria spp or Shallons

Vaccinium spp. or Bilberries, Blueberries, Cowberry, etc. FBBC

Pyrola spp. or Wintergreens

Orthilia secunda or Serrated Wintergreen

Moneses uniflora or One-flowered Wintergreen

Monotropa hypopitys or Hypopitys monotropa or Yellow Bird’s-nest FBBC

Continue reading “The Heather Family or Ericaceae”

Orchids in the British Isles

Orchis purpurea or Lady Orchid growing at Southerscales Nature Reserve, Ingleborough (by Mike Poulton)

This is a very posh family which we will explore in this post!

As far as I know it has little ethnobotanical uses but we all admire the members of this huge worldwide family!

In Wikipedia I found that:

“Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. The Orchidaceae have about 28,000 currently accepted species, distributed in about 763 genera worldwide.”

Stace mentions 22 straight genera growing in the British Isles. There are also many intergeneric crosses, which makes the classification a lot more complicated. Some genera only have a limited number of species, whilst Dactylorhiza (Marsh orchid), Epipactis (Helleborine) and Orchis (Orchids) have many species.

There are 15 entries in our Flora of Birmingham and the Black Country although some are old records and have not been seen in recent years. These entries will be indicated by FBBC after the name in the contents page.

If you are interested in native orchids you can also have a look at the website of The Hardy Orchid society, who share an interest in the wild, native orchids of Britain and the rest of Europe, as well as those from similar temperate climates throughout the world.

The Scientific name in the post will have a link of the ‘Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora’ from which I copy the Ecology/habitat in the B.I. You will be able to find out the frequency it occurs on the British Isles with the map.

The common name usually has a link of Wikipedia or another link of a U.K. site. I’ve used the excellent website First Nature on several occasions. This also has a useful Wild Orchids of Britain and Ireland Gallery.

The info about wildlife associated is mainly from Wikipedia.

Most orchids require a mycorrhizal symbiosis to germinate successfully and remains partially dependent upon the fungus in order to access soil nutrients. This information can also be found in the Wikipedia link and I will omit this in order to keep the information concise.

Pictures are mainly thanks to Mike Poulton (M.P.), Andrew Bennett (A.B.), Matt Summers (M.S) and from various people on Wikipedia.

Contents:

In Stace it is family 164 after the Liliaceae and before the Iridaceae. The family is split into 7 tribes which you can find in the contents below and please use the jump link to find more info on the next page!

Tribe 1 CYPRIPEDIEAE

Cyprepedium calceolus or Lady’s-slipper

Tribe 2 NEOTTIEAE

  • Cephalanthera damasonianum or White Helleborine
  • C. longifolia or Narrow-leaved Helleborine
  • C. rubra or Red Helleborine
Epipactis spp or Helleborines (8 species and several hybrids in Stace):
  • Epipactis helleborine or Broad-leaved Helleborine (FBBC)
  • E. atrorubens or Dark-red Helleborine
  • E. purpurata or Violet Helleborine (FBBC)
  • E. muelleri var muelleri or Narrow-lipped Helleborine
  • E. phyllanthes or Green-flowered Helleborine (FBBC)
  • E. palustris or Marsh Helleborine
Neottia spp or Twayblades (3 species in Stace)
  • N. ovata or Common Twayblade (FBBC)
  • N. cordata or Lesser Twayblade
  • N. nidus-avis or Bird’s-nest Orchid

Tribe 3 GASTRODIEAE

Epipogium aphyllum or Ghost Orchid

Tribe 4 MALAXIDEAE

Liparis loeseli or Fen Orchid

Hammarbya paludosa or Bog Orchid

Tribe 5 CALYPSOEAE

Corallorhiza trifida or Coralroot Orchid

Tribe 6 CRANICHIDEAE

Spiranthes spp. (3 spp in Stace)

Spiranthes spiralis or Autumn Lady’s-tresses

S. romanzoffiana or Irish Lady’s-tresses

Goodyera repens or Creeping Lady’s-tresses

Tribe 7 ORCHIDEAE

This is the most common tribe in the BI with 11 genera mentioned in Stace. It is also complex with many intergeneric crosses.

Hermenium monorchis or Musk Orchid
Plathanthera spp or Butterfly-Orchids
  • P. chlorantha or Greater Butterfly-orchid
  • P. bifolia or Lesser Butterfly-orchid
Pseudoorchis albida or Small-white orchid
Gymnadenia spp or Fragrant orchids
  • G. conopsea or Fragrant Orchid (FBBC)
  • G. densiflora or March Fragrant Orchid
Coeloglossum viride or Frog Orchid
Dactylorhiza or Marsh-orchids(Stace mentions 8 spp as well as many ssp & hybrids!)
  • D. fuchsii or Common Spotted-orchid (FBBC)
  • D. x grandis (D. fuchsii x D. praetermissa) (FBBC)
  • D. maculata or Heath Spotted-orchid (FBBC)
  • D. praetermissa or Southern Marsh-orchid (FBBC)
  • D. incarnata or Early Marsh-orchid (FBBC)
  • D. purpurella or Northern Marsh-orchid (FBBC)
  • D. traunsteinerii or Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchid
  • D. majalis or Western (Broad-leaved) Marsh-orchid
Orchis spp or orchids
  • O. mascula or Early-purple Orchid (FBBC)
  • O. purpurea or Lady Orchid
  • O. simia or Monkey Orchid
  • O. militaris or Military Orchid
  • O. ustulata or Burnt Orchid
  • O. anthropophora (Syn. Aceras anthropophorum) or Man Orchid
Neotinea maculata or dense-flowered orchids
Anacamptis pyramidalis or Pyramidal orchid (FBBC)

Anacamptis moria (syn. O. moria) or Green-winged Orchid (FBBC)

himantoglossum hircinum or lizard orchid
Serapias parviflora or Lesser tongue-orchid
Ophrys spp or bee orchids
  • O. apifera or Bee Orchid (FBBC)
  • O. fuciflora or Late Spider-orchid
  • O. insectifera or Fly Orchid (FBBC)
  • O. speghodes or EarlySpider-orchid
  • O. tenthredinifera or Sawfly-orchid

  • O. insectifera x O. apifera = O. x nietzsche.

Continue reading “Orchids in the British Isles”

The Crassulaceae or Stonecrop family and its uses

A carpet of the alien New Zealand Pigmyweed or Crassula helmsii, which is swamping out everything at Clayhanger near Walsall. (Picture by Mike Poulton)

The Crassulaceae or Stonecrop family looks ornamental most of the year because of its rounded, succulent and evergreen foliage. However, the flowers give it an extra attraction!

I always associated this family with drought loving plants but I learned it has several moisture loving members too!

The flowers are providing food as well as shelter for many types of insects.

Several of the genera and species mentioned in Stace are in fact ornamental garden plants and have ‘escaped’ into the wild as often happens! At least one species of Crassula is now a serious weed, originally introduced as an aquatic ornamental for ponds.

Thanks for pictures donated by Mike Poulton of Ecorecord as well as from Wikipedia Commons. If there is no picture, you will see what it looks like by pressing the link below the (common) Name. Also pictures in the Gallery of the Plant Atlas Online, which you can find pressing the link on the Scientific Name.

Any Crassulaceaes found in the Flora of Birmingham & Black Country will have FBBC next to the plant in the contents below.

A blue background tells you about the habitat where it can be found in B.I. as well as for interesting facts or wildlife use! A pink background means a warning (such as poisonous!) or medicinal use, green for edible, ornamental or other uses.

Contents:

Crassula or Pigmyweeds:
C. tillaea or Mossy Stonecrop
C. aquatica or Pigmyweed
C. helmsii or New Zealand Pigmyweed FBBC
C. decumbens or Scilly Pigmyweed
C. pubescens or Jersey Pigmyweed
Umbilicus rupestris or Navelwort
Sempervivum spp or House-leeks
Sempervivum tectorum or House-leek FBBC
S. arachnoideum or Cobweb House-leek
Aeonium cuneatum or Aeonium
Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’ or Dark Purple Houseleek Tree
Rhodiola, Hylotelephium, Sedum spp., Petrosedum, more Sedum spp. and Phedimus or Stonecrops:
Rhodiola rosea ( syn. Sedum rosea) or Roseroot FBBC
Hylotelephium spectabile or Butterfly Stonecrop FBBC
Hylotelephium telephium or Orpine FBBC
Sedum acre or Biting Stonecrop FBBC
S. album or White Stonecrop FBBC
S. anglicum or English Stonecrop
S. villosum or Hairy Stonecrop
S. praealtum or Greater Mexican-stonecrop FBBC
Petrosedum forsterianum or Rock Stonecrop FBBC
P. rupestre or Reflexed Stonecrop FBBC
P. sediforme or Pale Stonecrop
Sedum dasyphyllum or Thick-leaved Stonecrop
  • S. anacampseros or Love-restoring Stonecrop
  • S. hispanicum or Spanish Stonecrop
  • S. kimnachii or Lesser Mexican-stonecrop
  • S. lydium or Least Stonecrop
  • S. spathulifolium or Colorado Stonecrop FBBC
  • S. sexangulare or Tasteless Stonecrop FBBC
Phedimus stellatus or Starry Stonecrop
P. kamtschaticum or Kamchatka Stonecrop FBBC
P. spurius or Caucasian-stonecrop FBBC
P. stoloniferus or Lesser Caucasian Stonecrop
Continue reading “The Crassulaceae or Stonecrop family and its uses”

Uses of the Amaranthaceae or Goosefoot family

Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus Amaranthus. It now includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species in the world!

‘Good-King Henry’ or Chenopodium bonus-henricus growing at Portway Hill. This is an old perennial crop and can be grown as an alternative to spinach. (picture by Mike Poulton)

It is not an obviously attractive family but as always when you delve further in all those families there are some fascinating members!

In Stace, 12 genera are described of which many are introduced by accident through wool, soya bean waste, as birdseed and other sources.

The less common, introduced genera + species will briefly be mentioned on the next page as well as our more common, native species.

Click links of the plants in the contents below for more info and pictures from various websites. Scientific/Latin Name usually has a link from the Online Atlas of the British Isles and Irish Flora. Pink background means a warning (such as poisonous!) or medicinal use, green for edible, ornamental or other uses and blue for habitat where it can be found in B.I. , for interesting facts or for wildlife use. Pictures from Wikipedia or Mike Poulton and edited information mainly from PFAF and Wikipedia.

Contents:

Dysphania spp or Goosefoots

Dysphania botrys or Jerusalem oak goosefoot
D. ambrosioides or Jesuit’s tea

Chenopodium‘ spp. or Goosefoots

Chenopodium album agg. or Fat Hen
Chenopodium ficifolium or Fig-leaved goosefoot
Chenopodium vulvaria or Stinking Goosefoot
Chenopodium bonus-henricus or Good King Henry
Oxybasis glauca or Oak-leaved Goosefoot
Oxybasis rubra or Red Goosefoot
Oxybasis chenopodioides or Saltmarsh Goosefoot
Chenopodiastrum murale or Nettle-leaved Goosefoot
Chenopodiastrum hybridum or Maple-leaved Goosefoot
Lipandra polysperma or Many-seeded Goosefoot

Salicornia and Sarcocornia or the Glassworts

Salicornia ramosissima or Purple Glasswort
Salicornia procumbens agg or Yellow Glasswort
Salicornia europaea or Common Glasswort
Salicornia pusilla or One-flowered Glasswort
Sarcocornia perennis or Perennial Glasswort
Suaeda maritima or Annual Sea-blite
Suaeda vera or Shrubby Sea-blite
Salsola kali or Prickly Saltwort
Salsola tragus or Prickly Russian thistle

Atriplex spp. or Oraches

Atriplex prostrata or Spear-leaved Orache
A. praecox or Early Orache
A. patula or Common Orache
A. littoralis or Grass-leaved Orache
A. glabriuscula or Babington’s Orache
A. longipes or Long-stalked Orache
A. laciniata or Frosted Orache
A. portulacoides or Sea-purslane
A. pedunculata or Pedunculate Sea-purslane

Beta vulgaris or Sea Beet

and subsp. maritima: subsp. cicla; subsp. vulgaris

Amaranthus spp. or Pigweeds

Amaranthus retroflexus or Common Amaranth/Callaloo
A. hybridus or Green Amaranth, Callaloo
A. ozanonii (A. retraflexus x A. hybridus)
A. caudatus or Love-lies-bleeding
A. albus or White Pigweed

Continue reading “Uses of the Amaranthaceae or Goosefoot family”

The ‘Lily families’ and all their uses, Part 2: The divers Asparagaceae and small Melanthiaceae.

The Star-of-Bethlehem is one attractive and native member in the Asparagaceae (Picture by Matt Summers)

This and the previous post are about a number of native families which in the ‘Wild Flower Key’ are lumped together into the one Liliaceae but are in fact classified in different families according to Stace.

Again, similar to the previous post this has several good garden plants which have established themselves often very happily in the wild!

The debate of native and non-native and what to include in my blog will be more and more difficult in future as rare endemics will not be known by many and certainly should not be ‘used’ in any way! Common, ornamental plants will be more accessible to all and get established in the wild more and more for everybody to use! They will become in fact our new ‘weeds’!

Click links for more info and pictures of the plants from various websites. Scientific/Latin Name usually has a link from the Online Atlas of the British Isles and Irish Flora. Pink background means a warning (such as poisonous!) or medicinal use, green for edible or other uses and blue for habitat where it can be found in B.I. , interesting facts or wildlife use.

Contents are included to easily jump to right genus on next page!

Pictures with thanks by Matt Summers, Mike Poulton of Ecorecord and Wikipedia .

Contents:

ASPARAGACEAE – Asparagus family

Lily-of-the-Valley

  • Convallaria majalis or Lily-of-the-valley

Solomon’s -seals

  • Polygonatum multiflorum or Solomon’s- seal
  • Polygonatum x hybridum (P. multiflorum x P. odoratum) or Garden Solomon’s- seal
  • Polygonatum odoratum or Angular’s Solomon’s-seal
  • Polygonatum verticillatum or Whorled Solomon’s-seal

May Lily or Maianthemum bifolium

Ornithogalums

  • Ornithogalum pyrenaicum or Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem or Bath Asparagus
  • Ornithogalum umbellatum or Star-of-Bethlehem

Scilla or Squills

  • Scilla verna or Spring Squill
  • Scilla autumnalis or Autumn Squill

Bluebells

  • Hyacinthoides non-scripta or Bluebell
  • Hyacinthoides hispanica or Spanish Bluebell
  • Hyacinthoides x massartiana (= H. hispanica x H. non-scripta) or Hybrid Spanish Bluebell

Grape-hyacinth or Muscari neglectum

Asparagus

  • Asparagus prostratus or Wild Asparagus
  • Asparagus officinalis or Garden Asparagus

Butcher’s-broom or Ruscus aculeatus

Herb-Paris Family or MELANTHIACEAE

  • Paris quadrifolia or Herb-Paris
Continue reading “The ‘Lily families’ and all their uses, Part 2: The divers Asparagaceae and small Melanthiaceae.”

The ‘Lily families’ and all their uses; Liliaceae, Amaryllidaceae, (Alliaceae) and Colchicaceae!

‘Snowdrops’ and Spring is on its way! These are part of the large Lily-family-see below (by Matt Summers)

This and the next posts are about a number of native families which in the ‘Wild Flower Key’ is lumped together into the one Liliaceae.

But according to Stace this family is split into several families.

This is what he has to say about it:

‘It has long been known that Cronquist‘s very broad Liliaceae should be subdivided, some of the segregate families belonging to different orders. This has now been confirmed by molecular data; the taxa in our flora should be divided into at least the 9 families recognised here.’

The debate of native and non-native and what to include in my blog will be more and more difficult in future as rare endemics will not be known by many and certainly should not be ‘used’ in any way. Common, ornamental plants will be more accessible to all and get established in the wild more and more for everybody to use! They will become in fact our new ‘weeds’!

Click the links for more info and pictures from various websites. Scientific/Latin Name usually has link from the Online Atlas of the British Isles and Irish Flora. Pink background means a warning (such as poisonous!) or medicinal use, green for edible, ornamental or other uses and blue for habitat where it can be found in B.I. , for interesting facts or wildlife use.

We start of with the Liliaceae then, which in fact only has Fritillaria meleagris and 3 native species which are all in the genus Gagea.

Contents:

Liliaceae:

The-Star-of-Bethlehems

  • Gagea lutea or Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem
  • Gagea bohemica or Early Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem
  • Gagea serotina (Syn. Lloydia  serotina) or Snowdon Lily

Fritillary

Fritillaria meleagris or Snake’s head Fritillary

Dog’s-tooth-violet

Erythronium dens-canis or Dog’s-tooth-violet

Tulips

  • Tulipa sylvestris or Wild Tulip
  • Tulipa gesneriana or Garden Tulip
  • Tulipa saxatilis or Cretan Tulip

Amaryllidaceae or Daffodil Family

The Allium or Onion Family (Alliaceae): 13 different varieties

  • Allium schoenoprasum or Chives
  • Allium ampeloprasum or Wild Leek or Babington’s Leek
  • Allium carinatum or Keeled Garlic
Allium cepa or Onion
  • Allium oleraceum or Field Garlic
  • Allium vineale or Wild Onion or Crow Garlic
  • Allium paradoxum or Few Flowered Garlic
Allium porrum or Leek
  • Allium roseum or Rosy Garlic
  • Allium sativum or Garlic
  • Allium scorodoprasum or Sand Leek or Rocambole
Allium ursinum or Wild Garlic/ Ramsons
  • Allium triquetrum or Three-cornered Leek

Snowflakes

  • Leucojum aestivum or Summer Snowflake
  • Leucojum vernum or Spring Snowflake

Snowdrops

  • Galanthus nivalis or Common Snowdrop
  • Galanthus elwesii or Greater Snowdrop
  • Galanthus ikariae or Ikaria Snowdrop
  • Galanthus plicatus and subsp byzantinus + subsp. plicatus or Pleated Snowdrop
  • Galanthus woronowii or Green Snowdrop

Daffodils

  • Narcissus pseudonarcissus or Wild Dafodill

Meadow Saffron

  • Colchicum autumnale or Meadow Saffron and Naked Lady
These ornamental lilies are not a native ! (Picture by Mike Poulton)
Continue reading “The ‘Lily families’ and all their uses; Liliaceae, Amaryllidaceae, (Alliaceae) and Colchicaceae!”

The beautiful Iris family in the B.I.

Iris pseudoacorus or Yellow Flag is our best known member of the Iridaceae! (by Matt Summers)

The Iris family or Iridaceae, according to Stace has 15 genera but several genera are clearly escaped garden plants and not yet widely spread in the wild so will mainly mention the real natives and/or the more common introduced ones which are also described in the Wildflower Key.

They are more difficult to identify without flower as of course all have similar, strap-like leaves in various shades of green!

I use colour coding for easy reading! Blue background is general interesting info (although I hope you find it all interesting!!). Green is about all the uses except for medicinal uses or if there is a warning in which case I use a pink background. Pictures by Matt Summers (MS), Mike Poulton (MP) of Ecorecord and Wikipedia Commons

Please use Jump-links in contents to easily get to the various species on next page!

Contents:

Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium bermudiana)

Yellow Flag (Iris pseudoacorus)

Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima)

Bearded Iris (Iris x germanica)

Wild Gladiolus (Gladiolus ilyricus)

Eastern Gladiolus (Gladiolus communis ssp. byzantinus)

Montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora)

Sand Crocus (Romulea columnea)

Crocuses

Crocus chrysanthus, C. sieboldii and C. tommasinianus

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