The Brassica family and their useful plants; Part 3

Cakile maritima or Sea Rocket as growing on the Lizard peninsula, Cornwall (Matt Summers)

Mostly the yellow flowered plants in the Brassica or Crucifer family were covered in the previous Part 2.

In Part 3, I will write about the pink and/or white flowered Crucifers which inhabit these Isles.

I follow the order of The Wild Flower Key as this has useful pictures which make identifying this somewhat unfamiliar and confusing family a lot easier!

I use the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora link on the First, italic, scientific names, so you can find out where it is likely to be found growing in the wild. You can also find other useful information here, especially its growing habitat and conditions!

On the Common Name link you can also find more information as well as useful pictures. Pictures in this post are by Matt Summers, Mike Poulton and sourced through Wikipedia Common with thanks.

Please use Jump-links in contents to read more about the individual genera & species on the next page!

Contents:

Group 5: Pink and/or white flowered Crucifers with elongated fruits.

Matthiola, Hesperis, Cakile & Lunaria
  • Matthiola incana or Hoary Stock
  • Matthiola sinuata or Sea Stock
  • Hesperis matronalis or Dame’s-violet
  • Cakile maritima or Sea Rocket
  • Lunaria annua or Honesty
Cardamine
Nasturtium
Arabis & Arabidopsis
Alliaria petiolata or Jack-by-the-Hedge/ Garlic Mustard
Draba & Drabella

Group 6: White flowered Crucifers with short fruits

Microthlaspi, Noccaea and Thlaspi
  • Microthlaspi perfoliatum or Cotswold (Perfoliate) Penny-cress
  • Noccaea caerulescens or Alpine Penny-cress
  • Thlaspi arvense or Field Penny-cress
Lepidium
TEESDALIA
  • Teesdalia nudicaulis or Shepard’s Cress
Capsella, Iberis, Erophila
  • Capsella bursa-pastoris or Shepard’s-purse
  • Iberis amara or Wild Candytuft
  • Erophila verna or Common Whitlowgrass
Cochlearia, Lobularia, Hornungia
  • Cochlearia officinalis agg or Common Scurvygrass
  • Cochlearia danica or Danish scurvygrass
  • Cochlearica anglica or English Scurvygrass/ Long-leaved Scurvygrass
  • Lobularia maritima or Sweet Alison
  • Hornungia petraea or Hutchinsia

Group 7: White flowered Crucifers with very large leaves

Crambe & Armoracia
  • Crambe maritima or Sea-kale
  • Armoracia rusticana or Horse-radish
Continue reading “The Brassica family and their useful plants; Part 3”

Index of Native Plant Families

Below a table of all the Native Plant Families I hope to write about in the coming future and links on all those families already covered. This will also be displayed on one of my pages, as it gets easily lost in between my posts!

The reasons for doing my blog is also best explained in these earlier posts:

Introduction to my ‘Wonderful Weed Weekly’ blog

My dream for an Ethnobotanical Garden in the British Isles

Here you can find my page that goes through the classification of all the Vascular plants based on Clive Stace’s New Flora of the British Isles 3rd Edition. I am still in the process of updating it to the latest 4th Edition.

Continue reading “Index of Native Plant Families”

The Brassica family and their useful plants; Part 2

Wild Cabbage at Old Harry Rocks, Dorset
Wild Cabbage growing near Old Harry Rocks in Dorset! (by Matt Summers)

In this post some more useful members of the Brassica or Crucifer family. It covers most of the yellow flowered ones!

In Part 3, I will write about the pink and/or white flowered Crucifers which inhabit these Isles.

And these are the plants I covered earlier in Part 1- just to give a small variety of useful Crucifers!

  • Erophila verna or Common Whitlowgrass 
  •  Cardamine pratensis or Cuckoo Flower, Lady’s Smock
  • Capsella bursa-pastoris or Shepard’s purse 
  • Arabidopsis thaliana or Thale Cress 
  •  Cochlearia danica or Danish Scurvygrass
  • Alliaria petiolata or Jack-by-the-Hedge , Garlic Mustard and Hedge Garlic
  •  Cardamine hirsuta or Hairy Bitter-cress
  •  Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum or Water-cress

Family 87: the Brassica, Crucifer or Cabbage Family, scientifically known as the Brassicaceae, has approx 52 genera in the British Isles according to Stace! Not all are strictly native but it is an important family for our well known vegetables such as all types of cabbages, radishes, and root vegetables such as Swedes and Turnips!

I use colour coding for easy reading! Blue background is general information about the plant from Online Atlas. Green is about all the uses except for medicinal uses or if there is a warning in which case I use a pink background. This time most pictures are from Wikipedia and illustrations by Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen , Johann Georg Sturm (Painter: Jacob Sturm) – Figures from Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen at http://www.biolib.de, Public Domain as well as other illustrations as added in links.

Please use the Jump-links in the Contents in order to get easily to the plants described on next page!

Contents:

How to identify the Brassicas/Crucifers and the 7 main groups

Group 1: yellow flowered Crucifers with jointed fruits
Brassica
COINCYA
  • Coincya monensis ssp. monensis or Isle-of-Man Cabbage
  • Coincya wrightii or Lundy Cabbage
SINAPIS
Diplotaxis
Sisymbrium officinale or Hedge Mustard
Hirschfeldia incana or Hoary Mustard
Raphanus
Group 2: yellow or orange flowered Crucifers with elongated fruits
Barbarea
Erysimum cheiranthoides or Treacle-mustard
Descurainia sophia or Flixweed
Sisymbrium

Other less known spp. (Neophytes):

  • Sisymbrium erysimoides or French Rocket
  • Sisymbrium irio or London-rocket
  • Sisymbrium loeselii or False London-rocket
  • Sisymbrium polyceratium or Horned Mustard
Group 3: yellow flowers in erect racemes, petals very small compared with other yellow Crucifers.
RORIPPA
Turritis glabra (syn. Arabis glabra) or Tower Mustard
Erysimum cheiri or Wallflower
Isatis tinctoria or Woad
Group 4: yellow flowers and fruit not obviously composed of 2 parallel valves.
Rapistrum rugosum or Bastard Cabbage
Continue reading “The Brassica family and their useful plants; Part 2”

Ferns and all their uses Part 2

in Part 2 we continue with the:

TRUE’ or LEPTOSPORANGIATE FERNS

Several types of ferns on a shady bank in summer
Several types of ‘True’ ferns on a shady bank in summer!

This has 16 families described in Stace, and on the next page, we continue with family 10 to the last family 21, which all grow in the British Isles in various habitats.

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 unless stated.

I added contents where you can jump to the correct fern family or genus on next page.

See for Part 1 here:

Classification of fern families in Stace:

Contents:

10 DICKSONIACEAETree fern Family

11 DENNSTAEDTIACEAE Bracken family

Pteridium aquilinum or Bracken

12 PTERIDACEAE Ribbon Fern family

  • Cryptogramma crispa or Parsley Fern
  • Anogramma leptophylla or Jersey Fern
  • Adianthum capillus-venerisor Maidenhair Fern
  • Pteris vittata and P. cretica or Ribbon Fern

13 CYSTOPTERIDACEAE

Gymnocarpium
  • Gymnocarpium dryopteris or Oak Fern
  • G. robertianum or Limestone Fern
Cystopteris
  • Cystopteris fragilis or Brittle Bladder-fern
  • C. diaphana or Diaphanous Bladder-fern
  • C. alpina or Alpine Bladder-fern
  • C. dickieana or Dickie’s Bladder-fern
  • C. montana or Mountain Bladder-fern

14 ASPLENIACEAE Spleenwort family

  • Asplenium scolopendrium (Syn. Phyllitis scolopendrium) or Hart’s-tongue Fern
  • A. adiantum-nigrum or Black Spleenwort
  • A. marinum or Sea Spleenwort
  • A. trichomanes or Maidenhair Spleenwort
  • A. ruta-muraria or Wall-rue
  • A. ceterach (syn. Ceterach officinarum) or Rustyback

15 THELYPTERIDACEAE Marsh Fern family

  • Thelypteris palustris or Marsh Fern
  • Phegopteris connectilis or Beech Fern
  • Oreopteris limbosperma or Lemon-scented Fern

16 WOODSIACEAE  or Woodsia family

  • Woodsia ilvensis or Oblong Woodsia
  • Woodsia alpina or Alpine Woodsia

17 ATHYRIACEAE Lady-ferns and allies

  • Athyrium filix-femina or Lady-fern
  • Athyrium distentifolium or Alpine Lady-fern

18 BLECHNACEAE – Hard-fern family

  • Blechnum spicant or Hard-fern
  • Blechnum penna-marina or Little Hard-fern
  • Blechnum cordatum or Greater Hard-fern

19 ONOCLEACEAE – Ostrich fern family

19A DAVALLIACEAE (for ornamental Davallia canariensis)

20 DRYOPTERIDACEAE Buckler-fern family

  • Cyrtomium falcatum or House Holly-fern
Polystichum
  • Polystichum setiferum or Soft Shield-fern
  • P. aculeatum or Hard Shield-fern
  • P. lonchitis or Holly-fern
Dryopteris or Buckler-ferns
  • Dryopteris oreades or Mountain Male-fern
  • D. filix-mas or Male-fern
  • D. affinis or Golden-scaled Male-fern
  • D. affinis ssp. cambrensis
  • D. affinis ssp. borreri
  • D. affinis ‘Cristata’
  • D. remota or Scaly Buckler-fern
  • D. aemula or Hay-scented Buckler-fern
  • D. submontana or Rigid Buckler-fern
  • D. carthusiana or Narrow Buckler-fern
  • D. dilatata or Broad Buckler-fern
  • D. expansa or Northern Buckler-fern

21 POLYPODIACEAE – Polypody family

  • Polypodium vulgare or Polypody
  • P. interjectum or Intermediate Polypody
  • P. cambricum or Southern Polypody
Continue reading “Ferns and all their uses Part 2”

Ferns and all their Uses Part 1

This is part 1 of all those ferns and fern- allies growing on the British Isles as well as many other countries in the temperate or even tropical world!

The fiddleheads of our Royal Fern are very ornamental and can be eaten as food!

Ferns flourished before all the flowering plants came on earth and still thrive in many niche areas all over the world.

It is a large and divers group and a short account of their classification follows on the next page. For each group there may be one or two important species which have some story to tell or ethnobotanical use!

Below is a lovely short poem about the Ferns, written for the former students of and by Ian Trueman, Emeritus Professor in Plant Ecology, University of Wolverhampton many years ago.

Ferns

When the green weeds rose from the sea

We, the great-leaved plants, were the last to raise our heads.

But we soon became perfect in the horsetail forests,

When the coal was being made in sun and steam.

And there, quiet under the bristle-leaved trees

We became perfect, as you see us now.

And quiet, and secret, and everlasting

We still unfold our ancient dance

Under the proud stems of our seed-borne sons.

Links are provided from various websites for you to look into each group or plant a bit further. Such as the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora, where you can find out exactly where it grows in the B.I. This time I used copies of prints of ‘The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland’ as well as pictures sourced through Wikipedia Common. Medicinal uses from ‘The Medicinal Flora of Britain and Northwestern Europe’ by Julian Barker. But please note this is an educational blog only and going out harvesting rare plants is not advisable for use as medicine and should be left to a qualified herbalist! Pictures by Matt Summers unless stated.

You can listen to this radio play by Brett Westwood called Natural Histories: Ferns: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000b80h

General information and classification of Ferns:

The PTERIDOPHYTES or Ferns & Fern-allies have varied habit and leaf structure but are distinctive from the flowering plants in that they do not bare flowers but have spores and spore structures, which are an important identification feature.

The life cycle of the fern has two different stages;

  • sporophyte, which releases spores, and
  • gametophyte, which releases gametes.

Gametophyte plants are haploid, sporophyte plants diploid. This type of life cycle is called alternation of generations. To follow the life cycle of the fern, begin at number one in the diagram of this link.

Stace divides all the ferns and fern-allies into 4 informal large groups:

  • Lycophytes with 1) Lycopodiaceae – Clubmoss family 2) Selaginellaceae -Lesser clubmoss family and 3) Isoetaceae – Quillwort family
  • Eusporangiate ferns with 4) Ophioglossaceae- Adder’s tongue family
  • Calamophytes with 5) Equisetaceae – Horsetail family AND
  • Leptosporangiate ferns or True ferns with 16 families (see with entry there)

Please use the jump-links provided in the Contents to quickly get to the family you want on the next page.

Contents:

The LYCOPHYTES

1 LYCOPODIACEAE – Clubmoss family

Lycopodium clavatum or Stag’s-horn Clubmoss

2 SELAGINELLACEAE – Lesser clubmoss family

Selaginella selaginoides or Lesser Clubmoss

3 ISOETACEAE – Quillwort family

Isoetes lacustris or (Lake) Quillwort

The EUSPORANGIATE FERNS

4 OPHIOGLOSSACEAE – Adder’s-tongue family

Ophioglossum vulgatum or Adder’s-tongue

CALAMOPHYTES   or Horsetails

5 EQUISETACEAE – Horsetail family

The TRUE FERNS or LEPTOSPORANGIATE FERNS

6 OSMUNDACEAE or Royal Fern family

Osmunda regalis or Royal Fern

7 HYMENOPHYLLACEAE – Filmy-fern family

  • Hymenophyllum tunbrigense or Tunbridge Filmy-fern
  • H. wilsonii or Wilson’s Filmy-fern
  • Trichomanes speciosum or Killarney Fern

8 MARSILEACEAE – Pillwort family

Pillularia globulifera or Pillwort

9 SALVINIACEAE – Water fern family

Azolla filiculoides or Water Fern

9A CYATHEACEAE

Continue reading “Ferns and all their Uses Part 1”

Holly and its uses

As we are nearing the Christmas season, the Holly becomes more prominent.

Holly berries abundant (Picture by Stephan Hense in Wikipedia)

Somehow I am noticing their dark, glossy green appearance more when the other trees have lost their autumnal leaves.

Its scientific name is Ilex aquifolium and it is the only native species of the genus and Family Aquifoliaceae on the British Isles.

It is special as it is one of very few native evergreen trees.

Read more about this interesting evergreen native and all its uses on the next page.

Most information provided with thanks from Wikipedia and other websites.

Contents:

Ilex aquifolium or Holly

Folklore and tradition

Wildlife Uses:

Former; Other and Amenity Uses:

 Ilex × altaclerensis or Highclere Holly

Continue reading “Holly and its uses”

Gardening with native plants!

A mixture of flowering grasses + native flowers will look attractive and is good for wildlife. (by M. Poulton)
  • Dare we include native plants, or weeds in our gardens and ornamental borders?
  • How can we safe time and money?
  • Native plants can be pretty and are certainly good for attracting wildlife.
  • They can live beside our more ornamental and cultivated plants: they don’t necessarily interfere or harm each other as many gardeners seem to think!

This is a start of a series of posts for busy people and for people who would like to create a more exciting, fun and nature friendly garden.

Gardening with our native plants is certainly that!

Continue reading “Gardening with native plants!”

The Rush Family (or Juncaceae) and their uses

In my previous post I’ve written all about the useful Sedge family or Cyperaceae. This is a much shorter post about the closely related Rush Family or the Juncaceae.

Juncus effusus or Common Rush as seen in Sutton Park (by Mike Poulton)

In particular the genus Juncus looks very similar to Scirpus and other bulrushes in the Sedge family.

Well; ‘all the proof is in the flower’ of course but you have to look close-up in order to see that as from a distance they will look similar!

Two beautiful illustrated websites are by Lizzie Harper and also see Wayne’s Word about Flower Terminology. A good flora is always helpful of course and you can find a recommended book list and links in my previous post on Cyperaceae. A website I often use, if you are regularly following my blog, is the Leicestershire and Rutland based Naturespot. This is a most useful, descriptive and active site showing many good photographs!

This family only has 2 genera: Juncus or Rushes and Luzula or Wood-rushes.

As I did in previous post I will just list the most common species in the B.I. on the next page. This can be found through the distribution maps in the back of Collins pocket guide in Grasses, Sedges, Rushes & Ferns of Britain and Northern Europe .

These maps are a useful feature as most plants used by us in one form or the other would be the common species anyway!

Rare species are not going to be used as food, medicine or building materials. Although saying this: they would have probably been collected and used as an ornamental plant by the Victorians, who loved unusual varieties such as can be found in the ferns for example.

But in the present day collecting of wild plants is a taboo! And of course which were common wild flowers then could now be very rare!

I will also be using my own Flora of Birmingham and the Black Country from now on for all my future posts as this is my local or area and why didn’t I think of this before?

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 with gratitude by Mike Poulton unless stated.

Please use Jump-links in the Contents in order to get easier to the plant description on next page!

Contents:

Juncus or Rush

Juncus subnodulosus or Blunt-flowered Rush
J. x surrejanus (J. articulatus x acutiflorus)
J. tenuis or Slender Rush)
J. inflexus or Hard Rush
  J. effusus or Common Rush
J. conglomeratus or Compact Rush
  J. bufonius or Toad Rush
  J. bulbosus or Bulbous Rush
  J. squarrosus or Heath Rush
J. acutiflorus or Sharp-flowered Rush
  J. articulatus or Jointed Rush

Luzula or Wood-rushes

  Luzula campestris or Field Wood-rush
  L. multiflora or Heath Wood-rush
  L. sylvatica or Great Wood Rush
  L. pilosa or Hairy Wood Rush
  L. forsteri or Southern Wood-rush
Luzula luzuloides or White Wood-rush and  last:
Luzula nivea or Snow Rush
Continue reading “The Rush Family (or Juncaceae) and their uses”

The Common Club-rush in the Sedge family and all their uses!

The Common Club-rush where we harvested a few days before!

Today I am inspired to write about the members of the large Sedge and Rush family or Cyperaceae. I recently helped my friend Sally harvesting many stems of the Common Club-rush or Schoenoplectus lacustris in order for her to make many beautiful items after they have dried in about 6 weeks time!

This is an important native plant which can be used to weave mats, baskets or any other implements as you can find out more on the next page and it even got edible and medicinal uses!

It is one of those plants which could feature in a real Ethnobotanical Garden instead of this virtual one to demonstrate all its uses it had in the past but could certainly be again in the future! Below some of the pictures taken by my friend on our recent adventure harvesting the Common Club-rush.

Most information is from specialist websites for which I provide the links for you to find more information and pictures of the plants. 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 or Mike Poulton unless stated.

Please use Jump-links in the Contents to easily find the different members of this large family!

Contents of Cyperaceae

Eriophorum or Cottongrasses
Trichophorum or Deergrasses
Bolboschoenus maritimus or Sea Club-rush
Scirpus sylvaticus or Wood Club-rush

Schoenoplectus or Club-rushes

Schoenoplectus lacustris or Common Club-rush
S. tabernaemontani or Grey Club-rush
S. triqueter or Triangular Club-rush
S. pungens or Sharp Club-Rush

Eleocharis or Spike-rushes

Scirpoides holoschoenus or Round-headed Club-rush

Isolepis or Club-rushes

Eleogiton fluitans or Floating Club-rush

Cyperus or Galingales

C. longus or Galingale
C. fuscus or Brown Galingale
C. eragrostis or Pale Galingale
C. esculentus or Tiger Nut

Blysmus or Flat-sedges

Schoenus or Bog-rushes

Cladium mariscus or Great Fen-sedge

Rhynchospora or Beak-sedges

R. alba or White Beak-sedge
R. fusca or Brown Beak-sedge

Carex or Sedges

C. paniculata or Greater Tussock-sedge
C. arenaria or Sand Sedge
C. riparia or Great Pond Sedge
C. canescens or White Sedge
C. disticha or Brown Sedge
C. ovalis or Oval Sedge
C. remota or Remote Sedge
C. echinata or Star Sedge
C. hirta or Hairy Sedge
C. sylvatica or Wood Sedge
C. flacca or Glaucous Sedge
C. caryophllea or Spring Sedge
C. pilulifera or Pill Sedge
C. nigra or Common Sedge
C. pendula or Pendulous Sedge
Continue reading “The Common Club-rush in the Sedge family and all their uses!”

Papaveraceae and the other genera besides Poppy (Papaver)

Pseudofumaria lutea or Yellow Corydalis grown inside a wall (Picture by Mike Poulton)

The post in November 2018 explained all about the uses and stories behind the genus Papaver which includes the Common Poppy, Welsh Poppy and Opium Poppy.

To remind ourselves:

The Poppy family or Papaveraceae has 12 genera and is split into 2 Sub-families;

  • the Papaveroideae with 7 genera which includes Papaver.
  • and the Fumarioideae with 5 genera.

The Papaveroideae has 2 sepals, 4(-6) showy petals, and white or yellow latex.

The distinctive flowers of subfamily Fumarioideae are unique, but the two subfamilies are linked by intermediates (Stace).

Colour coding for easy reading is blue for general interest. Green for various uses of the plant and pink background for medicinal use or toxic warning!

This is just an educational blog on Ethnobotanical uses of plants and we can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects! Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Contents:

Glaucium flavum or Yellow horned poppy
Chelidonium majus or Greater Celandine      
Pseudofumaria lutea or Yellow Corydalis
Pseudofumaria alba or White Corydalis
Ceratocapnos claviculata or Climbing Corydalis
Fumaria spp. or Fumitories
Continue reading “Papaveraceae and the other genera besides Poppy (Papaver)”