Wildflower walks are inevitably difficult during lockdown but by no means impossible.  It’s a good opportunity to look at some of the wildflowers that are often dismissed as ‘weeds’.  Yes, they can be in the wrong place, they can have a short flowering season, their flowers can sometimes be tiny and they can get out of control.  But the distinction that is often made between flowers and weeds remains an arbitrary one.

For this first walk of 2020, I’ll look at a few of the spring flowers (or ‘weeds’!) that can be seen in the course of a short walk ‘around the block’ in the Craigmore area, or indeed in most parts of Rothesay or elsewhere.  They can be found in cracks in the pavement, on walls, on waste ground and on wayside grassy areas.  A 10x lens will often be helpful to appreciate fully their detail and beauty.

Ivy-leaved ToadflaxIvy-leaved Toadflax is a native of southern Europe but has been well established in the UK for more than 400 years.  With a long flowering season, it can rapidly cover large sections of stone walls, particularly those built with lime mortar, but it is also at home at ground level.  Reviving readily after drought, it has an unusual reproductive mechanism in that, after seeking the sun when flowering, the flowerheads bend back toward the wall so as to increase the chance of its seeds finding a suitable crevice in which to germinate.

Herb RobertAlthough some suggest that Herb Robert is named after a French monk, no-one really knows.  Like nearly all ‘weed’ flowers, it is a survivor, its leaves and stems turning bright red in periods of drought.  It has strikingly beautiful pink flowers and an intriguing architectural growth habit; the downside is its memorably unpleasant smell.

Many pavement and waste-ground plants are members of the crucifer (cabbage) family.  One of the most common (in gardens also!) is Hairy Bittercress. It has a rosette of leaves growing at its base, but take a look at its flowers which, under magnification, are surprisingly attractive.

Hairy BittercressOther common white crucifers are Wavy Bittercress (6 stamens rather than 4, though the extra 2 are often small), Thale Cress (a distinctive basal rosette and taller, barer stems), Shepherd’s Purse (unmistakeable flattened, triangular pods after flowering) and Scurvygrass (near the sea).  Unlike the others, which can flower for most of the year, Whitlowgrass is a delightful tiny crucifer flowering only in early spring.

At this time of year, some grassy areas will be bright with Lesser Celandine, a yellow flower that, though a relative of the oft-despised Creeping Buttercup, is much more likely to be admired.  The blue flowers to be seen may well be those of Germander Speedwell (look for the two distinct lines of hairs along its stem) or Slender Speedwell.  Whereas the former will often be growing singly, the latter forms a spreading mat in the grass, with kidney-shaped bluntly-toothed leaves. Slender Speedwell was introduced from the Caucasus about 200 years ago and is now well established throughout the UK.

Germander Speedwell

Slender Speedwell

Common Ramping-Fumitory

Common Ramping-Fumitory is an annual that comes into flower early in the season and continues throughout the summer.  It readily scrambles up through hedges and other vegetation and is one of a number of closely related species that can be difficult to differentiate.  Although its stem is weak and floppy (and thus needs the support of other vegetation), it can be very persistent and so is often regarded as a weed.  But what beautiful flowers!

The last two plants that I’ll mention here are Groundsel and Red Deadnettle, both generally considered as weeds by gardeners and yet with flowers that are well worth a look under magnification.  Groundsel is closely related to Ragwort but is smaller and lacks the outer ray florets displayed by its taller, later flowering relative.  Red Deadnettle is a member of the labiate family and has the characteristic square stem seen in other members of the family such as Mints and Woundworts.

Groundsel

Red Dead-nettle

For further reading I can thoroughly recommend a book by Roy Lancaster entitled ‘In Search of the Wild Asparagus’.  Despite its rather misleading title, it is a most readable book about wildflowers to be found in gardens, streets, walls, waste sites and other urban settings.  Although it was published nearly 40 years ago, cheap secondhand copies are still readily available on the internet.

Plants in flower include: