Some plants although not uncommon don’t often appear on our meeting lists. One such is Common Whitlow Grass Erophila verna. It is a short plant often appearing singly in rocky places, easy to miss and early to appear. However, to my amazement, the other day I saw a whole line of it at the pavement edge not a stone’s throw away from where I live. Like other members of the Cabbage family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) family, a ready aid to identification is the  shape of the seed pods, in this case, oval and flat. A lens is needed to see the petals which are cut to the base.

Common Whitlow Grass

A little further away on Station Road and Skyrethornes Lane growing in the edge between the walls and pavement and in some abundance was Shepherd’s Purse Capsella bursa-pastoris. The seed pods here are very distinctive, heart-shaped. Richard Mabey in his Flora Brittanica says that the plant gets its English name because the seed cases resemble little purses which were worn by medieval peasants, hung from the belt.

Shepherd’s Purse

Growing amongst the Shepherd’s Purse was Wavy Bittercress Cardamine flexuosa a close relative of Hairy Bittercress C. hirsuta, a frequent weed in our gardens. These seedpods are long and thin.

Wavy Bittercress

A quite different habitat and plants were seen on a short walk in Strid woods. My first visit to the woods is usually later in the month, so I was not prepared for the lovely covering of Wood Anemones Anemone nemorosa.  They were the dominant flower with just a few Bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta beginning to open.

Wood Anemone

Wood anemone

As a contrast on a steep bank on the other side of the river were lots of Golden Saxifrage, mainly the Opposite Leaved with its smaller flower head nestling amongst the leaves. But there were several Alternate Leaved with a larger flower head and kidney shaped leaves – Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and alternifolium.

The Opposite-leaved is more mat forming. We shall be returning to Strid Wood at the end of the month for out first meeting of the season. A day to look forward to.

Bluebells

Christine Bell