Читать книгу British Wild Flowers: A photographic guide to every common species - Paul Sterry - Страница 16

Cleave, Andrew

Mind-your-own-business

Mind-your-own-business Soleirolia soleirolii (Urticaceae) PROSTRATE

Mat-forming perennial with wiry, threadlike stems. FLOWERS Minute, pink (May–Aug). FRUITS Minute, hard to discern. LEAVES Tiny, rounded, untoothed and evergreen. STATUS A garden escape, colonising walls and paths, mainly in the south-west.

Cleave, Andrew

Asarabacca

Asarabacca Asarum europaeum (Aristolochiaceae) HEIGHT to 30cm

Evergreen perennial associated with shady banks and woodland margins. Creeping, hairy stems. In suitable locations, forms carpets often alongside ivy. FLOWERS Purplish brown, 15mm long, bell-shaped with 3 terminal lobes (May–Aug). FRUITS Brownish capsules. LEAVES Dark green, shiny, kidney-shaped. STATUS Native in a few locations but also naturalised.

Birthwort

Birthwort

Birthwort Aristolochia clematis (Aristolochiaceae) HEIGHT to 80cm

Upright, unbranched perennial of scrubby places. FLOWERS Yellow, tubular, 20–30mm long, fetid-smelling, the swollen base trapping pollinating insects; in clusters (June–Aug). FRUITS Green, pear-shaped. LEAVES Heart-shaped, strongly veined. STATUS Rare and declining; a relict of cultivation for midwifery.

Hall, Jean

Japanese Knotweed

Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica (Polygonaceae) HEIGHT to 2m

Fast-growing, invasive perennial, quick to colonise roadsides and other wayside places; hard to eradicate. FLOWERS Whitish, in loose, pendulous spikes arising from leaf bases (Aug–Oct). FRUITS Papery. LEAVES Large, triangular, on red, zigzag stems. STATUS Alien, but now a widespread garden escape.

Knotgrass

Knotgrass Polygonum aviculare (Polygonaceae) HEIGHT to 1m (often prostrate)

Much-branched annual of bare soil and open ground. FLOWERS Pale pink, in leaf axils (June–Oct). FRUITS Nut-like, enclosed by the withering flower. LEAVES Oval, leathery, alternate with a silvery basal sheath; main stem leaves larger than those on side branches. STATUS Widespread and common.

Equal-leaved Knotgrass

Equal-leaved Knotgrass Polygonum arenastrum (Polygonaceae) PROSTRATE

Mat-forming annual of bare ground and disturbed soil. Superficially like Knotgrass. FLOWERS Pale pink, in leaf axils (June–Oct). FRUITS Nut-like, enclosed by the withering flower. LEAVES Oval, equal in size on main stem and side branches (cf. Knotgrass). STATUS Widespread and common.

Cleave, Andrew

Ray’s Knotgrass

Ray’s Knotgrass Polygonum oxyspermum (Polygonaceae) PROSTRATE

Mat-forming annual of undisturbed coastal sand and shingle beaches. FLOWERS Pinkish white, in leaf axils (Aug–Sep). FRUITS Nut-like, protruding beyond the withering flower. LEAVES Oval, leathery, alternate, sometimes with slightly inrolled margins. STATUS Local and commonest in the west.

Buckwheat

Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum (Polygonaceae) HEIGHT to 30cm

Hairless, upright annual, usually with reddish stems. Associated with disturbed or waste ground. FLOWERS Pinkish, in stalked, branched clusters (July–Sep). FRUITS Smooth, 3-sided nuts. LEAVES Broad, arrow-shaped, the upper ones clasping the stem. STATUS Widespread but occasional, a relict of cultivation.

Common Bistort

Common Bistort

Common Bistort Persicaria bistorta (Polygonaceae) HEIGHT to 60cm

Attractive perennial of damp meadows, forming patches in suitable locations. FLOWERS Pink, in dense, 30–40mm terminal spikes (June–Aug). FRUITS Nut-like. LEAVES Oval or arrow-shaped, the lower ones stalked, the upper ones almost stalkless. STATUS Locally common in the north but rare in the south.

See also Sea Knotgrass