June

Betony

betony
Betony (Betonica officinalis)   Photo: Bob Ellis

We found a few patches of Betony in bud in Silfield nature reserve near the Lizard in Wymondam, then later in the open meadow we came across a mass of purple flowers

Common Cow-wheat

cow wheat
Common Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense)  Photo: Bob Ellis

The two colonies of Common Cow-wheat at either end of the strip of woodland between Eaton Park and Bluebell Road are both doing well. This plant is hemi-parasitic, meaning that it relies on obtaining some of its nutrients from the roots of nearby plants.

Milk Thistle

milk thistle
Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) Photo: Bob Ellis

There were a couple of typically large plants growing in a roadside hedge on the outskirts of Attlebridge. An easy plant to spot and identify with its marbled-white veined leaves and large capitula with spiny phyllaries.

White Sedge

white sedge
White Sedge (Carex canescens)   Photo: Bob Ellis

It was good to see White Sedge, Carex canescens doing well at East Ruston Common SSSI after scrub clearance in recent years.

Long-stalked Yellow-sedge

Yellow sedge
Long-stalked Yellow-sedge (Carex lepidocarpa)  Photo: Bob Ellis

Our annual joint meeting with the Lowestoft field club and Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society yielded an interesting range of wetland species on Roydon Common, including this Long-stalked Yellow-sedge.