“Sweet April showers, do spring May flowers”

Posted by#rebelbotanistsPosted inUncategorized
An array of wonderful wildness 🙂

This little poem, written in 1557 by Thomas Tucker, identified the seasonal British weather; although, I think we could all agree that, this year those “sweet April showers” were more like deluges at times!  Such is the effect of climate warming: less predictable and more dramatic.

Today, with the May sunshine to warm us, we went for a short walk along the 630- mile Southwest Coast Path. It is the longest national trail in the UK, with free access to all.

Here we go! 👍
The coast path rocket blasted us off on our chalk and walk! Rather sad that someone had dumped an old carpet there.

Red Valerian or Spur Valerian, Centranthus ruber, blooms flowers of red, pink and white. Although a non-native, it has established itself well with many pollinators.

Did you know, as well as this species there is also another called Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil?

A widespread grassland native, it is also known as Eggs and Bacon or Tom Thumb. Get up close and take a look; the flowers are attractive in colour and design.

Umbilicus rupestris

In the Stonecrop family, this plant is distinguished by its dimpled leaves. They are also known as Penny Pies.  Can you guess what our Rebel is starting to label?

A: Wild Carrot 🥕😁

Characterised by thick fleshy leaves 🍃

In case you are fooled into thinking it’s Watercress, no worries as it’s not poisonous, though probably not as tasty 🙂
Some lovely lichen and a view across Plymouth Sound to see Devon and Cornwall
A closer look at this Maritime Sunburst lichen
Let’s take a closer look at this stone post to see the Rock Green shield lichen 👀

Flavoparmelia baltimorensis

Our favourite 🌼🌼🌼
More recognisable when it flowers
A favourite food of birds and humans 😋
Look out for the Cinnabar moth with its distinctive red colouring
Orobranche minor

A close up of the Common broomrape – interesting how it gets its name, one for you to research.

Every plant really does have a purpose!        In the highly complex and connected biodiversity network, that we, as humans, are still learning about, we do know that our existence depends upon them 💚🌳🌼
Aha, the elusive Scarlet pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis.
Allow your hedges to flourish – they are a haven for wildlife 🙂👍

This is one flower we saw. Can you guess what it is? 

A: Cymbalaria muralis 🙂

Thank you for reading this post. We hope you enjoyed it, as much as we loved doing it 😂👍🌼🌼🌼 See you next time.

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