Wednesday 15 July 2015

Another Trip to Hampshire.

Over the last couple of weeks I've been out doing a lot of botanising all over the place and therefore have lots of good stuff to get on here. I've been so busy I haven't had time to download my photos until today and there are five different trips worth! The first of these was ten days ago when I went to visit Martha in Winchester again and naturally I popped in on a few good plant locations on the way, like you do! Two of these were at what promised to be superb sites for 'arable weeds' and I wasn't disappointed. I'm turning into a bit of an 'arable weed' fanatic I'm afraid! The first site to the north of Winchester was an arable field margin with a superb selection of plants including the rare Ground Pine - Ajuga chamaepitys,




Ground Pine looks and smells a bit like a pine seedling but is a member of the dead-nettle family with tiny yellow flowers.


The flowers are very pretty close up with red spots and stripes.
 

Ground Pine - Ajuga chamaepitys


I also found some Small Toadflax - Chaenorhinum minus



 
At a nearby I found just a single plant of 
Cut-leaved Germander - Teucrium botrys

Then onto another arable field margin on the outskirts of Basingstoke...
 

This broad headland was crammed full of 'arable weeds'. I was in heaven! Especially so when I saw this this rare beauty...





Large Venus's Looking Glass - Legousia speculum-veneris


Common Fumitory Fumaria officinalis




In a nearby set aside field I saw this pretty pink form of Chicory - Cichorium intybus


 Field Rose - Rosa arvensis


Lucerne - Medicago sativa

Once in Winchester I had a quick look around the Winnall Moors reserve and saw a few nice plants there too including...


 Marsh Bedstraw - Galium palustre



 Monkey Flower - Mimulus guttatus


Blue Water Speedwell - Veronica anagallis-aquatica
 

Yellow Loosestrife - Lysimachia vulgaris



Skullcap Scutelleria galericulata


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi

If ever you make it to the Bucks/Herts area, the BBOWT reserve at College Lake has an 'arable weed project' with a few gems (plus other stuff around the reserve).

couldn't find a good recent link for arable weeds there, but this gives an idea with pics from a while ago:
http://rdnhs.org.uk/blog/?p=869

regards

Ed Griffiths

Karen Woolley said...

Hi Ed,
Thanks for the link, it looks like my kind of place.
Definitely on the list for next year now.