Climbing corydalis

Climbing corydalis (Corydalis claviculata) grows on acid soils in woods and other shady places. It is found throughout the British Isles apart from the far north of Scotland.

The plant produces thin stems that bear leaves of three to five segments and tendrils that branch out to grasp the stems of other plants, much as pea plants do. It grows to around 32 inches (80 centimetres) in height.

The flowers are cream-coloured and funnel-shaped, growing in clusters (of around six) with each flower attached to the stem via a short stalk. The petals of each flower are adapted to provide insects with an easy means of finding nectar, with the lowest petal being shaped at its end like a spoon to provide a suitable landing pad. The name “corydalis” is Greek for crested lark, because the shape of the flower was thought to resemble that of the crested lark’s head.

Climbing corydalis has been used for medicinal purposes in the past. In the 13th century its roots were used to make a potion for “dispelling melancholy” and it has been found to be beneficial in treating disorders of the digestive system.

© John Welford

Sea rocket

Sea rocket (Cakile maritima) is a plant found on sandy beaches (sometimes shingle) at the line to which driftwood and seaweed are thrown by the highest tides. This drift line can be unsightly, as this is where all sorts of sea-borne rubbish also accumulates, so the presence of sea rocket, with its lilac, pink, white or purple flowers, which appear from June to August, can help to alleviate the otherwise depressing sight of this part of a typical beach.

Sea rocket is bushy in habit, producing branching stems that grow no higher than 12 inches (30 centimetres) and often spread along the ground. The lobed leaves are shiny, fleshy and succulent, as they must conserve all the fresh water they can get from the plant’s roots. However, sea rocket can tolerate being completely buried in sand.

Sea rocket is an annual plant, so its continued existence depends on its seeds being taken out to sea and thrown up on another stretch of beach. The small seed pods, each containing one or two seeds, grow on short thick stalks.

© John Welford

Dormouse

The name dormouse derives from its habit of spending much of its time asleep – ‘dor’ comes from the French ‘dormir’, meaning ‘to sleep’ (the scientific name of this animal is Muscardinus avellanarius).

The dormouse is six to nine centimetres in length and weighs 15 to 30 grams. It has golden fur on the back and is paler underneath. It has large eyes and a long fluffy tail. Dormice live in wooded areas where they feed on fruit, nuts and seeds.

Dormice spend up to three-quarters of their lives asleep, much of that time accounted for by winter hibernation. They wake in Spring and may breed at any time between May and October, producing up to seven young in a litter.

When awake dormice are very active, as they need to be both to escape the predation of foxes (etc) and birds of prey, and to gather enough food to fatten themselves for the next winter.

© John Welford

Creeping buttercup

Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) is the buttercup variety that you do not want to get in your garden! It sends out runners in all directions that, every few inches, establish new plants and make it difficult for plants such as grass to get a foothold. Unless you are able to get every scrap of creeping buttercup removed, your lawn can quite easily be ruined.

On farmland the effect can be even worse because cattle will avoid it when grazing – it is unpleasant to the taste – and take the grass instead. This only leaves more room for the creeping buttercup to spread into. If the land is ploughed, the buttercup plants can easily regenerate many times over from the pieces that the plough has cut up.

The plant can be short or tall, depending on soil conditions. It can therefore be a ground-hugger, only two inches (five centimetres) high, or grow up to 20 inches (50 centimetres) in height. The hairy leaves, on long stalks, have three lobes with the central one being much larger than the other two. The yellow flowers, which are single or in clusters, can be seen from May to September.

© John Welford

Bladder campion

Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris) is found in most parts of the British Isles but is rarer the further north one goes. It grows both on cultivated and on waste land.

It throws up erect, usually hairless, stems to a maximum height of 36 inches (90 centimetres). The leaves, which grow in pairs, are bluish-green and waxy. They are edible and were formerly used as a vegetable because of their similarity in smell (if not taste) to fresh garden peas.

The flowers appear from May to August. The petals are white and deeply lobed, the sepals joining together to form an inflated balloon-like tube that is the “bladder” of the plant’s name. The flowers can be male, female or bisexual. In the latter case the sexes mature at different times. The flowers emit a clove-like scent, but only in the evenings.

The shape of the flowers has evolved to force insects to go deep inside the flower to extract nectar. Clearly this increases the chance that the insect will collect or deposit pollen. However, some bumble bees have devised a method of cheating the bladder campion, which is to bite a hole in the base of the flower where the nectar is stored. Clearly this does the plant no good at all so it is just as well that bumble bees are not the only pollinators!

© John Welford