Perennial glasswort

Perennial glasswort (Salicornia or Sarcocornia perennis), also known as marsh samphire, grows in tussocks on salt marshes and pebbly shores in southern England.

Sprawling stems send up segmented branches. Each segment is a pair of fleshy leaves that are dark green at first but then turn yellow. The stems of perennial glasswort (as opposed to annual varieties) are woody at the base and difficult to uproot. The overall appearance resembles a miniature cactus. 

Stems reach a height of up to 12 inches (30 centimetres). Flowers appear in August and September. Each segment carries several flowers, each with two stamens and two feathery styles.

As marsh samphire, this plant is well-known as a food plant, lightly boiled or pickled in vinegar. The name glasswort comes from its historic use in glassmaking. The ash of the plant when burned is high in soda, and when fused with sand produces a low-quality glass.

© John Welford

Prickly poppy

The prickly poppy (Papaver argemone) is the earliest to flower of the poppies that grow in disturbed or ploughed soil. Unlike the common poppy, which prefers heavier soils, the prickly poppy is often seen growing in sandy soils, particularly in southern England.

It is smaller and less upright than the common poppy, growing up to 20 inches (50 centimetres) in height. The leaves near the base have stalks and narrow lobes, whereas those higher up are stalkless with longer lobes. The stems have bristles, pressed close to the stem, which are what makes the plant “prickly” as well as the bristles on the lower leaves.

The red flowers, which appear between May and July, are up to 2¼ inches (2-5.5 centimetres) across. The petals are dark at the base and do not overlap. The seed capsule is oblong with thick ridges. It works like a pepper pot, with the seeds being shaken out when the wind blows. The seeds can lie dormant for a number of years, only germinating when the soil is turned over.

The stems, leaves and fruit contain sticky white latex that can be used in small quantities in herbal remedies. However, the alkaloids in the latex are poisonous and grazing animals therefore tend to avoid the plants. This has the result that only the surrounding plants will be eaten, thus leaving spaces for future generations of prickly poppies to colonise.

© John Welford

Soapwort

Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) is a common wildflower that is found throughout Britain on wasteland, in woods and in hedgerows. It also grows alongside streams and on country roadsides.

It gets its name from the fact that, when bruised and boiled in water, the leaves and stems produce a liquid “soap” that was formerly used for washing raw wool and woollen cloth. The plant was grown commercially near woollen mills for this purpose, and much of the wild soapwort seen today owes its origin to this industrial use. However, it is also found in places that are a long distance from former woollen mills.

Soapwort is a hairless plant with smooth leaves that are narrow and oval in shape, each leaf showing up to five prominent veins. The plant grows up to 36 inches (90 centimetres) in height.

Pink or white flowers grow in clusters from August to October. They produce a delicate scent that attracts hawkmoths. The five sepals join together to form a smooth green tube.

As well as its former use as an industrial wool cleanser, soapwort has also been used as a shampoo for delicate hair. Extracts of soapwort have been used in herbal remedies for gout, rheumatism and skin diseases, despite the fact that the leaves and roots produce a poisonous substance called saponin. It would appear that soapwort products should be confined to external use only!

© John Welford

Viceroy butterfly

Viceroy butterflies are found in the United States, northern Mexico and southern Canada. They are easily confused with monarch butterflies, and there is a very good reason for that.

This is an example of “Batesian mimicry”, namely the evolution of a species in such a way that it ends up mimicking another species that is protected in some way that is not naturally available to the evolving species. In the case of viceroys, they would make a tasty snack for many predators although monarchs are bitter to the taste. The process of evolution has gone down the road of mimicry rather than making the viceroy equally distasteful.

Viceroys inhabit wet areas such as marshes, swamps and water meadows, with a preference for willow, aspen and poplar trees. They feed on decaying fungi and animal waste.

Mating takes place in the afternoon, after which the female will lay her eggs on the tips of willow and poplar leaves. The caterpillars, which are white and olive-brown in colour, eat large numbers of leaves before pupating. Two or three generations may be produced during each breeding season.

© John Welford

Mallow skipper butterfly

The mallow skipper butterfly (Carcharodus alceae) is fairly common in central and southern Europe where it is found on warm, dry, flowery hillsides. Adults fly almost continuously through the summer and may produce two or even three broods. 

The wingspan is up to three centimetres. The forewings have three small whitish bands that form a rough triangle. The underside is much paler than the mottled brown topsides. The sexes are similar in appearance. 

The food plant is mallow and related plants. The caterpillars feed mainly at night and pupate in leaf litter.

 © John Welford

Peacock butterfly

The peacock (bird) is unmistakable thanks to the “eyes” that are visible when the male bird displays its tail as part of its mating display. The peacock butterfly is similarly unmistakable, although the “eyes” have a different function, namely to frighten off predators when the butterfly opens its wings.

The peacock (Inachis io) is native to Europe and Asia, preferring the temperate regions that exclude both the far north and the hotter southern countries of Asia. It is non-migratory and many individuals are able to hibernate during the winter in lofts, cellars, caves and other sheltered places. It can be seen in flight in Great Britain between July and October (new brood) and in spring (over-winterers). 

The peacock is a medium to large butterfly, with a wingspan of 5.4 to 6.0 centimetres (2.1 to 2.4 inches). Females are slightly larger than males. 

The colouring of the upper wings is dark reddish-brown with yellow and black markings. There is an “eye” on the apex of each forewing and hindwing. The forewing eyes have brown centres with yellow and blue surrounds. Small white “tears” appear to be being shed from the outer corners of the eyes.  The eyes on the hindwings are blue with black surrounds. The undersides of the wings are almost black, which adds to the shock effect when the peacock suddenly opens its wings as danger approaches. Males and females have similar markings.

The food plant of the caterpillars is the stinging nettle, which is found in abundance in both rural and urban locations, and at altitudes from sea level to mountainsides. Butterflies take nectar from many varieties of flowering plant and are frequent visitors to buddleia plants (the “butterfly bush”) in parks and gardens. These facts mean that the peacock can be seen virtually anywhere within its geographical range, and is very common.

Eggs are laid in batches on the underside of nettle leaves. After about a week the caterpillars hatch and crawl to the top of the plant where they spin a communal nest and live as a group. The caterpillars, which are black and spiky, separate when approaching full growth, which takes about two or three weeks. They will often wander some distance from the food plant before pupating, and the pupa can be either grey or yellowish-green. The pupal stage takes about 10 to 14 days to complete before the adult butterfly emerges.

© John Welford

Weld

Weld (Reseda luteola) is found throughout Great Britain, although it is commoner in the south than the north. It grows on open ground, particularly in chalky soils. In former times it was an extremely important plant for the textile industry, even to the extent that Britain could not grow enough of it, but those times have long gone.

Weld is an impressive plant, growing up to five feet (150 centimetres) high. It has upright hairless stems with few, if any, branches. The narrow lower leaves are grouped round the stem in a rosette, whereas the upper leaves, oblong in shape with wavy edges, grow directly off the stem.

The small yellow-green flowers grow on a tall spike, each flower having four divided petals. Weld is a heliocentric plant, which means that the flowers turn to face the sun as it moves across the sky. The fruit is globular or ovoid and divided into three or more lobes.

The economic significance of weld is that it was one of three plants used in medieval times for producing dyes for cloth. Woad produced blue, madder was the source of red dye and weld gave yellow. Indeed, this property of weld was known as far back as Stone Age times. In order to colour one pound (weight) of cloth, up to six pounds of weld would be needed, which is why it was in such heavy demand and English cloth-makers had to import it from France to make up for the shortfall in home-grown weld.

© John Welford