Botany – Page 3 – Wildlife and Ecology, the Wildlife Encyclopaedia

I poison myself

Euphorbias David Beeson, 12th July 2020 Now, I should know better. I write articles on plant toxicology and specifically know that euphorbias are poisonous … yet, I can be amazingly thick / uncareful at times. It was time to cut back some ‘spent’ plants in the garden. It’s a big area for the UK –Continue reading “I poison myself”

The most hated wildflowers?

Trampled, poisoned and mown to the ground. Are these the most hated wildflowers? Grasses and their allies David Beeson Delicately waving in the summer’s breeze, their leaves capturing the sun’s donated energy and using an alchemy to weave it into chemical bonds that trap the Kilojoules (Calories) into a usable form, grasses have a vitalContinue reading “The most hated wildflowers?”

Wild Gladiolus

Searching for the UK’s wild gladiolus David Beeson, 23rd June 2020 Gladiolus illyricus is found only in the New Forest. This is no garden escape; it is a true wild UK plant, just very rare. The plant was only ‘discovered’ in 1856, but must have been hiding away for hundreds of years and ignored byContinue reading “Wild Gladiolus”

Harewood in Summer

An ancient UK oak woodland in summer David Beeson. 21st June 2020 In the end the important thing is to add it all together. Most of us enjoy spotting things. As a kid it happened to be steam locomotives and then, thankfully, young ladies. I didn’t keep a ‘black book’ but I can recall allContinue reading “Harewood in Summer”

Edge of the A303, part 2

The UK has left the odds and sods spots for nature. We should be ashamed. Yes, France, Italy, Spain and the USA have some great locations to view wildspaces and the natural inhabitants that occur there. For example, the limestone meadows of the Dordogne, the Italian Dolomites with their iconic mammals, Grazelema and the lynxContinue reading “Edge of the A303, part 2”

Scots Pine

Conifers David Beeson Conifers are a magnificent group of gymnosperm plants that produce seeds without the need of fruit or flowers. They include some incredible trees such as the Giant Sequoias of North America that can grow over 110 m tall. Conifers do not have flowers that a child would recognise. Instead they bear maleContinue reading “Scots Pine”

Dino-botany in Andover

Rooksbury’s Dinosaurs David Beeson Best time to visit is late spring or summer. If you enter the Rooksbury Local Nature Reserve from the old Test Valley railway line and soon turn right you will spy a miniature forest of horsetails on your right. They grow up to 60cm in height. Their relatives were around withContinue reading “Dino-botany in Andover”

Some of the first land plants: Mosses.

Moss in the Grass David Beeson So, how do you gardeners rid your lawn of moss? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out! When life started to emerge from the watery realms it, unexpectedly, was poorly adapted to life on land. Evolution needs time to work its miracle. LOTS of time. The mossesContinue reading “Some of the first land plants: Mosses.”

You Cannot See the Wood for the Trees

Surely you wood know David Beeson Sitting under a walnut or apple tree when the fruit is ripe is hazardous. A chunky apple or a dozen woody nuts may aim for your head. Ouch! A half-kilogram apple would certainly hurt me. Yet, the tree holds dozens of them aloft … and all the branches, leaves,Continue reading “You Cannot See the Wood for the Trees”

Botany and Geology

Understanding out local botany David Beeson As we all wander the local terrain plants come to our notice. Some people record these and dump their data onto spreadsheets. I do the same with mammal sightings. Only when this information is amassed onto a map do those sightings have real meaning. Then one can see howContinue reading “Botany and Geology”

Butterflies and chalk flora

Figsbury Ring, National Trust Adonis blue butterflies and chalkland flora. Early June. David Beeson Figsbury Ring is a Neolithic and Iron Age archaeological site near Salisbury. It lies to the north of the A30 and reached along a narrow and bumpy chalk track. As the area is elevated it is prone to being windy, soContinue reading “Butterflies and chalk flora”

Bluebells

Native bluebells and other bulbs David Beeson Our native bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) is found widely around north-west Hampshire. The UK has 70% of the world population of this plant and we can rightfully claim plenty of that locally. Like many of the plants that grow under deciduous woodland the bluebell comes into leaf and flowerContinue reading “Bluebells”