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WORKING ON THIS PROJECT gave me the opportunity to visit many wonderful botanical locations across our region, the best of which are protected, to a degree, by nature reserve status and hence are still in good order. I also revisited many unprotected wayside botanical sites that I had not seen for several years. Sadly, most had become botanically impoverished and some had even lost the special plants for which they had been known. It will come as no surprise to learn that the majority of these sites were on areas of farmland.
WHAT’S GONE WRONG?
Threats to the countryside are all too obvious these days: the swallowing of land for housing, road schemes and the like, industrial and domestic pollution, and above all changes in agricultural practices – namely the unquestioning use of ever-more ‘efficient’ herbicides since the 1950s. And problems for wild flowers in the countryside do not stop with farming. Many landowners view the land they own as something to be exploited, if not for economic gain then as a playground, without a thought for conservation.
It has come to something when the discovery of Spreading Hedge-parsley, once a widespread arable ‘weed’, is a cause for botanical celebration. Without changes in agricultural practices, species such as this – already extinct at a local level in many areas – could disappear from Britain completely.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Legislation and agricultural grants relating to the way the countryside is managed need to target wildlife more intelligently than is currently the case, and development and change of land use should be subject to as much restriction as exists in the world of town planning. Easy to say, but much harder to put into practice. And there seems little cause for optimism, given that statutory bodies commanded with the responsibility for nature conservation are funded by government, itself perceived as being more receptive to economic than to environmental lobbies.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Object to, and oppose, all major development in the countryside and support organisations that are critical of the way intensive farming and insidious urbanisation have changed the botanical face of the landscape. On a small scale, grow as much of your own food as you can, garden organically, and use local organic sources for your additional needs whenever possible. Another way that the individual can help safeguard the British countryside is to donate as much money as possible to conservation organisations for the purchase of land to remove it from the threat of intensive farming or development. Suitable recipients of donations would include organisations such as Plantlife International, the various county Wildlife Trusts, the Woodland Trust, the National Trust and the RSPB.
Although walks in the countryside sometimes induce a sense of gloomy pessimism, budding botanists should not despair. Remarkably few flowering plant species have been lost entirely from Britain and Ireland in the last century and there are still plenty of wonderful botanically rich locations around the country. Nature reserves are thriving and, with your support and enthusiasm, things can only get better.
Thankfully, it is still possible to find agricultural fields where Cornflowers and other arable weeds thrive alongside the desired crop plant, either by design or where non-intensive farming methods are used. Let us hope that sights such as this become more commonplace as enlightenment, or financial inducements, change the way some of the land is farmed.
Juniper to Nettle Families (#ulink_6e2d7552-e305-5a05-acaa-c34f1a027de2)
Juniper
Juniper Juniperus communis (Cupressaceae)
HEIGHT to 5m (sometimes prostrate)
Dense shrub of well-drained soils, from chalk downland to mountains. FLOWERS On separate-sex plants; those on female plants are green and oval (much of year). FRUITS Ripening in second year to form blue-black berry-like cones. LEAVES Stiff, bluish green, needle-like, in whorls of 3. STATUS Widespread and locally common.
Hazel catkins
Hazel
Hazel Corylus avellana (Betulaceae) HEIGHT to 12m
Dense woodland shrub or small tree; often coppiced. FLOWERS Catkins (male) or small red, tufted structures (female) (Jan–Mar). FRUITS Hard-cased nuts, green, ripening brown in autumn. LEAVES Appearing after flowers, 6–8cm long, circular to oval, with double-toothed margins. STATUS Common and widespread.
Bog-myrtle
Bog-myrtle Myrica gale (Myricaceae)
HEIGHT to 1m
Woody, brown-stemmed shrub that is characteristic of boggy habitats, usually on acid soils. FLOWERS Orange, ovoid male catkins or pendulous brown female catkins; on separate plants (Apr). FRUITS Brownish nuts. LEAVES Oval, grey-green, smelling of resin when crushed. STATUS Widespread but local; sometimes locally dominant.
Berries
Mistletoe
Mistletoe Viscum album (Viscaceae)
DIAMETER to 1m
Woody, evergreen parasite with evenly forked branches. Forms large, spherical clumps among branches of host trees, mainly apple (often in cultivation), lime and poplar. FLOWERS Inconspicuous (Feb–Apr). FRUITS White, sticky berries. LEAVES Oval, yellowish green, in opposite pairs. STATUS Widespread but local.
Bastard-toadflax
Bastard-toadflax Thesium humifusum (Santalaceae)
PROSTRATE
Low-growing plant of chalk grassland with sparse branches and a woody base. FLOWERS Cup-shaped, fused; white inside, yellowish green outside; 4 or 5 pointed lobes create a starlike appearance (June–Aug). FRUITS Greenish, ovoid. LEAVES 5–15mm long, oval, yellowish green. STATUS Extremely local and habitat-specific.
Hop
Hop Humulus lupulus (Cannabaceae)
HEIGHT to 6m
Twining, hairy hedgerow climber. Grows on a range of soils, often a relict of cultivation. FLOWERS Clustered; greenish yellow (male) or green and hop-like (female) (June–Aug). FRUITS Familiar hops, ripening brown in autumn. LEAVES Divided into 3–5 coarse-toothed lobes. STATUS Widespread, locally common only in the south.
Common Nettle
Common Nettle
Common Nettle Urtica dioica (Urticaceae) HEIGHT to 1m
The familiar stinging nettle. FLOWERS Pendulous catkins; borne on separate-sex plants (June–Oct). FRUITS Superficially resembling flowers. LEAVES Oval, with pointed tips, toothed, in opposite pairs; 8cm long and longer than stalks. STATUS Widespread and common, doing best on nitrogen-enriched and disturbed soils.
Small Nettle
Small Nettle Urtica urens (Urticaceae)
HEIGHT to 50cm
Similar to Common Nettle but smaller and annual. FLOWERS Pendulous catkins, male and female on same plant (June–Sep). FRUITS Superficially resembling female flowers. LEAVES Oval, with pointed tips, toothed; up to 4cm long; lower leaves shorter than their stalks. STATUS Widespread and locally common on disturbed ground.
Pellitory-of-the-wall
Pellitory-of-the-wall Parietaria judaica (Urticaceae)
HEIGHT to 7cm
Spreading, downy perennial with reddish stems. Colonises walls, roadsides and rocky ground. FLOWERS Clustered at leaf bases (June–Oct). FRUITS Clustered at leaf bases. LEAVES Oval, up to 5cm long and long-stalked. STATUS Widespread in England, Wales and Ireland; commonest in coastal areas and in the west.
Nettle, Birthwort and Knotweed Families (#ulink_f169fb48-676d-5da7-8ebc-e292fb0c73d5)
Cleave, Andrew
Mind-your-own-business
Mind-your-own-business Soleirolia soleirolii (Urticaceae)
PROSTRATE
Mat-forming perennial with wiry, threadlike stems. FLOWERS Minute, pink (May–Aug). FRUITS Minute, hard to discern. LEAVES Tiny, rounded, untoothed and evergreen. STATUS A garden escape, colonising walls and paths, mainly in the south-west.
Cleave, Andrew
Asarabacca
Asarabacca Asarum europaeum (Aristolochiaceae)
HEIGHT to 30cm
Evergreen perennial associated with shady banks and woodland margins. Creeping, hairy stems. In suitable locations, forms carpets often alongside ivy. FLOWERS Purplish brown, 15mm long, bell-shaped with 3 terminal lobes (May–Aug). FRUITS Brownish capsules. LEAVES Dark green, shiny, kidney-shaped. STATUS Native in a few locations but also naturalised.
Birthwort
Birthwort
Birthwort Aristolochia clematis (Aristolochiaceae)
HEIGHT to 80cm
Upright, unbranched perennial of scrubby places. FLOWERS Yellow, tubular, 20–30mm long, fetid-smelling, the swollen base trapping pollinating insects; in clusters (June–Aug). FRUITS Green, pear-shaped. LEAVES Heart-shaped, strongly veined. STATUS Rare and declining; a relict of cultivation for midwifery.
Hall, Jean
Japanese Knotweed
Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica (Polygonaceae)
HEIGHT to 2m
Fast-growing, invasive perennial, quick to colonise roadsides and other wayside places; hard to eradicate. FLOWERS Whitish, in loose, pendulous spikes arising from leaf bases (Aug–Oct). FRUITS Papery. LEAVES Large, triangular, on red, zigzag stems. STATUS Alien, but now a widespread garden escape.
Knotgrass
Knotgrass Polygonum aviculare (Polygonaceae) HEIGHT to 1m (often prostrate)
Much-branched annual of bare soil and open ground. FLOWERS Pale pink, in leaf axils (June–Oct). FRUITS Nut-like, enclosed by the withering flower. LEAVES Oval, leathery, alternate with a silvery basal sheath; main stem leaves larger than those on side branches. STATUS Widespread and common.
Equal-leaved Knotgrass
Equal-leaved Knotgrass Polygonum arenastrum (Polygonaceae) PROSTRATE
Mat-forming annual of bare ground and disturbed soil. Superficially like Knotgrass. FLOWERS Pale pink, in leaf axils (June–Oct). FRUITS Nut-like, enclosed by the withering flower. LEAVES Oval, equal in size on main stem and side branches (cf. Knotgrass). STATUS Widespread and common.
Cleave, Andrew
Ray’s Knotgrass
Ray’s Knotgrass Polygonum oxyspermum (Polygonaceae)
PROSTRATE
Mat-forming annual of undisturbed coastal sand and shingle beaches. FLOWERS Pinkish white, in leaf axils (Aug–Sep). FRUITS Nut-like, protruding beyond the withering flower. LEAVES Oval, leathery, alternate, sometimes with slightly inrolled margins. STATUS Local and commonest in the west.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum (Polygonaceae)
HEIGHT to 30cm
Hairless, upright annual, usually with reddish stems. Associated with disturbed or waste ground. FLOWERS Pinkish, in stalked, branched clusters (July–Sep). FRUITS Smooth, 3-sided nuts. LEAVES Broad, arrow-shaped, the upper ones clasping the stem. STATUS Widespread but occasional, a relict of cultivation.
Common Bistort
Common Bistort
Common Bistort Persicaria bistorta (Polygonaceae)
HEIGHT to 60cm
Attractive perennial of damp meadows, forming patches in suitable locations. FLOWERS Pink, in dense, 30–40mm terminal spikes (June–Aug). FRUITS Nut-like. LEAVES Oval or arrow-shaped, the lower ones stalked, the upper ones almost stalkless. STATUS Locally common in the north but rare in the south.
See alsoSea Knotgrass (#litres_trial_promo)
Knotweed Family Polygonaceae (#ulink_962097d5-001f-5ace-8608-5613e16ba756)
Amphibious Bistort
Amphibious Bistort Persicaria amphibiaHEIGHT to 40cm
Perennial of ponds and nearby dry land. Aquatic form has floating stems. FLOWERS Pink, in cylindrical spikes (June–Sep). FRUITS Nut-like. LEAVES Narrow; aquatic forms hairless, truncate at the base and long-stalked; terrestrial forms downy, rounded at the base and short-stalked. STATUS Locally common.
Alpine Bistort
Alpine Bistort Persicaria vivipara
HEIGHT to 30cm
Upright, unbranched perennial of upland and northern grassland. FLOWERS In terminal spikes; upper ones pale pink, lower ones reddish-brown bulbils (a means of vegetative reproduction) (June–Aug). FRUITS Nut-like. LEAVES Narrow, grasslike, the margins inrolled. STATUS Locally common from N Wales northwards.
Water-pepper
Small Water-pepper
