Of flowers and folklore

This blog is new and developing. Although its primary aim is to present #365DaysofBotany in a twice weekly form I am interested in the history of plants and am going to include some folklore in this one. I want the blog to be more than you could read in a botany ID paragraph but not become tedious. Let me know what you think, please.

Red Campion, Silene dioica

This plant is dioecious meaning that male and female flowers are on separate plants and I think was the first I discovered to be like this. Female flowers have 5 styles (well shown by photo at the top) and a capsule with 10 strongly down - curved teeth. Male flowers have 10 stamens. The 5 petals are deeply notched.

It is native and was associated with snakes and indeed ground up seeds are still used by herbalists as an antidote to snake bites. The plant contains saponin and the roots can be boiled to make a solution for clothes washing. Folklore names include: Cuckoo- flower and Adder's Flower. 

Hawthorn,  Crataegus monogyna

Another native, this plant symbolises the change from Spring to Summer for many and I look out for it after Blackthorn and Wild Cherry have faded. It has been used for hedging for many centuries with millions of plants especially grown in C18 -C19 to make the 200,000 miles of new hedges required by Parliamentary Enclosures. Flowers are in flat topped clusters and the anthers are reddish. There is one style which can just be seen here.

Wood Avens, Geum urbanum

This native is also known as Herb Bennet and has small yellow flowers with 5 well separated petals, the sepals clearly visible between them. Stem leaves are 3 lobed which can just about be seen here. The stems are erect and I often see these flowers beaming out above the other hedgerow plants. 

The roots smell sweet and spicy and in the past have been boiled to ease an upset stomach. The smell of the roots also was reputed to repel moths and keep clothes smelling fresh.

Ribwort Plantain, Plantago lanceolata

The flower stalk of this native is strongly ribbed and silky hairy. It needs to be strong to support the game children play flicking two flower heads against each other until the weaker stem loses its head. This traditional game, probably less played now, gave rise, no doubt, to local names with a martial theme: Fighting Cocks, Swords and Spears, Men of War and many others. 

There are many tiny flowers about 4mm across and each flower lies behind a tiny greenish bract. I don't think any other flower detail can be seen here. The leaves have 3-5 strongly marked parallel veins.

All of these were seen within a few hundred yards of my home in the Wye Valley and cover Days 121- 124 of #365DaysofBotany. I hope to post again midweek.

I used mostly Grigson's The Englishman's Flora for the historical detail, Harrap's Wild Flowers and Stace 4 for botanical detail and to  check the Latin names!

I hope you find it of interest.