Bramble, Guelder Rose, Wall Speedwell and Brooklime

All these plants are native and found in the Lower Wye Valley. 

Bramble, Rubus fruticosus agg.

Blackberry seeds have been found in the stomachs of Neolithic man, from fruit eaten and enjoyed 8,000 years ago. I like to think of people walking the same ground as I do and looking forward to the August - September crop, an essential then not a fun forage. 

There are 334 microspecies of this familiar plant which are notoriously difficult to identify. There is a Facebook group dedicated to exploring the finer points of ID. Here I content myself with leaves having 3, 5 or 7 leaflets, and there being 5 petals either white or pink with numerous carpels and stamens.

Guelder Rose, Viburnum opulus

Local names include the Wild Pincushion-tree in Warwickshire and Traveller's Joy in Northern Ireland. The outer flowers are sterile, lacking both stigma and stamens and surround the smaller fertile ones. The calyx of the smaller flower has 5 tiny teeth, the corolla is divided into 5 petals and there are 5 stamens with creamy yellow anthers which can be seen here.

Wall Speedwell, Veronica arvensis

What identifies this plant for me is its upright habit with tiny almost stalkless bright blue flowers that only open in full sun. This plant is on a path in my back garden and only gets late afternoon sun. The plant is hairy, with oval -triangular leaves.

Brooklime, Veronica beccabunga 

The name of this plant is easy for me to remember and I found out from Grigson's Englishman's Flora, that the local in Shetland name Bekkabung has links with Old Norse: bekkr meaning brook and bung meaning plant. It was used in salads and Gerard recommended its use against scurvy.

I found patches of this on a walk near Cleddon Bog. Leaves with shallow, blunt teeth are short stalked and the flowers in slender spikes grow in pairs from the leaf axils.

The family name Veronica intrigued me and a little Googling revealed it to be from St Veronica who, Christian tradition has it, wiped Christ's face on the way to the crucifixion with her veil which then received the imprint of his face. The flower to some resembled the imprint. Linnaeus gave this family the name Veronicaceae in his classification system as it was already in common use throughout Europe.

I hope you have enjoyed this blend of history, folklore and botany for #365DaysofBotany.