Harrap's Wild Flowers says this native is fairly frequent and I know of two sites. This tall plant I saw on the path near Cleddon Bog earlier in the week in tight bud. A return visit saw it in full flower and showing the three stamens of each tiny bloom. All the leaves are cut into leaflets.
According to Grigson in The Englishman's Flora local names reflect its healing attributes: All-heal in Somerset, Cut-finger leaf in Wiltshire and also the liking cats have for the dry root in the name Cat-trail in Yorkshire; so much so it was used to trap them. Remember that the next time your cat disappears before a trip to the vet's! It is still popular as a herb that calms the mind.
Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii
A few yards along from the Common Valerian is another common native beauty: the Common Spotted Orchid. The leaves are marked with dark spots and bars. The flower's lip is always deeply cut into 3 more or less equal lobes.
Red Clover, Trifolium pratense
The third native plant of this post is very common and identifiable as Red Clover by the flower head being more or less stalkless with a pair of leaves immediately below. The leaves are hairy on upper and lower surfaces.
Grigson reports that Red and White Clover were distinguishing terms before 1066. Meadow clovers were, rather surprisingly, considered to be grasses that happened to have flowers! Gerard calls Trifolium pratense "three-leafed grass". Three-in-one clover leaves were lucky and four-leaved, of course, luckier still.
Local names often reflect the practice of breaking off flowers and sucking out the sweet nectar. In Somerset, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire amongst other counties Red Clover was called Honeysuck. Confusingly to the modern botanist, the name Honeysuckle was also used in Hertfordshire, Yorkshire and Donegal.
Here ends another week of #365DaysofBotany. Another instalment should be posted on Thursday.
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