Fairy Flax, Heath Speedwell and Climbing Corydalis

It was good to see these three native species growing on Beacon Hill near Monmouth: Fairy Flax and Heath Speedwell on open heathland and Climbing Corydalis in deep woodland shade. I haven't seen Fairy Flax locally before and two of the Corydalis sites I previously knew about have ceased to exist. One was destroyed by a fallen tree and the other the victim of redevelopment.  

Fairy Flax, Linum catharticum

The now open heathland here, once planted with trees, was restored by the Forestry Commission and is now managed by Gwent Wildlife Trust to bring back the specialist plants that are adapted to the nutrient- poor, acidic soils of this habitat. Success!

The flowers are tiny with almost all features coming in fives: yellow stamens, yellow anthers, petals, pointed sepals. The white blooms have four or five translucent veins. It is a slender plant and here is forming a mat of stems weaving through the grass.

It was mentioned in the 1633 edition of Gerard's Herbal and recommended as a mild purgative. The whole plant was bruised, infused in white wine and left overnight to be consumed in the morning.

Heath Speedwell, Veronica officinalis

This grows well on the path leading up to the Fairy Flax. The stems are prostrate with erect spikes of pale lilac flowers which are themselves on short stalks. Flower spikes grow from the leaf axils. The leaves are oval and very shallowly toothed.

 

Climbing Corydalis, Ceratocapnos claviculata

Several specimens of this are growing on the edge of a path through fairly dense woodland. It is very delicate, scrambling and uses tendrils to climb. These photos are rather dark but indicate the habitat of this plant.

The foliage is a tangled mass with small clusters of creamy flowers. It is an annual flowering from May to December so these plants are young.

 

Acknowledgements: Harrap's Wild Flowers, Mabey Flora Britannica, Stace 4 and Wild flower finder website. https://wildflowerfinder.org.uk