Wood Sage and Giant Bellflower

These are to be found in hedgerows near Monmouth. Wood Sage is a member of the Lamiaceae family and Giant Bellflower the Campanulaceae. Both are natives.

Wood Sage, Teucrium scorodonia

Linnaeus gave this plant the generic name Teucrium either after an ancient king of Troy, Teucer, or a medieval medical botanist, Dr Teucer. The specific name scorodonia is derived from the Greek word for garlic of which however it does not smell! Some of the folknames are more transparent like Gipsy's Sage in Dorset and Rock Mint in Somerset. The hedge-bottom it grows on here is on a steep hillside, so dry and stony.

Herbalists collected the flowers in July and used them to combat blood diseases, rheumatism and fever.

The leafless spikes of small, pale greenish-cream flowers face to one side and are the most noticeable ID feature. There is no upper lip to the corolla. The lower lip is five lobed. The lowest lobe of the flower is a shallow spoon shape and has two tiny nicks near the bottom; above that are two curved short lobes like arms and a further pair just above those. The stamens are dark purple-brown and the anthers orange- brown. The style is pale green and forked. I think all these can be seen here.

The flowers are oppositely-paired on the square stem but curve around to face in the same direction. In the UK they face south, the direction the midday sun is located.

Leaves are opposite and have a deep network of veins perhaps suggesting sage leaves.

Giant Bellflower, Campanula latifolia

The hedgerow here is shady but on less steep ground. The patch is very noticeable being about a metre tall. The short stalked purplish-blue flowers open from the top of the leafy spikes and initially, at least, point upwards. They are solitary and at intervals.

The flowers are star-shaped; the petals cut to half way and hairy with 3-5 veins.

The key ID features come in the leaves: the upper leaves are stalkless  but the lower leaves have a winged stalk.

Gerard says the leaves of Giant Throatwort (as he knew this plant) "hath very large leaves of an overworn green colour, hollowed in the middle like the Muscovites' spoon, and (are) very rough, slightly indented about the edges". That made me smile more than the "finely toothed" and "hairy" of the modern field guide!

Gerard also says this plant was a remedy for disorders of the throat and mouth.

Grigson adds Wild Spinach as a name used in Yorkshire. The shoots can be peeled, cooked and eaten like spinach.

I know of two sites for Giant Bellflower: one at Pentwyn Farm NR near Monmouth and the other this hedgerow. I think I got better photographs in the hedgerow as the weather was duller and calmer.

Acknowledgements: Harrap's Wild Flowers, Stace 4, Grigson The Englishman's Flora,  http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/   http://botanical.com/ websites and a new one for me  https://exclassics.com/  which contains Volumes 1-4 of Gerard's Herbal. I think I will be using it a lot!