Meadows

        

Buttercups and daisies are a common enough sight but these and other meadow plants and their attendant insects are worth celebrating and preserving.

When I first saw a post on Twitter about the Big Meadow Search 2021 (organised by Laura Moss and Carmarthenshire Meadows Group to get people to search meadows nationally for plant species) I thought I'd have a go. 

I wanted to do a survey of the upper part of my garden which is a meadow area and find out more about grasses. Of course, it soon became more than that. I've also spent some time with Green-winged Orchids and Common Twayblades in Clarke's Pool Nature Reserve in Gloucestershire in the first week (30th May- 6th June) and I have plans for the second week 3rd-10th July..... 

In small proportions we just beauties see
And in short measures life may perfect be.

Ben Jonson

A dominant plant in my meadow area is the Ox-eye Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare. Richard Jefferies in his essay The Inevitable End Of Every Footpath said with buttercups they "form with the grass the tricolour of the pasture white, green and gold."  In this cold June, they have been beloved by insects, ranging from a calm Eristalini hoverfly, from the Helophilus species, to a murderous encounter!

Mark Twain said it was "better to be a young June-bug than an old bird of paradise." He wouldn't have been thinking of a Rose Chafer but the sentiment holds true, I think. 

Regular readers of this blog will expect some plant history so here is a selection of what Grigson tells us in The Englishman's Flora. For those of you, like me, who also know this plant as Moon Daisy or Dog Daisy these are more traditional English names. Ox-eye came to be used in the sixteenth century. Another set of English names is based on the weather and the midsummer: Thunder or Dunder Daisy and Midsummer Daisy. These links are shared across Europe. In the Tyrol, and parts of Germany, these daisies were hung upon houses to keep away lightning and in Austria it is called Sunnawendl, Sunnwendbleaml, solstice, solstice flower.

Herbalists used it to combat asthma, wounds and ulcers.

I found 25 species of flower in my garden meadow including all the usual suspects: Bulbous, Creeping and Meadow Buttercup, Cleavers, Common Birdsfoot Trefoil, Catsear to name a few. Common Spotted Orchids and Heath Bedstraw are waiting in the wings and hopefully will be in bloom for Week 2. One of my favourites is Ragged Robin, Silene flos-cuculi, which is found in a shady damp corner.

Historically Ragged Robin has not been used medicinally or eaten but Gerard says they served for "garlands and crowns, and to decke up gardens." It is known as Shaggy Jacks in Devon and Somerset, and Thunder-flower in Yorkshire.

To grasses.... I was able to identify: Yorkshire-fog, Rough Meadow Grass, Creeping Bent, Cock's-foot and Crested Dog's Tail. Here is the front and back view of Cock's-foot, Dactylis glomerata. (More are in flower now- and I can identify more! Thanks to the resources listed below. )

Crested Dog's-tail, Cynosurus cristatus also has a back and a front.

 

And Sweet Vernal Grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum, which flowers early, is abundant.

I move on to the infinitely superior Clarke's Pool Meadow NR near Lydney ,Gloucestershire. There were some shared species for example Vicia sativa which made me smile- maybe my meadow was not so very humble and basic....

However Common Twayblade, Neottia ovata and Green-winged Orchid, Anacamptis morio have got to be the stars!

Twayblade has the folk name of Sweethearts in Somerset taken from the pair of broad leaves set together. Gerard called it Twayblade and Herb Bifoile. He used it in ointment and balsam for healing wounds. 

There were a few Common Spotted Orchids, Dactylorhiza fuchsii - many more when I revisited last week.

Although the orchids are obviously the focus of these shots the richness of the habitat  can also be seen.

Insects abounded like this Soldier Beetle, Cantharis species on humble Hogweed.

There were 25 species I was able to identify from the paths and my subsequent quick walk round last week suggests a further dozen or so will be in bloom for week 2 including Fairy Flax. Here's hoping!

L. M. Montgomery gives these words to Anne in Anne of the Island. She had a point.

I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June .... Everything loves June.

I hope this will encourage you to have a go at the Big Meadow Count next week - if you are not already committed to it! I have found it fun - and you probably noticed - addictive! I think many of you will know the feeling of excitement when you suddenly spot something you weren't expecting - and even if it's common it will be beautiful and/or useful to insects.

I'll end with apologies to William Morris: 

Have nothing in your 'meadow' that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. 

Acknowledgements

Geoffrey Grigson An Englishman's Flora

Simon Harrap's Wild Flowers

Clive Stace New Flora of the British Isles 4

A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes Dominic Price

YouTube:

Learn to identify common meadow grasses with Hannah  Gibbons  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV26u1-IxhE

Introduction to Grasses Irish grassland BSBI 

https://youtu.be/ZNhsaqOp8-A

Webpages:

https://www.naturespot.org.uk/

And most of all, of course, to 

Laura Moss and The Carmarthenshire Meadows Group and their Facebook page, Big Meadow Search 2021, which has been very helpful.