Still no luck convincing the family that a wet trump around some two-thousand-year-old stone circles is what Easter should be all about. Instead of this we made a trip to Low Sizergh Barn. As this is an organic farm, there was a great biodiversity to be had in the field boundaries and woodland.
Blackthorn in hedge at Low Sizergh Barn
Thought this was the magickal Hawthorn or May at first as in “Don’t cast a clout till May be out” which is what my Granny used to say, but that is later and the flowers emerge after the leaves. This one has to be Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).
Wood Anemone
These Wood Anemones (Anemone nemorosa) are a little battered by rain which makes them a bit hard to identify in the photo but not in real life.
Violets
I feel like I should know this one but I don't - it's all over the woods and hedgerows here at the moment
UPDATE after Rachel’s comment (see below): Dog’s Mercury Mercurialis perennis
Lords And Ladies or Cuckoo Pint or Arum maculatum
Lesser Celandine or Ranunculus ficaria
Unidentified Broomrape
I got very excited by the next discovery, hanging out damply in some woodland we past. At first I thought that it was some flower left over from last year because it looked so bleached and dead but on closer inspection, I’m pretty sure it is some sort of Broomrape (Orobanche). I’ve always wanted to find one of these fascinating plants that above-ground, consist just of an inflorescence and totally lacking in green chlorophyll, extracts all it needs from its host, being a parasite. This leads to all sorts of varieties, each variety bound to a single host. Looking quickly on the Internet, I was unable to identify this beautiful, white, ghostly variety and I’m not entirely sure what it was parasitising, there were a number of candidates as you can see below.
UPDATE after Rachel’s comment (see below): It is in the Orobanche family (Orobanchaceae) but a different genus – Rachel, who works at Low Sizergh Barn and should know, identifies this as Common Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria), which as she says, is parasitic on the Hazel in their woodland.
Unidentified Broomrape Context
I was introduced to Ransoms or Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum) in the woods of Treptower Park and Plänterwald by our friend the Homeopath Thomas Bochmann and he gave me the hint to make a pesto out of the garlicky young leaves before they set flower early in the season and don’t taste as delicate. Ruby has collected some with me before but doesn’t remember but was a very enthusiastic gatherer.
Ruby Gathering Ransoms
She ate so much she got a green tongue, much to her delight.
Ruby Rasoms Tongue
Ransoms Flowering
Thanks for your blog about the farm trail, we’re so glad you enjoyed spotting signs of Spring. The wild garlic is really coming into its own at the moment and we have a recipe on our site for wild garlic pesto if you’re daughter would like to try it too – not sure it’ll make her tongue green though!
No problem Rachel, we enjoyed Low Sizergh Barn very much, thank you for all your hard work – any idea what the mystery plant is?
Yes, we think we do – the first photo is Dogs Mercury, the second is Toothwort which likes to be a parasite on Hazel in the woods around us.
Wow, Rachel, that’s great. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to identify these things. Dog’s Mercury I just forgot and is obvious once reminded but the Toothwort I’ve never seen and am very excited about having seen in your wonderful woodland. Many thanks.