I have been neglecting Dene Park quite a bit recently, so I was glad to get back there at about 4 this afternoon, although it was now quite late in the day and cloudy, even threatening a bit of rain I thought! What a contrast to this morning which was sunny and almost too hot to sit outside by 10:30!
No butterflies and very few insects of any sorts at all really. There were some tiny flies on the Creeping Buttercup along the main path heading towards the dip down to The Scambles.
I was very pleased to see my first spike of Common Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatorium) of 2014 out in about 50% flower, alongside the path through Knight's Wood (I am obviously very slow). This is one of the several Rosaceous foodplants of the Grizzled Skipper, although there is little chance of seeing one of these at Dene Park, as it is not a Chalk Downland woodland, but on the Lower Greensand, well South of the North Downs.
Agrimony is a perennial herb, having a long black somewhat woody rhizomatous root. The plant is 30 - 60 cm tall, with a long, thin, tight flower spike. Old names include Church Steeples, Cockeburr, Sticklewort and Stickwort. The leaves are much larger and more sub-divided at the base of the stem than they are higher up. The leaflets are separated by much smaller leaflets, and get bigger as you get closer to the tip of the leaf. The whole plant is softly hairy overall.
There may be larger plants within the species taxon, maybe a subspecies, A. eupatorium var sepium, found in places like Durham, which are said to be more fragrant, but this should not be confused with the separate species, the Fragrant Agrimony, Agrimonia procera. This species has been noted at Bedgebury Pinetum - by the Wild Flower Society no less! There is a BSBI crib, incredibly useful to separate the two species! http://www.bsbi.org.uk/Agrimonia_Crib.pdf
Agrimony is a traditional medicinal herb, the Greeks commonly using it for eye problems, while the Anglo-Saxons used it to treat wounds and to slow bleeding. The flowers are said to have a scent reminiscent of apricots.
Amongst many other ingredients the agrimony flowers contain the flavenoid quercetin which is anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and also gives the flowers their yellow colour. It is also relatively rich in tannins, hence its use sometimes as a gargle.
The whole plant yields a pale yellow dye in September, and a deeper yellow later in the year.
No butterflies and very few insects of any sorts at all really. There were some tiny flies on the Creeping Buttercup along the main path heading towards the dip down to The Scambles.
I was very pleased to see my first spike of Common Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatorium) of 2014 out in about 50% flower, alongside the path through Knight's Wood (I am obviously very slow). This is one of the several Rosaceous foodplants of the Grizzled Skipper, although there is little chance of seeing one of these at Dene Park, as it is not a Chalk Downland woodland, but on the Lower Greensand, well South of the North Downs.
Agrimony is a perennial herb, having a long black somewhat woody rhizomatous root. The plant is 30 - 60 cm tall, with a long, thin, tight flower spike. Old names include Church Steeples, Cockeburr, Sticklewort and Stickwort. The leaves are much larger and more sub-divided at the base of the stem than they are higher up. The leaflets are separated by much smaller leaflets, and get bigger as you get closer to the tip of the leaf. The whole plant is softly hairy overall.
There may be larger plants within the species taxon, maybe a subspecies, A. eupatorium var sepium, found in places like Durham, which are said to be more fragrant, but this should not be confused with the separate species, the Fragrant Agrimony, Agrimonia procera. This species has been noted at Bedgebury Pinetum - by the Wild Flower Society no less! There is a BSBI crib, incredibly useful to separate the two species! http://www.bsbi.org.uk/Agrimonia_Crib.pdf
Agrimony is a traditional medicinal herb, the Greeks commonly using it for eye problems, while the Anglo-Saxons used it to treat wounds and to slow bleeding. The flowers are said to have a scent reminiscent of apricots.
Amongst many other ingredients the agrimony flowers contain the flavenoid quercetin which is anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and also gives the flowers their yellow colour. It is also relatively rich in tannins, hence its use sometimes as a gargle.
The whole plant yields a pale yellow dye in September, and a deeper yellow later in the year.
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