False Brome, along the tracks of Dene Park.

False Brome, Brachypodium sylvaticum appears to be quite well distributed across the woodland tracks and paths.

While at first not very sure of it, I was eventually very happy with the identification. It was in the early flowering stage. I could see the spikelets quite round in cross-section, elongated and around 2 cm long. Each spikelet had a very short stalk indeed. The awns were about the same length as the individual flowers, more obvious when I spread the spikelet out.

The nodes and stems were softly hairy, the leaves were bristly (scaberulous, slightly rough to the touch), particularly the underside when rubbed towards the base. They were quite broad but narrowed obviously towards the sheath junction. The ligule was blunt and raggedy, a few mm long. A bright green is how I would describe the leaves, but in the image above it looks relatively glaucous. 

Flowering is stated to be late June onwards. Soils ideally calcareous, not very fertile, well drained. These characteristics seem to fit fairly well.  

  

Wood Melick in the Scambles of Dene Park

The Wood Melick grass or Melica uniflora is found in just one area in these woods as far as I know, in the Scambles, not too far from one of the Bourne tributary streams. The soil here seems drier and less clay-rich than other parts of the wood.

It would be useful to tie this down, particularly as this is a new record. It is a very beautiful plant with its nodding brown rice-shaped heads on the ends of the pedicels(?).

Generally thought to prefer poorer soils, it is usually found in discrete patches suggesting most propagation is via the rhizomes as opposed to seed.

The following day I found a few plants of viviparous Cocksfoot by the dog bin, in the central triangle of grass. Here the flower parts develop instead into leaves. I have never seen this before.

Dene Park still muddy - Enchanter's Nightshade

The Enchanter's Nightshade, Circaea lutetiana, is in full flower along the tracksides at the moment. This is a very common woodland plant throughout the UK except the north of Scotland. There is also an Alpine species found in upland woodlands. 

Apparently a traditional wound treatment. The Latin name is after Circe the Goddess of Magic, known for her knowledge of herbal medicine, and lutetiana referring to Paris or the botanists of Paris.

The delicate two-petalled whitish flowers are well spaced within each raceme. The flower stalk and the sepals are covered in long hairs.

Spreads by long thin vegetative stolons, as well as the fruiting burrs. Here is a picture of one of the typical patches of heart-shaped leaves topped by the tiny groups of flowers.