Wood Anemones

How to… Identify British Woodland Flowers

/ Laura Tuke / 2 Comments

At this moment, as spring moves on, the natural world outside our doors is going through one of its busiest times. From birds nesting to the leaves bursting, the world around us is buzzing with the promise of new life.

During spring, one of my favourite things to do is walk in the dappled light beneath an increasing canopy, between steadfast trees and amongst undergrowth blooming with colour. Walking through a woodland is an easy way to lose yourself for a little while and give yourself a much needed lift. To connect further, an easy way on a woodland walk is to pick out the plants and animals that you can recognise around you. This can often be more difficult than first thought.

So to help you be mindful of the wonderful world out there, I have put together a simple guide to some of my favourite woodland flowering species that are easy to find during spring. It is time to get out there and explore!

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Well known flowers

Primrose (Primula vulgaris)Primrose

  • Size: Low carpeter; up to 12cm tall
  • Flowers: Pale yellow (there are pink-purple forms) with a deep yellow eye and honey-guides
  • Stems and leaves: Long shaggily hairy stems with wrinkled and toothed leaves, that are hairless above and hairy below (up to 15cm long)
  • When does it flower? March-May (heralds the arrival of spring)
  • Where can it be found? Woods, hedgebanks and grassy places throughout Britain

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)Lesser celandine

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Solitary with 8-12 glossy yellow petals and 3 sepals
  • Stems and leaves: Hairless with leaves that are long-stalked, heart-shaped, and dark green. Sometimes bear dark or light markings
  • When does it flower? February-May
  • Where can it be found? Woods, grassland, hedges, waysides, bare ground and by fresh water throughout Britain

Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scriptus)Bluebell 2

  • Size: Up to 50cm tall
  • Flowers: Azure blue (though sometimes pink or white) with cream-coloured anthers. Fragrant and bell-shaped with six turned-down lobes
  • Stems and leaves: Long, narrow, strap-shaped, keeled leaves
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Carpeting woodlands, hedges, scrubland, on sea-cliffs and mountains in most parts of Britain

Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana)Common Dog-Violet

  • Most common wild violet species in the UK
  • Size: Up to 15cm tall
  • Flowers: Unscented with petals that are blue-violet but variable, usually overlapping. Stout spur, curved upward, blunt, notched at tip and paler than petals (often creamy)
  • Stems and leaves: Hairless or only slightly downy leaves and stalks. The leaves are long-stalked, heart-shaped, pointed at the tip, and as broad as they are long
  • When does it flower? March-May and sometimes July-September
  • Where can it be found? Woods, hedges, pastures, heaths and rocky areas throughout the British isles

Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)

  • Size: Up to 15cm tall
  • Flowers: Blue-violet, often white, occasionally lilac, pink or yellow. Only fragrant violet in Britain
  • Stems and leaves: Leaves are heart-shaped, downy and enlarged in summer
  • When does it flower? February-May
  • Where can it be found? Woods and hedges over most of the British isles

 

Plants known to some

Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa)Wood Anemone

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Solitary white (sometimes tinged purple) that nod when closed
  • Stems and leaves: About two-thirds of the way up each slender stem is a ring of three leaves (trifoliate), each divided into three toothed segments. Rising above the leaves is the solitary flower
  • When does it flower? March-May
  • Where can it be found? Carpeting woodlands in spring, as well as hedge-banks and occasionally grasslands throughout Britain

Greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea)Greater Stitchwort

  • Size: Up to 60cm tall
  • Flowers: Deeply cleft white petals
  • Stems and leaves: Stalkless, narrow and long-pointed leaves with a slightly grey tinge (15-60cm long)
  • When does it flower? March-June
  • Where can it be found? Across woodlands, hedgerows and scrub areas throughout Britain except some northern isles

Wild Garlic/Ramsons (Allium ursinum) Wild Garlic

  • Most common and only native broad-leaved garlic
  • Size: Up to 45cm tall
  • Flowers: White star-like flowers
  • Stems and leaves: Have leafless flowering stems. The leaves are broad, flat, lanceolate and distinctive smelling
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Often seen growing in large clumps in woods and shady places throughout Britain

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: White flowers with no gaps between the 5 unnotched petals. Produce reddish fleshy strawberries that have protruding pips
  • Stems and leaves: Hairy. Leaves are trefoil on long stalks and are brighter green on top and pale below. Lower leaves form a rosette
  • When does it flower? April-July
  • Where can it be found? Woods, scrub, and grassland throughout the British Isles

Strawberry

Barren Strawberry (Potentilla sterilis)

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Unlike wild strawberry, there are gaps between the slightly notched white petals. Produces unstrawberry-like non-fleshy fruits
  • Stems and leaves: They are hairy, but unlike wild strawberry, they have smaller, shorter stems and blue-green leaves
  • When does it flower? Earlier than wild strawberry, from February-May
  • Where can it be found? Woodlands, scrub, hedgebanks and other dry banks

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Less known plants

Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon)Yellow Archangel

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Yellow and two-lipped, with the upper lip being helmet-shaped and the lower having three almost equal-sized lobes
  • Stems and leaves: Hairy and patch-forming, with leafy and upright flowering stems. The leaves are long-stalked, oval in shape, dark green, irregularly toothed and borne in opposite pairs
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Woodlands and hedgerows in England and Wales

Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula)Early Purple Orchid

  • Size: Up to 40cm tall
  • Flowers: Form a spike on a stout, upright stem. Usually some shade of purple, sometimes pinkish or white, and are three-lobed with three inner and three outer petals. The upper five petals are oval and form a hood; the lower petal extends into a long lip. Scent described as tom-cat-like
  • Stems and leaves: Lance-shaped, varying from broad to narrow, and usually have round, purple-black blotches on their upper surface
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Frequently in woodlands, and is widespread throughout Britain

Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina)Moschatel

  • Also known as townhall clock and is the only species in its family
  • Size: Up to 15cm tall
  • Flowers: Flower heads greenish, almost forming a cube with one flower on each side (5 petals each) and one flower on top (4 petals). Scent is musk-like, likened to almond or elder blossom
  • Stems and leaves: Hairless with long-stalked trefoil leaves, that are positioned in one pair on each flower-stalk
  • When does it flower? March-May
  • Where can it be found? Woods, hedge-banks, and rocky mountain places, locally common throughout Britain

Herb-robert (Geranium robertianum)Herb-Robert

  • Size: Up to 50cm tall
  • Flowers: Strong smelling and deep pink, occasionally white, with rounded petals that are not notched
  • Stems and leaves: Hairy with stems that are often reddish and leaves that are fern-like with 3-5 lobes
  • When does it flower? April-November
  • Where can it be found? Shady spots on hedgebanks, rocks and walls or in woods throughout Britain

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All photos and drawings are my own 

How spring happened 2017-2019

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

Over the last few years, I have taken part in recording how spring has unfurled at my home in Dorset, for a citizen science scheme. As at the end of each spring I upload my results to an online site, in 2017 I decided that I should be writing my observations down for myself in my wildlife journal, making it easy to look back on them in the future.

Now I have recorded dates for many different wildlife spring events, from trees coming into leaf to the return of migrants, for 2017, 2018, and 2019. So here, I want to take a moment to look back at these and reflect on what they may show about spring and its current emergence, and if there is anything interesting we can take from this.

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Trees

In my local area, you can find a large variety of native and non-native tree species. Over the last 3 years, I have consistently made observations for 5 tree species: ash, sycamore, horse chestnut, pedunculate oak and silver birch.

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For the 5 tree species, some similar patterns can be observed from my recorded spring dates for the last 3 years. In 2018, a colder winter was experienced, with heavy snowfalls taking place in January, February and March. Evidently this had an effect on the timing of budburst, first leaf and first flowering for tree species, in comparison to the year before.

Budburst was 36 days later for ash trees (27/04/18), 10 days later for sycamore trees (08/04/18), 19 days later for horse chestnut trees (20/03/18), 21 days later for oak trees (18/04/18), and 26 days later for silver birch trees (12/04/18). The same amount of lateness was also seen with the first leaf and first flowering for these tree species in 2018.

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Due to the weather of spring 2018, this meant that when looking at how this year’s spring unfurled (2019) in comparison to last year, predictably budburst, first leaf and first flowering took place 4-53 days earlier than 2018. When comparing 2019 with 2017 though, I am able to get an idea of the average trend for the three years. For example, ash and silver birch events are getting later, as are horse chestnut flowering and sycamore first leaf. Sycamore, horse chestnut and oak generally show a trend though of spring events getting earlier, from a couple of days to a month.

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Shrubs

For shrubs, the selection I have been observing during spring each year are: blackthorn, dog rose, elder, hawthorn and lilac. From 2017-2019, a similar trend was predominantly observed in these species as with tree species.

In comparison to 2017, blackthorn first flowering was 14 days later in 2018 (30/03/18), elder budburst was 9 days later (13/03/18), elder first leaf was 23 days later (30/03/18) , hawthorn budburst was 33 days later (02/04/18), hawthorn first leaf was 6 days later (08/04/18), and lilac first flowering was 27 days later (07/05/18).

Then when looking at 2019, spring dates were earlier in comparison to 2018, with blackthorn budburst, first leaf and first flowering being 20, 9 and 29 days earlier, dog rose budburst, first leaf and first flowering being 22 and 29 days earlier, elder budburst, first leaf and first flowering being 9, 24 and 8 days earlier, hawthorn budburst and first flowering being 36 and 13 days earlier, and lilac first flowering being 14 days earlier.

Also, similarly to tree species, blackthorn and elder both showed that from 2017 to 2019 spring events have become earlier on average. Hawthorn and lilac showed the opposite trend though, with hawthorn first leaf and first flowering becoming later over the 3 years on average, if only by 7-13 days.

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Flowers 

In comparing spring between 2017, 2018 and 2019, it is evident that for many plant species the same trends have been shown from year to year. This is not true for all though, as between bluebells, cuckooflowers, lesser celandines, oxeye daisies, snowdrops and wood anemones, flowering times varied from being later in 2018 and earlier in 2019, to being earlier overall, or being similar overall.

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  • Bluebells flowered 17 days later in 2018 (13/04/18) than 2017, and then 10 days earlier in 2019 compared to 2018. From 2017 to 2019, this was 7 days later overall.
  • Cuckooflowers flowered 16 days later in 2018 (20/04/18) than 2017, and then 12 days earlier in 2019 compared to 2018. From 2017 to 2019, this was 4 days later overall.
  • Lesser celandines flowered 5 days earlier from 2017 to 2018 (24/02/18), followed by another 13 days earlier in 2019.
  • Snowdrops flowered 10 days earlier from 2017 to 2018 (10/01/18), followed by another 7 days earlier in 2019.
  • Wood anemones flowered around a similar date at the beginning of March each year.

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  • Oxeye daisies flowered around a similar date at the end of May each year.

Grasses

Grass species also showed a differing trend to tree and shrub species for 2017-2019, with a united pattern of flowering later each year. When observing spring events with grasses, I observe from year to year 4 species: cocksfoot, meadow foxtail, timothy, and yorkshire fog.

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Only timothy had observations made for 2017, and so in comparing with 2018, it was found to have flowered 18 days later (18/05/18). This is in line with comparisons between 2018 and 2019, where it was found that cocksfoot flowered 4 days later (30/05/19), meadow foxtail flowered 14 days later (15/05/19), timothy flowered 23 days later (10/06/19), and yorkshire fog flowered 14 days later (12/06/19).

Birds

Though I have started increasing my recordings of different bird species during spring, I only have records for 2+ years for rooks, blackcaps, chiffchaffs, house martins, song thrushes, cuckoos, and swallows.

  • Following the first snowfall of the year, rooks were first seen to be nest building 16 days earlier in 2018 (04/02/18) than 2017, but with no snow, this was 11 days later in 2019.
  • Blackcaps returned to my local area 12 days later in 2018 (11/04/18) than 2017.
  • Chiffchaffs returned 13 days later in 2018 (26/03/18) than 2017, following the last of the snow and cold weather. Consequently, in 2019 they returned 8 days earlier than 2019 (15/02/19), closer to the 2017 date.
  • House martins returned 12 days later in 2018 (25/05/18) than 2017, whilst being 31 days earlier in 2019 than 2018.
  • Male song thrushes were first heard singing in 2018 on 28/01/18, 8 days earlier than 2017. In 2019, this occurred a lot earlier though, 30 days earlier, falling on 29/12/18.
  • Male cuckoo heard calling at a similar time at the end of May in 2018 and 2019.
  • Swallows returned to my local area at a similar time at the end of March/beginning of April in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Insects

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In line with tree and shrub species, the first sightings recorded each spring of insects followed a general pattern of emerging later in 2018 than 2017, and earlier in 2019 than 2018. This was true for:

  • Brimstone butterflies – 13 days later on 14th April 2018 and 47 days earlier on 26th February 2019
  • Peacock butterflies – 14 days later on 20th April 2018 and 26 days earlier on 25th March 2019
  • Small tortoiseshell butterflies – 31 days later on 26th April 2018 and 25 days earlier on 1st April 2019
  • Speckled wood butterflies – 20 days later on 26th April 2018 and 4 days earlier on 22nd April 2019
  • Orange tip butterflies – 28 days later on 4th May 2018 and 33 days earlier on 1st April 2019
  • Red admiral butterflies – 27 days earlier on 22nd April 2019 
  • 7-spot ladybirds – 19 days later on 25th April 2018
  • Queen wasps – 47 days earlier on 31st March 2019
  • Red-tailed bumblebees – 13 days earlier on 21st April 2019

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Summary

With my love of spring, each year I have enjoyed recording the dates of when things happen during spring, such as the first swallow, first leaf or first elder flower. It has been satisfying now to be able to take a moment to put a few of my records together and take a look at how spring has unfurled over the last few years and what this could mean.

For some species, events are getting earlier, probably due to warmer temperatures earlier on in the year and during the winter before. For others, they are in fact getting later, which will be related to other weather and environmental factors here and further afield. Either way, the ‘norm’ is changing and it will be interesting to see how this could progress over the next few years to come.

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Spring woodland walking: My Local Woods

/ Laura Tuke / 1 Comment

19_04_19_Horseshoe_Wood_Bluebells_26As the weather gets warmer and drier during spring and the countryside begins to bloom, I always like to set myself the goal of getting out into it as much as possible. I like to use these countryside walks as a way to calm my own mind and escape the stresses of modern day-to-day life. In particular, I am always drawn back to the woodlands and forests, with the tranquillity they breath to me. Growing up in Dorset I have always been able to disappear into the trees and appreciate such a habitat at any time of year.

19_04_19_LogIn celebration of my love of the woods, especially during springtime, over April and May this year, I made 4 visits to one of my local ones to observe it as the season changed. On these trips I sat and wrote down my experience on my favourite log (see photo above), and took lots of photos with my new DSLR camera whilst walking through the woods. Check out below to see my diary entries and the photos that accompany them:

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10th May
25th May
1: Signs of spring

  • Date: Friday 12th April
  • Time of day: Mid-morning
  • Highlight: Seeing the first bluebells emerging in the woods

Today I made my first trip of the year to my local woods, walking across the countryside to get there. The sun is shining down upon me in its glorious spring style, but it has to be said that there is still a chill on the breeze.

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The woods are noticeably just beginning to take on their spring splendour with the woodland floor coming to life. Bluebells are starting to flower, wood anemones are dotted here and there, and celandines, primroses and stitchwort are spreading through the undergrowth. The hazel trees are coming into leaf, as are the oak trees, with small soft bunches of leaves hanging above my head. Everything is now lush and green, with winter now being fully forgotten.

12_04_19_Horseshoe_Wood_Hazel_5Spring bird calls and song provides the soundtrack to my trip, including everything from groups of foraging long-tailed tits to angry blue tits and charismatic chiff chaffs. I also hear the reminiscent winter squabbling of jays, and on a stop to my favourite log in the middle of the wood, I can hear the coarser call of a raven and the calls of male pheasants.

When turning my eyes to the ground around me, it becomes apparent that the undergrowth is full of bees and flies buzzing between the flowers, the most notable being furry bee flies. Looking at the undergrowth around me, it does make me think how if you just stop for one moment and take in your surroundings, you will always find that everything is alive around you.

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When sat in this wood, I feel away from all the hub bub and stress of everyday life. It gives me the opportunity to see this world through the glass of a lens, whilst still getting excited about everything new I see. Thus, I believe everyone should have the opportunity to have their own escape into nature, such as amongst the trees, flowers and wildlife, to be able to recharge and refresh.

2: Sunrise start

  • Date: Friday 19th April
  • Time of day: Early morning
  • Highlight: Sunrise

19_04_19_Farm_Sunrise_9This morning I chose to get up at 5am to meet a 6.08am sunrise, and to make the most of the dawn light. At this time of day, on my walk to the woods, I had great sightings of roe deer and brown hare, and got to see a beautiful pink sunrise. The dewy grass added to my photos in this glorious light.

The wood definitely did not disappoint, blanketed in the warm golden tones of dawn. The sunlight falling through the trees was spectacular, especially at this time of year when a mix of well known flower species carpet the woodland floor. I was also greeted by the dawn chorus in full swing, with great tits, robins, blackbirds and lots more adding their voices to the mix.

19_04_19_Horseshoe_Wood_Hazel_819_04_19_Horseshoe_Wood_Stitchwort_4Snow white garlic flowers are now emerging in the wood, whilst early purple orchids are also beginning to sprout here and there. The bluebells are now starting to create a sea of blue, with their white counterparts dotted here and there amongst them. Soon the woods will be fully awash with purply-blue and patches of white.

19_04_19_Horseshoe_Wood_Bluebells_White_2You can definitely forget yourself among these trees, flowers and wildlife, which this morning included the bark of grey squirrels up in the tree canopy. Today, I have stayed awhile sat in the morning light of the woods, but I now know to make my way home from  here, as the sun begins to burn through the trees a little too hot, and the midges begin to bite my neck more noticeably. This signals ‘the best part of the day has thus moved on’, as i must.

3: Walking with a four-legged friend

  • Date: Friday 10th May
  • Time of day: Morning
  • Highlight: The company of my dog Cassie

10_05_19_Horseshoe_Woods_Cassie_2On my trip this time to the woods, I took my four-legged friend Cassie. At the ripe old age of 13, she is becoming weary on her legs, but is still up for an adventure. This is great as there is nothing better than sharing the wonder of the outdoors with another being, even if they are no more than 3 feet tall.

By this time, the woods are now dressed in light green leaves of varying shapes and sizes. The woodland floor is also becoming rich with vegetation. My favourites, the bluebells, are now beginning to go over, with their best time being a week ago. Though the thought of the end of this year’s bluebells makes me sad, I also find that there is something beautiful in seeing their fading colour and shrivelling bell-shaped flowers. Instead they are being replaced by the unfurling of fern fronds and a carpet of green. Now the orchids are out in full force , as are the flowers of wild garlic, yellow archangel, and dainty pink herb robert.

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The birds still sing in full force, with the usual suspects in place, but now they are joined by the caws of rooks and chatter of jackdaws. The woodland floor is now also full with the noise of flying insects buzzing between the flowers in all their shapes and sizes. For my canine friend and myself, the woods are still giving us endless pleasure as the season rolls on.

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4: The death of spring

  • Date: Saturday 25th May
  • Time of day: Afternoon
  • Highlight: The changing of the season

25_05_19_Outside25_05_19_Horseshoe_Wood_Roe_DeerThe days are getting hotter and the sun higher in the May sky. In the depths of the wood though, the canopy keeps me cool. The woodland floor is now a tangle of unruly vegetation. The dying bluebells, orchids, and spring flowers jostle with unfurling ferns, sticky goose grass and flowers that persist. These include stitchwort, herb Robert, and red campion, which are gems of colour in a sea of green.

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Looking up, hazel leaves make a blanket of lace above my head as the work of busy invertebrates is now noticeable by this point. On the ground, brown speckled wood butterflies flit, flies still buzz, and bejewelled light green beetles fall on me as they dive bomb from the trees.

25_05_19_Horseshoe_Wood_Speckled_Wood_Butterfly_7Ash trees are finally fully in leaf and roe deer ramble lazily between the trees around me. Though this transition period may be more subtle than others, it truly signifies the changing of the seasons, as the important time for some species is replaced by the next. Thus, summer has now crept up on us!

How the woodland made its transition

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10th May
25th May
 

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12th April
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25th May

19th April
25th May
12th April
10th May

Winter into spring: April on the farm

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

April is one of my favourite months of the year on the farm. During April, the Dorset countryside begins to burst into new life. Newborn lambs bounce in the fields, newborn calves snooze in the fields in the spring sunshine, birds begin to nest and raise a new generation, and flowers carpet the woodlands.

Plants this April still followed a trend of being late, with some woodlands not becoming decked out in their full splendour during this month like in past years. Still Bluebells, wild garlic, early purple orchids and late wood anemones began to coat the woodland floor. Also, the woodland ferns began to unfurl in the woods later than usual.

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During this April, trees were very much still late, with sycamore and silver birch finally bursting into leaf. Oaks were noticeably asynchronous in their bud burst, with some trees on there way to being in full leaf and others yet to start.

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April saw the main crop of migrants arriving on warm winds. This year our barn swallows returned on April 6th, exactly the same date as in 2015! By the time we were fully into April, bird breeding pairs had been firmly established, and the nesting season for many bird species was fully under way. During April, more birds can be heard singing at dawn than any other time of year, which is quite magical to hear.

This year the tawny owls are breeding later than last year, but by the end of April the first hissing calls of tawny owl fledglings could be heard resonating through Dorset woodlands.

Life could be seen blooming everywhere throughout April. Dog violets and cowslips, among other species, were seen flowering along roadside banks.

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Brimstone butterflies, orange tip butterflies, and peacock butterflies all began to emerge during the first half of April.

Throughout April, I made myself busy amongst the mounds university revision, by setting up my camera trap at different popular sites around our farmland. It was amazing to see the first badger cubs emerge from their den, and even more special to me, was being able to watch fox cubs beginning to explore above ground with their siblings, during the second half of the month. Fox cubs have to be my highlight of beautiful April!

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Badger cub! 14th-15th April
Badger cub! 14th-15th April
Badger cub being carried! 14th-15th April
Badger cub! 13th-14th April
Badger cub! 13th-14th April
Badger cub! 13th-14th April
Badger cub! 13th-14th April