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‘Looping the loop’. Puccinia urticata rust fungus on Common Nettle

For #wildflowershow for #wildflowerhour this is a Carmarthenshire meadow with Whorled Caraway, Southern Marsh Orchid, Yellow-rattle, Eyebright, Cat’s-ear, Rough Hawkbit and much more….. not that the photo does it any justice whatsoever!

Smith’s Pepperwort, Lepidium heterophyllum. To 50cm. Softly hairy. Basal leaves long-stalked. Stem leaves have long pointed auricles. Multiple parallel-sided flower spikes. Flowers on stalks at right angles to stem. Flattened, winged fruits, style longer than notch in fruit apex.

Navelwort, Umbilicus rupestris. Leaves palmately lobed, fleshy and with central dimple. Crenate leaf margin. Petiole and leaves hairless. Calyx has 5 narrow teeth. Corolla tubular, up to 10mm long and divided into 5 teeth at the tip.

It’s that time of year when social media just seems to be full of gorgeous orchid pics! The challenge this week is to see if you can find one! Share your orchidaceous finds for #WildflowerHour this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #OrchidChallenge. 📸 William Keble Martin

Lackey moth, Malacosoma neustria. Frequent over most of southern Britain up to SE Yorkshire and coastal Wales. Flight season is late June to August. Larval food plants include Bramble, Dog-rose and Hawthorn

Awn: a bristle-like projection arising from the tip or back of a glume or lemma. Examples: Top= False Oat-grass, Arrhenatherum elatius Bottom= Meadow Foxtail, Alopecurus pratensis

Ahead of the 2025 Big Meadow Search starting on 1st June, there will be a bit of a Buttercup Bonanza. We are interested in all plant species however common.

Creeping Buttercup, Ranunculus repens. Creeping perennial, runners rooting at the nodes. Hairy, 3-lobed leaves with middle lobe on long stalk. Flower stalk is grooved. Spreading sepals.

Meadow Buttercup, Ranunculus acris. Hairy perennial up to 100cm. Branched stems, no runners. Leaves deeply 3-5 lobed. Lobes deeply toothed. Flower stalks not grooved. Spreading sepals.

Bulbous buttercup, Ranunculus bulbosus. Up to 40cm. Stem base expanded into tuber (hence Bulbous name). Hairy. Three-lobed leaves. Grooved flower stalk. Reflexed sepals. Flowers up to 3cm wide

Buttercups: In 2017, Stavenga et al showed buttercups could focus light to heat their flowers & attract insects. Functional optics of glossy buttercup flowers. dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2… Nettle-tap moth, Swollen-thighed Beetle and Common Earwig shown below.

Creeping Buttercup. It’s worth taking a close look at flowers for leaf beetle, Prasocuris marginella. 3.4-4.5mm. Black with orange margins on elytra & pronotum. Adults: April to August. (Similar species lack the orange margin on pronotum or have orange median elytral stripe)

Buttercups: something else to look out for, Chelostoma florisomne, Large Scissor Bee or Sleepy Carpenter Bee. Flies May-July. Obtains pollen from buttercups. On dull days, males rest within flowers hence species name. Female (photo) has box-shaped head and distinctive mandibles.

Probably not a video you expected to see today but here is the telescopic anus of the Thistle Tortoise Beetle, Cassida rubiginosa. Larvae use it to build & repair protective shield made of frass and exuviae that they carry over their back. Often on Common Knapweed and thistles.

Big Meadow Search 2025 starts today until 31st August. Everyone welcome, you dont need to be an expert, just record species you know. Please help us add more sites to the map. There will be daily plant ID or plant association posts to look out for. bigmeadowsearch.co.uk

On first impression, I didn’t expect this churchyard to have many species but I found a surprising 51 including a plant I had never heard of before, let alone seen: Dragon Arum. Just goes to show that you never know what you might find if you stop and take a look.

For #orchidchallenge for #wildflowerhour Southern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza praetermissa. Typically up to 50cm. Leaves usually unspotted. Purplish-pink flowers. Lower lip 3-lobed with central lobe pointed and side lobes rounded and broad.