Seasonal Wild Flowers - Home

Time 2020-09-18 07:03:02

Web Name: Seasonal Wild Flowers - Home

WebSite: http://www.seasonalwildflowers.com

ID:50707

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Wild,Seasonal,Home,

Description:

Home English Wild Flowers: A Month by Month GuideRed Valerian by a footpath in SomersetIntroductionWalking, whether in the countryside or neighbourhood, is a main leisure activity.Like me, you may be frustrated at seeing wild flowers that you think you should beable to name.This web site is my attempt to remedy this situation. I hope that it increases yourenjoyment of not just the countryside but also of paths, wasteland, walls andhedgerows in urban areas.OrganisationIt is organised on a monthly basis. This gives you an idea of what to look outfor at different times of the year.Months  are accessed, either by clicking on a name from the list below, or byputting the cursor on the month at the top of the page.Plants are listed in alphabetical order in the month in which they first appear.This is not necessarily the peak in their flowering season.January is an exception because it includes plants which flower all year round.It is a work in progress - there are many plants still to be added, particularlyfor the summer months.  Recent additions and alterations are in the last section of thewebsite. I have also included some non-flowering plants,e.g. ferns (Azolla, Royal Fern), a cyanobacterium (Nostoc) and Dog vomit slime mold, because you are likely to come across them. The pages are set up on my computer screen at a zoom of 125% This seems to keep the sentences unbroken.What are classed as wild flowers?The different types of wild flower: native, naturalised, alien, etc. are shown on this link - Which plants are classed as wild flowers?. In deciding whether a flower is wild or not, I follow the guidelines of theBotanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) and the National Biodiverity Network.Flowering seasonThe scientific study of the timing of the biological events in plants such asflowering, is known as phenology.The time when a plant flowers is controlled by its genetics, day length andclimate.Of these factors, climate is the main factor that varies from year to yearand is therefore mainly responsible for differences in the timing of flowering.In mild winters, for example, spring flowers appear earlier and  the previoussummer's flowers last longer, especially close to habitation. The effectsare less marked in the open countrysideLong-term, persistent changes in the timing of flowering can be used as ameasure of climate change. You can keep your own records for this purpose.    PhotographySeveral photographs are shown for each flower. They are chosen to illustratediagnostic characteristics mentioned in field guides and floras.    My current camera is an Olympus Stylus SH-1.Pictures have been cropped, but not otherwise manipulated, using AdobePhotoshop.SourcesThe sources I use for identification: field guides, websites, county floras and books are listed on the sources page.Web StatisticsThe number of people accessing this site are shown on the Web Statisticspage. Last year - 2019, the site was accessed 2,355,916 times.About meI retired in 2006 after 40 years as a microbiologist at Lancaster University andreturned to my first scientific interest, plants, showing that it is never too lateto use your first degree (botany).I took all the pictures (except for those in which I appear) and did all theidentifications and  descriptions of the plants.Several people have contacted me to correct identifications!DedicationVioletta, my wife, encouraged the setting up of the site and quickly realisedthe potential of digital cameras. She was also insistant that I needed a hobby.Sadly, Violetta died in 2012.This website is my celebration of her life.Other familyI have two daughters, Pia and Tamsin.Pia is an intergrative arts psychotherapist based in London (see her SilverOwl website).Tamsin is a children's author living in Somerset and has 4 books recently published byOxford University Press (see her website Tamsin Cooke). FeedbackI welcome feedback, corrections and suggestions.  Email me on  -  keithjones415@outlook.com   January February March April May June July August October to December

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