Wild
Flora
by Dave Savage
It
remains unclear which is the most impossible subject
to master - insects or flora - but both are whoppers.
Maybe it’s best to stick to easier subjects,
like sub-atomic particles. Most native plants do not
reward us with large bright (or garish?) flowers that
continue to sparkle for months, but as Dave Savage
suggests, they are just as exquisite. I have been
birdwatching with him and delighting in the close-up
view of a Wheatear, only to turn round to find his
head one inch from a piece of reed that holds him
spellbound, his magnifying lens transfixed on his
prize.
Only
a few days ago, birdwatching around Porchester Castle,
the ‘Birds of the Day’ were the wallflowers
that adorned the Roman walls. These are the real wallflowers,
not those thingies we plant in the autumn for spring
show in our gardens. Consider; these plants were embedded
into walls that were 2,000 years old, they were 5
yards from the sea, exposed to continual bashings
of wind and salt water , so one can only wonder how
on earth they survive, where do they obtain any nutrients?
Yet they thrive and stir us with the most delicate
and dazzling flowers.
The
trouble with the subject, it is never-ending. Just
when you thought you have mastered recognising a plant,
you are then told that actually, there are 7,300 sub-species.
In
summer, on a quiet birding day, why not examine the
local flora? Just try and identify one or two plants
each day, and soon, within 37 years or so, you will
begin to recognise several, understand the families,
the soils, the variations, and this will be an excellent
groundwork to progress to a lifetime interest. When
you begin to study our native plants, a strange occurrence
comes about; you will start to prefer them to the
Chrysanthemums and Gladioli. Try it and see. This
is obviously partly a mental thing, but it is true
also. Do we not prefer the Dog Rose to the cultivated
versions? Are not the wild Primroses, Bluebells and
Daffodils more enchanting than those that adorn our
gardens?
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Wild Flowers
I
suppose I have always had an interest in nature and
wild flowers all my life. As a young child, at the
age of six, I remember collecting wild flowers and
arranging them in a jam jar for a church event, (unheard
of these days) but I seem to recall I received a first
prize!
My
real interest in wild flowers only really started
as a result of walking with a group. It was the keenness
and knowledge in wild flowers of one person in particular,
who began to re ignite my own latent enthusiasm in
wild flowers.
As
my interest grew I then joined the Hampshire and Isle
of Wright Wildlife Trust attending talks, slide-shows,
walks and visiting wildlife reserves. As a result
I have met many like-minded people who are only to
willingly share their wisdom and enthusiasm.
So
where do we start to learn about and identify wild
flowers? One of the principal things you should realise
about wild flowers is that they are not, as a general
rule, as large or highly coloured as the garden flowers,
but even the common weed when viewed through a hand
lens can be quite exquisite and delightful. Therefore
a hand lens is a good investment. They are available
in several magnifications. I use a X8X15 which costs
about £17; a good investment as they will last
for years. They are also invaluable for looking at
many diagnostic features.
If
you buy a book and a hand lens where do you go from
there? Into your own garden, park, piece of rough
ground, grass verge in fact almost anywhere outside
and start to look at what you would probably call
weeds, but they are all wild flowers. Try
studying the flowers and comparing them to the book.
Flick though the pages of the book until you find
roughly what you are looking for, then by reading
the determining features and comparing the book to
the plant, you will be able the identify the flower.
Like all things it takes time to build up your knowledge,
but eventually you will begin to recognise flowers
at a glance.
The
next step I would recommend, is to contact your local
your local Wildlife Trust at www.wildlifetrusts.org
for a full list events, walks and talks, plus contact
details of your local group (or the equivalent). You
will meet people, experts and beginners alike, and
most are only to pleased to pass there knowledge on
to you. Many are experts in a particular field, others
just like looking at nature. (The local Havant, Hayling
and Emsworth Group are particularly strong on flora)
All
the trusts own and manage numerous wildlife reserves,
most of which members can and are encouraged to visit.
They are obviously excellent places to find all types
of wildlife as the habitats, and therefore the flowers,
vary to such a degree, particularly in Britain. There
are also reserves owned and managed by each county,
where you can visit, and where walks are arranged
by rangers. Reserves are a great place for wild flowers,
as they are carefully controlled in respect of herbicides.
They also are only too pleased to pass on their knowledge
to you. Details from you local council or Tourist
Information Centre. National Nature Reserves run by
www.english-nature.org.uk,
www.nnr-scotland.org.uk,
and www.ccw.gov.uk
.
There
are a number of books I find very useful in identification
of flowers, The first one which I find is probably
the most comprehensive pocket sized book is the ‘The
Wild Flower Key’ by Francis Rose and Clare O`Reilly
and published by Frederick Warne. Others I have in
my collection which I recommend are ‘Wild Flowers
of Britain and Ireland’ by Marjorie Blamey,
Richard Fitter and Alastair Fitter. ‘The Illustrated
flora of Britain and Northern Europe’ by Marjorie
Blamey and Christopher Grey-Wilson (coffee table book),
and the most comprehensive of all is the “New
Flora of the British Isles” by Clive Stace which
is now published as an interactive DVD entitled the
‘Interactive Flora of the British Isles’.
Other books of interest to the amateur botanist are
‘The Flora of Hampshire’ by Anne Brewis,
Paul Bowman and Francis Rose, the ‘Photographic
Field Guide of Flowers of Britain and Europe’,
‘A Colour Guide to Rare Wild Flowers’
by John Fisher and ‘The Macmillan Guide to Britain`s
Nature Reserves’. Lenses and most of the books
mentioned above are available at www.summerfieldbooks.com.
I
love birdwatching, animals, butterflies everything
to do with wildlife and the natural world, but my
passion is flora. It is a huge subject, but ever surprising
and always challenging. You can start looking at those
awful weeds in a different light. A weed is simply
a plant that is in the wrong place; they are our native
plants trying to live in nature’s continual
struggle for survival. You can scatter some wild seed
in your garden, and these will not only bring you
pleasure, but assists butterflies and our native fauna.
I recommend wild flowers as a hobby because it costs
nothing, but you can enjoy the local flora from all
corners of the world, and the more you read and learn
about plants, the more you will be awestruck by its
beauties and the wonders of nature.
David
Savage
It
is never too young to enjoy nature, Dave was six,
but also important is that youngsters are not pushed
into it. Unlike other interests, you can start anytime,
in 3 ½ minutes if you wish. It is also heartening
to know that if you keep an active mind, and a consuming
hobby that you will learn to love, it is also never
too old. Dave mentions ‘Wild Flowers of Britain
and Ireland’, a book that most botanists possess.
It was re-written and completed by the joint author
Richard Fitter in his ninety-first year, whereas the
youngwhipper-snapper, Marjorie Blamey painted and
completed the repainting of the entire British and
Irish Flora, in her eighty-sixth year. This involved
over 5,000 fine-detailed paintings. As someone who
is unable to draw a stick-man, I think I will stick
to photographs.
FLORA
PICTURE GALLERY
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