It’s behind you, Andy,
Lots of willowherb Epilobium hirsutum in Chilswell Lane
Commonly known as the great willowherb, great hairy willowherb or hairy willowherb.
Baby wren (Troglodytes troglodytes). It did move away after we all left.
Not many butterflies or “attractive” insects about, especially at coffee time, so these next two pictures are probably less appealing:
The housefly (Musca domestica) is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is believed to have evolved in the Cenozoic era, possibly in the Middle East, and has spread all over the world. It is the most common fly species found in habitations. (Stacked photo)
Shaggy Bracket Inonotus hispidus
Who saw this fellow, in the reeds by the pond where we had lunch?
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort
Solanum dulcamara is a species of vine in the genus Solanum (which also includes the potato and the tomato) of the family Solanaceae. I saw it just once towards the top end of the nature reserve. It has lots of common names, none of which I knew.
Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, and woody nightshade.
Here’s another plant with a large number of common names, and we saw lots of it.
Silybum marianum is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary’s thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (though not to be confused with Onopordum acanthium or Cirsium vulgare).
Back to the housefly, which I’m sure had you all wondering when the Cenozoic Era was…
The Cenozoic (lit. ’new life’) is Earth’s current geological era, representing the last 66 million years of Earth’s history. (Note that the Anthropocene is only a proposed epoch, to date from the commencement of significant human impact on the Earth.)
We were at Knepp last weekend, so if you don’t mind a surfeit of images, I’ve put some pictures online. Storks, stags and pigs, mainly, with the occasional butterfly, including the Purple Emperor.
Select any thumbnail below for a full screen slideshow
One reply on “Photos from walk on Thursday 28th July from Sunningwell around Boars Hill”
More on the shaggy Bracket Fungus (from @Wild-Oxfordshire on Instagram):
“At this time of year, look out for the sudden appearance of the Shaggy Bracket fungus Inonotus hispidus. It can most commonly be found on Apple and Ash trees and occasionally on poplar, beech, oak and sycamore. This annual bracket fungus grows rapidly, then darkens and develops a thin rounded edge before blackening and decaying on the tree. It will usually have fallen off the host tree by late autumn.
The red velvety part is the fruiting body; the mycelium is out of sight below the tree’s bark, and might be quite extensive.
[Look closely] and you will see a curious phenomenon quite commonly exhibited in this species —it is exuding beads of moisture in a process called guttation, which is thought to be the equivalent of “mushroom sweat”. It occurs particularly during periods of rapid growth when temperature and humidity are favourable – it is thought that Water is metabolic product for fungi and is exuded visibly from their surface in droplets, to help maintain a balance between the water and nutrients.
Isn’t nature amazing!”