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Platanthera bifolia
The best time to see the Lesser Butterfly Orchid is spring into summertime with June to July being the peak flowering time.
The Lesser Butterfly Orchid is a sweet-smelling plant, which grows across the UK. It can be found in a range of habitats, such as grasslands, meadows, bogs, woodlands, calcareous fens, and scrub, although it may be difficult to spot as it has declined in recent years.
Unfortunately, the Lesser Butterfly Orchid has been lost from much of its habitat in the UK, and is now endangered. One of the reasons for this decline is an increased use in agricultural chemicals which eradicate the soil fungi necessary for the plant to survive.
Fulgensia fulgens
This rare lichen is not just striking, but also a crucial part of the biological soil crust community which stabilises soils and facilitates the growth of other plants. It also hosts a globally rare fungus Lichenochora epifulgens which is even rarer than the Scrambled Egg lichen itself.
It grows on open short calcareous grasslands and dunes. It needs an open, well-lit, free draining substrate such as limestone, chalk or sand made from shells, with a high pH. Most often it grows over mosses or sometime directly on rock, at coastal sites in the south and west of Britain.
As the name suggests, it really does look like a scrambled egg. It has a crust-like yellow body which is often paler in the middle with scattered orange fruits of 1.5mm.
It is historically rare in Britain and had gone extinct in the east of England due to habitat loss as a result of changes in farming practices, an increase in tree cover and a loss of rabbits.
We are working to bring it back to the Breckland through a process known as translocation. Read how expert Dave Lamacraft translocated the Scrambled Egg Lichen, taking it 350 miles, and transplanted it using bookbinding glue!
Leucanthemum vulgare
In bloom around the summer solstice, this large daisy is a sure sign that summer has arrived.
Each large flower is actually not just one flower, but many. The yellow centre is made up of lots of small yellow flowers, just like its smaller relative, the daisy.
The nectar from these flowers is an important food source for pollinating insects like beetles, bees, and butterflies.
The Oxeye daisy looks similar to the daisy but it is a much larger plant. It is taller, reaching a height of up to 70 cm, and its larger flowerheads can be up to 6 cm across. The base leaves are spoon-shaped and up to 8 cm long. The stem leaves are toothed and more oblong.
Oxeye daisy is a common plant that grows in grassy places. It can be seen in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, dunes, coastal cliffs, verges and waste ground.
In both urban and rural areas, the Oxeye daisy can be found lining roadsides in grass verges, making them a common sight for many during British summertime.
Viola arvensis
Field Pansy is a delicate flower from the Violet family, and is the wild relative of the Garden Pansy. It’s a small low-growing perennial which can be easily confused with the Wild Pansy, however it has much smaller flowers. It is self-fertile and attracts butterflies such as the Queen of Spain Fritillary which will lay its eggs on the plant.
The flowers of Field Pansy are solitary and 15mm across. They have creamy yellow petals which are sometimes bluish-violet. Its sepals are pointed, and often longer than or the same length as the petals. Its stipules look like lobed leaves, and the leaves are oblong in shape. The plant grows up to 20cm tall.
While Field Pansy can be found throughout the UK, it is more common in the East half of the UK and SE Ireland. It’s most commonly found in dry arable field margins and waste spaces.
Silene flos-cuculi
The petals of Ragged Robin are deep pink or white, with each divided into four narrow lobes. Its leaves are narrow and rough to touch.
Ragged Robin’s dishevelled beauty is a common site in damp meadows. It also grows in wetter woodland.
Many counties have recorded a local decline in Ragged Robin numbers, mainly from habitat loss to agriculture. However, overall, it is still considered of least concern.
Silene dioica
Red Campion is a splash of pink commonly found on roadside verges in late spring and summer as the bluebells begin to fade. It is closely related to the rarer White Campion. Its deep pink flowers are 20mm across with notched petals on a softly hairy plant up to 1m tall. Opposite, it has oval, softly hairy leaves with hairy stems.
You can find Red Campion in lowland, shady sites, woods, hedge banks, scree and cliffs. It is a common sight along rural roadside verges.
Silene latifolia
White Campion is a common wildflower of grassland and waste ground. Its cheerful white flowers can be seen from spring to autumn.
The clear white flowers of the White Campion have five petals, each deeply notched and almost divided into two and its opposite, oval leaves and stems are hairy. In places where it grows with Red Campion, the two may hybridise to produce pinky white blooms.
White Campion grows on waste ground, disturbed roadside verges, hedgerows and well-drained arable field margins. It is in flower from May to October. It’s common throughout the British Isles, but has declined slightly at the western edge of its range.
Silene vulgaris
This pretty flower is named after the inflated bladder-like sac behind the petals. Growing between 60cm and 1m tall this white wildflower is also known as ‘Maidens Tears’, ‘Cowbell’, and ‘Common Bladder Catchfly’ even though it doesn’t technically catch flies!
Bladder Campion is a perennial wildflower with a green bladder-like calyx with purple veins make it easily identifiable. The ragged looking white flowers, which grow at the end of the bladder, have five two-lobed petals and are roughly 2cm wide with long protruding stamens. It is said they have an aroma similar to that of cloves. Many flower heads can be found on one medium height plant. Its stalkless bluish-green leaves are long and thin on mature plants.
It is fairly common in Britain, but is mostly found in the south of England in meadows and fields, and along roadside verges, dry banks, and hedgerows.
Fritillaria meleagris
Serpentine and glamorous, Fritillary is a dark purple (and sometimes white) wildflower is also known as the “Snake’s-head”.
Fritillary grows in wet meadows, particularly traditional hay meadows that often flood in winter months. Some of the best-known Fritillary fields are in Oxfordshire, along the flood-meadows of the Thames including Magdalen Meadow in the heart of the university city.
Once thousands of Fritillary filled flooded hay meadows across middle and southern England. However, modern agricultural practices – particularly draining land in order to grow crops – has led to a sharp decline.
Himantoglossum hircinum
Lizard Orchid is usually rare in the UK but in the right location it can be found in great numbers. It grows up to a metre in height but can nonetheless be difficult to spot when growing in long grass on roadside verges.
The long, tail-like lip is usually spiralled and dotted with pink or purple in the centre. Lizard Orchid’s flowers have a rather foul smell, said to be similar to the smell of goats.
The largest British population of the Lizard Orchid is amongst the golf links and sand dunes at Sandwich Bay in Kent, where there are reportedly many hundred plants. A large population can be found in East Anglia, along the stretch of the Devil’s Dyke that runs through Newmarket Racecourse.
Lizard Orchid grows on calcareous soils and likes sunny positions on the edges of open woodland and on roadside verges. This orchid also grows in dry meadows, rocky areas, and open woods.
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