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Plant of the Day - Week 2

Ian Costain

Find the weekly roundup of Tricia's Plant of the Day!
greater stitchwort

Vaughn Matthews 

Greater Stitchwort 🇮🇲Lieen Ferish

A common sight in spring on hedgerows, along lanes and in woodlands, the white flowers of the greater stitchwort are about 2-3cm across, with five petals divided about half way down. The leaves are very narrow with no stalks and rough edges

Plants with the suffix “wort”, often had a medicinal use. The name “Stitchwort” is thought to come from the belief that it cured side-stitch caused by exercise.

Look out for stitchwort if you are visiting MWT's Ballachurry Nature Reserve! https://www.mwt.im/nature-reserves/ballachurry

 

ladys smock

Guy Edwardes/2020VISION

Lady's Smock 🇮🇲 Lus Ny Boaldyn

With pretty, pale lilac flowers, Lady’s smock has many common names, including Cuckoo flower as the flowers often open around the time the cuckoo starts to call

It likes damp ground so it can often be seen in roadside verges where there is a ditch, in damp meadows and at the margins of ponds

Lady’s smock is an important food plant for the caterpillars of the orange-tip butterfly so once you see one, look out for the other!

https://www.mwt.im/.../invertebrates/butterflies/orange-tip

 

wood anemone

Wood Anemone 🇮🇲 Lus ny Geayee (Wind flower)

Commonly thought of as a woodland species, wood anemone can also be found along hedges and shaded banks and often carpet the floor of woodlands in spring

They have solitary, white star-like flowers with 5-8 petals and leaves which are divided in to three lobes! They are very slow to spread, relying on the growth of roots rather than seed meaning they can be regarded as a good indicator of ancient woodland

Hoverflies are particularly fond of wood anemone and help pollinate it but it has a very acrid taste so few other animals will eat it unless nothing else is available

See if you can find this lovely flower in one of the Islands national glens or our very own Cooildarry Nature Reserve! https://www.mwt.im/nature-reserves/cooildarry

alexanders

Alexanders 🇮🇲 Lus ny grineyn doo

This is a large plant that can grow up to 1.5metres tall. It has a thick main stem and yellow-green flowers and can be seen in many roadside edges appearing early in the year!

Did you know very part of this plant is edible and it was once grown as a potherb!

 

Blackthorn

Blackthorn 🇮🇲 Drine Arn

One of the first shrubs/trees to flower, the beautiful blossom of blackthorn heralds the coming of spring and the promise of sloes (the fruit) which people use to flavour sloe gin!

Most commonly found in hedges but it can form dense, impenetrable thickets given half a chance

Did you know kernels of sloes were found in the stomach of Otzi, the Neolithic man found preserved in the Alps in 1991!

Look out for blackthorn on the walk up to Glen Dhoo nature reserve https://www.mwt.im/nature-reserves/glen-dhoo

Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifridge

Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifridge 🇮🇲 Lus ny Lheiyee

A long name for a little plant this species tends to grow in mats, carpeting the ground where it is shaded and damp!

Look out for the bright yellow-green flowers in Cooildarry and Earystane Nature Reserves https://www.mwt.im/nature-reserves

Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot 🇮🇲  Cabbag ny hawin

Coltsfoot is unusual in that it produces its flowers before the leaves. It likes open or disturbed ground such as shingle, scree and landslips. The single flowers are held on scaly, red stems and as these dieback, flat, dark green leaves appear which are silvery white on the back!

Coltsfoot was historically used as a remedy for coughs and colds and preparations of Coltsfoot have long been used to soothe sore throats – hence Coughwort, one of its other common names!

This is currently in flower in MWT’s Cooildarry Nature reserve! - https://www.mwt.im/nature-reserves/cooildarry

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