I found these three gems growing in a row last week on Bankwell Road, Giggleswick, between the cobbles and the wall
1. Ivy-leaved Speedwell - already flowering for two months in several places from the banks of the footpath up the side of the old top at the Hoffman Kiln, to the path as Stackhouse, to several path sides in Settle. Veronica hederifolia.
Most leaves only have 5 lobes or teeth (central tooth and two on each side) making it easy to distinguish from other speedwell species which have more teeth.
The individual flowers are 3 mm across
2. Lambs Lettuce - this is the first time I remember finding this (edible) plant growing in the Settle area - Valerianella-locusta!
The individual flowers are about 2 mm across.
3. Ivy- leaved Toadflax - this grows on walls. Odd flowers may have existed since New Years Day but it has blossomed so colourfully this week that it deserves to be described now. Cymbalaria muralis
When the flower turns into a fruit the flower stem elongates and the fruit is poked into a crack in the wall ready to grow into a plant another year.
And just to remind you what Ivy leaves look like (see leaves on left) and to enjoy the very dark berries here is a picture I took this morning entering the path to Giggleswick Golf Course
Click here for more flowers coming out around Settle
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