Wednesday, 8 July 2020

Settle Wildflowers - Day 55 - Red 9 - Magenta - Melancholy Thistle and Betony

On Monday (6 July) I went to Giggleswick Churchyard to photograph two magenta flowers that have just come out - and are not to be missed. They are wildflowers but were planted as part of a project with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to improve the diversity of wildflowers in the Churchyard.

1. Melancholy Thistle  Cirsium heterophyllum 


This grows on the roadside near Selside and also on the roadside a mile W of Malham Tarn. But this is the only walkable place from Settle and Langcliffe. I also saw it today in Colt Park Wood near Ribblehead. It is a northern and upland plant


It is called Melancholy Thistle because it is just so beautiful that it cures melancholy. The under-surface of the leaves are whitish.








The second plant is Betony - Stachy officinalis


This does grow close to Settle - e.g  in fields at Lower Winskill Farm. I am sure some people see it and must think it is an orchid. 





This picture shows where it is growing in Giggleswick churchyard, next to a gravestone near the Melancholy Thistle



It is growing where they planted some Yellow Rattle. This year the Yellow Rattle has really got going - you can see that where it is growing the grass is now shorter - the Yellow Rattle is semi-parasitic steals food from the grass.



Click here for more flowers coming out around Settle 

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