First thanks to Andy Holden who 2 weeks ago .. when I asked "What do you think will come after Betony? (Stachys officinalis)", suggested Lamb's-Ear.
"What's Lamb's Ear?" I thought. And looked it up. Ah another Stachys
Lamb's-Ear is a cultivated plant: Stachys byzantina. Like many other cultivated plants it is now presented in Stace, and on the BSBI website as it can occasionally be found "escaped".
This specimen was not "escaped" but is growing happily at the entrance to Langcliffe village next to someone's garden. Its leaves have a lovely texture. The plant does smell very slightly of Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)
The only other Stachys we MIGHT get in this area is Stachys palustris. - Hedge Woundwort. but the only sites I know of are at Helwith Bridge and near Gordale Scar.. both too far to walk to in my current tie schedule.
However this lunchtime (25 July) I was DELIGHTED to find another labiate:
Clinopodium vulgare - Wild Basil (map).
It is in the "derelict" area at the Hoffman Kiln that the Council hope to develop into workshops. (So its future does not look secure.). I was on a day's "Zoom Call" and we had an hour off for lunch, and I took fresh air and explored the old yard at the Hoffman Kiln.
I have only found Wild Basil once (or maybe twice) before in Craven. and that time was also in the Hoffman Kiln Area. But the plant I found today was a much bigger plant. The BSBI map says it has not been found in our area since 1999. I wonder if that was my record too?
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| Yeah litter - perhaps I should have cropped it out. |
The Labiate family have square stems and often a strong smell. Their fruit consist of four nuts. The flowers have an upper and a lower lip, though the lips may be lobed..
It is a much less branched plant than Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) which also grows in the Hoffman Kiln area. (Look forward to that another day)
The two thistles are Creeping Thistle and Spear Thistle.
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| Creeping Thistle - Cirsium arvense with ladybird - at Langcliffe Mill Pond. |
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| Spear Thistle - Cirsium vulgare at the Hoffman Kiln sheds. |
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