Wild in the country

If you want to begin identifying wild flowers find yourself an expert and head for the hedgerows and meadows. Such an expert is Shaun, National Park Ranger, who will enthuse you with his passion for his subject and fill your head with knowledge.

Shaun exhorted us to learn some of the common names first and to absorb some of the lore surrounding our native species - “planting” the flowers in our minds. Names such as eggs and bacon, silverweed and jack-in-bed-by-noon seem designed for us to remember.

And the stories – some simple, some outlandish – all helped us understand why Shaun enjoys his work so much. We had the origin of forget-me-not as Shaun spoke the dying words  – in dodgy German - of a knight in full body-armour drowning in a river passing the flower to his true-love. We had an illustration, fresh from the hedge, of how the dandelion’s leaves looked like lion’s teeth (dente du lion). And we were advised that lady’s mantle was used for treating ladies complaints (“like husbands?” asked one of the ladies present). Shaun also had a cure for sagging bosoms…. but we must move on.

The well-attended walk from Rothbury, along the Coquet and up to Tosson lime-kiln was themed on wild-flowers, but we also learned about different species of bee and their special relationship with wild-flowers. Take a close look inside a fox-glove to see how smaller insects are deterred from robbing the pollen destined for bees to distribute. I also saw my first emerald-green pot-bellied beetles, whose lava cause the many tiny holes to be found on dock-leaves. I can also sex them – it’s the female that has the pot-belly.

Up at Tosson lime-kiln, after admiring the ferns inside the kiln, we had a close look at yellow-rattle in a small meadow area that the National Park are establishing.

Time flew on this walk. I for one, would not have minded spending a few days getting into more depth with our local wild-flowers. But, for now, I can at least identify a couple of dozen species and share some of this knowledge with others. Thanks Shaun!

Pedometer: 10,329 (cumulative 33,101)