A few treasures seen walking through Blean Wood in Kent yesterday. Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor) is probably an historical introduction to the UK rather than native but seems entirely suited to English woods. The flower above was in a patch of Periwinkle growing happily among a drift of Wood Anemones, a plant that has probably always been here. [See also recent entry 4th. April]

 Wood Spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides) was quite prolific along sunny margins of the track which runs through the woods linking Whitstable and Canterbury. NB E. amygdaloides var. robbiae looks similar, hails from Turkey and is widely grown as a garden plant. The population in the Blean is our native Wood Spurge not the variant, indicative that these woodlands have ancient origins.

 Easy to miss: Bugle (Ajuga reptans) is low growing and spreads itself around by means of rhizomes which throw up spikes of flowers here and there. It's sometimes described as a ground cover plant but in its natural habitat like this is more apt to weave in and out of the plants around.
 Again this is a plant of sunny glades and edges. Much of the interior of the Blean has developed an understorey of scrub and bramble that most woodland wildflowers can't compete with. The walk which follows the long gone "Crab and Winkle" railway line is none the less a pleasant stroll for spotting some flowers of the forest in spring.