Knocking Hoe and the Pegsdon Hills have been the subject of a number of entries in recent weeks. As I have noted these survivals of "unimproved" chalk grasslands are a haven for wildflowers that have largely been lost in the surrounding countryside. From a distance the rolling slopes may seem rather sparse in terms of vegetation but the grasses are alive with tiny flowers such as Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).

 Wild Thyme (Thymus polytrichus) forms mats of flowers among the blades of grass. It is aromatic and much frequented by bees, butterflies and moths. The declining populations of our pollinating insects are due to many factors but habitat loss may be the greatest threat of all. For example T. polytrichus and L. corniculatus are not only a food source for butterflies and moths on the wing they are also a larval food plant.

 Here is another tiny remarkable plant: Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris). I see it everywhere: on the Pegsdon Hills and growing out of cracks between paving stones in London. I have seen it in the high mountain meadows of northern California. If I went to Asia I would find it there.
 In the 16th. century the English herbalist John Gerard wrote that "there is no better wounde herbe in the world" when applied to the skin. The Cherokee ate it, Chinese herbalists used extracts for medicine.
 Certain gardening books tell you that Self-heal is a weed to be eradicated from your lawn. Perhaps one day lawns will be gone along with the civilisation that tended them but Self-heal is indestructible.