Ferns unfurling.

 Here is treasure. I saw some tiny Toothworts yesterday. I think this is Common Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) which is not very common. When I reached the edge of Wain's Wood [see last entry] I noticed a chap staring very intently at the base of a tree. I asked if he'd spotted something interesting and he drew my attention to several of these which he identified as Toothworts.

 L. squamaria is parasitic on the roots of trees, notably Hazel and Alder. It does not photosynthesise and therefore contains no chlorophyll. Wain's Wood is a Bluebell wood i.e. of ancient origins. The Toothwort was nestled among the ubiquitous Arums (A. maculatam) and also strands of Yellow Archangel (Lamium galeobdolen), another species that indicates the wood is ancient. Just the place for Toothworts to be hiding.

 Walking out of Hitchin towards the hills to the west there were plenty of wildflowers to be seen. They have been eliminated from the large arable fields hereabouts but the lanes and footpaths are repositories of flora. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) was much in evidence.

 Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria hollostea) threads its way through shady hedge bottoms. It forms larger patches in spots that catch the sun.

 I was thinking only a few weeks ago that I've never seen Ramsons (Allium ursinum) around here. I assumed the free draining soils in this part of the world don't suit them. A friend happened to mention that she had seen them growing along a certain track and I went in search of them. 

 The track becomes a sunken lane that slopes down past a natural pond of stagnant water. Clearly a damper locale than the surrounding area and here the Ramsons are to be found. They look to be a day or two away from flowering.

 Note the presence of native Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) of which there were many weaving through the banks and hedges. In fact such boundaries are sometimes remnants of ancient woodlands. When the woods were cleared for agriculture field boundaries were defined by leaving strips of woodland rather than planting actual hedges.

 This may explain why the Bluebells are so prolific and account for this isolated pocket of Ramsons. The track is marked as a lane on the OS map, arguably a surviving "green lane" that was never made up into a road.   

 I walked back through Wain's Wood, well known locally as a Bluebell wood. They are early this year and stunning despite the rather dry winter we have had. Most of the woods in the area are abundant with Bluebells. I suspect the numerous colonies and outliers are survivals from pre-history when the whole territory would have been covered with trees and carpeted by Hyacinthoides non-scripta in spring.   

 

Bloomin' lovely in South London today.

 

Apple blossom time in the garden.

Lovely Lilac.

 

Hawthorn, the May Tree (flowering in April). 

 I will go in search of Wild Garlic aka Ramsons in the next week or two. Allium ursinum can be prolific in wet woods, damp hedgerows and shady stream banks. In fact they are not hard to grow in a garden as long as you have shade and a moist soil.  

 Failing that they grow well in containers, watering as needs be. The ones above for example I planted in a large square china sink (now invisible under the mass of greenery). They grow fine in big pots too. They are best planted as bulbs in autumn but need to be purchased when freshly lifted. They do not respond well to drying out during a period of storage. 

 A. ursinum lives up to the name of Wild Garlic. I know a valley in Dorset where they are plentiful and pungent; the whole valley reeks in late spring/early summer! Foragers seek out Ramsons and that is something of a mixed blessing. 

 There is no harm in picking a few leaves for personal use where they grow in quantity. Unfortunately I read reports of "professional" foragers stripping swathes of them to sell to the restaurant trade, farmer's markets etc. 

 As I say A. ursinum is an easy enough species to cultivate and I would suggest that is the way to go if someone wishes to make money by treating it as a commodity.

 

 Arum maculatam must be one of our most common wildflowers. It can be found in shady spots across the land in great profusion. But the flower when it appears is easy to miss among the mass of glossy arrow shaped leaves. First a tall spathe appears (a bract forming a sheath)...

 ... which unfurls to reveal a spadix, the spike-like inflorescence.

 A. maculatum is a species with many common names. Some are merely functional (e.g. Arum Lilly) but reference to genitalia and sex seems to be a common theme! Cuckoo Pint for example probably derives from the old English word pintle meaning penis. Lords and Ladies was also intended to be suggestive I imagine. The lore of plants has its place in the pagan soul.