It’s no secret that Dr M is raving potty about Poaceae so imagine his delight when he saw the new and wonderful @Wildflowerhour also getting into the Poaceous groove with their #grasschallenge! This time of year (June) is truly wondrous for Poaceae (but not hay fever sufferers!) as the vegetative shoots spring into action and come alive with flowering inflorescences bearing those strange yet magical
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Done the quiz? Now here’s the answers and some botanical stories about these lovely spring wild flowers: 1. Blue bell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) – probably the most familiar of these seven. Did you know that Britain is home to about half of the World’s bluebell population? Did you know its sap was used to glue feathers onto arrows in the Middle Ages and to stiffen
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This is a reprise of Dr M’s previous quiz but seems a good time to revisit! Dr M regularly goes wild on the University of Reading award-winning campus, especially now as Spring is bursting out all around with beautiful wild flowers. For a little spring flower test Dr M offers images of seven common wild flowers from the University campus, see how many you
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Did you have a go at Dr M’s antidote to Brexit 52% leaves quiz? If not try it out here and come back to check the answers below. Below are the images of the 52 leaves with common names (check the table below for the Latin names and the plant families). Dr M says: How did you do? There is a diverse range of native and non native
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OK, so amidst all the hype, the story telling, the agony and the extacy, it’s great to know that we can still rely on plants to pull us through! So in the spirit of Brexit, Dr M offers his 52% leaves quiz, fifty-two of the finest British, European and International leaves for your botanical edification and welcome distraction! These 52 leaves were all found in
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Did you have a go at Dr M’s Botany quiz from the botanical hotspot that is the Lizard in Cornwall? If not try it out here and come back to check the answers below. Below are the images of the seventy species with the Latin names, check the table below that for Families and vernacular names: # Family Latin and Common Name 1. Apiaceae Crithmum maritimum (Rock Samphire)
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Perish the thought that Dr M would ever talk rubbish, but recently a survey in the Dagenham area lead to this close encounter of a post-industrial kind, replete with the results of endless fly-tipping, accompanied by a diversity of ruderal plants which you commonly find colonising such places, as well as one or two less common! Below, Dr M shares images of twenty of the
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Did you have a go at Dr M’s flowers in the moss botany quiz from his stop over in the Crewe Travelodge recently? If not try it out here and come back to check the answers below. Between Dr M’s hotel and the stream was a mossy lawn with shed loads of Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (Springy Turf Moss) but here and there were some other plants.
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Dr M says: Botany is everywhere, yes even at Travelodge! Dr M had the pleasure of staying at a Travelodge near Crewe recently. Nice comfy bed and a pleasant view across a meandering stream to a fragment of wet woodland with Salix fragilis (Crack-willow). But be warned: the view will be quite different once summer approaches, but more of that later! Dr M had
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So did you try Dr M’s autumn fruits quiz? If not, the link is here go and have a go! Then check back for the answers (below). Dr M promised to give family, genus, species, common English name AND the botanical term for each fruit for there is a complex taxonomy and associated terminology for the humble fruit: you need to know your nuts
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