This gallery contains 5 photos.
Lotus corniculatus, Common Bird’s-foot trefoil, mentioned in the ‘Peas in the Wilderness’ blog a few weeks ago, also goes by the evocative names Eggs and Bacon, Ham and Eggs, Tomb Thumb, Fingers and Thumbs, Granny’s Toenails, Dutchman’s Clogs etc. In … Continue reading
This gallery contains 8 photos.
Many mites produce galls on plants. Most gall mites occur in the superfamily Eriophyoidea; these mites don’t resemble the globular spider mites or predatory mites that you may be familiar with; rather they are cone or worm shaped with only … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
One of the most recognisable galls (on oak, at least) is the knopper gall, caused by the cynipid gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis, and these galls have started to appear on campus (Figs 1-3) on acorns of Quercus robur. Similar to … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
A succession of white Umbellifers (Apiaceae) can be found on campus through the spring and summer and well into Autumn. The first to flower is that harbinger of spring Anthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley) very obvious in April to June in … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
The new Enterprise Centre at Earley Gate is the first campus building to have a green roof, but not satisfied with this it also has a brown roof! Green roofs are now well established as an environmentally friendly way to … Continue reading
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If butterflies and dragonflies can be considered bird-watchers’ insects, then plant gallers are the botanist’s insects (although many galls are caused by mites and fungi), as identification of the host plant is essential to their identification. Although you are unlikely … Continue reading
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Checking though the list of Whiteknights Campus plants (compiled by David Grice, a recent Reading botany undergraduate) I came across references to no fewer than seven willow herb species, two of which have caused me considerable confusion, square-stemmed willow-herb (Epilobium tetragonum) … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
The pea family (Leguminosae or Fabaceae) is one of the largest flowering plant families. It is known for its nitrogen fixing association with Rhizobium that form root nodules allowing conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate. Four of the commoner legumes … Continue reading
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Two of the common understory species in the Wilderness are the native Circaea lutetiana (the Enchanter’s nightshade – dark green leaves) and the invasive alien Impatiens parviflora (Small Balsam – light green leaves). Enchanter’s nightshade is a widespread woodland understory … Continue reading
