Category Archives: Asteraceae

Bright gold – or tenacious weed?

Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale agg.) get a variable press in Britain. They are, arguably, beautiful flowers (actually groups of tiny flowers as Dandelions are a member of the Asteraceae family) but my sister wages war on the species as her most hated … Continue reading

Posted in Asteraceae, Flowering Plants, Plants | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Dr M and his students go on a New Year Plant Hunt!

Dr M’s New Year Plant Hunt (borrowed from the idea by BSBI) took place on Tuesday 14th January 2014. Three groups of MSc Plant Diversity and MSc SISS students walked the University of Reading Whiteknights campus for 1 hour each in the chilly sunshine … Continue reading

Posted in Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Betulaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Flowering Plants, Geraniaceae, Lamiaceae, Legumes, Phenology, Plants, Poaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Surveys, Urticaceae, Veronicaceae | Leave a comment

Which Vanessa?

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Two butterflies, the Red Admiral (Vanessa atlanta) and the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), are both migrants to the UK from their breeding grounds in Europe, and in the case of the Painted Lady, North Africa and Arabia. Both species can … Continue reading

More Galleries | Leave a comment

Achilles and his fake carrot

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) flowers June – November so its blooms still brighten campus grasslands. Typically of the Asteraceae,  Yarrow `flowers’ are clusters of tube-florets surrounded by 5 ray-florets masquerading as petals. These capitula gather further  into dense heads, or corymbs, … Continue reading

More Galleries | Leave a comment

Thistle gall: what is it?

Wending my way to the Earley Gate on the evening of Thu. 13th, I found a small plant of Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) in grassland with Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) not far from the Psychology building. What caught my eye … Continue reading

Posted in Asteraceae, Flowering Plants, Galls, Insects, Plants | 4 Comments