[120] Echinopsis Species, Hedgehog Cactus

[120] Echinopsis Species, Hedgehog Cactus

Introduction

Echinopsis is a large genus of cactus plants grown indoors in the UK as houseplants. Their flowers are rare but spectacular.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Caryophyllales

Family – Cactaceae

Subfamily – Cactoideae

Tribe – Trichocreeae

Genus – Echinopsis

Scientific Name – Echinopsis species

Name

Cactus comes via Latin from the ancient Greek kaktos, a name used by Theophrastus (c 371 to 287 BC) for a spiny plant of unknown identity.

Cacti

There are about 2 000 species of Cacti (Singular: Cactus) in the family Cactaceae. With minor exceptions, all are succulents adapted to dry conditions. They are spiny but have no leaves. Following recent research, the subdivisions of Cactaceae are likely to be changed.

Some other plants like Aloes and [312] Stonecrops are succulent but not cacti.

Echinopsis

Echinopsis is a typical cactus with an enlarged horizontally serrated stem, no leaves, and viciously pointed sharp spines.

The side stems are similar but are rounded at both ends. When only a few centimetres long, these grow roots and they can be detached and planted (very carefully, with thick gloves) to form a new plant.

I bought a Hedgehog cactus 45 years ago and the pictures above are from a granddaughter (or grandson) produced by two generations of this budding process. it is not old enough yet to produce flowers but the original plant did flower when it was about thirty years old. The flowers are very impressive.

It takes a few days for the long flower stalk to emerge and the flowers, when they do open, are short-lived. They are at their best in the middle of the night. I think it flowers again every three years. (There is a three-year gap between the pairs of pictures above.)

Unfortunately, I cannot identify the species of this plant, so I will call it Echinopsis species.

Habitat and use

All but one species of cactus are native to America, but some have naturalized outside America. The only exception is a subspecies of Rhipsalis baccifera, believed to have been carried by migrating birds (or possibly very early shipping routes) to central Africa and Sri Lanka.

They are used to very dry, generally hot conditions and you won’t see one outside in Britain. They are not common as house plants except for the many cultivars of Schlumbergera know by names such as Christmas Cactus.

House Plants

This is my only example of a house plant. I wanted to show you the flowers. There are many cultivated species of plants that can be grown as house plants and many of them are just smaller versions of garden plants.

[119] Echinops sphaerocephalus, Globe-thistles

[119] Echinops sphaerocephalus, Globe Thistles

Introduction

Echinops sphaerocephalus, the Glandular Globe Thistle (or Globe-thistle or Globethistle) is one type of thistle cultivated in gardens for its attractive spherical flower heads. It is also known as a Great Globe Thistle or Pale Globe Thistle. Echinops ritro, the Southern Globe Thistle, and Echinops bannaticus, the Blue Globe Thistle, are very similar species and the cultivated plants are often just termed as Echinops varieties.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Asterales

Family – Asteraceae

Subfamily Carduoideae

Tribe – Cynareae

Genus – Echinops

Scientific Names – Echinops sphaerocephalus, Echinops ritro, Echinops bannaticus

There are many cultivated varieties.

Name

I will let you work out why they are called Globe Thistles and you may have picked up enough Latin by now to understand ‘sphaerocephalus.’ (If you still need a clue, think of spheres and look at [080] the Black-headed Gull.)

This is the middle one of three species with scientific names to do with the sea urchin or hedgehog (a species we will meet next month.)

I can’t find ‘ritro’ but ‘bannaticus; comes from the Banat, a region split between Romania, Hungary and Serbia, where the plant is found.

Description

I have said much about Asters and thistles and you will have spotted from the taxonomy above that Echinops is closely related to [111] the Artichoke. Visually, they have some similarity with [083] Woolly Thistle.

They are thistles and have almost perfectly spherical flower heads, so they are called globe thistles. That’s about all I can say. There are well over a hundred species, all very similar with flowers varying in colour from white through various shades of blue.

Habitat and use

Globe Thistles are native to Europe, parts of Asia and north Africa. They are widely cultivated as garden plants in several varieties and cultivars.

Other Notes

This is probably more common in parks and public gardens than ordinary household gardens.

See also

You can expect a few more Asters to come.

[118] Echinacea purpurpea, Purple Coneflower

[118] Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower

Introduction

Echinacea purpurea, the Purple Coneflower, is a colourful garden plant in the Aster family, imported from North America. Its other names include Eastern Purple Coneflower or Hedgehog Coneflower, and as a cultivated plant it may be called Echinacea.

Almost all of the species of Echinacea are called Purple Coneflowers! There are three other genera consisting of species called coneflowers – Rudbeckia, Dracopis and Ratibida.

There are many other cultivated plants in the Aster family including the closely related Rudbeckia.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Asterales

Family- Asteraceae

Subfamily – Asteroideae

Supertribe – Helianthodae

Tribe – Heliantheae (Sunflower tribe)

Subtribe – Rudbeckiinae

Genus – Echinacea

Scientific Name – Echinacea purpurea

Its synonyms include Rudbeckia purpurea, its original Scientific Name.

Several cultivars are available.

Name

Echinacea comes from the Latinized version of the Ancient Greek ekhinos, meaning hedgehog or sea urchin. As we know from two days ago, purpurea means purple.

Olaus Rudbeck (1630-1702) sometimes known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder, was a Swedish scientist and writer. His son, Olof Rudbeck the Younger (1660-1740) was an equally famous scientist, explorer, botanist and ornithologist. Linnaeus named Rudbeckia in honour of them both.

Description

As you know by now, Asteraceae is a very large family. Two thirds of its species come within the subfamily Asteroideae and even the tribe Heliantheae has 2 500 members. The 35 subtribes of Heliantheae include Rudbeckiinae, which contains just Echinacea and Rudbeckia.

Echinacea purpurea is a bushy perennial plant which produces large inflorescences typical of Asteraceae.

The inflorescence consists an almost spherical array of dark orange disc florets with long, light purple ray florets outside.

The name ‘coneflower’ is derived from the appearance when the ray florets open backwards to make a cone shape, leaving the prominent globular structure in the centre.

Habitat and use

Echinacea purpurea is native to much of North America. It is widely cultivated in parks and gardens as an ornamental plant, as are many other related species.

It is one of three species of Echinacea used in the production of echinacea herbal tea.

See also

Rudbeckia species, such as Rudbeckia hirta, are similar types of coneflower, with a prominent dark centre that gives rise to their other name Black-eyed Susan.

[117] Dipsacus fullonum, Teasel

[117] Dipsacus fullonum, Teasel

Introduction

Dipsacus fullonum, Wild Teasel, (or Teazel or Teazle) is a common and widespread wildflower, generally treated as a weed. It may be called Fuller’s Teasel. I will just call it Teasel.

There are about fifteen species of Dipsacus, all called some form of Teasel, including Dipsacus sativus, a cultivated form also called Fuller’s Teasel. (Dipsacus sativus may sometimes be considered as a type of Dipsacus fullonum.)

The process of Fulling is discussed below.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Dipsacales

Family – Caprifoliaceae

Subfamily – Dipsacoideae

Genus – Dipsacus

Scientific Name – Dipsacus fullonum

As you know, plant taxonomy is very fluid at the moment. I can’t quite understand how Dipsacus and Dipsacoideae are not in the family Dipsacaceae, which no longer seems to exist – it was recently merged with several other families and somehow Caprifoliaceae kept the name.

Name

Teasel is an Old English word for this plant or for one of its dried flower heads. It is cognate with the teasing action in the process of fulling.

The Latin name for this plant was dipsacus from the Ancient Greek dipsakos, which also meant a strong thirst. The leaves joining the stem at the base form a cup-shaped structure that collects water.

DIpsacus fullonum looks wrong but the epithet is not a neuter adjective. It’s the genitive plural of fullo, meaning ‘of the fullers.’ You can read about fulling below.

Description

I am going to write this blog backwards and the bit about fulling will come at the end.

I will start with the dried up ‘teasels,’ the dead flower heads, because they are the most significant aspect of this plant. They stay around for a long time and you may see lots of them. As you can see in the following pictures, each flower head is an egg-shaped mass of very sharp spikes, with a ring of long, curved spiny bracts at the base. Even the stem below is covered with thorns.

They are full of seeds and they provide a useful source of food for birds like [067] Goldfinch through the winter.

If we go back before they become dried up there is, of course a flowering stage. The tiny light pink or purple flowers nestle between the spikes.

There are flowers like [116] Foxglove and [164] Gladiolus where a linear array of flowers opens from one end but the Teasel is unusual. Florets start opening at the middle and work outwards.

Going back a bit further the budding inflorescence are at first completely green.

If we go back to the developing plant, we can see its long spiky leaves and stems all covered in prickly thorns. I won’t go into the botanical definitions of thorns, spikes and prickles.

It is supposedly a biennial plant but the ones I see in local parks are cut down after their first year.

Habitat and use

Dipsacus fullonum is native to Eurasia and North Africa. In other countries it can naturalize and is, not surprisingly, treated as invasive. You can see in some pictures above how easily it spreads.

It may be cultivated as a garden plant or in parks, together with other species of Dipsacus, especially in wildflower areas or as a food source for winter birds. The dried seed heads are used by florists in flower arrangements.

Other Notes

This is one of my favourite plants and it is a common and widespread weed.

Fulling

From Roman times until the Industrial Revolution, fulling or walking was an important process in the production of wool. It scoured the wool and thickened it, originally by pounding it with the fuller’s feet. The dried teasel flower heads were attached to frames to scour or ‘tease’ the fabric and raise the nap.

Teasels are still sometimes used in the process but industrially it is now done using metal combs.

Fulling was the origin of the fairly common English surnames Fuller, Tucker and Walker, and of the ending ‘pandy’ in Welsh place names.

[116] Digitalis purpurea, Foxglove

[116] Digitalis purpurea, Foxglove

Introduction

Digitalis purpurea, the (Common) Foxglove, is a familiar deep purple wildflower, widely cultivated as a garden plant.

All the species of Digitalis, and several other plants, have common names including the word foxglove.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Lamiales

Family – Plantaginaceae

Tribe – Digitalideae

Genus – Digitalis

Scientific Name – Digitalis purpurea

There are several varieties, cultivars and hybrids.

Until 2001, the Foxglove was in the family Scrophulariaceae. Following scientific studies, it was moved to a new family Veronicaceae briefly, but the complicated rules for restructuring now call its family Plantaginaceae.

Name

In Old English this plant was called foxes glofa and it was associated with the folk myth that foxes wore them on their paws to silence their movements as they stalked prey. Fox dens were often found in areas covered with Digitalis purpurea.

The name Digitalis was invented by Leonhart Fuchs in 1542. (See [112] Common Spotted Orchid and [153] Fuchsia.) It comes from the Latin for finger, digitus based on the common German name for the plant, which was Fingerhut – ‘finger hat’ or thimble. Purpurea, of course, means purple.

Description

I think of Foxgloves as being like Lupins, although they are not related and are not at all similar. My memories of gardens when I was very young are of lots of small annuals like pansies, some shrubs and trees and … and things like Foxgloves and Lupins. Both are plants with one or more impressive vertical stalks bearing lots of flowers that would sit at the back of the garden with smaller annual plants in front of them.

Wikipedia agrees with me but puts it more prosaically. Digitalis purpurea is a biennial plant. There are leaves that emerge in the first year but they stay near the ground. The flower stems come in the second year and are from one to two metres tall. They have a long row of purple flowers shaped like hanging thimbles, heavily spotted inside.

The pictures above are from a wild area in the Forest of Dean.

Dark purple is the usual colour but genetic variation can produce three other types – light purple, white with purple spots, and all white (with yellow spots.)

Cultivated plants can have other colours such as pink and cream.

Habitat and use

The Foxglove is native to most of temperate Europe including all of Britain.

Several species of Digitalis are cultivated as ornamental plants, including some hybrids and cultivars.

Digitalis purpurea is the origin of the medicines digitoxin and digoxin (also called digitalis or digitalin.) Both of these are poisonous and all parts of the plants are poisonous. When refined and used in appropriate doses digoxin is used to treat some heart conditions. (Digitoxin has largely been replaced by the similar digoxin in medicine’)

Other Notes

Flowers open from the bottom upwards.

If you look at the picture above from top to bottom the buds turn to flower, then larger flowers, with developing fruits at the bottom. All wild plants have the flowers all to one side but some cultivars have been developed with flowers all round the stem.

See Also

I might have said look out for Lupins, Lupinus polyphyllus, also called Lupines, but they have gone out of fashion. They are still available as garden plants but are not common enough for me to include them in this blog. (The word lupine means like a wolf, which is a very tenuous link to foxgloves!)

[115] Dendrocopos major, Great Spotted Woodpecker

[115] Dendrocopos major, Great Spotted Woodpecker

Picus viridis, Green Woodpecker

Introduction

Dendroocopos major, the Great Spotted Woodpecker, and Picus viridis, the Green Woodpecker, are the two common woodpeckers seen or heard in Britain. They are very different in appearance and habits.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Piciformes (Woodpeckers, toucans and others)

Infraorder – Picides (Woodpeckers and others)

Family – Picidae (Woodpeckers, wrynecks and others)

Subfamily – Picinae (Woodpeckers)

Tribe – Melanerpini (Pied Woodpeckers)

Genus – Dendrocopos

Scientific Name – Dendrocopos major, Great Spotted Woodpecker

                             Picus viridis, Green Woodpecker, is in the tribe Picini

Name

The Great Spotted Woodpecker probably derives the prefix ‘Great’ by comparison with the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which until very recently was another Dendrocopos species. (See below)

Dendrocopos comes from Greek roots dendron and kopos meaning ‘tree striking.’

Picus is Latin for woodpecker and viridis means green.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The true woodpeckers, Picinae, exclude the related groups of Wrynecks and Piculets. Within Picinae there are two major tribes (and some others) and we have one representative from either tribe in the UK.

Dendrocopos major is from Melanerpini, which can be called the Pied Woodpeckers. For this species, that is quite a loose definition of ‘pied’ and its also quite a loose definition of ‘spotted.’ You could call it a vivid pattern of black and white but in good sunlight the black portions are actually a glossy dark blue. The vent area is red.

The males have additional red markings on the nape of the neck.

Juvenile birds have red on the top of the head.

Dendrocopos major is common over all of Europe and much of Asia, and can be found in woodland, parks and gardens. It spends most of its life in trees. In common with most woodpeckers it has two forward facing and two backward toes. (Most birds have three toes pointing forward and one backwards.)

They eat a variety of foods including seeds extracted from pine cones and nuts. They dig into trees to find and extract insect larvae, and nest in holes created in trees.

They do have vocal noises but are most often heard drumming by striking a tree with their bills about a dozen times a second. The skull is specially structured to protect them from the forces involved in drumming.

In rural locations or within towns near trees, they will feed from bird feeders, particularly for peanuts. They always take priority over garden birds, which will wait for the woodpecker to finish.

Green Woodpecker

Picus viridis comes from the other tribe, Picini. Some other species are called Green Woodpeckers so we could be precise and call it the European Green Woodpecker but we won’t.

It is noticeably larger that Dendrocopos major and has a plain brownish green back, with a yellow rump and red markings on its head.

The Green Woodpecker is much shyer than the Great Spotted Woodpecker and mostly feeds on ants, so it is likely to be seen on lawns or open low grasslands. You won’t ever see one near a bird feeder.

It does not often drum but its call is heard much more often. It has been called a yaffling sound and the bird is known colloquially as a Yaffle. It is, of course, the model for Professor Yaffle, the animated bookend character from Bagpuss.

Because it is so shy, I only have one picture, which is a juvenile bird, mottled and spotty all over.

Other Notes

If you are out in the countryside you may hear a woodpecker – either the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker or the yaffle of a Green Woodpecker. You can also recognize them by their distinctive flight, which is almost horizontal at tree height, a series of very flat U-shaped curves.

See also

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, similar but smaller, was until recently Dendrocopos minor but has been moved to Dryobates minor.

You may also see a Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla, as a summer visitor.

But don’t get excited. Both of these are very rare. In several years of birdwatching, I only once saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker by travelling to Norfolk and I have never seen a Wryneck.

[114] Dasiphora fruticosa, Shrubby Cinquefoil

[114] Dasiphora fruticosa, Shrubby Cinquefoil

Introduction

Dasiphora fruticosa, Shrubby Cinquefoil, is a very common garden plant with yellow flowers, often planted as a hedge.

Its other names include Bush Cinquefoil, Shrubby Five-finger and Tundra Rose. As a cultivated garden plant, it is widely still known as Potentilla fruticosa.

Potentilla is a large genus with at least 300 members, almost all of which are called cinquefoils, as are many other plants including Dasiphora.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Rosales

Family – Rosaceae

Subfamily – Rosoideae

Tribe – Potentilleae

Subtribe – Potentillinae

Genus – Dasiphora

Scientific Name -Dasiphora fruticosa

There are several varieties and about a hundred cultivars, mostly with white or yellow flowers.

Name

The word cinquefoil applies to most species of Potentilla and other genera that used to be included within Potentilla. From French roots meaning five-leaf, it refers to the five petals of the flower. It is still used more generally to mean any flower with five petals.

The derivation of Potentilla is uncertain but it may come from a corruption of Tormentil (Potentilla erecta) meaning a little torment. The Latin epithet fruticosa means bushy or shrubby.

Description

The genus Potentilla is closely related to strawberries. Several of its hundreds of species have been moved out into other genera including Dasiphora. [037] Silverweed, Argentina anserina used to be Potentilla anserina. It is now also sometimes called Dasiphora argentina.

Dasiphora fruticosa is very suited to use as a hedge. It grows to a height of about a metre to a metre and a half and has a spreading, prostrate form. It is densely leafy with small pinnate leaves and the leaves and stems are covered with fine hairs.

Most cinquefoils, still Potentilla species, are more sprawling plants like strawberries and Silverweed.

The flowers are bright yellow, similar to [295] Buttercups, and they appear in large numbers as shown above.

Habitat and use

The Shrubby Cinquefoil is widely cultivated in its many varieties, generally as a colourful hedge.

Other Notes

This is a very familiar shrub. I used to have one many years ago when it was a Potentilla. It is common locally, sometimes in a white flowered variety.

[113] Dahlia pinnata, Garden Dahlia

[113] Dahlia pinnata, Garden Dahlia

Introduction

Dahlia pinnata, the Garden Dahlia, is a widely cultivated garden plant, originating from Mexico, that comes in many varieties. It is grown mainly for its large, showy, colourful flowers but may also have decorative leaves.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Asterales

Family – Asteraceae

Genus – Dahlia

Scientific Name – Dahlia pinnata

The Garden Dahlia is probably a hybrid with a species now extinct in the wild. It was introduced to Europe in the Sixteenth Century from Aztec America (now Mexico).

The genus Dahlia has over 60 000 registered cultivars.

Name

See below for the history of the Dahlia. Dahlia pinnata was named from the pinnate leaves. Like many garden flowers it is usually known by its Scientific name as a Dahlia.

Dahlia

There are 42 species of Dahlia and many thousands of cultivated varieties, many of which are hybrids between species.

They are members of the Aster family and some have simple flowers of the Aster type but there is great variety in size, colour and shape.

As early as 1570, Spanish explorers found them amongst the native Aztec population who gathered wild ones and also cultivated them – to eat, in the treatment of epilepsy, and as water pipes (using their long hollow stems.)

The two earliest species to be identified were D pinnata, the type species and D imperalis. Plants were soon brought back to Europe and were named Dahlia after Anders (Andreas) Dahl, a student of Linnaeus

Description

I won’t attempt to describe all the varieties of flowers. Some are relatively simple. Some are full, almost spherical. Some are like multi-pointed stars. They vary from about 10-30 cm. Colours can be all shades of white, yellow, pink, red or light purple.

I have concentrated on the flowers but you can also see the attractive dark green leaves.

Habitat and use

The native area of all Dahlia species is an area of Mexico around Mexico City. They are widely cultivated in many countries.

Other Notes

I can’t add much. You will find many garden plants that are never really seen outside gardens. If you want to grow them you can find them widely.

[112] Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Common Spotted Orchid

[112] Dactylorhiza fuchsia, Common Spotted Orchid

Introduction

Dacrylorhiza fuchsii, the Common Spotted Orchid, is the most common species of Orchid, found all over Europe. It has an attractively patterned flower, which is not spotted!

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Asparagales

Family – Orchidaceae

Subfamily – Orchidoideae

Tribe – Orchideae

Genus – Dactylorhiza

Scientific Name – Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Name

Dactylorhiza is Ancient Greek for finger root and the species epithet is in honour of Leonhart Fuchs (1501-66) also the source of the name [153] Fuchsia.

Description

There are about two thousand species in the Tribe Orchideae, including [020] the Pyramidal Orchid.

There are some rarer species but in Britain the Pyramidal Orchid and Dactylorhiza fuchsia are the common ones. The Common Spotted Orchid the most common. Its attractive flowers are more cylindrical than the Pyramidal and about twice the size. They are usually white with purple markings but other varieties are available.

Habitat and use

The Common Spotted Orchid is widespread across Europe and parts of Asia. They are found in woodland and open country.

Cultivated versions are available.

Other Notes

Until I started writing this post, I always assumed that the flower of this species was called spotted. But the name come from its leaves. I don’t even look at the leaves of a plant with such an impressive flower but I was able to crop and enlarge some of my pictures and found these.

I see them in the same sorts of places as the Pyramidal Orchid where they are always more common – open land in nature reserves and commons.

[111] Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus, Artichoke

[111] Cynara cardunculus, Artichoke

Introduction

Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus, the Artichoke, is a subspecies of a species in the thistle family that is cultivated for use as a vegetable. It is also known as a Globe Artichoke, French Artichoke or Green Artichoke.

It should not be confused with the Jerusalem Artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus, a type of Sunflower, which is also cultivated as a vegetable.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Asterales

Family – Asteraceae

Subfamily – Carduoideae (Thistles and others)

Tribe – Cynareae (Thistles and others)

Genus – Cynara

Species – Cynara cardunculus (Cardoon or Artichoke Thistle)

Scientific Name – Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus

Until recently it was regarded as a separate species, Cynara scolymus.

There are many cultivars. Some are propagated by seeds and some vegetatively. Some have buds with purple coloration.

Name

The word artichoke came from Sixteenth Century Italian articiocco, which came via Spanish from Arabic roots.

Cardoon comes from the Latin name carduus, which applied either to the wild cardoon or to the variety we now call artichokes, or to thistles.

Cynara comes from the Ancient Greek name, kunara. Cardunculus is a diminutive of cardus or carduus.

Scolymus is another plant in the thistle family, related to Chicory, deriving its name from Arabic skwlyms.

(The Jerusalem Artichoke is named because its taste is similar to the artichoke, although the part we eat is different. Jerusalem is a corruption of girasole, the Italian for sunflower.)

Description

The Aster family has a complex taxonomic structure and it is arguable how far up it the word ‘thistle’ applies. Cynara cardunculus is fairly closely related to [082] Creeping Thistle and Bull Thistle, but not close enough to be called a thistle.

There is a plant called a Cardoon native to central and Western Mediterranean areas. Its flower buds are bright purple and its stems are cultivated to be eaten.

The Artichoke has recently been reassigned taxonomically as a variety of this species but it is different and it Is not its stems that are eaten.

It is quite a large bushy plant with large, deeply lobed glaucous green leaves.

They are perennial, generally producing edible buds from the second year.

The inflorescences, surrounded by bracts, are initially spherical. The flowers are similar to thistles.

Habitat and use

It is not clear whether the Artichoke was known to the Ancient Greeks or whether they cultivated the related cardoon. By the Middle Ages it was well known in Spain and Germany. The Dutch introduced them to England and Henry VIII had them in his gardens in the Sixteenth Century.

They are now widely cultivated especially in Mediterranean countries and South America.

The Artichoke as a vegetable is the globular inflorescence before the flower develops. Once the buds open it becomes inedible. I am not including any culinary advice in my blogs.

It can also be grown as an ornamental garden plant.

Other Notes

In a way you are might expect to find this in kitchen gardens but there are many public gardens that have areas devoted to fruit and vegetables, sometimes ornamental varieties.

See also

I haven’t included any similar vegetables in my blog but you can look for them. The closest relatives are the thistles that we have already met.

[110] Cymbalaria muralis, Ivy-leaved Toadflax

[110] Cymbalaria muralis, Ivy-leaved Toadflax

Introduction

Cymbalaria muralis, Ivy-leaved Toadflax, is a common and widespread, almost insignificant plant that is usually found growing on walls. It has also been called Kenilworth Ivy, Coliseum Ivy, Oxford Ivy, Mother of Thousands. Wandering Sailor or Pennywort.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Lamiales

Family – Plantaginaceae

Tribe – Antirrhineae (Snapdragons and Toadflax)

Clade – Cymbalaria

Genus – Cymbalaria

Scientific Name – Cymbalaria muralis

Name

The name Toadflax derives from an erroneous link to their historical use to treat bubonic plague, confusing the words bubo (from the Greek for groin) and Bufo (the toad genus.) The references to ivy are to do with its nature as a climbing plant.

Cymbalaria comes from their slightly rounded leaves, like cymbals. Muralis is Latin for wall.

Description

The taxonomy of the family Plantaginaceae is complex, fluid and not universally agreed. Until recent genetic research Cymbalaria and many other genera were in the family Scrophulariaceae. The name Toadflax is generally applied to plants in about six genera including Antirrhinum (also called Snapdragons,) Linaria and Cymbalaria, but applies loosely to the whole Tribe Antirrhineae.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax is a small climbing plant with small, evergreen, heart-shaped leaves.

Its flowers, resembling those of Snapdragons (Antirrhinum) and other Toadflax species, are very small.

Habitat and use

Cymbalaria muralis is native to Mediterranean Europe but has spread and naturalised over most of Europe including the UK.

As its Scientific Name suggests, it likes growing in walls and it has an unusual mechanism to help this. The flower stalk is at first phototropic (seeking light) but after fertilization it becomes negatively phototropic and pushes the seeds into dark crevices.

Other Notes

You have to look out for this plant because it is so small – and you may not always look at the sides of walls.

See also

You will also find Parietaria officinalis, Pellitory-of-the-wall, growing on walls, and of course [045] Maidenhair Spleenwort, Wall-rue and Rusty-back.

Also look out for [210] Yellow Toadflax.

[109] Cygnus olor, Mute Swan

[109] Cygnus olor, Mute Swan

Introduction

Cygnus olor, the Mute Swan, is the common swan seen all over Britain including rivers and public parks and gardens. In Britain they are almost always just called Swans.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Anseriformes (Waterfowl)

Family – Anatidae

Subfamily – Anserinae

Tribe – Cygnini

Genus – Cygnus

Scientific Name – Cygnus olor

Name

Both cygnus and olor are Latin names for the swan. Cygnus olor is not actually mute but it is less vocal than other swans such as [108] Bewick’s Swan and the Whooper Swan. You are much more likely to hear a mute swan noisily flapping its wings in flight than calling.

Description

Cygnus olor is all white apart from dark grey legs and feet, a mostly orange-red bill, and black behind the bill. There is a black knob on top of the bill, more pronounced in size for the male.

(If you zoom in you can see that the bird in the last picture has a wire from a fishing rod trailing from its mouth. Fishing is a major hazard for swans and the birds in our local park are frequently rescued to have these wires removed by vets.)

They are one of the heaviest birds to fly and they need quite a long run over water to take off. They often land on water using their flat feet as brakes to slow down.

They are monogamous and if one dies the other may stay single for years. They build mounds for nests, which they may re-use and both parents share parental duties. It is one of very few species where the male assists in nest-building.

The young cygnets are white at first but soon become darker grey-brown.

As the cygnets grow older, they become patchy eventually lose their colour. Once they are all white, around December or January, the territorial parents will chase them away.

They feed on a range of vegetation including submerged aquatic plants that they can reach with their long necks, and agricultural crops.

Habitat and use

The Mute Swan is native to Europe. In some areas it is migratory.

It is often kept on ornamental lakes where the pairs stay all year. In the north-east of the USA it has now largely naturalised, just as the Canada Goose is now found in Europe.

On small lakes they are normally very territorial but sometimes on rivers and in proximity to humans who feed them, large numbers can live together. Juvenile birds that have not formed pairs may form flocks but once mated they seek out their own territories. They often share their territory with a number of ducks and geese, which take advantage of the swan’s ability to stir up the water with its feet to loosen the vegetation.

In earlier times swan meat was a luxury food.

Cultural References

There are many references to swans in history, music and literature. They often appear as symbols of long-lasting monogamous relationships.

It has many references in Greek mythology, including the belief that the Mute Swan would sing beautifully as it died. We still have the expression ‘swan song.’ Irish, Norse, Finnish and other mythologies also have tales of swans.

Swan Lake is a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky based on two swans as leading characters. Also well known is the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, immortalized in the song of the same name by Danny Kaye.

Other Notes

You can find swans on almost any areas of water and ornamental lakes in parks and gardens will usually have a pair. They are fearless of humans and will sleep on the grass by a lake while people walk past them. But be careful, if there are cygnets, the parents, especially the male, will attack anyone who gets too close.

Their large black webbed feet are used to disturb vegetation. Sometimes they rest a foot on their back while swimming.

As a defensive mechanism, they can display their wings in a way that gives a more imposing impression of size.

There is a colour variation called a Polish Swan, where the cygnets are almost white. This may be associated with domesticated birds.

See also

We have finished with swans and geese but we still have [152] Coot and [157] Moorhen to come.

[108] Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Bewick’s Swan

[108] Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Bewick’s Swan

Cygnus cygnus, Whooper Swan

Introduction

Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Bewick’s Swan, and Cygnus cygnus, Whooper Swan, are two types of Swan seen in Britain as winter visitors. Bewick’s Swan is one of two geographically separate subspecies of Cygnus columbianus, the Tundra Swan. The other species, found in North America, is known as the Whistling Swan.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Anseriformes (Waterfowl)

Family – Anatidae

Subfamily – Anserinae

Tribe – Cygnini

Genus – Cygnus

Scientific Name – Cygnus columbianus (Tundra Swan)

                             Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Bewick’s Swan

                             Cygnus cygnus, Whooper Swan

Sometimes the two types of Tundra Swan are given species status, making the Bewick’s Swan Cygnus bewickii.

Names

Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) was an English woodcutter and an author of books about natural history. He wrote A History of British Birds, published in 1797, which was illustrated with his engravings. He also produced several versions of Aesop’s Fables. Bewick was honoured by William Yarrell, the English zoologist who first identified and named Bewick’s Swans in 1830. He was once visited by the American ornithologist John James Audubon, who named the Bewick’s Wren after him.

The Whooper (pronounced hooper) Swan, closely related to the American Trumpeter Swan, is presumable named from the sound of its call.

The word swan comes from Indo-European roots and is cognate with sing. Cygnus (and the word cygnet) come via Latin from the Ancient Greek kyknos, possibly also from the sound of the bird. Columbianus comes from the Columbia River in North America.

Swans

We all know what swans are. They are larger than geese, with long necks. The ones we know (in the Northern Hemisphere) are all white. Unusually for birds, they have ‘teeth’ or jagged parts of their bills used for catching fish. Adults have an area of unfeathered skin between the eyes and bill.

There are only six species of Swan. We will meet [109] the Mute Swan tomorrow. The Black Swan is from Australia; The Black-necked Swan is from South America; and the Coscoroba Swan, also from South America is placed outside the Cygnus genus (so perhaps it isn’t actually a swan.)

An adult male may be called a cob and a female is a pen but these words are not often used. The word cygnet for a young swan is much more commonly used.

Bewick’s Swan

The Bewick’s Swan and Whistling Swan are distinctly different in appearance and keep geographically separate so we can concentrate on the Eurasian subspecies.

Cygnus columbianus bewickii is noticeable smaller than the Mute Swan (and the Whooper Swan.) It has a large yellow area between the bill and eyes and may have a golden or rusty colour in the head or neck (when they come from iron rich boggy locations.)

They spend their summers in the far northern areas of Eurasia, where they breed. It’s colder there but they get more hours of sunlight in which they can keep eating.

In the winter they move to several places further south, including the Slimbridge WWT site, where they can be seen at close quarters. We don’t see very young birds but there are first year birds approaching adulthood. They are coloured a shade of light grey and instead of the yellow marking they may have a pink mark on the top of the bill.

In their summer locations they eat manly aquatic vegetation and in winter they eat grass and leftover crops.

Whooper Swan

The relationship between the Whooper Swan and its American relative the Trumpeter Swan is similar to the two types of Tundra Swan. They are sometimes (but less often) regarded as the same species.

Cygnus cygnus also breeds in the far North and migrates in winter to more southerly locations, including some parts of the UK. It looks very similar to the Bewick’s Swan but there are two main differences. The size and location of the yellow blob is different in a way that is not immediately obvious. This is not helped by individual variations in the pattern for both species. Much more obvious is the fact that the Whooper Swan is larger – about the same size as the Mute Swan.

Other Notes

It won’t surprise you that I visit Slimbridge WWT to see Bewick’s Swans in winter.

Whooper Swans do not generally come to Slimbridge. (The two species do not like to share territory.) They come to some other WWT sites further north. To be honest some of my pictures come from the Llanelli site where there seem to be resident birds all-year round.

See also

The Mute Swan is coming tomorrow.

You may also see a Black Swan, Cygnus atratus. Their status is similar to [061] Muscovy Duck. Enough birds have escaped from collections for isolated cases of breeding pairs throughout Britain.

[107] Cyclamen hederifolium, Ivy-leaved Cyclamen

[147] Cyclamen hederifolium, Ivy-leaved Cyclamen

Introduction

Cyclamen hederifolium, Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, is a small woodland plant, widely naturalised in Britain where it is commonly called Wild Cyclamen.

All 23 species of Cyclamen are called by the genus name. They have also been called sowbread or swinebread as they are said to be eaten by pigs.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Ericales

Family – Primulaceae

Genus – Cyclamen

Subgenus – Cyclamen

Series – Cyclamen

Scientific Name – Cyclamen hederifolium

Several cultivars are available.

Name

Cyclamen comes via Latin from Ancient Greek kyklaminos, probably cognate with circle because of their round tubers. Hederi-folium means ivy-leaf.

Description

There are 23 species of Cyclamen, all with small natural ranges around the Mediterranean and further East. They grow from tubers (similar to bulbs or corms,) growing and flowering in the autumn, continuing to grow through the winter and dying down in the spring.

Cyclamen hederifolium is the most widespread species, the most hardy and vigorous, and the most widely cultivated after Cyclamen persicum, the Florist’s Cyclamen.

It is a low-growing, spreading plant with leaves that can look very similar to climbing [170] Ivy.

Flowers have five almost vertical petals that are white or very light shades of pink or purple.

Habitat and use

Cyclamen hederifolium is native to the northeast Mediterranean. It is widely cultivated in a number of cultivars and is also widely naturalised. It tends to like woodland habitats.

Other Notes

In the wild this a plant that can be easily missed because it is so small as it emerges between the dead leaves of autumn.

[106] Cyanistes caeruleus, Blue Tit

[106] Cyanistes caeruleus, Blue Tit

Introduction

Cyanistes caeruleus, the Blue Tit, is a small, common and widespread woodland and garden bird, no longer considered to be in the same genus as the Great Tit.

The species has been split fairly recently so this is the Eurasian Blue Tit to distinguish it from the African species.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Passeriformes (Perching Birds or Song Birds)

Family – Paridae

Genus – Cyanistes

Scientific Name – Cyanistes caeruleus

Until 2005 it was Parus caeruleus. When it was split to a new Genus, the African Blue Tit, formerly considered as a subspecies became a separate species. Cyanistes teneriffae.

Name

Tit is an old word of German origin for a small bird, originally as titling or titmouse. The Blue Tit is clearly related to [250] the Great Tit, although the two are no longer in the same genus.

Cyanistes is a made-up word based on the colour cyan. Caeruleus is Latin for a dark blue colour. (Parus is the Latin for the Tit.)

Description

Cyanistes caeruleus is one of our smallest birds. Both sexes are identical.

The top and back of its head is blue and a dark blue line circles the head through the eyes. The rest of the head is white. Underparts are yellow with a dark line down the centre of the abdomen. The back is partly dark blue and partly a dark yellow-green with white markings.

They feed mostly on insects but also eat seeds.

Their biggest natural predators are [001] Sparrowhawks and [144] Domestic Cats.

Habitat

The Blue Tit is very common and widespread over almost all of Europe. In Britain it is found in deciduous woodlands, parks and gardens, even in town centres. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders where they can be quite acrobatic.

Other Notes

In woodland environments, Blue Tits will almost always be among the visitors to bird tables and bird feeders. They are not deterred by the presence of other larger birds.

See also

The Great Tit will also visit birdfeeders in woodlands and urban environments. There are others in the Tit family that will only be found in rural environments – Coal Tit, Marsh Tit and Willow Tit.

[105] Cucurbita pepo, Courgette

[105] Cucurbita pepo, Courgette

Introduction

Cucurbita pepo has been cultivated widely for thousands of years and has many varieties with edible fruits of different shapes, sizes and colours.

It can be a winter squash such as pumpkin, or a summer squash such as courgette (zucchini) or marrow. Names of varieties are different in the UK and the USA.

(In Britain even the word squash is relatively new. Winter squash varieties have a hardened outer shell that is not eaten. Summer squash, often harvested earlier, are eaten entirely.)

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Cucurbitales (Gourds)

Family – Cucurbitaceae (Gourds including cucumber, melon, watermelon.)

Genus – Cucurbita (Squash)

Scientific Name – Cucurbita pepo

There are many cultivated varieties. Wikipedia lists fourteen distinct types but only the pumpkin and marrow (and courgette) are seen generally in Britain.

The taxonomic status of Cucurbita pepo is disputed and it may have arisen by hybridization from two or three of the other crop species of Cucurbita.

Name

Originally in Britain we had just the marrow. The word comes from bone marrow as both were scooped out from their containers. Before the introduction of Cucurbita from America, the word marrow was used for exotic African gourds such as the calabash.

The terms for the smaller versions date from the early Twentieth Century. Courgette comes from the French, a diminutive of ‘courge,’ meaning marrow. Zucchini comes from a diminutive of the Italian ‘zucca,’ meaning pumpkin, marrow or squash. Italians dispute whether it should be masculine zucchino (plural zucchini) or feminine zucchina (plural zucchine.) Americans use the masculine plural as if singular. In South Africa they call them baby marrows!

Cucurbita is Latin for a gourd. Pepo is Latinized Greek for pumpkin or melon.

Description

The courgette plant may be recognized from its large, shaped leaves – but different varieties are different.

Each plant has both male and female flowers, which are large and yellow.

Some varieties develop the elongated green courgette fruits that will become marrows if allowed to grow larger.

Different varieties produce the large round orange pumpkin.

Habitat and use

Cucurbita pepo has been widely cultivated through the Americas for about ten thousand years and has several distinct varieties of uncertain origin.

In Britain we have had pumpkins (large, orange and round) and marrow (large, green and elongated) and courgettes (immature small marrows) are now common. Many other varieties of squash have come to us from America – most of these are from other Cucurbita species.

Other Notes

In general, you will find these in allotments and vegetable gardens. In modern times, vegetable plots in front gardens are becoming more common.

You never know where you may find plants. In a local ornamental garden, an overgrown area of weeds was cleared fairly recently and the pumpkin shown in my pictures emerged from beneath.

See also

You will, of course, see other fruit and vegetables grown in gardens. Don’t worry about the words. Courgettes and pumpkins are fruits that are generally treated as vegetables in cookery.

[104] Crocus species, Crocus

[104] Crocus flavus, Crocus

Introduction

Crocus flavus, the Yellow Crocus; Crocus vernus, the Spring Crocus; and Crocus tommasinianus, the Woodland Crocus, together with other species and cultivars, are widely cultivated and in places may be naturalised as early flowering garden plants.

They should not be confused with Colchicum, often called Autumn Crocus, which is visually very similar but is not in the same family. Some varieties of Crocus species flower in the Autumn.

Crocus flavus is also called the Dutch Crocus or Dutch Yellow Crocus. Crocus vernus may be called the Giant Crocus. Crocus tommasinianus is also called the Early Crocus or Tommasini’s Crocus.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Clade – Monocots

Order – Asparagales

Family – Iridaceae

Subfamily – Crocoideae

Tribe – Croceae

Genus – Genus

Scientific Names – Various. See Text

There are about a hundred species and many cultivated varieties.

Name

The Ancient Greek krokos probably comes from Hebrew, Arabic and Sanskrit roots meaning Saffron (Crocus sativus.)

Flavus is Latin for yellow, vernus means Spring. The botanist Muzio G Spirito de Tommasini (1794-1879) was the Mayor of the Austro-Hungarian city of Trieste, now in Italy.

Description

There are about a hundred species of Crocus. All come from corms, which for most people are considered the same as bulbs. (It’s a technical difference. Corms are swollen stems; bulbs are modified layers of leaves.) This acts as a food store and allows them to grow and flower early. They are generally among the earliest to emerge in woodlands and gardens (together with [154] Snowdrop.)

They are typical monocots having a circle of long thin leaves and a large vertical flower at the centre. The leaves grow larger after the flower begins to die. By the end of Spring everything above the surface has gone leaving the corm underground.

The hundreds of cultivated varieties come mainly from these three species but I can’t guarantee my identifications. They are generally sold as named varieties rather than species and some may be hybrids. Most of my pictures come from roadside verges.

Crocus flavus are one of the larger varieties, generally plain bright yellow.

 Crocus vernus are similar but with purple or white flowers.

Crocus tommasinianus is a smaller species with open white or lilac coloured flowers.

Habitat and use

Each species has a relatively small natural area and about a dozen species cover the area of Southern Europe.

Crocus flavus comes from Greece, Turkey and the Balkans. Crocus vernus comes from the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Balkans. Crocus tommassinianus comes from the Balkans.

They are widely cultivated and naturalised and may be found in woodland and churchyards.

Other Notes

Crocus sativus, the Saffron Crocus is an autumn flowering species, unknown in the wild, with uncertain origins. It is a triploid form of Crocus cartwrightianus, now native to parts of Greece. As a triploid organism it is completely sterile and is propagated by division of its corms. It is believed to have come from Iran several thousand years ago.

It is only the stigma, the receptive female part of the flower that is dried and used as a spice and food colouring. there are three in each flower and 200 000 are needed to make a pound of saffron. Almost all of the modern production comes from Iran.

See also

Look out for [154] Snowdrop.

[103] Crataegus monogyna, Hawthorn

[103] Crataegus monogyna, Hawthorn

Introduction

Crataegus monogyna, the Hawthorn, is a common and widespread tree that often appears in environments where it grows as a large shrub.

There are about two hundred species of Crataegus, all of which are called Hawthorns of some type. Crataegus monogyna is known as the Common Hawthorn, Oneseed Hawthorn or Single-seeded Hawthorn, but in Britain we just call it a Hawthorn. It has also been called Mayblossom, Maythorn, Quickthorn or Whitehorn.

They should not be confused with the related genus Rhaphiolepsis found in East Asia, also called Hawthorns or the Hawthorn-leaf Maple, which is a type of [003] Maple.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Rosales

Family – Rosaceae

Genus – Crataegus

Section – Crataegus

Series – Crataegus

Scientific Name – Crataegus monogyna

Many species of Crataegus are cultivated and there are many hybrids and cultivars.

Name

Haw is an Old English term for a hedge and the fruit of the Hawthorn is still called a haw. The term hawthorn was first used for the species Crataegus monogyna.

Crataegus comes from Ancient Greek ‘kratos’ strong, and ‘akis’ sharp, as the wood is very strong and the trees are thorny.

Monogyna means one-seed.

Description

There are about 200 species of Crataegus divided in to eight sections, which are further divided into series.

Crataegus monogyna is a dense and thorny shrub or tree with a cracked bark that can give the appearance of a gnarled, old tree. the leaves are deeply lobed.

In late Spring it is covered with small white flowers and these turn into small red berry-like fruits that can persist all winter. They are important food sources for overwintering birds such as [347-8] Thrushes and Waxwings.

Habitat and use

The Hawthorn is native to Europe and adjacent parts of Africa and Asia. It has been widely introduced in other countries.

It has traditionally been used as a countryside hedge plant as its dense, thorny nature makes it a good barrier for cattle or people. It is not often used as a garden hedge.

Several hybrids with other Crataegus species are cultivated as garden shrubs.

Leaves, petals and fruit have all been eaten in the past. The fruits can be used for jams, jellies and alcoholic drinks.

Other Notes

I used to think of the Hawthorn as a tree. Most of the trees I see on Cleeve Common are Hawthorn but in this relatively harsh open hillside environment, they are often no larger than shrubs.

See also

The Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata (or lævigata or levigata,) also called the English Hawthorn or Woodland Hawthorn, may be found locally in lowland ancient woodlands. Its leaves are slightly different in shape and the fruits have two or more seeds. The Common Hawthorn is, of course, single seeded.

[102] Cotoneaster lacteus, Late Cotoneaster

[102] Cotoneaster lacteus, Late Cotoneaster

Introduction

Cotoneaster lacteus, Late Cotoneaster, is a type of Cotoneaster that grows to tree status unlike the more typical low-growing species. It is not the only species of Cotoneaster to do this.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Rosales

Family – Rosaceae

Subfamily – Amygdaloideae

Tribe – Maleae

Subtribe – Malinae

Genus – Cotoneaster

Scientific Name – Cotoneaster lacteus

There are many other species, hybrids and cultivars of Cotoneaster.

Name

Lacteus refers to the milky white flowers, which are also born by many other Cotoneaster species.

Description

Unlike [101] Cotoneaster hozontalis, and many other low growing species, Cotoneaster lacteus can grow to a tree of four or more metres in height.

Their leaves are the same simple shape but much larger than Cotoneaster horizontalis.

After flowering they have the same mass of red berries (pomes).

Habitat and use

Cotoneaster lacteus is native to China. It is cultivated as a tree, shrub or hedge.

See also

Other Cotoneaster that can grow into trees include Cotoneaster frigidus, the Tree Cotoneaster, and the cultivar Cotoneaster x watereri ‘Cornubia’. I can’t guarantee which species my pictures come from.

[101] Cotoneaster horizontalis, Wall Cotoneaster

[101] Cotoneaster horizontalis, Wall Cotoneaster

Introduction

Cotoneaster horizontalis, Wall Cotoneaster (or sometimes just Cotoneaster), is a well-known shrub grown for ground cover or wall cover or as a low hedge, generally known for its masses of red berries.

I will consider Cotoneaster species and varieties in general but will leave the larger species until tomorrow.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Rosales

Family – Rosaceae

Subfamily – Amygdaloideae

Tribe – Maleae

Subtribe – Malinae

Genus – Cotoneaster

Scientific Name – Cotoneaster horizontalis

Within the genus Cotoneaster there are many other species, hybrids and cultivars.

Name

Cotoneaster comes from cotoneum, Latin for the Quince.

Description

The family Rosaceae has about five thousand species. If we go down through subfamily and tribe to the subtribe Malinae, there are still about a thousand species in thirty genera including [103] Hawthorn, Quince, [220] Apple, Pear, [285] Firethorn, [260] Photinia, [320-321] Rowans, and Cotoneaster. All the species in the subtribe Malinae (and only these species) produce a particular type of fruit called a pome.

[Fruits of plants provide wide areas of semantic ambiguity and there is little correspondence between the botanical definition of the word ‘berry’ and its informal use. Some of the things that we call berries are accepted as berries by botanists; some are drupes; some are either berries or drupes; and some are pomes. To add to the confusion there are many botanical berries, drupes and pomes that are not normally considered to be berries. The botanical definitions depend on structural differences that we may not notice and on the developmental history of the fruit from the flower. If we stick to the informal definition of a berry as a small colourful fruity seed, then apples are apples, pears are pears, and most other pomes are berries!]

There are from about a hundred to perhaps three hundred species of Cotoneaster. The situation is complex because there are many hybrids of uncertain origin.

They come from all over temperate Europe and Asia, and northern Africa, with a concentration of species coming from the mountains of China and the Himalayas.

They vary from low-lying prostrate plants through shrubs to trees and we will leave the trees until tomorrow. Most varieties have simple small leaves.

They are generally seen covered with small red berries that stay on the plant all winter. (Yes, I know they are really pomes.)

Habitat and use

Cotoneaster horizontalis is widely cultivated as a very low ground-cover or hedge plant. As its name suggests is often allowed to grow up the side of walls.

Other Notes

The prostrate varieties only get to a significant height by leaning on walls or like this:

I recognized this because we used to have something like it in our garden. It’s something like Cotoneaster horizontalis, growing horizontally and even falling away below the horizontal – grafted on to the trunk of another tree species. Ornamental plants are often grafted on to another species as a root stock and here it almost makes it look like a tree.

See also

Cotoneaster pannosus, Silverleaf Cotoneaster, is another species native to China. It is a small, sprawling shrub with attractive silvery leaves, somewhat larger that Cotoneaster Horizontalis.

We will meet more Cotoneaster tomorrow.

I have given some clues above about some related species.