Cotinus coggyria, the Smoke Tree or Smoke Bush, is a shrub or tree, native to Southern Europe and Asia but widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is also known as the European Smoke Tree, Venetian Sumach or Dyer’s Sumach.
There is one other species in the Cotinus genus, native to America, also called a Smoke Tree. Cotinus obovatus is, unsurprisingly, also called the American Smoke Tree.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
Order – Sapindales
Family – Anarcardiaceae (Cashews and Sumacs)
Genus – Cotinus
Scientific Name – Cotinus coggyria
It is also sometimes still known as Rhus coggyria. The Genus Rhus has a long, disputed history but this species is no longer considered to be a member.
There are several accepted cultivars and the most popular forms have dark purple leaves.
Name
Sumac, also spelled sumach, sumac, soumak or sumaq applies to all the members and former members of the genus Rhus. It comes from old French, Latin and Arabic forms.
The Ancient Greek kotinus is the name of a type of olive tree
Description
Cotinus coggyria is generally a large shrub, sometimes used as a hedge plant, and occasionally growing to a tree form. Leaves are flat and round with a waxy appearance.
The small flowers occur in large groups but most of them abort and tun into pinkish purple feathery plumes, giving a smoky appearance from a distance that gives the plant its name.
It is most often cultivated in varieties with purple-brown leaves.
In varieties with green leaves the bush is impressive for its autumn colours.
Habitat and use
In the past it has been used to make a yellow dye called young fustic.
Others in the widely defined Rhus genus have been used for spices and flavouring, in dying and tanning, and for medicinal uses.
Other Notes
The cultivar Cotinus coggyria ‘Royal Purple’ is widespread and I see it all around in local gardens. I have grown it myself many years ago, when it was called Rhus.
See also
[300] Staghorn Sumac is a species that is still in the genus Rhus.
Corvus frugilegus, the Rook, is a large black bird in the Crow family, often seen in flocks foraging in agricultural areas.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Animals
Phylum – Chordates
Class – Aves (Birds)
Order – Passeriformes
Family – Corvidae
Genus – Corvus
Scientific Name – Corvus frugilegus
Name
Rook comes through Old English by onomatopoeia from its call. Frugilegus means fruit gathering.
Description
There are several species of birds called crows and several called ravens but only one Rook. They are all black and very similar in size and appearance to [098] the Carrion Crow. Apart from a sometimes visible blue or purple sheen to their backs, the two clearest distinguishing features of Rooks are:
A very distinctive white area between the eyes and the bill that makes the bill look larger.
A ‘baggy trousers’ look to the feathers at the top of its legs.
You are unlikely to see juvenile Rooks. These two were both seen at Slimbridge in trees below a rookery.
They are very gregarious, rarely seen alone and nest communally in rookeries at the top of high trees. When they leave the rookery, they find a communal roosting site, usually in trees, sometimes accompanied by Jackdaws.
They are most commonly seen in a large group feeding in open fields, where they use their powerful beaks to probe the soil. The flock often includes a few Jackdaws. They feed on cereals, roots, fruit, insects and small invertebrates, small birds and occasionally carrion.
Habitat
Rooks are common and widespread over Europe and parts of Asia.
Other Notes
Here is another example of a bird surviving well by hopping around on one leg, as we saw in [026] Greylag. It was there for several months.
Rooks and Crows have not always been named distinctly. The expression ‘As the Crow flies,’ for a direct straight line, is more appropriate for Rooks. And scarecrows were put into fields to scare away the Rooks!
I sometimes see a single Rook scavenging at Motorway Services or at the Slimbridge WWT site. I am never sure whether they have left their flock or have been driven out.
See also
We have seen the Jackdaw and the Crow. Our other two members of the crow family look very different – [159] the Jay and [265] the Magpie.
Corvus Corone, the Carrion Crow, is a large black passerine bird, which is common and widespread in England, Wales and Southern Scotland.
In England and Wales, it is usually just called a Crow. In Scotland the situation is made more complex by the presence of the Hooded Crow, a close relative.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Animals
Phylum – Chordates
Class – Aves (Birds)
Order – Passeriformes
Family – Corvidae (Crows, including ravens, rooks, magpies, jays and others)
Subfamily – Corvinae (Includes all UK corvids, except Chough)
Genus – Corvus
Scientific Name – Corvus corone
Name
Crow comes through Middle English and German roots, probably onomatopoeic from its harsh call.
Corvus is the Latin for a raven and korone is Greek for the Crow.
Apart from the Rook, all the birds in the genus Corvus are called crows or ravens.
Corvids
The family Corvidae comes within the passerine order, Passeriformes, which the Americans call song birds. But they are big birds, often plain black, and they do not make tuneful sounds that could be called songs! They are general omnivorous scavengers.
There are just over a hundred species with worldwide distribution, all showing significant levels of intelligence.
Description
It is hard to say anything about the Crow other than, ‘It’s black,’ which is true of many birds in the Crow family. It has quite a large, chunky bill, which is typical of corvids. It differs from the Raven more or less just in size.
Crows are omnivores and the Carrion Crow has no more reason to be called ‘carrion’ than any other bird in the Crow family. They will eat grain, fruit, seeds, insects, small mammals and eggs of other birds.
They have been known to use their intelligence with snails and shellfish by dropping them on to the hard surfaces of roads.
Habitat and use
The Carrion Crow is native to most of Europe including England and Wales and parts of Scotland.
Other Notes
There is no real distinction between a crow and a raven, except that species called ravens are larger. Similarly, in England crows and rooks are sometimes confused. See tomorrow for Rooks.
In birding circles there is a saying that, ‘One Rook is a Crow; two Crows are Rooks,’ which means that any bird seen on its own is probably a Crow, but a group of birds are probably Rooks. This not always true. A pair of Crows may be seen together, sometimes more than two if they have young birds with them. But Crows are definitely not gregarious in the way that Rooks are.
Crows are among the few birds seen along seashores that are not sea birds.
See also
There is a bird called the Hooded Crow, found in Italy, the East of Europe and parts of Asia, which is almost identical to the Carrion Crow but has patchy black and grey colouring. Its range also includes the island of Ireland and the North of Scotland (where it is apparently called a hoodie.) There is a small border area where the ranges overlap and hybridization sometimes occurs. Until 2002 it was considered to be a subspecies Corvus corone cornix, but it has now reverted to species status as Corvus cornix.
The Raven, Corvus corax, is significantly larger than Corvus corone, but otherwise very similar. It does have a larger bill but its most easily recognizable feature is its call, a loud ‘kronk.’ It is one of the largest of the passerine birds. Its range in the UK tends to be restricted to mountainous or coastal areas and it is much less common than crows. They are found in the Forest of Dean.
[099] The Rook is coming tomorrow and we have already seen [088] the Jackdaw.
Cortaderia selloanna, Pampas Grass, is a species of very large grass, native to the Pampas area of South America. It is cultivated in Britain as an ornamental plant and in other countries has become invasive.
Several other species are also known as Pampas Grass.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
Clade – Monocots
Order – Poales (Grasses, Sedges and Rushes)
Family – Poaceae (True Grasses)
Subfamily – Danthanioideae
Tribe – Danthomieae
Genus – Cortaderia
Scientific Name – Cortaderia selloanna
Several cultivars are available.
Name
The name Pampas Grass comes from its place of origin. Cortaderia comes from the Argentine Spanish ‘cortadera’ meaning cutter from the razor-sharp leaf edges. This species was named in 1827 to honour Friedrich Sellow (1789-1831) a German botanist who worked as a plant collector in Brazil. His name was variously spelled Sello, which was the usual spelling of his father’s name.
Description
The family Poaceae (with about 12 000 species) is divided into twelve subfamilies. As we have seen, they are all grasses and are fairly similar. But Cortaderia selloanna is one of the largest species (excluding bamboos) with a height of three to four metres.
I suppose I have to compare it with [074] Fountaingrass. Well it’s much bigger, much taller, and the flower heads are very much bigger. I can’t say much more about its appearance.
Before the flowers appear, it is just a very large grass.
But it is the flowers that make it so attractive in the Summer and Autumn.
Habitat and use
Pampas Grass is native to an area in central South America but has been introduced and naturalised in several countries. It is understandably grown as an attractive garden plant but is an unwanted invasive plant in countries where it can spread in the wild but we don’t have that problem in Britain.
It is often just a specimen plant in private gardens but in larger parks outside there is scope for large displays such as at Slimbridge.
It is obviously carefully managed there and is cut down every year.
Other Notes
Pampas Grass is much more common and widespread than I remember from fifty years ago, especially in the South of England. It is very common on the Isle of Wight. Perhaps the climate has improved or perhaps more people are planting bigger and better plants in their gardens.
See also
We have had [068] Hanging Sedge and [074] Fountaingrass already. More grasses are to come – wild, ornamental and crops.
Cornus sanguinea, Common Dogwood, is a native shrub aften cultivated as a hedge plant. Together with other Cornus species, including cultivars, it is widely cultivated in parks and gardens for its flowers and attractive berries. It is sometimes known as Cornel.
There are about fifty species in the genus Cornus, mostly called dogwoods.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
Order – Cornales
Family – Cornaceae
Genus – Cornus
Subgenus – Kraniopsis
Scientific Name – Cornus sanguinea
Also, Cornus alba, White Dogwood; Cornus rugosa, Round-leaved Dogwood; Cornus sericea, Red Osier Dogwood and other species, cultivars and hybrids.
Name
The origins of the name Dogwood are unclear. It dates from about 1600 after initially being known as a Dog-tree.
Cornus is the Latin name for Dogwood and Cornel is derived from a diminutive form of cornus.
Description
Wikipedia is typically vague in its analysis of Dogwoods, but we all know by now that everything to do with plant taxonomy is uncertain, changing and unagreed. There are about thirty to sixty species in up to nine genera or subgenera.
I am fairly certain that some of my pictures are Common Dogwood, White Dogwood, Round-leaved Dogwood and Red Osier Dogwood, but because there are cultivars and hybrids, I will just treat them all as Cornus species.
They all grow to the stature of a bush with simple but attractive leaves. Some species have attractive red stems.
The small white flowers are bunched into a round looking inflorescence.
They turn into attractive berries. Cornus sanguinea produces black berries and has stems that turn red in winter. Cornus alba, Cornus rugosa, and Cornus sericea have white (or very pale blue) berries.
Habitat and use
Cornus sanguinea is native to most of Europe including the UK. Other varieties come from Asia and North America.
Many different varieties are widely cultivated as shrubs or, more usually, as hedges.
Other Notes
It is difficult to be definite about species. Many varieties are probably hybrids with unknown or uncertain origins.
I see Dogwood in many places as a cultivated hedge in ornamental parks, but also in places where it may be escaped and naturalized.
See also
There are too many other hedge species to list here but look out for them. Even those that are frequently trimmed neatly may have short-lived, attractive flowers before trimming.
Corizus hyoscyami, the Cinnamon Bug, is a colourful, plant-feeding bug that may be seen on garden plants. It has nothing to do with cinnamon.
In America it is known as the Black and Red Squash Bug (but it isn’t in the Squash Bug family.)
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Animals
Phylum – Arthropods
Class – Insects
Order – Hemiptera (True Bugs)
Suborder – Heteroptera (Typical Bugs)
Infraorder – Pentatomomorpha
Superfamily – Coreoidea
Family – Rhopalidae (Scentless Plant Bugs)
Subfamily – Rhopalinae
Genus – Corizus
Scientific Name – Corizus hyoscyami
Name
The cinnamon reference is presumably to its colour but I wouldn’t call it cinnamon coloured.
I can’t find Corizus but it fits what I said yesterday about Coreus. Hyoscyamus is a genus of plants known as henbanes, presumably where this bug was first found.
Description
The body of this insect is a pattern of black and bright orange-red. (It should not be confused with the firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus, which has a similar size and shape and the same colours but with a different pattern of markings.)
It can be found all-year round. The adults overwinter.
Habitat
Corizus hyoscyami is found in most of Europe and in England as far North as Yorkshire. It feeds on a wide range of plants.
Other Notes
This bug seems to stay on a plant and keep eating. I saw one in my garden and went back day after day to find it almost in the same place.
See also
Look on all plants for bugs (and other insects.) We have more to come from Pentatomoidea.
Coreus marginatus, the Dock Bug, is a medium-sized insect in the order Hemiptera that feeds on plants like docks and sorrels.
I will include an introduction to Hemiptera and Shield Bugs, as this is our first true bug.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Animals
Phylum – Arthropods
Class – Insects
Order – Hemiptera (True Bugs)
Suborder – Heteroptera (Typical Bugs)
Infraorder – Pentatomomorpha
Superfamily – Coreoidea
Family – Coreidae (Leaf-footed bugs and squash bugs)
Genus – Coreus
Scientific Name – Coreus marginatus
Name
When used informally, the word bug can have a very general meaning to include all insects, arachnids, small crustaceans and molluscs, and even worms. It is also, of course, used for pathogenic bacteria and viruses – and for computer or equipment malfunctions! The word is at least four hundred years old, may be cognate with bud, and originally meant a bedbug or a beetle.
The species has been known for a long time and the genus Coreus was created in 1794, possibly named from the Ancient Greek koris, ‘bedbug.’ There is a sort of visual margin to the abdomen of Coreus marginatus.
Hemiptera
It is almost impossible to keep up with changes in taxonomy because it is changing fast, it’s never agreed by different authorities and it’s very complicated. Wikipedia tries its best but can’t cope with the fact that a change in a high order insect designation can involve changing up to 100 000 separate entries! As I go up and down taxonomic trees, the names sometimes oscillate and numbers of species also vary. I will try to describe how things are but I do not claim to be accurate, consistent or up-to-date!
The order Hemiptera has about 80 000 species, known as Bugs. Like many words in the world of science, the informal word bug has been appropriated by entomologists for a particular meaning so they are almost always known as ‘True Bugs.’ What defines Hemiptera is the structure of the mouthparts but they are named from their wings. ‘Hemi-ptera’ means ‘half-wings,’ and in many species the forewings are hardened near the base and membranous at the end. It’s like half the elytra of beetles and at rest these insects can look like beetles. (See [086] 7-spot Ladybird for an introduction to beetles.)
Hemiptera are hemimetabolous. It is a diverse order including aphids, bedbugs and others but most of the ones we will meet are shieldbugs.
Within Hemiptera is a suborder, Heteroptera, with between 25 000 and 40 000 species. Sometimes this suborder is known as ‘true bugs.’ When Hemiptera are ‘true bugs,’ the suborder Heteroptera can be called ‘typical bugs.’ Hetero-ptera means different wings for exactly the same reason that Hemiptera are called Hemiptera.
Until recently Heteroptera was ranked as an order. (That’s why it ends -ptera.) Its status and name are still subject to discussion.
Shield Bugs
Within Heteroptera, the largest infraorder is Pentatomorpha, and within this infraorder we will consider just two of its superfamilies.
Pentatomoidea – about 7 000 species of Shield Bugs or Stink Bugs. They have a well-developed hard shield over the thorax (technically, it’s a scutellum,) and they have glands that can produce an unpleasant defensive odour.
Coreoidea – another 3 000 species, very similar to Pentatomoidea.
You have to accept that within Pentatomorpha, some are called shield bugs, some are called stink bugs, and some are not called either. And, of course, some bugs outside Pentatomorpha may have similar names.
To be honest, all the bugs in Pentatomorpha (and some less closely connected bugs) look like the same kind of organism and if you find one on a plant you will need your identification skills (or help from social media.) We will see a few in forthcoming blogs.
Description
After all that general introduction I can’t say much about Coreus marginatus. It’s light brown in colour and speckled, with long antennae. The shield has a flat, two-tone margin towards the end.
You have to be careful with all shield bugs, which are hemimetabolous. You may see several instars in their development (probably only the latest ones) and be prepared for them to look significantly different. You will need to consider identification charts with large numbers of organisms in a variety of stages.
Habitat
The Dock Bug is found throughout Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. The larval stages and the adult do feed on docks.
Other Notes
I have had to simplify this post to keep up with the taxonomy. I was going to include some other species that have now been moved to maintain taxonomic proximity.
See also
By an accident of alphabetical randomization, the closest relative of this bug is coming tomorrow …
[093] Cordyline australis, New Zealand Cabbage Tree
Introduction
Cordyline australis, the New Zealand Cabbage Tree, is a plant that fifty years ago was an exotic house plant. Perhaps aided by global warming it is now frequently seen as a cultivated garden plant. In more southerly parts of Britain it can reach the size of a Tree.
It may be called just a Cabbage Tree or Cabbage-palm. In New Zealand it has many regional Maori names and in Britain it has been called the Torbay Palm or Torquay Palm.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
Clade – Monocots
Order – Asparagales
Family – Asparagaceae
Subfamily – Lomandroideae
Genus – Cordyline
Scientific Name – Cordyline australis
Several cultivars are available, some with purple-red leaves.
It was formerly placed in the genus Dracaena and is still sometimes called Dracaena as a houseplant.
Name
Cordyline comes from the Greek root kordyle meaning club, referring to its enlarged underground rhizomes. The Latin australis means south, not specifically Australia.
Monocot Trees
Most trees are either dicotyledon angiosperms (flowering plants) or gymnosperms (conifers) and these have a ‘secondary growth’ mechanism that enables the main stem or trunk and other branches to keep growing. It’s the process that forms tree rings.
Most monocots do not have secondary growth so they don’t grow very large, don’t form woody stems, and can’t become trees. A small number of monocots, such as palm trees and Cordyline, have a different mechanism of anomalous secondary growth that enables the trunk to keep growing year after year and hence to grow to form trees. This kind of secondary growth forms cylindrical trunks without tree rings.
Almost all monocot trees are palm trees in the family Arecaceae but there are a few others including Cordyline and Yucca. I am not sure whether their mechanism for secondary growth is exactly the same.
Description
Before it flowers, Cordyline australis has the typical structure of monocots with long thin pointed leaves emerging vertically. After its first flowering, it divides with several branches each having the same leaves at its end. The leaves may be from half a metre to a metre long. The trunk is grey, corky and fissured.
It produces masses of tiny white flowers on branched spikes.
Habitat and use
It is native to New Zealand, where variations in habitat have led to several different varieties.
It used to be a house plant in Britain but it now widely cultivated in gardens. Several cultivars are available.
Other Notes
When I was young, a little over fifty years ago, we had very ordinary garden plants that were of fairly local origin – with some exceptions. We had many types of rose bush, carnations, lupins, foxgloves, pansies and petunias and many others.
Indoors, houseplants were coming into fashion and these were exotic plants that we never thought would live outside as they came from hotter climates. Indoors we could imagine a plant growing to maybe thirty or forty centimetres.
Now I see many of these houseplants growing outside and growing to substantial sizes. I see Fatsia Japonica as a tree, Fuchsia as a hedge, and even Yucca and Cordyline growing as trees. I remember the first time I saw a Yucca in flower was abroad in a hotter climate and I never expected to see it here. Today on a short walk I passed several Yucca trees in full bloom all with huge colourful inflorescences. Cordyline australis, also generally now in flower, is much more common than Yucca.
See also
There is another plant, very similar to the New Zealand Cabbage Tree, but with red leaves. This is probably Cordyline fruticosa.
Unfortunately, Yucca didn’t make it into this blog because it flowers so late, but look out for it, particularly in October and November. The tree is very similar to Cordyline australis but the flowers come on a long flower stem and are much bigger and more colourful.
The Common Ink Cap is common and widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
Coprinus comes from Ancient Greek koprinos, ‘of dung.’ ‘-Opsis,’ also Greek means aspect or appearance. Atramentum is Latin for Ink.
The bell-shaped cap opens and flattens and then disintegrates.
It is edible but poisonous in combination with alcohol.
Coprinellus Micaceus (Formerly Coprinus micaceus)
The Mica Cap, Shiny Cap or Glistening Ink Cap, has a covering of reflective cells that give it its Scientific and Common Names. It is an edible species that can be found almost worldwide.
Psathyrella Species.
The genus Psathyrella contains about 400 species, all similar to the ink caps Coprinus, Coprinopsis and Coprinellus. They are difficult to identify to species level and all are generally considered to be inedible. Psathyrella is a diminutive of Psathyra, from Greek roots meaning friable or easily breakable.
Hypholoma Species
This genus comes in a different but related family, Strophariaceae.
Greek roots Hypho-loma mean ‘thread-edge.’
Other Notes
I am not at all expert in mycology and have not attempted to say much about these species. The best place to find fungi is on and near living or dead trees and some of my pictures come from a local arboretum.
This is the last blog about gilled mushrooms but not the last fungus.
Convolvulus arvensis, Field Bindweed, is a climbing wildflower, native to Britain and generally treated as a weed. It can be called Lesser Bindweed or European Bindweed but is often just called Convolvulus.
It is a relative of [065] Large Bindweed.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
Order – Solanes
Family – Convolvulaceae
Genus – Convolvulus
Scientific Name – Convolvulus arvensis
Name
The Latin convolvere means to coil, weave or wrap around, cognate with convoluted. Arvensis, as we have seen with [082] Creeping Thistle, means of the field or meadow.
Description
In comparison with the Large Bindweed that we have seen already, Convolulus arvensis is generally a smaller plant with smaller, more open flowers. Its flowers are normally white but may have some pink tones, especially as the bud develops and opens.
Habitat
Convolvulus arvensis is native to Europe and Asia. It is now an invasive species in North America.
It is normally considered an unwanted weed because of its nature as a climbing plant as its difficulty of eradication.
Other Notes
I have been surprised to see so little of this plant. Large Bindweed is much more common.
The Species of Britain 