[365] Zygaena trifolii, Five-spot Burnet

[365] Zygaena filipendulae, Six-spot Burnet

Zygaena lonicerae, Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet

Zygaena trifolii, Five-spot Burnet

Introduction

For my final post we have Zygaena filipendulae, Zygaena lonicerae and Zygaena trifolii, three very similar species of brightly coloured day-flying moths known as Burnets.

Zygaena filipendulae is the Six-spot Burnet and Zygaena trifolii is the Five-spot Burnet. Sometime two of the six spots can merge to make identification difficult. Zygaena lonicerae, the Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet is almost identical to Zygaena trifolii.

Some of approximately a thousand species in the family Zygaenidae are also called Burnets.

Note that Sphyma zygaena, the Smooth Hammerhead Shark, and other Hammerhead Sharks, used to belong to an obsolete genus called Zygaena and retain it as a scientific synonym.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Class – Insects

Order – Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Clade – Heterocera (Moths, paraphyletic)

Family – Zyganeidae

Genus – Zygaena

Subgenus – Zygaena

Group – Filipendulae

Scientific Names – Zygaena filipendulae, Zygaena lonicerae, Zygaena trifolii

All three species have scientific synonyms in the genus Sphinx (in the Hawkmoth family, Sphingidae.)

Names

Burnet means brown and is cognate with brunette.

Zygaena comes from the Ancient Greek zugaina, the hammerhead shark. Linnaeus first used the name for Zygaena filipendulae, presumably because of some apparent resemblance. Sharks were also given the genus name Zygaena but they had to change this under rules that give precedence to first use.

Filipendula is a genus of wildflowers that includes Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria, a species that just missed inclusion in this blog. The genitive ending in filipendulae means ‘of Filipendula.’ Similarly, lonicerae comes from [213] Lonicera, Honeysuckle and trifolii comes from Trifolium the [343] Clover genus. None of these species is actually associated with any of these three food sources. As I may have said before, scientific names are never changed just because they are wrong.

[You have to be careful. Genera like Filipendula, Lonicera and Trifolium are always capitalized but species epithets are always conspicuously uncapitalized.]

Description

All the moths in the family Zygaenidae contain Hydrogen Cyanide (Prussic acid) in their bodies at all stages and many of them have colourful appearances to ward off predators. Like [350] the Cinnabar Moth, they are day-flying and don’t conceal themselves. Unlike other moths they hold their antennae forward when at rest.

The three species are very similar in appearance. If you can see six clear spots it’s probably the six-spot version.

If you can’t, then it’s either one of the other two species or a six-spot not showing its spots well.

They are the only three species making the genus Zygaena, subgenus Zygaena, group Filipendulae.

Habitat

Zygaena filipendulae is common throughout most of Europe including all of the UK except the Scottish mountains.

Zygaena lonicerae is common through much of Europe including England and Wales but not Scotland.

Zygaena trifolii has a smaller range including Western Europe. Its UK range is just the South of England and most of Wales.

You can find all three species feeding on a variety of plants, not including those that give them their species epithets.

Other Notes

This is the last of my daily blogs. I have enjoyed doing them but haven’t decided yet whether to do a few extra topics later. Watch this space!

See also

There are three other species of Zygaena that are much less widespread in the UK, being restricted to parts of Scotland.

[364] Zea mays, Maize

[364] Zea mays, Maize

Introduction

Zea Mays, Maize (or Corn in the USA), is a cereal crop, very widely cultivated for its spectacular fruits.

As noted earlier, in Britain the word corn is used for [345] Triticum aestivum, wheat, and for other cereal crops such as [177] Barley, rye or oats. In a cuisinary context in Britain we may call the fruit of Zea mays corn or sweetcorn – or corn-on-the-cob. As for everything, US usage is spreading into British culture.

It takes the prize in my blog for the shortest scientific name but doesn’t even make the top ten for shortest common names. [With some uncertainty, it is arguably beaten by [295] Frog and Toad, [098] Crow, [099] Rook, [152] Coot, [261] Reed, [159] Jay, [170] Ivy, [340] Yew,[144] Cat, [066] Dog, [328] Pig, [297] Rat, [362] Fox and perhaps [054] Cow.]

There may be a genus of butterflies in the family Hesperiidae called Zea but all the references I can find are from Wikipedia where I think it could be a mistake for Zela.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Clade – Monocots

Clade – Commelinids

Order – Poales

Family – Poaceae

Subfamily – Panicoideae

Supertribe – Andropogonodae

Tribe – Andropogoneae (Sorghum, Sugarcane, Maize and others)

Subtribe – Tripsacinae

Genus – Zea

Scientific Name – Zea mays

Zea has the synonym Euchlaena

Many cultivars are available.

Name

Maize comes from Spanish maiz, from a native American name for the plant.

Wikipedia points out that ‘corn’ generally means any cereal crop especially the local one. In America, Maize was at one time called ‘Indian Corn,’ which has been shortened to corn. Corn is an Old English word from Germanic roots, originally meaning corn grains.

Zea Latinized from Ancient Greek zeia, is the name of a cereal grain, possibly Triticum spelta, spelt. The species epithet with its rather unusual spelling is probably a noun in apposition.

Description

We know about grasses in general and cereal crops and have seen Wheat recently.

Maize may not be the largest of our types of grass but its flowers and fruits are the most impressive.

The origins of Zea mays are lost in prehistory but it is presumed to have come from other species of Zea, all of which are called Teosinte. Teosinte comes via French and Spanish from the Classical Nahuatl (Aztec) language.

Maize is very different to Teosinte, which is short and bushy with fruit not much larger than wheat. Maize is a robust, tall plant producing a single stem.

There are many different ways in which flowers manage sexual reproduction. Each flower can be male, female or hermaphrodite and each plant can produce any combination of the three types – either at the same time or consecutively – sometimes changing every year or between seasons.

Zea mays is a good example of a monoecious plant. In general, each plant produces male flowers at the top of its stalk and one or more female flowers about half way up. The female flowers eventually become the familiar corn cobs.

Habitat and use

Maize was first cultivated by the indigenous people of southern Mexico about 10 000 years ago. It spread back to Europe and elsewhere when the Spaniards arrived about 1500. Its worldwide production is now more than any other grain. Originally maize just produce a single very small corn cob but intensive cultivation has changed it to what it is today.

Sugar-rich varieties are called sweet corn but it also as an animal foodstuff or to produce corn meal, corn oil, corn flakes, popcorn and many other products.

The USA is the largest producer and almost all of American maize is genetically modified. Only about 2% of Maize produced in the USA is for human consumption. Most of it is fed to animals, directly or indirectly, or used to produce alcohol.

Other Notes

Although widely grown worldwide, Maize is an insignificant product in UK agriculture. I was able to find enough for my pictures. It is available in a number of cultivars for use in gardens and allotments. Some varieties grown as ornamental plants produce multicoloured seed pods.

See also

It’s a bit late to be telling you what to look for. This is our last crop, our last grass species and our last plant of any type.

[363] Xanthoria parietina, Sunburst Lichen

[363] Xanthoria parietina, Sunburst Lichen

Introduction

Xanthoria parietina is a very common and widespread, yellow-orange Lichen with many common names such as Common Sunburst Lichen, Common Orange Lichen, Yellow Scale and Maritime Sunburst Lichen.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Fungi

Phylum – Ascomycota

Subphylum – Pezizomycotina

Class – Lecanoromycetes (Mostly Lichen)

Subclass – Lecanoromycetidae

Order – Teloschistales

Family – Teloschistaceae

Genus – Xanthoria

Scientific Name – Xanthoria parietina

The photobiont is a species of Trebouxia.

Name

Xanthoria is derived from the Ancient Greek root xantho meaning yellow. Parietina is a Latin word for old walls.

Description

This lichen has a foliose form similar to [147] Greenshield Lichen but is also described as squamulose, which relates to the small scales of a fish. It often has lots of brighter orange circles with a light border.

The overall colour depends on sunlight and humidity and is generally from bright yellow to orange. It can be paler yellow, sometimes almost green.

It contains am orange-yellow pigment, parietin (1,8-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-6-methylanthraquinone,) which is found in other types of lichen and in rhubarb.

Habitat

Xanthoria parietina is widespread through much of Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and North America. It is found on walls near the seashore but is also very common inland. It prefers tree bark or wood but is also found on walls or rocks.

Other Notes

This Lichen is much more common than the other two we have seen

[362] Vulpes vulpes, Fox

[362] Vulpes vulpes, Fox

Introduction

Vulpes vulpes, the Fox, is a rural hunter that has become an urban scavenger.

All the other members of Vulpes and several close relatives from other genera are called Foxes, so sometimes it is called the Red Fox.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Mammals

Order – Carnivora

Family – Canidae

Subfamily – Caninae (All extant species)

Tribe – Vulpini (Foxes)

Genus – Vulpe

Scientific Name – Vulpes vulpes

It has 45 subspecies, more or less defined geographically.

Name

Fox is a very old word for the animal that may derive originally from its long tail. Red, of course, used to mean any shade of brown or orange.

A female fox is called a vixen. This is derived effectively from fox-en, as a diminutive of fox (in the same was as maiden and chicken.)

Vulpes is the Latin name for the Fox.

Description

It is never easy to define taxonomic differences. We may instantly recognize that a fox is not the same as a dog, but the distinction between the two tribes Vulpini (fox-like species) and Canini (dog-like species) is not so easy. To be precise, fox-like species, ‘… are distinguished from all other Caninae ‘in possessing a wide paroccipital process that is broadly sutured to the posterior surface of the bulla with a short and laterally turned free tip that barely extends below the body of the process.’ [If this is not immediately clear to you, it’s about small differences in the make-up the bones of the skull.]

Vulpes vulpes is the only fox likely to be seen in the UK. It is recognizable from its face, its orange-brown coat and long furry tail. Most subspecies have a similar coloration but some animals have other colour morphs.

As a rural species, they feed primarily on small rodents, [243] Rabbits, game birds, reptiles and invertebrates, and sometimes fruit or vegetable matter. As an urban species they are largely scavengers. They are now relatively commonly seen in towns.

Habitat and use

The Fox is a common resident species all over Eurasia and North America and has been introduced to Australia. Vulpes vulpes crucigera is found over most of Europe and has been introduced in Australia and North America.

It has a long history of being hunted in Britain and has been used as a source of fur. The Silver Fox is a melanistic form bred for its fur, which is mainly black or dark grey, sometimes with some silvery grey or white.

Foxhunting arose in England in the Sixteenth Century and was a significant part of country life until it was banned by law in 2005. Traditionally foxes were hunted by men on horseback led by packs or hounds trained to follow their scent.

As for most common animals, the fox crops up many times in religion, mythology, folklore and literature – particularly children’s literature. The anthropomorphised figure Reynard the Fox dates from mediaeval allegorical fables in English, French, German and Dutch. Reynard is known for his cunning and deception and the expression ‘as cunning as a fox’ is well-known in English.

Other Notes

In Britain you are now much more likely to see a Fox in a town or city than in the countryside. I have seen many. They are most often active at dusk and dawn but can be seen in the daytime (and heard in the middle of the night.) They are very habitual – if you spot one crossing the road, it may reappear at the same spot every night about the same time.

I was lucky enough to spot one resting in the summer sun at the edge of a local park.

See also.

This is our last mammal. You can find the others via the Mammals Category link below.

[361] Volucella zonaria, Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

[361] Volucella zonaria, Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

Vollucella pellucens, Pellucid Fly

Introduction

Vollucella Zonaria, the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly, is our largest commonly occurring Hoverfly, frequently reported by the public as a Hornet. Vollucella pellucens is another large Hoverfly, sometimes called the Pellucid Hoverfly or Pellucid Fly.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Class – Insects

Order -Diptera (Flies)

Family – Syrphidae (Hoverflies)

Genus – Volucella

Scientific Names – Volucella zonaria, Volucella pellucens

Names

I can’t trace volucella. Zonaria means relating to a belt. Pellucent means transparent.

Volucella zonaria

This is the largest of the UK hoverflies. It is found in most of Europe but only spread to the UK around 1950. It is now widespread across the South of England and spreading northwards slowly.

I won’t describe it in detail as you can see it from my pictures above.

It is often seen by the public as a Hornet but, to be honest it looks nothing like a Hornet. The shape is much fatter, the colouring bears little resemblance, except for having yellow stripes, and the head and eyes are very different. Perhaps in flight it could be superficially similar. But it has probably evolved to mimic other species as a protection against being eaten, because wasps and hornets have a sting that makes them unpleasant to eat.

If you have never seen a Hornet, think of it as a slightly larger version of a [357] Wasp, which is exactly what it is.

Adult Volucella zonaria feed on nectar. They lay their eggs in the nests of wasps and hornets. Larvae live commensally in the nests, pupate over winter in the soil and emerge in spring.

Volucella pellucens

This hoverfly also seems to have evolved to look a bit like a wasp or bee, perhaps a [052] Bumblebee, but again the mimicry is only approximate. It is not really sensible to call this the pellucid fly (which it is sometimes called) because almost all flies have transparent wings.

Its lifecycle is similar to Volucella zonaria. The female is undisturbed as she enters the nest of common wasps to lay her eggs. Larvae scavenge at the bottom of the nest for food remains, dead wasp larvae and pupae and other insects. They leave the nest to pupate underground.

Other Notes

This is the last of our flies but not quite the last insect.

See also

Three other less common species of Volucella are seen in Britain.

• Volucella bombylans mimics a typical Bumblebee. (Bombylans, of course, relates to the Bumblebee.)
• Volucella inanis mimics typical Wasps. (The Latin inanis means empty, vain or worthless.)
• Volucella inflata is somewhat like Volucella pellucens with orange markings.

[360] Viscum album, Mistletoe

[360] Viscum album, Mistletoe

Introduction

Viscum album, Mistletoe, is a familiar obligate hemi-parasitic plant with poisonous white berries, known for its traditional use at Christmas. As this comes out on Boxing Day you may see some as you read this.

The word Mistletoe originally applied to Viscum album, which is widespread in Europe. It has been extended to other species of the genus Viscum, then to the wider family Viscaceae (now part of Santalaceae,) and to several other families that have developed hemi-parasitic forms by parallel evolution.

So, in some circumstances, Viscum album has the more formal name European Mistletoe or Common Mistletoe.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Santalales

Family – Santalaceae or Viscaceae

Genus – Viscum

Scientific Name – Viscum album

The Mistletoe family, Viscaceae, was a small group of seven genera. Some botanists moved it to within Santalaceae recently but the move is disputed by others.

Name

The Old English mistel for mistletoe became mistle-tan with the addition of tan meaning twig. This became mistletoe by folk etymology.

The Classical Latin viscum, of unknown etymology, meant either mistletoe or birdlime (a sticky substance made from mistletoe to catch birds.) We have already met alba (feminine) or album (neuter) for white.

Parasitic Plants

Many plant species have evolved to grow on or around other plants, generally trees, and these can be categorized into three types.

• Epiphytes. These grow on the surface of the host plant but do not adversely affect it. They get physical support from the host but air, rain and other surrounding debris provide all the nutrients it requires. This category includes many mosses, liverworts, lichens, ferns, cacti, orchids and bromeliads.
• Holo-parasites are completely parasitical and derive all of their nutrients from the host. They are not generally green as they do not need chlorophyll.
• Hemi-parasites lie in between these two types. They extract some water and nutrients from the host plant but also maintain some photosynthesis to produce nutrients with the help of sunlight.

Some hemi-parasites are Obligate Parasites. This means that they cannot complete their normal life-cycle without the host plant. (Holo-parasites are always obligate.)

Mistletoe

All Mistletoe species are obligate hemi-parasites. They are a good example of Parallel Evolution, where unrelated organisms change to look and behave similarly in order to adapt to a particular environment. About a dozen different plant groups are now mistletoes. Only three of these are separate families in the order Santales.

I will continue to consider our familiar species Viscum Album.

When seen in trees from ground level, it looks like a spherical ball about a metre in diameter. They are obviously much more apparent in winter when you may see dozens of them in each tree. Even when the tree is almost covered it survives well and grows in the spring leaving the mistletoe less visible.

Fifty tears ago I would have said that Mistletoe was familiar from its use at Christmas but it has become much rarer since then. It is evergreen with branching tubular stems and pairs of elongated leathery oval leaves.

Flowers are inconspicuous but the fruit forms conspicuous white berries that remain on the plant. Other species of Viscum may produce coloured berries.

It is a poisonous plant and it is very dangerous to eat the berries. Many species have adapted to be able to eat them.

Habitat and use

Viscum album is the only type of Mistletoe seen in the UK and most of Europe. Its natural range extends partly into Asia and it is found in the USA (where they have other native plants called mistletoe,) as an introduced species.

It is found within broad-leaved trees. Wikipedia says that it likes Apple, Lime, Hawthorn and Poplar but it is very common in the streets of Cheltenham where I have never seen any of these four species.

It has been associated with folklore and mythology for thousands of years and was absorbed into Christian traditions long ago. It is hung as a Christmas decoration and since about 1800 there has been a tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. Sometimes a berry was removed for each kiss – and when no berries remained, the kissing stopped. (This European tradition has spread to the USA, where they use their species of Mistletoe.)

Over the last twenty or thirty years this tradition has declined, largely because mistletoe is no longer widely available at Christmas. It has supposedly become rare over much of Europe but remains very common in an area centred at the town of Cheltenham. We have several main streets lined with trees where every tree supports large colonies of mistletoe. I didn’t have to go far for my pictures.

Other Notes

I am writing this at the same time as my post that includes [348] the Mistle Thrush. Turdus viscivorus gets both its common name and its scientific epithet from its liking of the Mistletoe berries. They are glutinous and the stones remain sticky even after passing through the birds, who then deposit them in other trees.

See also

There is, of course, nothing in the UK even closely like Mistletoe but as Christmas decorations I have to mention [184] the Holly and [170] the Ivy, immortalized in a popular Christmas carol.

[359] Vipera berus, Adder or Viper

[359] Viperus berus, Adder or Viper

Introduction

Viperus berus, the Adder or Viper, is the only poisonous snake found in the UK, but it not considered to be dangerous.

It has many common names. While Adder and Viper are used interchangeably, either one may be preceded by Common or European or both. Then there are Northern Viper, and (Common) Cross (or Crossed) Viper (or Adder.) It has other local names in the countries of Europe.

All the other species of Vipera and most of the family Viperidae are called Vipers. The name Adder is used only for Vipera berus (and a few other completely unrelated species of snakes!)

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Reptiles

Order – Squamata (Lizards and snakes)

Suborder – Serpentes (Snakes)

Infraorder – Alethinophidia (all snakes except blind snakes)

Clade – Afrophidia

Clade – Caenophidia

Clade – Colubroides

Family – Viperidae (Vipers)

Subfamily – Viperinae

Genus – Vipera

Scientific Name – Vipera berus

It has dozens of scientific synonyms and its three subspecies are sometimes ranked as separate species.

Name

Adder comes from nædre, an Old English word for a snake or serpent as used in early translations of the Book of Genesis (where Adam and Eve were tempted by a serpent.) ‘A nædre’ has become ‘an adder’ in the same way that ‘a napron’ became ‘an apron’, and ‘a nompere’ became ‘an umpire.’ Conversely ‘an otch’ became ‘a notch’; ‘an ewte’ became ‘a newt’; and ‘an eke-name’ became ‘a nickname.’

[There are many such examples of re-bracketing. We even have ammunition, which was changed in French from ‘la munition’ to l’amunition; and daffodil from asphodel, which picked up the Dutch article in ‘de affodil.’]

Viper, from the Latin vipera, probably from vivus-pario, giving birth to live young. Berus is New Latin from Greek, meaning true or authentic as the most common snake of ancient Europe. As ‘vipera’ is feminine, I’m not sure why ‘berus’ looks masculine.

Description

The Adder is a typical snake and I won’t tell you what a snake looks like. It grows to a length of about half a metre. The most common form for females has a light brown body with zigzag patterns of darker brown.

Males are similar but grey rather than black.

It feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards and amphibians and also small invertebrates like spiders, insects and worms. They hibernate in winter and may be seen in summer basking in the sum to warm themselves up.

The female produces live young every two or three years. She does not support the young before birth in the same way as mammals. The process is like laying her eggs internally and letting them develop before the young snakes emerge.

They are venomous but not aggressive and will not normally bite unless provoked. The bite is not normally fatal.

[I see many heated debates on Facebook about the difference between ‘venomous’ and ‘poisonous’ but to the layman the terms are much the same.]

Habitat

The main subspecies Vipera berus berus is found over Northern Europe including the island of Britain (but not the island of Ireland,) and Northern France – but not Italy or the Iberian Peninsula. The two other species are found further East.

Other Notes

The adder comes in two colour forms. The melanistic form is all black.

This form is fairly common in females and less common in males.

See also

Snakes are not easy to spot but these are the other possibilities in the UK.

• Natrix Helvetica, the Barred Grass Snake, lives near water and feeds almost exclusively on frogs and toads. It is found in England, Wales (and southern Scotland) and parts of Europe. Until 2017 it was considered a subspecies of the Grass Snake, Natrix natrix Helvetica, but it has now been classified as a separate species.
• Coronella austriaca, the Smooth Snake, is found across Europe but its distribution in England is restricted to a few very small locations in the South
• Anguis fragilis, the Slow-worm, may also be found in Britain, where it tends to remain hidden under vegetation. It looks like a snake but is actually a legless lizard.

[358] Viburnum Species, Viburnum

[358] Viburnum Species

Introduction

Viburnum is the scientific name for a genus with about 150 species, several of which are widely cultivated as garden plants, generally just known as Viburnum. They have attractive leaves and flowers and produce red, blue or black berries.

Some well-known species are as follows.

• Viburnum davidii, David Viburnum
• Viburnum lantana, The Wayfaring Tree or Wayfarer
• Viburnum opulus, the Guelder Rose or Guelder-rose
• Viburnum plicatum, Japanese Snowball.
• Viburnum rhytidophyllum, Leatherleaf Viburnum
• Viburnum sieboldii, Siebold’s Viburnum
• Viburnum tinus, Laurustinus or Laurustinus Viburnum

Many varieties and cultivars also come from well-established hybrids.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Dipsacales

Family – Adoxaceae

Genus – Viburnum

Scientific Names – See Text

There are many species, hybrids and cultivars of Viburnum. I have looked at varieties and cultivars in [305] Garden Roses, but here is a reminder. Horticultural plants have many varieties, generally defined as named Cultivars. Unlike the scientific part of a plant’s name, the Cultivar Name is not italicized; it does use capital letters; it’s always in quotation marks; and it’s English rather than Latin. It follows either a scientific genus and species epithet (when the species is known,) or a hybrid name (when it is a known hybrid,) or just the genus (when its origins are unknown or complex.) Some hybrids have their own names, often named from their inventors, short for the combination of both parent species.

Read on in the following text …

Name

Viburnum is the Classical Latin name for these shrubs, possibly from an Etruscan word. For individual species, hybrids and cultivars see text.

Species, Varieties and Cultivars

This is a classic example of a garden plant that is seen in so many forms that it can be difficult to identify precisely. It’s a problem that comes up often and we met it just two days ago with [356] Veronica/ Hebe. (The fact that these species keep Viburnum, Veronica and Hebe as common names is also typical of plants we only see in gardens.)

The species pf Viburnum are mostly dense bushy shrubs – with some growing to small trees. In general, cool temperate species are deciduous and most warm temperate species are evergreen. They have simple (not compound) leaves, generally plainly shaped. The flowers are small, growing in tightly bunched inflorescences, from white to light cream or pink. Fruits are small berries (technically drupes) and can be red, purple, blue or black.

I was going to give you the main species that I have seen but the situation is complex and there are many cultivated varieties of Viburnum. I looked recently at a catalogue from a nursery, where the varieties are carefully defined and here are some varieties and cultivars, with very brief notes, from this catalogue. There are probably many hundreds of approved and certified cultivars of Viburnum.

• Viburnum betulifolium. Not a well-known species. Betulifolium, of course, means with leaves shaped like [051] Birch.
• Viburnum x bodnatense ‘Charles Lamont’ (V. farreri x V. grandiflorum) The hybrid, first produced in 1935, is named from Bodnant Gardens in Wales and has many named cultivars.
• Viburnum x bodnatense ‘Dawn’
• Viburnum x burkwoodii, (V. carlesii x V. utile) This hybrid is named after Arthur and Albert Burkwood. It has many named cultivars.
• Viburnum x burkwoodii ‘Anne Russell’
• Viburnum x carlcephalum, Fragrant Snowball (V. carlesii x V. macrocephalum) Like V. plicatum below, the snowball sized ball of white flowers gives this hybrid its common name.
• Viburnum carlesii, Korean Spice Viburnum. Named after William Richard Carles (1848-1929) a British plant collector in Korea.
• Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’
• Viburnum cinamomifolium, Cinnamon-leaved Viburnum.
• Viburnum davidii, David Viburnum. Armand David (1826-1900) was a French missionary, zoologist and botanist. This species has distinctive dark green leaves, small cluster of flowers and blue fruits.

• Viburnum dentatum, Arrowwood Viburnum ‘Blue Muffin.’ This is an American species and its wood was used by Native Americans to make arrows.
• Viburnum ‘Eskimo’ of mixed or uncertain parentage
• Viburnum fragrans
• Viburnum x hilleri ‘Winton’
• Viburnum hoaglienense
• Viburnum x juddii (V. bitchiuense × V. carlesii)
• Viburnum lantana, The Wayfaring Tree. Lantana seems to be a Late Latin name for this tree, used in apposition. It is native to much of Europe including England as far North as Yorkshire. It has full stature as a tree and was common as a wayside tree. Its fruits start red and turn to black as they ripen.

• Viburnum odoratissumum, Sweet Viburnum.
• Viburnum opulus, Guelder Rose (or Guelder-rose) – several named varieties. Guelder Rose comes from the Dutch province of Gelderland, where a popular variety originated. It is native to Europe (including the UK) and adjacent parts of Africa and Asia. Opulus was the Classical Latin name for a type of Maple tree (and the leaves of this species look like those of Maples.) This species is grown for its vivid red berries as well as for the flowers. Its leaves are not like most other species of Viburnum.

• Viburnum plicatum, Japanese Snowball – several separate named varieties. This species comes from China, Korea and Japan. Plicatum refers to the pleated nature of the leaves. It can grow to tree size.

• Viburnum ‘Pragense.’ of mixed or uncertain parentage. Not the same as Viburnum x pragense (V. rhytidophyllum × V. utile)
• Viburnum rhytidiphyllum, Leatherleaf Viburnum. Rhytidi-folium means wrinkled leaves. This species comes from Asia. Named for its attractive deeply veined dark blue-green leaves. A parent species of other popular varieties.

• Viburnum sargentii ‘Onondaga.’ Named after the American botanist Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927)
• Viburnum sieboldii, Siebold’s Viburnum. Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveller who studied Japanese flora and fauna and brought Western Medicine to Japan.

• Viburnum tinus, Laurustinus, Lauristine, Laurestine or Laurustinus Viburnum – many named varieties. Tinus was the Latin name for this species and laurustinus adds the Latin laurus for laurel, as the leaves are similar. This species originates from the Mediterranean area. The leaves are unexciting but the flowers are attractive and the fruits are blue-black.

Most of the species epithets, hybrid names and cultivar names that I have not been able to identify look as if they refer to places or people.

Although the flowers are more or less similar (apart from the colour and the size of the inflorescences,) and the fruits are fairly similar (apart from colour,) the difference between the leaves of the Guelder Rose and the others above is quite striking. Perhaps I should have remembered that Goat Willow doesn’t look like most [307] Willows; [320] Whitebeam is not like [321] Mountain Ash; the [318] Tomato and Potato are not exactly like [317] Bittersweet Nightshade; and Almonds, Apricots, Peaches, and the poisonous sloes of [282] Blackthorn are just varieties of [280] Cherries and plums.

Habitat and use

Various species of Viburnum come from parts of North America and temperate Eurasia, with some extending to South America, northwest Africa and southeast Asia.

They are grown extensively in the UK as garden plants for their flowers, fragrance, berries, and attractive leaves. Some flower late in the year and some flower twice in Summer and late Autumn.

Other Notes

This is the last of our garden flower species and I have used it to make some more general comments about garden plants. When many species have been used to produce many hybrids and then hundreds of cultivars, it becomes impossible to give a precise identification to species level. That’s why some of the cultivars in the list above are just shown as names following Viburnum.

It’s the reason why I normally just leave my pictures with a probable or possible species identification. I will give the same disclaimer to my pictures above – I may have got them right but they could be wrong. [There are other reasons why I sometimes have the same problem with some insects.]

See also

There are no more garden plants in my blog but keep looking.

[357] Vespula vulgaris and others, Wasps

[357] Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica Wasps

Introduction

There are hundreds of thousands of species within the group Apocrita (but excluding bees and ants,) generally called wasps. Outside the world of zoology, the word wasp is restricted to the family Vespidae, generally just to two genera Vespula and Dolichovespula.

In the UK when we talk of wasps, we normally mean Vespula vulgaris or Vespula germanica (or another very close relative) and we don’t distinguish between the species, which are identical without very close inspection.

Technically, Vespula vulgaris is the Common Wasp and Vespula germanica is the German Wasp. For most of this blog I will call both species just Wasps indiscriminately.

In the USA they are called Yellowjackets.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Class – Insects

Order – Hymenoptera (Wasps, Bees and Ants)

Suborder – Apocrita

Family – Vespidae

Subfamily – Vespinae (Wasps and Hornets)

Genus – Vespula

Scientific Name – Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica

Other species of Vespula or Dolichovespula are similar.

Name

Wasp and the cognate Latin vespa both come from older roots, originally ‘waps.’ Vespula is just a diminutive of vespa. All the insects in the order Hymenoptera that are now known as wasps derive their name from insects in the genera Vespa and Vespula.

Dolicho-vespula comes by adding the Latinized Greek dolikhos, long, from their slightly longer faces.

Hornet comes from roots meaning ‘bearing horns’ (antennae.)

Description

The subfamily Vespinae consists of not much more than the two genera we call wasps (or yellowjackets,) Vespula and Dolichovespula. It also includes the Hornets, Vespa, and two other obscure genera.

I will start by not describing the differences between the species of what we call wasps (Vespula and Dolichovespula.) If you can get them to sit still, looking in the right direction, and take good macro photographs. you can look for very small differences in the boundaries between black and yellow. Some species have tiny bits that are reddish. But if you see them flying, they all look like wasps. You can almost include the Hornet, Vespa crabro, with wasps because its most distinct difference is that it is slightly larger. So, the following is about wasps in general.

These wasps are social insects, with some similarities in their ways with [029] Honey Bees and other bees. They are long insects with black and yellow stripes. They chew wood and make paper nests in the summer, with up to 2 000 sterile female workers. Male wasps, with longer antennae, appear in late summer. Only young, newly mated queens survive the winter to start new colonies in spring. The adults eat fruit and other sweet things but they feed chewed up insects to their young. The workers and larger queens are easier to identify than males. 

The following pictures are Vespula vulgaris.

And Vespula vulgaris queens.

Some Vespula germanica.

Habitat

Both Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica are found over most of Eurasia apart from the extreme south of Asia. They can live in most habitats provided they are not too cold. Both are common and widespread in the UK.

As well as the Common Wasp and the German Wasp, we also have Vespula rufa, the Red Wasp; Dolichovespula sylvestris, the Tree Wasp; and Dolichovespula norwegica, the Norwegian Wasp, all less common but found all over the UK. Dolichovespula media, the Median Wasp has been seen in Britain since about 1980 and is now seen over all England and Wales.

Other Notes

Wasps can sting but will only do so if annoyed or threatened. The sting is not barbed like a bee sting so wasps can sting repeatedly. Because the stinging mechanism is a development of the ovipositor, male wasps cannot sting.

See also

Hornets, Vespa crabro, can best be considered as wasps but a bit bigger. They are largely carnivorous. They are much rarer in the UK than wasps and are not normally found in Scotland, Ireland or the North of England.

[356] Veronica speciosa, New Zealand Hebe

[356] Veronica speciosa, New Zealand Hebe and others

Introduction

I will take Veronica speciosa (or Hebe speciosa,) New Zealand Hebe, as typical of a very large genus containing many popular varieties of garden plants. Many of them are known horticulturally as Hebes, as they used to belong to a genus called Hebe, but together with about half a dozen other genera they are now being absorbed into an enlarged genus Veronica, currently with about five hundred species.

Most of the former Hebe species come from New Zealand so the name is not particularly useful. Some are now called Shrubby Veronicas.

Many other species of Veronica are called Speedwell.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Lamiales

Family – Plantaginaceae

Tribe – Veroniceae

Genus – Veronica

Scientific Name – Veronica speciosa and others

It is still often known as Hebe speciosa. The genus Veronica has about forty scientific synonyms.

Other species, hybrids and varieties may be seen.

Name

Some plants in the genus Veronica have had the common name Veronica for four or five hundred years. It comes from the Latin Saint Veronica, from the Ancient Greek Berenice.

In Greek mythology, Hebe was a daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was the cupbearer to the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus and the goddess of youth. She married Heracles, often Latinized as Hercules. I never attempt to explain why plants are name after actual or mythological people.

I can’t find any trace of the meaning of Speedwell other than a suggestion that it could mean ‘speed well.’

Former Hebe Species

The species of Hebe now absorbed into Veronica are compact evergreen shrubs of various sizes.

Wikipedia describes the leaf structure concisely as ‘four perpendicular rows in opposite decussate pairs.’ I will give you a translation of this. Four leaves come out from the stem forming a flat horizontal cross shape. Just above them is another pair. This continues up each stem to form a dense mass of leaves.

They may be very small leaves as shown above or more elongated leaves, still keeping the same four-way structure.

The flowers, which can be blue, purple or white, are very small arranged in spiked inflorescences. It is nice to have some recognition of my oft-repeated problem and Wikipedia notes that: ‘Identification of Hebe species is difficult, especially if they are not in flower.’ This is more difficult in the UK where, as cultivated plants, they are rarely identified to species level when sold.

Some varieties are named cultivars but I will mention briefly some species that are identified horticulturally.

• Veronica longifolia, Garden Speedwell or Longleaf Speedwell, has long leaves and long blue inflorescences.
• Veronica rakaiensis, Rakai Hebe (named from a town and river in New Zealand,) has very small leaves and long inflorescences of white flowers. This is sold as a compact, round bright green shrub that may occasionally flower.
• Veronica salicifolia or Veronica stricta, Willow-leaf Hebe or Koromiko (its Maori name,) has long, willow-like leaves and long white inflorescences.
• Veronica speciosa, New Zealand Hebe, Showy Hebe, Showy-speedwell or Maori Titirangi or Napuka, has elongated leaves but not very long or very thin. Its pink to purple inflorescences are wider and shorter than other varieties.
• Veronica spicata, Spiked Speedwell, a very small shrub with very long inflorescences.

All may be sold as Hebe.

I will leave it to you to decide on the species for the following pictures.

Germander Speedwell

Veronica chamaedrys, Germander Speedwell, is one of the Veronica species that has not come from merging in the genus Hebe. It is a common and widespread wildflower native to Europe and western Asia. It is very low-growing, with small, pretty blue flowers, sometimes an unwanted garden weed. Its other common names include Bird’s-eye Speedwell and Cat’s Eyes.

[The explanation of its name is a bit complicated. As noted above, I can’t find any trace of the meaning of speedwell other than a suggestion that it could mean ‘speed well.’ Germander comes via French possibly from the Latin chamaedrys, which may mean charisma or gift. Other origins have been suggested. Germander Meadowsweet, Spyraea chamaedryfolia, derives its names from the similarity of its flowers to Germander Speedwell. Germander Sage, Salvia Chamaedryoides, gets its name from a similarity to another species, Teucrium chamaedrys, called Wall Germander. Most species of the genus Teucrium are also called Germanders!]

Germander Speedwell is a common, hardy turf weed because it is very low-growing and spreads in a creeping way, sending down roots. There are half a dozen other very similar species of Veronica.

It has small blue flowers with four petals and radial stripes (nothing like the inflorescences from the former species of Hebe.)

It is available as a cultivated plant and has been used as a herbal medicine, as tea, for various disorders.

Other Notes

I took a long time before deciding to include these flowers. I see three or four different types as small hedges in the estate where I live but my identification app has failed me consistently. It gets to Veronica almost immediately but always gives up on the exact species. Like many of my posts it covers the genus rather than a single species.

See also

We only have one more type of plant that you would call a flower and it’s another garden plant with lots of horticultural varieties. You could hazard a guess with what’s left of the alphabet …

[355] Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral

[355] Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral

Vanessa cardui, Painted Lady

Introduction

Our last butterfly is Vanessa atalanta, the Red Admiral. It is a well-known common species that is mostly black and has nothing to do with admirals. Two hundred years ago it was called the Red Admirable.

Vanessa cardui, the Painted Lady, is a closely related species, but does not look similar. It used to be called the Cosmopolitan in America.

Most of the other species of Vanessa (and some close relatives) have names that include either ‘Admiral’ or ‘Lady.’

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Class – Insects

Order – Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Family – Nymphalidae

Tribe – Nymphalini

Genus – Vanessa

Scientific Names – Vanessa atalanta, Vanessa cardui

Name

The Red Admiral is mostly black but the small bit that is coloured is mostly bright red (or sometimes a bit orange.)

Vanessa comes from a Latinized form of an Ancient Greek god Phanes. It is not cognate with the relatively modern given name Vanessa. Atalanta also comes from Greek mythology. I think scientists, when they couldn’t think of anything else, would name anything after anyone from ancient mythology – and for butterflies they were especially fond of young ladies or nymphs.

There is no specific reason why the name Painted Lady is used. The plant Trillium undulatum is also called a Painted Lady. (There are several completely different plants called Naked Ladies.)

Carduus was one form of the Latin name for some thistles, as we have seen in [111] Artichoke. Cardui is, of course, the genitive case, ‘of the thistle,’ from one of its food sources.

Description

Both species share the tribe Nymphalini with other species we have already met – [009] Peacock, [010] Tortoiseshell and [274] Comma. Members of this tribe are the largest UK species of butterflies.

The Red Admiral generally rests with its wings open, showing the prominent bright red band round its body. Most of the wings are black, with some white spots and the red section, which can sometimes tend towards orange, has some small dark dots towards the back.

It is not so easily recognized from the undersides of the wings, which are a more camouflaged mottled bluish grey-brown.

Caterpillars are mainly found on [353] the Stinging Nettle. Adults take nectar from flowers such as [060] Buddleia, or consume overripe fruit.

The Painted Lady has a similar appearance apart from its colouration. Most of the upper wings are a tawny orange-brown with some dark spots. The tips of the forewings are dark with white markings, like the Red Admiral, and the central part, including its body, is a pale brown (where the Red Admiral is black.)

The undersides of the wings are mottled brown.

Larvae feed on a number species, mainly Asters, and including the Thistles that give it its Latin name.

Habitat

Vanessa atalanta occurs widely over the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere – Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America.

Vanessa cardui is also widespread. Most of the UK population migrate here every spring from northern Africa. Possible reverse migration in autumn southwards is being studied.

Other Notes

I think the Red Admiral is well-known because it is so easy to recognize. We have no other species like it. When seen in flight a Painted Lady is not so easy to distinguish from a Tortoiseshell or Comma.

See also

You can find all the Butterflies covered in this blog from the Butterfly Category.

[354] Vanellus vanellus, Lapwing

[354] Vanellus vanellus, Lapwing

Introduction

Our final bird is Vanellus vanellus, the (Northern) Lapwing, probably the most attractive of our wading birds. Its back can show a pattern of iridescent colours and its impressive crest is always on view.

All the members of the genus Vanellus are called some kind of Lapwing, but the Northern Lapwing is normally just called a Lapwing. It can also be called a Green Plover or has onomatopoeic names such as Peewit, Pewit or Tew-it.

(All other Plovers come in the related subfamily Charadriinae.)

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Charadriiformes

Family – Charadriidae

Subfamily – Vanellinae

Genus – Vanellus

Scientific Name – Vanellus vanellus

Name

One theory is that Lapwing comes from the lapping sound of its flight as lap-wing. Wiktionary says that it is derived from Old English hleapan-wincian or modern leap-wink, coming from the way it distracts predators from the nest by trailing a wing and pretending to be unable to fly. Vanellus is a diminutive of the Latin vannus, a winnowing fan (used to separate wheat from chaff.) This is cognate with fan.

Description

We have covered a few of the common waders (or shore birds) of Britain in these blogs and the last few were summarised in [344] Redshank. But I have left the best until last.

The Lapwing is a medium sized wader. It is smaller than [209] Godwits and [168] Oystercatchers but larger than most other species.

Its underparts are almost pure white and its back is very dark, showing patterns of iridescent green and purple in sunlight. Its relatively short legs are dark red and the distinctive head has a short bill and a black cap extending backwards into a crest.

Like the Oystercatcher but unlike most waders, male and female birds are similar and their appearances do not change from summer to winter. Males may have a slightly more extensive crest.

It has large wings and a distinctive flapping flight pattern. It is normally seen in large flocks and they are easily recognisable by their flight when they take to the air after disturbance. Their courtship pattern includes an up and down flight demonstration.

It feeds primarily on insects and other small invertebrates.

Habitat

Vanellus vanellus has a patchy distribution over most of sub-Arctic Europe and a few other scattered locations. In the UK it is more or less resident over England and Wales, mostly a winter visitor in the southwest, and a summer visitor to Scotland. It breeds on farmland and used to be much more common as a breeding bird in England. Changes in agriculture and the reduction of open grassland have drastically affected its numbers.

Other Notes

Although they are gregarious you can often see just one or two birds at close distances from hides at wetland centres.

See also

That’s it. No more birds. You can see them all via the Birds category. You can, of course read about birds in general in the Birds Page above.

I was going to say something about Bird Clubs and point out that in America they are called Audubon Societies. John James Audubon (1785-1851) born Jean-Jacques Rabin in what is now Haiti, was a famous American naturalist who studied and documented American birds. I won’t go into his details but in the USA, the Audubon Naturalist Society is in the process of renaming themselves following recent revelations about his attitude to slaves and native Americans.

[353] Urtica dioica, Stinging Nettle

[353] Urtica dioica, Stinging Nettle

Introduction

Urtica dioica, the (Common) Nettle, is a common, widespread and well-known wildflower or weed, usually known as a Stinging Nettle.

It has separate male and female plants but the flowers are insignificant and may not be noticed.

Only five of its six subspecies have the stinging effect although the non-stinging subspecies, Urtica dioica galeopsifolia, is sometime considered to form its own species, Urtica galeopsifolia.

The word nettle is used for most species of Urtica and for many other unrelated plants that have mildly stinging effects or spines or prickles. Some plants that look like Urtica have names containing nettle, often suggesting that they are not nettles – such as False Nettles or [193] Deadnettles.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Rosales

Family – Urticaceae

Genus – Urtica

Scientific Name – Urtica dioica

Name

Nettle comes via Old English from Germanic roots, used for any mildly stinging plant. Urtica was the Latin name for this plant, coming from roots meaning burn or sting.

Dioica is the modern Latin form of dioecious (or diecious or diœcious,) coming from Ancient Greek di-oikia, meaning two-house. See [315] Red Campion.

Description

The stinging nettle is familiar to anyone who has done much walking in the countryside and it forms one of the main hazards in areas which have not been cleared. (The other one, of course, is [306] the Blackberry or Bramble.)

It has widely spreading rhizomes and can form bush-like areas of densely packed single stems, a metre or two in height.

The easily recognizable soft, green leaves are strongly serrated and pointed – light green with marked vein structure when new, becoming darker.

Even a light touch of any part of the plant leaves an immediate, lasting sensation of stinging. All of the stems and leaves are very hairy, covered with a mixture of stinging and non-stinging hairs. The tips of the stinging hairs come off, transforming into needles that inject several painful chemicals.

Botany has many words for the many different types of plant sexuality. Each plant can have male flowers, female flowers or hermaphrodite flowers, or any combination of the three types, and they can change between the possibilities every year or within years. The word dioecious is used for species with some plants having only female flowers and some having only male flowers, and this is so significant that it forms the species epithet of Urtica dioica.

[But, of course, just as it is not the only species of Urtica that is stinging, it is also not the only one that is dioecious.]

The tiny flowers appear at the top of each stem, almost unnoticed, in tight inflorescences. Male flowers are either yellow or purple, female flowers are green and white. They develop into equally insignificant tiny green fruits.

Habitat and use

Stinging Nettles are native to Europe and parts of Asia and North Africa. They are common in the countryside but are also found near human habitation and buildings.

The leaves can be eaten when cooked and dried leaves are used to make herbal tea.

It has been used in traditional medicine since Anglo-Saxon times and was believed to aid lactation in women. Flogging with nettles to produce inflammation was believed to be a remedy for rheumatism.

Stems of the plant have been used to make textiles and clothing for about 3 000 years in the same sort of ways as flax, which produces linen.

It is fed to laying hens to add yellow colour to their egg yolks.

It is host to several species of butterflies and moths, including [355] the Red Admiral and the aptly named [010] Aglais urticae, Tortoiseshell.

Other Notes

There is a widespread common belief that rubbing the leaf of a Dock plant (Rumex, related to Sorrel,) provides some relief against the stinging effects of Nettles. There is no evidence to support this but there may be some placebo effect.

Apart from a Christmas special, this is our last wildflower species.

[352] Ulva intestinalis, Gutweed and Green Algae

[352] Ulva intestinalis, Gutweed

Ulva lactuca, Sea Lettuce

Introduction

Ulva intestinalis, Gutweed, and Ulva lactuca, Sea Lettuce, are two types of common seaweed representing all the species of Green Algae.

All species of Ulva are sometimes called Sea Lettuce. Ulva intestinalis has been reclassified fairly recently. It used to be Enteromorpha intestinalis. [None of the other Ulva species have any specific common names.]

Sonchus arvensis, a close relative of [081] Chicory, has many common names that include Gutweed.

Taxonomy

Domain – Eukaryotes

Clade – Green Plants (Green Algae and Land Plants)

Phylum (or Division) – Chlorophyta

Class – Ulvophyceae

Order – Ulvales

Family – Ulvaceae (Flat or tubular green algae)

Genus – Ulva (Sea Lettuce)

Scientific Names – Ulva intestinalis, Ulva lactuca

Ulva intestinalis has the scientific synonym Enteromorpha intestinalis.

Groups above the Class level are debatable. They don’t usually have a level corresponding to Kingdom.

Name

The Classical Latin ulva is assumed to mean sedge (See [068] Hanging Sedge,) which is associated with water but is a long way from any green algae. Lactuca is the Modern Latin genus name for lettuce. Gutweed, intestinalis and Enteromorpha are all derived from the tubular nature of this plant.

Green Algae

What most people call seaweed consists of many species of Green Algae, Red Algae, Brown Algae and other types of Algae. I will not examine these in detail but, as you might expect by now, the actual colour of anything you see is only a very loose clue as to its classification.

We have already looked at [079] Red Algae and [151] Brown Algae and all I will add here is that Green Algae normally just creep to the widest definition of plants, where Red Algae or Brown Algae are normally just outside. Their green colour comes from the chlorophyll that defines plants.

The clade Chlorophytes (sometimes treated as a phylum or division) is one several groups that make up Green Algae.

The structures of Green Algae species are very simple. Many species, but not those in the order Ulvales, are single-celled.

As noted in [141] Oakmoss, many species of Lichen have Green Algae as their phycobiont.

Ulva lactuca

Sea Lettuce looks like a bright green, floppy flat leafy structure, somewhat like a lettuce leaf.

There are over a hundred species of Ulva, some of which may occur in Britain and some of these may look very similar to Ulva lactuca.

It has a worldwide distribution and is best found on sandy beaches or rocks between the high tide and low tide lines.

It is edible and has been used as a food source.

Ulva intestinalis

This species consists of long, very thin tubes of bright green, generally seen attached to rocks in tidal areas.

It is found almost worldwide.

Other Notes

Although I wanted to cover all Green Algae in this blog, there are no other common species – apart from some close relatives within the genus Ulva that may be confused with these two.

[351] Ulex europaeus, Gorse

[351] Ulex europaeus, Gorse

Introduction

Ulex europaeus, Gorse, is a bushy plant that can grow extensively in wild, open land. It can be covered in bright yellow flowers that are protected by vicious spikes.

It is also known as Furze or Whin.

It’s the only type of Ulex found in most of Europe so it can be called Common Gorse to distinguish it from the others.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Fabales

Family – Fabaceae

Subfamily – Faboideae

Tribe – Genisteae

Genus – Ulex

Scientific Name – Ulex europaeus

Name

Gorse comes from old Germanic roots and is cognate with hordeum, the Latin for [177] Barley – both coming from roots meaning bristly.

Furze comes from Old English roots, possible cognate with fire.

In Classical Latin ulex was used for a shrub like Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis.

Description

Gorse is an evergreen shrub, growing to a height of two or three metres.

It can provide extensive areas of cover in moorland areas where no other vegetation grows higher than a few centimetres – apart from an occasional stumpy [103] Hawthorn.

Its stems are covered in long sharp spines.

Large numbers of bright yellow flowers are produced throughout the year, particularly in spring when they cover the bush completely.

As for other members of Fabaceae, they produce seeds in pods.

Habitat

Gorse is native to Western Europe including the whole of the British Isles. It is mainly found in open moorland and commons.

It can be cultivated as an ornamental plant and in some circumstances its spikes help to make it an excellent hedge species.

Gorse is very hardy and survives heavy frosts. It also has a root system that allows it to re-grow after spreading fires.

Other Notes

Gorse is not widespread in the sense of being everywhere, but when you do find it, it’s probably extensive. You can find it in wild, uncultivated, exposed locations such as hillsides.

See also

The tribe Genisteae, which includes Gorse, also includes Lupins, Laburnum and several species of Broom. I tend to think of Broom as almost identical to Gorse without the spines but it is not so simple – some Broom species have spines and some types of Gorse do not.

Broom can grow wild in locations similar to where gorse is found. Several species of Broom are cultivated garden plants, usually as hybrids or cultivars.

Some, but not all species of Broom are in the genus Genista, which has the distinction of providing the name of a dynasty of English Kings. Plantagenet is a variation of ‘planta genista.’

[350] Tyria jacobaeae, Cinnabar

[350] Tyria jacobaea, Cinnabar

Introduction

Tyria jacobaeae, the Cinnabar Moth, is a colourful day-flying moth which comes from a colourful caterpillar that feeds on [187] Ragwort.

It can be called just a Cinnabar.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Class – Insects

Order – Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Suborder – Glossata

Clade – Coelolepida

Clade – Myoglossata

Clade – Neolepidoptera

Infraorder – Heteroneura

Clade – Eulepidoptera

Clade – Ditrysia

Clade – Apoditrysia (Butterflies and larger Moths)

Clade – Obtectomera

Clade – Macroheterocera

Superfamily – Noctuoidea

Family – Erebidae

Subfamily – Arctiinae

Tribe – Arctiini (Tiger Moths)

Subtribe – Callimorphina

Genus – Tyria (One species)

Scientific Name – Tyria jacobaeae

As always, taxonomy is fluid. The subfamily Arctiinae used to be treated as a family Arctiidae.

Many of the clades shown above are recent inventions attempting to clarify the taxonomy of about 200 000 species of butterflies and moths.

Name

The moths are named from a mineral cinnabar, used for thousands of years for its dark red colour. The Ancient Greek kinnabari probably comes from Arabic or Persian roots. Tyria, from the ancient city of Tyre in Lebanon, is associated with the colour Tyrian purple – a dark reddish-purple dye extracted from sea snails.

You will have worked out, after all my Latin lessons, that jacobaeae is the genitive of Jacobaea, because the caterpillars feed on Ragwort.

Description

The Cinnabar is a relatively large moth with a fixed pattern of black and dark red.

Caterpillars are boldly patterned with yellow and black stripes and feed on Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris.

The caterpillars absorb toxic and bitter tasting substances from their food and their bright colours act as a warning. The Cuckoo is the only species that eats them.

Habitat and use

The Cinnabar is found over Europe and across Asia to China. It is widespread in the UK.

It has been introduced to other countries with the intention of controlling Ragwort. The caterpillars feed on the leaves and flowers as they grow and if there is not enough food, they will eat each other. Very few grow to the pupal stage as they often run out of food.

See also

You will have to wait for my final blog of the year for another colourful day-flying moth species. There are many others that I have left out.

[349] Typha latifolia, Bulrush

[349] Typha latifolia, Bulrushes

Introduction

Typha latifolia, the (Common) Bulrush, is a tall grass-like plant found at the edges of ponds and lakes. It has other common names including Broadleaf Cattail, Common Cattail and Great Reedmace.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Bulrush refers to all members of the genus Typha, where they are also called Reed Mace (or Reedmace.) The name Cattail is also use, although I suspect this may American usage.

The word Bulrush is also used for several types of wetland grass-like plants, particularly the genera Cyperus and in America Scirpus (including six genera recently moved out of Scirpus) in the sedge family, Cyperaceae.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Poales (Grasses, Rushes and Sedges)

Family – Typhaceae (Typha and possibly one other genus)

Genus – Typha

Scientific Name – Typha latifolia

Some authorities put Typhaceae in a separate order Typhales rather than including it in the order Poales.

Names

The word rush (now generally applied to the family Juncaceae) for marshy grass-like plants has Middle English roots, possibly from earlier words meaning weave or broom. The prefix bul- probably means large.

Cattail does come from cat-tail and it has a rare pronunciation, as if written cat-tail.

Reedmace, also written Reed Mace or Reed-mace comes obviously from reed and mace. The Middle English reed for aquatic grass is of unknown origin; mace in the sense of a baton or club probably comes from the Latin mateola, hoe.

Typha is Latinized from Ancient Greek tuphe or typhe, used for a smaller species of bulrush/ cattail. Latifolia means broad-leaved.

[Note that words like grass standing for masses of small plants are generally treated as uncountable, larger species like rushes and bulrushes are countable. So, we might see some bulrushes but a field of grass.]

Description

Typha species are typical of the grass family in forming very long, straight vertical grass-like leaves. They grow easily to a height of two to three metres. As the epithet latifolia suggests, the leaves are flat and fairly broad.

Single straight vertical stems support the flowers, with a number of male flowers above and female flowers below. Male flowers are just a pair of stamens and they wither away once their pollen has been shed.

Large numbers of tiny female flowers just below the male spike form a long sausage shaped spike up to 30 cm long. The seeds are minute and disintegrate into a wool-like fluff to be dispersed by the wind.

Habitat and use

Typha latifolia is native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and is an introduced plant in Australia. It can be found in a variety of climates but is only found in or very near water.

Most of the plant is edible and has it has been used as a food source by native Americans. (It should not be eaten if the water in which it grows is polluted.)

Other Notes

The ‘ark of bulrushes’ in the story of Moses from the Book of Exodus almost certainly refers to Cyperus papyrus, the Paper Reed, the origin of papyrus and paper.

See also

Taxonomically, the family Typhaceae is very closely linked to the bromeliads, Bromeliaceae, and less closely linked to the rest of the order Poales. Bromeliads include many epiphytes and other terrestrial species like Ananas comosus, the Pineapple. You won’t see pineapples growing in the UK but you will see many epiphyte bromeliads as houseplants.

See [360] Mistletoe for the word epiphyte. (OK, It’s a plant growing on another plant.)

[348] Turdus philomelos, Song Thrush

[348] Turdus philomelos, Song Thrush

Introduction

Although not now very common, Turdus philomelos, is the most common type of thrush seen in Britain and is often called just a Thrush. Its more formal name is the Song Thrush but the sounds it makes are probably the most unexciting of our singing birds.

I will also look briefly at our other resident and visiting thrushes – apart from [347] the Blackbird, considered yesterday.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Passeriformes

Family – Turdidae

Genus – Turdus

Scientific Name – Turdus philomelos

Name

We saw the words thrush and turdus yesterday. You can see my thoughts about its song below. Throstle is an archaic form of Thrush.

Philomenos refers to the character Philomela in Greek mythology (from Greek philo-melos, loving-song,) who had her tongue cut out and was transformed into a singing bird.

Description

Although both are within the genus Turdus, the Song Thrush and Blackbird are not very close relatives. I would have described the Song Thrush as slightly larger than a Blackbird but they are actually slightly smaller. They have dark brown backs and very light cream underparts with very marked chevron-shaped spots (Like inverted ‘V’ shapes.)

The Song Thrush is omnivorous and may have a favourite stone that it uses as an anvil to break the shells of [172] Snails. They are also known to drop snails on to metalled road surfaces. As well as snails and worms, they may eat soft fruit and berries. They make typical nests in trees or bushes.

This bird has declined in numbers in recent years – due to changes in farming and a reduction of hedgerows; the use of poison bait to control slugs and snails; and the dangers of traffic when smashing snails on roads.

Song

I am not sure that many people would agree with me but I don’t think the sounds that the Song Thrush makes are good enough to be called songs. They may just about qualify as birdsong because it’s a bit more than the basic warning calls that many birds make. I don’t see it as melodious and it’s not as tuneful as a Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock or just about any of our other garden birds. I would describe it as follows.

1. Sing one, two or three notes fairly quickly. They may vary in tone and length.
2. After a gap, repeat exactly the same pattern as 1. above, normally for three repetitions but sometimes two or four.
3. Go back to 1., but make a different random choice, them keep looping.

It may not be exciting but it one of the easiest birds to recognize from its sounds.

There are several references to the song of the Song Thrush in English poetry.

Habitat

The range of the Song Thrush covers most of Europe apart from the extreme east and north. In some areas it is migratory but it is resident over all of England and Wales. It is a summer visitor in Scotland.

It breeds in woods, parks and gardens.

Other Notes

Some of these pictures come from my back garden but from several years ago. More recently, the Song Thrush is becoming very rare in towns. In the last few years, I have heard one more often than I have seen one.

See also

Other species of Turdus seen in the UK.

• Turdus viscivorus, Mistle Thrush. This bird is significantly larger and its spots are round, not chevron-shaped. Its back and neck are grey in parts rather than brown. They may be seen in large parks but are seen much less often in gardens and urban environments than Song Thrushes. It has a habit of standing up straight, somewhat reminiscent of the pose of a mongoose. It tends to eat more fruit and you can read more about it in [360] Mistletoe. Its song, which can include some mimicry of other birds, is much more like the song of a Blackbird than a Song Thrush.

• Turdus torquatus, Ring Ouzel. The male is like a Blackbird with a white half-collar at the front. A rare summer breeding visitor to a few mountainous locations in Wales, Scotland and Northern England. May be seen as a passage migrant on the way.

• Turdus pilaris, Fieldfare. Somewhat like a Mistle Thrush with a more reddish back and bluish-grey head and neck. Only seen in Britain as winter visitors where they form large flocks and may be seen in farmland or at the tops of trees. Very wary of people.

• Turdus iliacus, Redwing. Smaller and rounder than our native thrushes with red-brown under the wings. As for Fieldfare and often forming mixed flocks.

We only have one more bird species to come so I will mention some more small passerine (Passeriformes) birds that have escaped us. There are some fairly rare winter or summer visitors such as Waxwings and Flycatchers. But the main one to escape us is the Wren.

Troglodytes troglodytes, Wren

It’s almost our smallest bird. (There are one or two smaller birds that you will probably never see.)

It’s very common but tends to hide in the undergrowth. You will know what it looks like if you are old enough to remember the farthing coin. (They were withdrawn in 1961.) It’s small and brown. It may fly across your path between trees a few inches above the ground. If you learn to identify birdsongs, the song of the Wren is the easiest to identify, it is one of the loudest and you will hear it often.

[347] Turdus merula, Blackbird

[347] Turdus merula, Blackbird

Introduction

Turdus merula, the Blackbird, is a very common well-known small black bird. It is unlikely to be confused with other black birds in the UK such [098] Crows and [099] Rooks.

Several other birds in the genus Turdus are called Blackbirds. (Most Turdus species are called Thrushes.)

Some superficially similar birds in the family Icteridae are also called Blackbirds.

Turdus merula is also known as the Common Blackbird or Eurasian Blackbird.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Passeriformes

Family – Turdidae (Thrushes)

Genus – Turdus (True Thrushes)

Scientific Name – Turdus merula

Name

Like many species, the Blackbird gets its name from the most distinctive types, in this case the male birds. When the name first appeared in the Fifteenth Century it was our only black bird because in those days ‘bird’ applied only to smaller animals; Rooks and Crows were ‘fowl.’

The English ‘thrush’ comes from old roots cognate with the Classical Latin turdus, used for these birds. The Latin name for the Blackbird was merula.

Description

The adult male bird has glossy black plumage with a yellow eye ring and an orange-yellow bill that darkens in winter.

Female birds are dark brown without the eye ring and have dark bills. The brown has a mottled appearance.

Various leucistic (white) forms of both sexes may be seen with a single white feather or a patchy white over various parts of the body. I have seen a completely white Blackbird and one which was half white and half black. I would not describe these variations as common.

Blackbirds eat a wide range of food – insects, worms, seeds and berries. They spend much of their time on the ground looking for food. In trees they will eat berries and caterpillars. In autumn they will also eat fallen apples and whatever they can find in gardens. I have seen them sometimes at bird feeders but they are too large to cope easily with the usual hanging ones.

They can be woodland birds but nest very commonly in gardens and parks.

The Blackbird and [135] the Robin are the only two urban birds that have extended songs rather than short calls. In many places the Blackbird is the first to be heard on sunrise and the last to be heard at sunset.

Habitat and use

The range of the Blackbird corresponds more or less to Europe apart from the far North. For much of its range it is resident.

[It is not always obvious whether birds are resident or migratory. Almost all birds move between summer and winter locations to different habitats but distance travelled may be very small. As for many species, you may see them in your garden in summer and in winter but it is not necessarily the same birds.]

It is now a common introduced bird in Southeast Australia and New Zealand.

Like many small birds, Blackbirds have been trapped and eaten in Mediaeval times. They were actually placed live inside pies before serving, as noted in the nursery rhyme: ‘Sing a song of sixpence. A pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie …’

The bird also appears in The Twelve Days of Christmas. The line often sung as ‘Four calling birds,’ was probably ‘Four colly birds,’ when written in the Eighteenth Century. Colly is an old dialect word meaning black as coal, also used for a blackbird.

Other Notes

Blackbirds seem happy to coexist with humans. You may recognize the bird tables at Cannop Ponds in the Forest of Dean but many of my pictures come from local parks or my back garden.

See also

I will look at other species of Turdus tomorrow – the Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and two less common winter visitors.

[346] Tulipa gesneriana, Tulip

[346] Tulipa gesneriana, Tulip

Introduction

Tulipa gesneriana, our last garden flower, is the very familiar bulb plant that comes in many different colours and varieties.

It may be called the Garden Tulip but, in all contexts, it is normally just the Tulip.

It is a complex horticultural species and can be called Tulipa x gesneriana.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Clade – Monocots

Order – Liliales

Family – Liliaceae

Tribe – Lilieae – sometimes split into Lilieae and Tulipeae

Genus – Tulipa

Scientific Name – Tulipa gesneriana, or Tulipa x gesneriana.

It has dozens of scientific synonyms and there are thousands of varieties, some of which come from several other species or hybrids.

Name

Tulip comes via French and Turkish from the Persian and is cognate with turban. It may have been derived from the similarity of the shape of the flower to a turban, or from a translation error at a time when traditionally tulips were worn on turbans.

Conrad Gessner (1516-65) Latinized as Gesnerus, was a Swiss naturalist regarded as the father of scientific bibliography, zoology and biology. He was the first to describe many species including the tulip in 1559. Linnaeus named it after him in 1753.

Description

We have seen some other spring flowering monocot bulb like the [154] Snowdrop, [104] Crocus, [234] Daffodil, [178] Bluebell and [179] Hyacinth.

The Tulip is the of these last in our blog. It normally flowers latest – as late as May – and has the largest, most spectacular flowers, normally a single large flower from each bulb. As a member of the order Liliales, it is not closely related to any of the others listed above.

There are about 75 species of Tulipa, but I will stick to my rule and be imprecise. There are many varieties with a long history of cultivation and my pictures may not all be Tulipa gesneriana.

This species is described as a complex hybridized neo-species and it probably arose at the end of the Sixteenth Century in Turkey from the collections of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Tulips are typical monocots, usually a single stem bearing a single large flower surrounded by very few large leaves. The leaves, which are easily recognisable, come first before the flower spike emerges.

The original species produced either red or white flowers but horticultural development has produced varieties with all colours except pure blue. Historically there have been attempts at producing a black tulip, with some very dark purple varieties coming close.

Here are some that I have seen in local gardens and parks. The leaves are evident in the first few but for most pictures I have cropped down to show the flowers.

Habitat and use

Tulips come from central Asia but have been cultivated in Persia since the Tenth Century. They spread through Europe in the Sixteenth Century. They are now associated with the Netherlands, where they are widely cultivated for export both as bulbs for garden plants and as cut flowers.

Several species of Tulipa are now widely naturalized over Europe.

They can be grown as a specimen plant or on groups, generally mixed varieties.

The many cultivars include some more elaborate flower types, different sizes and many different colours. Some have been bred to produce two or three flowers or to flower earlier or later in the season.

Other Notes

I have found a local public House and Garden with extensive tulips cultivated. Here are just a few from a recent visit.

[This was written in May so these are not winter flowering varieties!]

See also

There is nothing like this species still to come but the last few blogs will have an interesting variety of topics.