Promoting & Enhancing The Natural Beauty of the Sid Valley
Do you Remember The Winter Freezes of 1962-3 when Boxing Day Snow Lasted Until Mid-March? Or The Snows 0f 1976-1979. They weren’t the only severe winters, we’ve had them since records began as can be seen on various websites that mention severe weather. MaybeRead More
Leave a comment
Selfheal: Botanical name…Prunella vulgaris “Prunella” originally “Brunella” (Latin meaning Brown) from“die braune” German for “the brown one”. Used in German mid 16th century for treatment of infectious, severe throat condition, associated with brown tongues. “vulgaris”…common. “Selfheal” is part of the mint family, although it hasRead More
Leave a comment Red Campion, Botanical name Silene dioica Silene derives from the Greek word “sialon”, which means saliva, in reference to the gummy substance the plant secretes. “Dioica” in Greek means “of two houses”. This refers to the plant having male and female flowers on separateRead More
Leave a comment Dandelion, Botanical name Taraxacum officiale Taraxacum probably comes from ancient Greek “taraxos” meaning “disorder”, and “akos” remedy. Officiale means, in this context, “from the pharmacy”. “Dandelion” comes from French “dent-de-lion”. Translates as “tooth of the lion” because of the toothed leaves. TheRead More
Leave a comment Meadowsweet Botanical name…Filipendula ulmaria Filium “thread”. Pendulus “hanging”. Refers to root tubers hanging off fibrous roots. Ulmaria “elmlike”, referring to the leaves which resemble “Elm” (ulmus) Old Botanical name…Spiraea ulmaria. (see later!) “Meadowsweet” is a member of the rose family, and growsRead More
Leave a comment
I am on my knees again, weeding. This time removing a small primrose plant growing in the gap between the house wall and a concrete path. Why remove a Primrose, voted several years ago as the County Flower for Devon? There are plentyRead More
Leave a comment Ficaria from Latin for “fig” from the appearance of the root tubers. Verna from Latin vernus meaning “spring-like”. Part of large genus “Ranunculus”, which has about 600 species including “Buttercup” and “Marsh Marigold”. I suspect that there was confusion naming this plant. It flowers before “Swallows”Read More
Leave a comment
You May Recall The Name W H Cullen. He compiled the Flora Sidostiensis That The SVBG Used as a Baseline in our 2021 Flowering Herbaceous Survey. Here is Information On Cullen’s Background Written by John Tench William Henry Cullen was born in on 23 JanuaryRead More
Leave a comment A year-long survey of the valley’s wild flowers has found over 400 different species, many of them recorded 170 years ago by a local doctor and amateur botanist. As part of the Biodiversity Group’s project to catalogue the area’s wildlife, a group of volunteersRead More
2 responses This is the eleventh and penultimate update to the year-long survey of the valley’s herbaceous plants being carried out by volunteers with the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group. The group is compiling a modern list to compare with the list of species drawn up byRead More
Leave a comment