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Sunday, July 31, 2005

Dodder

This plant has always fascinated me since learning about it for biology "o-level". I've hardly ever seen it though.

Certainly the Common Dodder of the UK is easily missed. At first I had stopped to investigate a Dwarf Thistle with a stemmed flower (some do have this) but realised after a while there were reddish threads growing around it. The flowers need full magnification on my macro lens and the pictures reveal the special feature of this relative of bindweed - no chlorophyll. It's a simple adaption really - if you are going to hold yourself up by winding around other plants why not tap into them for nourishment !

Friday, July 08, 2005

Guest images

It is nice to get offers of pictures to include on the site, although I didn't set out thinking it would develop this way.

Particularly if it opens up a part of the world few of us know botanically. So the latest new pictures from Rimantas Pankevičius in Lithuania are very welcome. All but one of the images he has sent me can be found growing in the UK.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Braunton Burrows

What an amazing habitat. I was there for the BSBI meeting on Saturday. A bit of a distance from here which is why I hadn't been before but I will be going again.

The Warden, John Breeds, emphasised the problems they face preventing invasion by scrub but actually the message of one's eyes was "keep up the good work".

Twenty new native species for the website and my first BSBI meeting. A very impressive organisation I feel I hardly merit association with yet.