Still plenty to find

I was drawn to a particular area near Erwood today by an old record of Campanula patula - the flower that has been seen again this year in that locality. I didn't find any but there was still plenty to identify and record in the area.

There were also some great fungi - including this one I cannot identify:

I'd been mildly chastising myself for failing to record several common species this year so far - high on the list was the bindweeds - and lo and behold both common Calystegia species presented themselves today within about 100 yards.

This is Calystegia silvatica, Large Bindweed with bracts that entirely hide the sepals behind the flower. The Calystegia sepium, Hedge Bindweed I saw wasn't in a photogenic state. Of course when I was a gardener I hardly cared which species they were as I zapped them !

I was also pleased to see both common and water Figwort in the area.

Scrophularia nodosa, Common Figwort fruits

It helps enormously to keep at the botanical recording regularly making it possible to identify several species from leaves and stems alone, having got familiar with them earlier in the year when in flower. So there's a reason to carry on through the winter !