A nice summery one, Northern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella). I'm not sure why flying insects are attracted to something that looks like a mouth, but it works.
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Something to look out for next spring, particularly under old Hazel hedges but it can be found under many species of tree and shrub in dark, damp spots. It's Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria), a total parasite, getting all of it's nutrient and energy from the host plant. I'ts an uncommon plant, but seems to be happy popping up in any suitable habitats in towns & villages. This specimen was in Morpeth, Northumberland.
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Just in case we forget that trees are flowers! Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum). This is an old photo, we now live in a very windy spot so can't grow Acers verity well any more - a shame because they are beautiful little trees.
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Acer #Tree #Leaf

A simple Ox-eye Daisy flower (Leucanthemum vulgare), but if you look at the tallest "petal" just right of centre, the tip looks sort of torn off. Actually it shows the tips of the petals which were fused to form this "Ray Floret". What looks like a single flowerhead is a composite of hundreds of individual flowers. Many plants do this, they are in a family called the Asteracea - it's a very successful strategy.
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Common Cornsalad (Valarianella locusta) (probably).There are half a dozen species of Cornsalad, this being the commonest, and they are tough to distinguish. As the name suggests, this plant is edible in salads. This one was on a cobbled pavement area in the town, I wouldn't recommend eating one picked from there!
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor). This plant is considered to be essential, if you want a wildflower meadow, it parasites on grasses and keeps the robust grasses from dominating. It's an annual and the seeds are very short lived, they need to germinate in the winter after the plant had flowered. Also they apparently need 4 months of below 5C to germinate, so how it doesn't die out after a warm winter is a mystery to me. #PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Common Knapweed again (Centaurea nigra), showing the complex spikey bracts under the flower. They are actually modified leaves, although I'm uncertain as to their purpose.
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Greater Stitchwort (Rabelera holostea), a very common hedgerow / woodland plant.
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra). A very common thistle-like flower on roadsides. It's a "Composite" flower - each of those this petal-like things is a flower with it's petals fused together (they are called "florets"), complete with all of the reproductive bits and, most importantly for that fly, nectarines at the base dishing out insect-pop.
#PlantADay #Botany #Nature #Plant #Wildflower #BloomScrolling