Family: Portulacaceae / Montiaceae (APG)
Common name: Springbeauty, Miner's Lettuce
Scientific name: Claytonia perfoliata
Date taken: 23/4/2023
Notes: A truly unique plant introduced from North America that is now naturalised in the UK. This population is found springing up from crevices in walls and stone paths.
Family: Geraniaceae
Common name: Common Stork's-bill
Scientific name: Erodium cicutarium
Date taken: 9/4/2023
Notes: Compared to Musk Stork's-bill (E. moschatum), leaflets are much more deeply divided. Flowers larger than the Sticky Stork's-bill (E. lebelii). With fewer or no glandular hairs, the plant is also much less sticky.
Family: Ranunculaceae
Common name: Pasqueflower
Scientific name: Pulsatilla vulgaris
Date taken: 19/4/2023
Notes: Iconic species found on south-facing slopes of chalk grasslands.
Family: Primulaceae
Common name: Oxlip
Scientific name: Primula elatior
Date taken: 19/4/2023
Notes: Plant with a restricted geographical distribution. Compared with the more common Cowslip (Primula veris), flowers are paler with spreading corolla. Compared to False Oxlip (P. vulgaris x veris), flowers dip towards the same direction. Also note that the orange speckles on the corolla tube is much less prominent in Oxlip.
Like other Primula spp., individuals produce one of two flower types - thrum flowers or pin flowers.
Family: Saxifragaceae
Common name: Meadow Saxifrage
Scientific name: Saxifraga granulata
Date taken: 19/4/2023
Notes: Found in drier parts of a floodplain flower meadow. With glandular hairs.
Family: Primulaceae
Common name: Cowslip
Scientific name: Primula veris
Date taken: 9/4/2023
Notes: Common on meadows and grasslands. Not to be confused with Oxlip (Primula elatior), which has flowers that open more widely and paler flowers without prominent orange speckles. Like Primrose (Primula vulgaris), plants either produce thrum flowers with long stamens or pin flowers with long stigmas. Hybrids occur between P. vulgaris, P. elatior, and P. veris, which has intermediate characteristics.
Family: Geraniaceae
Common name: Musk Stork's-bill
Scientific name: Erodium moschatum
Date taken: 1/4/2023
Notes: Covered with glandular hairs and is very sticky when touched. Leaves pinnate, but leaflets not deeply divided as in the Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium) and Sticky Stork's-bill (E. lebelii)
Family: Primulaceae
Common name: False Oxlip
Scientific name: Primula vulgaris x veris = P. x polyantha
Date taken: 1/4/2023
Notes: Hybrid between Primrose (P. vulgaris) and Cowslip (P. veris). Like Cowslip, multiple flowers are found on the same flower stalk, but the plants are larger and corolla on flowers are spreading like that in Oxlip (P. elatior). Unlike the Oxlip, however, flowers are a darker shade of yellow, has orange speckles on corolla. Also differs from both the Cowslip and the Oxlip by having flowers pointing to different directions, but this is sometimes difficult to judge if the population is small.
