Family

Nasturtium are members of the Tropaeolaceae.  Members are succulent with alternate leaves and flowers borne singly on stems.  They’re climbing vines, originating in South America.  Other species seen in gardens include the clambering Flame nasturtium Tropaeolum speciosum, and the yellow flowered Canary creeper Tropaeolum peregrinum.  Both have lobed leaves, unlike T. majus.

Nasturtium flowers

Flowers are zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical) and have five petals.  They are between 2.5 and 6 cm across.  The upper two petals are similar, and differ in shape and size from the lower three.  These have distinctive fringes in the mouth of the corolla, possibly relating to pollinating and nectar guides.  They tend to be orange and yellow, although some are red or a dark crimson.

There is an immediately recognizable spur at the back of the flower which is where the nectar is stored.

Pollen is produced by 8 stamens.  There is one style with three stigma, and a three-celled ovary.

The calyx is made of five sepals which vary in size and shape like the petals.

Nasturtium seeds

Seeds are a three-celled schizocarp (for more on seed anatomy take a look at my blog).  These break into three succulent segments, each of which contains a seed.

Nasturtium seeds are really large, and germinate readily.  This makes them ideal for planting with young kids.

Leaves of the nasturtium

Instantly recognizable, nasturtium leaves are alternate, and round with a centrally attached stalk and radiating veins.  They are thin with smooth margins, and are waterproof, shining a beautiful silver when submerged in water.

Pollination

In their native South America, nasturtium are pollinated by hummingbirds as well as by insects.  This may explain the red (as well as yellow and orange) flowers, which are easier for birds to find than insects (for more on this fascinating topic, check out Miguel Rodriguez-Girones’ article in PLoS.

Here in the UK they’re pollinated by long-tongued bees such as the Common carder Bombus pascuorum and the Garden bumblebee Bombus hortensus.

Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum

Etymology

The Latin name was coined by Linneaus, amazing taxonomist and naturalist, when he introduced the plant to European gardens in the 18^th century.

He thought the helmet-shaped flowers and flat, shield-like leaves resembled trophies from Roman times. These were known as “Tropoeum”.  After a victory, legionaries would put these shields and helmets on poles for all to see.

The English name, nasturtium, derives from the Latin “nasus tortus” or “nose twister”.  The peppery flavour of the plant explains this.  It’s no coincidence that the Latin name for the equally fiery watercress is Nasturtium officinale.

The unrelated Watercress Nasturtium officinale

Other European countries, such as Spain, Italy, Germany and France, have common names based on “cappuccio”, the Latin for hood.  These relate to the flower shape.

Edibility

All parts of the plant are edible, with a fiery mustardy flavour.

In her book The Garden Forager (which I was lucky enough to illustrate), Adele Nozedar suggests adding the flowers to salads.  Or stuffing them with cream cheese and mint.  Or even with vanilla ice cream!  She also includes a recipe for Nasturtium-leaf soup from President Eisenhower, and tells how to pickle the seeds in white-wine vinegar.

Medicinal nasturtiums?

All of the nasturtium is rich in vitamin C, so the plant was used to prevent scurvy.  It was also used to prevent hair loss, as a paste of the fiery follicles was thought to stimulate the hair follicles.

Pests

Despite being easy to grow and hardy up ’til the first frost, nasturtium are beset with pests.

Aphid congregate at the apex of stalk and leaf.

Aphid (with rose leaves)

Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars (also known as Large white Pieris brassicae) devour the leaves, leading some gardeners to suggest planting nasturtium as a “trap crop” to deter pests from vegetables like kale and cabbage (Horticulture magazine) , while others argue that companion planting may actually attract more pests (The Spruce).

Compost bin with nasturtium growing in and over it

Conclusion

It’s common to have favourite plants and flowers, and no surprise that the nasturtium is one of mine.  With its’ grow-ability, draw-abilty, and edibility…what’s not to love?

https://youtu.be/XGeSNvRmhBM

The post Nasturtium appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

For plant anatomy, look at the basics of botany blog, and at fruit types.  What’s in a name 1 and part 2 discuss how Latin names work and why they are important

Some of the other families I’ve examined include the the Plantaginaceae (Plantains), Rosaceae (Roses), Ranunulaceae (Buttercups), Caryophyllaceae (Campions), Fabaceae (Peas), Brassicaceae (Cabbages), Apiaceae (Carrots); and the Asteraceae (Daisy family).  The Orchids will be the last in this series for a while.

I am a botanical illustrator, not a trained botanist.  So if you see a mistake, tell mw so I can fix it.  Thanks.

Fragrant orchid Gymnadenia conopsea

Wildflower families:Orchidaceae

The Orchid family is the most profuse on earth with 760 genus and more than 28,000 species globally.  They are members of the Monocots, along with grasses, sedges, rushes and lilies.  As well as having simple leaves with parallel veins, often in a basal rosette; many also have swollen root tubers called pseudobulbs.  There is much variety in the irregular flowers, but all have a mechanism for giving sacs of pollen to a visiting insect.  These are known as pollinia.  Seeds are tiny, held in a capsule.

Early Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp coccinea

Orchids are considered exotic so are popular house plants.  Many homes have a couple of Moth orchids, Phalaenopsis, on a window sill.  Dendrobium, Cattleya, Oncidium, and Miltonia are other hot house varieties.

The flavouring Vanilla comes from the pod and seeds of Canilla planifolia which is grown commercially.  Likewis, the starch-rich tubers of some Dactylorhiza and Orchis species are ground up and used for cooking and medicine.

Early Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp coccinea with swollen pseudobulbs

Orchidacea overview

Plants in this family have simple linear alternate leaves, with some reduced to scales.  The veins are parallel.

Orchid flowers are bisexual and irregular and amazingly diverse.  They can be solitary or in a raceme.  Generally, they consist of two whorls of 3, and often twist as they develop.  Pollen is held in adapted Pollinia which are produced by one, occasionally two or three stamen.  Ovaries are inferior.

Cretan orchid Cephalanthera cucullata

The name Orchidaceae comes from the Greek word “Orchis” meaning testicle.  This refers to the bulbous shape of the swollen root or pseudobulb that you see in many species.

Early purple orchid Orchis mascula

Orchidaceae Leaves

Orchid leaves are pretty similar; all are simple with parallel veins, tend to be fleshy and don’t have stipules or a petiole.  The leaves en-sheathe the stem.  Leafless orchids reduce their leaves to scales and take an even more intimate relationship with mycorrhizal fungi which provide them with a lot more nutrients than in regular fungi-orchid symbiosis. In leafless orchids, roots are photosynthetic organs.  (Many thanks to Max Rykaczewski for this clarification!)  Some species have markings on the leaf, like the Spotted orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii.

Common spotted orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Orchidaceae Flowers

The two whorls that make up the orchid are an outer ring of Petaloids, and an inner ring of petals. Petaloids are a cross between sepals and petals. Outer and inner whorls often have the same colouring.  One of the inner petaloids has a projection, like a spur.

Orchid diagram

Orchids also have a large lip.  This grows at the top of the Orchid flower, but twists 180 degrees as it grows so that by the time the plant needs pollinating the enlarged labellum can act like a landing strip for pollinating insects.  In some single-flowered Orchids, the flower stem bends back on itself and over the stem to achieve the same result. This process is called Resupination.

Orchid flower of Early marsh orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp coccinea

Pollinia can be highly evolved to dovetail with one specific pollinator.  Sometimes the plant glues these sacs of pollen to an insect head, at other times to a bird’s beak.  Smooth surfaces like eyes and mouthparts make good adhesion sites.  The only birds that pollinate orchids are Hummingbirds, and although they pollinate a mere 3% of Orchid species, it makes for around 1000 species using bird pollination.

Diagram of a Pollinia and within an orchid flower

The plant produces a viscous glue, and once the pollinarium is attached, this dries out and rotates the structure into the ideal position for pollinating the next stigma visited.  There is a pair of Pollinium per flower.  For more on Pollinia attachment check out this brief overview from iNaturalist.

Orchid bee Euglossa cybelia with Cycnoches guttulatum orchid and pollinia attached to the abdomen

The ovary is inferior and has 3 fused carpels.  Monocots often present floral parts in multiples of 3, eudictos in multiples of four or five.

Orchidaceae Fruit

Orchid seeds are produced in capsules which get shaken by the wind.  Seeds are tiny, like dust, and are perfectly suited for wind dispersal.

Common lizard Lacerta vivipara in field with grasses buttercup and orchids

In the wild, seeds rely on symbiotic fungi to germinate as the embryo is tiny and there’s almost no endosperm for nutrient storage.  Humans sometimes germinate them in sterile environments, in nutrient rich agar! (For more on germinating orchid seeds look at this Orchidbliss blog.)

Jersey orchid Anacamptis laxiflora

Orchidaceae: Other species

In the UK we have 15 common orchids, as listed in this BBC Countryfile article.  Sometimes several species grow in abundance oat one site, like at Hartslock Nature Reserve where over 7 species grow on one slope.

Many tropical orchids are epiphytic, growing on trees, and acting like clambering vines.

Pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis

Conclusion

I’ve never spent an enormous amount of time with the Orchids.  When I see them growing in a field I am always delighted, but they don’t seem to fill the pages of my sketchbook.  Perhaps it’s time for that to change.  References for this blog and all the others in this series include my FSC botany course delivered by Iain Powell, the Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and the excellent Naturespot website.

Bee orchid Ophrys apifera

The post Wildflower families: Orchidaceae appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

For descriptions of plant anatomy, look at my  the basics of botany blog, and on fruit types.  What’s in a name 1 and part 2 discuss how Latin names work and why they matter.  I have blogged on this family before, as it intrigues me, so feel free to look at my earlier blog.

Some of the other families I’ve examined include the Ranunulaceae (Buttercups), Caryophyllaceae (Campions), Rosaceae (Roses), Fabaceae (Peas), Brassicaceae (Cabbages), and Apiaceae   I hope to add a few more over the coming months.

Meadow thistle Cirsium dissectum

I am a botanical illustrator, but not a trained botanist.  So if you see a mistake, please let me know, thanks.

Wildflower families: Asteraceae

The daisy family has 1317 genus and over 21,000 species.  This makes it one of the most prolific plant families on earth. Flowers are small and either disc or ray form.  They cluster together in flowering heads called a capitulum, and have a distinctive appearance.  Dandelions, daisies, and thistles are Asteraceae.  Seeds are cypsela, a type of achene. As well as daisies, dandelions, and thistles, other Asteraceae include many garden flowers.  Chrysanthemum, Dahlia, Rudbeckia, Cosmos, Goldenrod and Gerbera are all in this family.

Chrysanthemum flower (Pom-pom variety)

Food crops are limited to Lettuce, Chicory, Salsify, Endive, and Globe artichoke.  The oil from Sunflower seeds is economically important, and the tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke are edible. There are lots of wildflowers in the Asteraceae, some (like Dandelion and its’ allies) can be incredibly difficult to identify to species level.  Knapweeds, Teasels, Chamomile, and Marigolds are Asteraceae.

African daisy Gerbera

Asteraceae overview

Plants in this family have varied leaves which are mostly alternate.  They don’t have stipules and frequently grow in basal rosettes, as well as on the stem.  A stipule is like a tiny leaf that grows in pairs at the base of a leaf stalk, next to the stem. Flowers have five fused petals, and  their stamens fuse to this tube. Flowers (florets) are disc or ray form.  The calyx is modified to a pappas. Seeds are a dry cypsela, achenes with one seed.

Milk thistle Silybum marianum with detail of disc floret and seed with calyx modified to a pappas

The name Asteraceae comes from the ancient Greek for star, via the Latin Aster.  It refers to the star-like flowering head.  This family used to be known as the Compositae, reflecting the composite nature of the flowering heads.

Asteraceae Leaves

The amount of variety in Asteraceae leaves is enormous, and they can not be reliably used to identify the family.  They can be simple or pinnate (divided).  Although most are alternate they can be whorled or opposite.

Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense with alternate divided stem leaves and a basal rosette

However, most Asteraceae have a basal rosette, and most leaves are towards the bottom of the stem.  These are often larger and much more divided than higher stem leaves.  Look for a difference between base and stem leaves, this suggests a plant might be in the Daisy family.  A good example is the Sow-thistle.

Common blue Sow-thistle Cicerbita macrophylla

However, wildflowers from other species (like the Harebell Campanula rotunidfolia from the Campanulaceae) also have different basal and upper leaves.

Harebell Campanula rotundifolia showing different stem and basal leaves.  Harebell is NOT an Asteraceae

Asteraceae Flowers: Ray and Disc florets

All flowers are made of an assemblage of smaller florets, held in a capitulum.  They come in two forms, disc and ray florets. Disc florets are tubular, made of five petals fused into a tube, and have radial symmetry.  Ray florets are irregular, with one elongate petal (called a ligule) which tapers to a fused base around the flower parts.  Each yellow bit of a dandelion flower is a separate ray floret.  The florets attach to a receptacle, and the whole is the capitulum.

Echinacea diagram

Some species are a mix of ray and disc florets, like the Scabious, Cornflower, and the Daisy.  Ray florets on the outside, disc florets within.  The easiest plant to see this on is the enormous capitulum of the Sunflower, Helianthus annus,

Sunflower Helianthus annuus, Yellow ray florets on the outside, brown disc florets inside

Others are only disc florets.  Knapweed and Thistles fall into this category as does the Button-weed, Cotula.

Greater knapweed Centaurea scabiosa with disc floret and bract

Asteraceae which only have ray florets include all the Dandelions (Taraxacum agg), Hawkweeds (Hieracia), and Hawk’s-beard (Crepis).

Mouse-ear Hawkweed Pilosella officinarum

Asteraceae Flowers: Pappas and Involucral bracts

The sepals and calyx are reduced to a ring of hair-like pappus which become far more prominent when the seeds mature.

Carline Thistle Carlina vulgaris with seed, pappas around disc floret, and involucral bract detail

Often the capitulum is flanked with whorls of sepal-like leaves.  These are known as involucral bracts, or phyllaries. The number of whorls can help differentiate between species, as can their colour, and whether or not they have gland-bearing hairs.  This becomes really important when trying to identify the Dandelion-like species, known as Taxacarum agg, showing that there’s a whole aggregation of similar species.  A really helpful resource is the BSBI guide to Dandelions by A. J. Richards, but even experts accept that sorting these out to species level is difficult.

Mouse-ear Hawkweed Pilosella officinarum showing overlapping hairy involucral bracts

Capitulum may grow solitarily (like the Daisy) or in many-flowered clusters (like the Goldenrod Solidagao species)

Giant or Early Goldenrod Solidago gigantea

Each flower is bisexual and has five stamens with short filaments, fused to and alternating with the lobes of the corolla. Anthers are fused to filaments, and face inwards, forming a tube around the style.

Narrow-leaved Ragwort Senecio inequidens details

There are two carpels (the female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of a style, an ovary, and a stigma.  Ovaries are inferior, growing below the flowering parts. For more on ovary positions look at my blog on the ovary.  The stigma, the top of the style and part that pollen lands on, is always forked and frequently curves back on itself.  The style grows within the tube made by the anthers, with the curved stigma emerging at the top.

Sunflower Helianthus annus Ray and disc floret, the latter clearly showing emergent curved stigma

Asteraceae Fruit

The fruit of the Asteraceae are cypsela.  Cypsela are a type of achene, a single-seeded dry fruit.  Cypsela come in various shapes, and often are crowned with the pappas, hairs.  Pappas frequently lengthen after fertilization to form the familiar dandelion clocks and fluffy seeds we see being disbursed by the wind.

Giant or Early Goldenrod Solidago gigantea seed

There’s plenty of variation here, too.  Some cypsela have beaks, a stem holding the pappas (like a Dandelion).  Others simply have a ring of hairs attached to the seed.  The pappas hairs can be simple or branched.  Some species like the Pot marigold, Calendula officianlis have no pappas, but are an amazing curved and lumpy shape.

Dandelion Taxacum officinale seeds

Asteraceae: Other species

As well as the species listed, Yarrow, Tarragon, Arnica, Burdock, Groundsel, Ragwort and Ragweed, and Echinaceae are all members of the Daisy family.

Ragwort Senecio jacobaea

Conclusion

Sorting out the Asteraceae, with its ray and disc florets and cypsela, seems daunting at first.  However, it’s a magnificent family, and the tiny florets are well worth a closer look with a hand lens.  I’ll be doing more of these wildflower family blogs over the coming months.  References include my FSC botany course delivered by Iain Powell, the Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and the excellent Naturespot website.

Marsh hawksbeard Crepis paludosa

The post Wildflower families: Asteraceae appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

I first illustrated grasses way back in 2014, for the HarperCollins Flower Guide by David Streeter.  Not knowing that I was planting the seeds of an obsession, I volunteered to take on the Graminaceae pages.  A passion was born, which accompanied an extremely steep learning curve!  For more on grass anatomy look at my blog, and at one which explains how you can tell grasses, rushes, and grasses apart.

Grasses plate completed for the HarperCollins field guide

Researching the species list

As with most jobs, the first step is to research the species list provided by the client.  When this covers European species I can often go and find the plant growing in the wild.  Not so for Caribbean species.  Despite having spent some time looking at grasses in the spring, during my visit to teach on Montserrat, I didn’t have the chance to take visual or written notes.

The internet, especially iNaturalist, is a valuable resource in these situations.  So too is Kew’s online plant atlas, scans of herbarium specimens, and any number of US colleges’ agricultural resources.

I need written descriptions as well as illustrations of the grass inflorescence, and photos of the plants growing in situ.  For more on how to illustrate a plant when you can’t get your hands on it, take a look at my blog.

Another thing to remember is that there are numerous English names for each species, and obsolete Latin ones too.  To fully trawl all the information, you need to search all of the names relating to that one species.

Drawing up roughs

It’s always a relief to have botanists on board who can check my illustrations for accuracy, and the team working with Montserrat’s branch of UKOTCF are excellent. They look at the pencil drawings and give feedback.  Once I get the go-ahead, I can start adding colour.

Crab grass Digitaria ciliaris

Each illustration shows the plant with roots, the habit (the way it typically grows), and details of the ligule and individual spikelets (grass flowers).  These are crucial to correctly identifying grasses at species level.

Dutchgrass or Crowsfoot Eleusine indica

Grasses of Montserrat: Generalisations

Many of the grasses were far bluer than the species we get in the UK.  They also tended to have sprawling habits.

It’s interesting, and possibly ecologically significant, that the inflorescence structure of many of these grasses is digitate, like outstretched fingers.  In fact, many of these species are known as finger-grasses, or Digitaria.  The spikelets are often one-sided and compressed against the rachis. The same can not be said of most British and Northern European species, although of course there are many digitate species amongst those with more open panicles .

I found myself wishing over and over again that I’d paid more attention and taken visual notes when I was there in February.  Even little things like the way a grass blade discolours is so much easier to illustrate if you’ve seen it, and taken notes.

Dutchgrass or Crowsfoot Eleusine indica

Eleusine indica is also known as Indian wire-grass.

Montserrat grass species: Sourgrass Digitaria insularis

Sourgrass is a large, perennial grass that grows across the Americas.  It can be up to 4ft tall, and is a fast-growing and troublesome weed for farmers in South America; especially Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

Sour grass Digitaria insularis

Unlike lots of the other grasses on the list, Sourgrass has a loose raceme.  It grows on low open ground.

Although it’s seen as a weed in many places, I love this plant.  The flowering head is so elegant, and the swoop of the long leaf blades is a treat to illustrate.

Montserrat grass species: Lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus

Another species with a loose panicle is Lemongrass.  Yes, this is indeed the same plant that can be bought in grocery stores as a delicious cooking ingredient.  The part used is the base of the grass stem where the flavour is concentrated, although the whole plant smells lemony.

Leaves are quite long, and the base of the plant often bears a brown or reddish flush.

Lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus

Lemongrass is used in traditional medicine as well as cooking, treating digestive complaints.  There is some research that suggests it might also be of use in phytoremediation, where a plant helps remove toxins from polluted soil.

Montserrat grass species: Purple top Chloris barbata

Purple top is also known as Swollen fingergrass, Airport grass, Swollen windmill grass, or Purple chloris.  Originally from Africa and South-east Asia, it’s now pretty ubiquitous across the Americas.  It grows well on Montserrat, and in some places outcompetes other species.

Purple top Chloris barbata

The disadvantages associated with this plant aren’t directly relevant to Montserrat, as since the volcanic eruptions of the 1990s, there’s been little economically significant agriculture.  If this changes, the Purple top’s role as a host for pests of rice; and threat to sugarcane, tree crops like guava; and as an invasive on lawns may prove more problematic (CABI).

Inflorescence of Purple top

Although animals will graze on young plants, as it matures it becomes increasingly tough and is therefore no good as a pasture grass.

Single spikelet of Purple top

Irrelevant of its’ status, it was a lovely plant to illustrate.  The rich purples of the spikelets and the long awns made it a fabulous subject.

Montserrat grass species: Carpet grass Axonopus compressus

Carpet or Blanket grass is native to the Caribbean.  Although the grass flowers can reach 45cm, most of the vegetative growth is at low level.  The leaf blades are wide and green, and provide good ground cover.  It is used for lawns, and to help limit soil erosion.

Carpet grass Axonopus compressus

It can also be used medicinally, as a herbal bath and to cure heart problems (Medicinal plants of Guyana by DeFilipps). I am unsure if it’s used in this way on Montserrat.

Unlike Purple top, it’s good for grazing animals and doesn’t seem to have any negative effect on fruit crops (CABI).

Montserrat grass species: Jungle rice Echinochloa colona

This grass is another introduced species, originating in Africa and Asia.  I like it because of it’s geometry, and somewhat unusual flowering head.

The grains can be harvested and used as food when times are particularly tough, and it is the ancestor of Sawa millet.  In India, it is made into Khichdi, a dal eaten on fasting days or when you’re ill (click here for a recipe), and can be ground into a flour.

Jungle rice Echinochloa colona

Montserrat grass species: Bamboo grass Lasiacis divaricata

Bamboo grass is also known as Wild cane, Cane grass, and Tibisee.  It looks really unusual for a grass because of the broad leaves and the dark seeds, which resemble berries.

It’s a native species, favouring forests of broadleaf evergreens.  Although it grows in the undergrowth, it can also climb and grow amongst the trees.

Bamboo grass Lasiacis divaricata

Having a species with wider leaves, and shiny berry-like fruits, was a welcome change from the other grasses on the species list.  It looks more like bamboo than any other grass species I can think of.  Like bamboo, it grows from a woody stem.

It grows well in shady locations, and is used to provide ground cover.

Montserrat grass species: Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum

The last species of grass I want to focus on is Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum.  To call the history of this plant’s use contentious would be a gross understatement.  The growing and harvesting of sugarcane was the backbone of the trans Atlantic slave trade.  It was introduced to Montserrat in the 17th century, and the importation of enslaved peoples from Africa soon followed.  Montserrat has a large Irish population, some of who were plantation owners and merchants, and some of whom were themselves enslaved and worked with sugar cane.

In 1768 a group of Montserrat slaves revolted on St. Patrick’s Day.  Although the rebellion was unsuccessful, St, Patrick’s Day is still celebrated on the island, both for the Irish heritage and, I’m guessing, the bravery of those who rose up in 1768 (Fotbot).

Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum

This grass only thrives if tended by humans, and is delicious thanks to the high concentration of sucrose in the sap of the woody stem.  Native to New Guinea, it is now found across the tropics.  It is grown commercially in many places, and provides half the world’s cane sugar.  However, on Montserrat, sugar cane plantations ceased to be viable many decades ago (and long before the 1990s eruption of the Soufriere hills).

Detail of the panicle of sugar cane

Illustrating the complex panicles was a real challenge as the plant is large but each spikelet is tiny.  This meant representing the branches as irregular “twigs” rather than showing each flower.  The deep purple flush on the stem made up for this challenge though.  Many plants are flushed purple, but few grasses are as dramatically striped as the sugar cane.

Base of sugar cane stems

Other grasses

There were 12 grasses on the species list, so this is just a selection.  Guinea grass Megathyrsus maximus, Gophertail lovegrass Eragrostis cilarius, Crab grass Digitaria ciliaris, Dutchgrass Eleusine indica, and Seashore paspalum Paspalum vaginatum  also featured.

Guinea grass Megathyrsus maximus

As always, I was so pleased to be able to spend a few weeks researching and illustrating grasses species.  And to be doing it for the team I worked with at Montserrat National Trust and UKOTCF was a real treat.

I only wish I’d taken more notice of the grasses under my feet when I visited back in February!

Seashore paspalum Paspalum vaginatum with its beautiful purple stamens

The post Grasses of Montserrat and the Eastern Caribbean appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

For definitions of botanical terms, look at my blog on the basics of botany blog, and there’s another on fruit types.  What’s in a name 1 and part 2 explain Latin names and why they matter.

Other wildflower families I’ve discussed include the Plantaginaceae (Plantains), Rosaceae (Roses), Ranunulaceae (Buttercups), Caryophyllaceae (Campions), Fabaceae (Peas), Brassicaceae (Cabbages), and Apiaceae (Carrots); with Asteraceae (Daisies) and Orchidaceae (Orchids) yet to come.

Bee balm Monarda sketchbook study

I know a bit about wildflowers from illustrating them, but I am not a trained botanist.  So if you see a mistake, please let me know, thanks.

Wildflower families: Lamiaceae

The Dead-nettle family has 224 genera and over 5600 species globally.  Stems are square and leaves are opposite and simple, without stipules.  They are often hairy and may contain volatile oils that make the plants smell strong.  Flowers have a fused corolla with a two-lipped lower petal.  There are four stamen, and two fused carpels.  Seeds are held in nutlets.

Black horehound Ballota nigra

As well as Dead-nettle, this family contains garden flowers like Salvia, Phlomis, the houseplant Coleus, and Lavender.  The volatile oils mean many of these flowers are fragrant and used as herbs.  These include Rosemary, Oregano, Marjoram, Sage, Thyme, Mint, Hyssop, and Bergemot.  Some of these species are grown commercially in the perfume and food-crops industries.  Wildflowers in this family include Yellow archangel, Woundwort, Bugle, Selfheal and Betony.

Wild thyme Thymus praecox

(The Stinging nettle Urtica dioica is not a member of the Dead-nettle family.)

Lamiaceae overview

Plants in this family have square stems, tend to be hairy, have paired simple leaves and a turret of flowers called a Verticillaster.  This consists of a series of whorls of flowers. Many are aromatic and all produce four seeds in a fruit called a nutlet.

The name Lamiaceae replaces the older family name of Labiatae which comes from the ancient Greek word Iamos, meaning jaws, and seems refer to the way flowers seem to swallow small insects when they enter the corolla tube.

Harper Collins Flower Guide plate showing members of the Lamiaceae family

Some members of this family reproduce asexually, without seeds.  Yellow archangel sends out runners and Mint is notorious for taking over swathes of a garden.

Apple mint Mentha suaveolens, a species which sends out runners, with the Silver Y moth 

Lamaceae Leaves

Leaves grow from the square stems, which are often hairy and sometimes flushed purple.

Watermint Mentha aquatica

They are opposite and never compound, and they lack stipules.

Many have toothed margins (for more on margins check out my blog).  They have deep veins and are often hairy.  Lots have glands in the epidermis which secrete volatile oils, making the leaves aromatic.

Lamaceae Flowers

Flowers in this family grow in a turret formation called a Verticillaster.

Variegated Yellow Archangel Lamiatrum galeobdolon subsp argentum

The flowers of the Dead-nettle family are mostly bisexual and irregular.  They have bilateral symmetry.

White dead nettle Lamium album flowers

The five sepals are fused into a tubular calyx with different shaped teeth, depending on species.  It remains and cradles the fruit til the seeds are ripe.

Five petals are fused into a corolla tube; the upper petal is often hood-like and may be fringed with hairs.  The lower corolla lip is mostly two-lipped.

Klip dagga Leonotis nepetifolia flower

There are four free stamens Inserted under the corolla “hood”, two long and two short (except in Gypsywort Lycopus europaeus which has two).  The stamen filaments are attached to the corolla tube and the anthers point inwards.

Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata cross section, the 2 lower stamens concealed

There are two fused carpels and a superior ovary (meaning it develops seeds above the flowering parts.)  For more on ovary positions look at my blog on the ovary.  The carpels sit on a nectar-producing disk. The stigma is two lobed and grows between the two carpels.

Gypsywort Lycopus europaeus detail of flower (with only 2 stamens) calyx and seed

Lamaceae Fruit

As the carpels of the Lamaceae species mature, they divide in two.  This produces an individual fruit with four seeds which are dark nutlets. Each contains one seed.  Then, when ripe, this quartet of seeds are shaken out of the cup-like corolla.

Water mint Mentha aquatica nutlet and enclosing calyx

Lamaceaee: Other species

As well as the aromatic herbs and dead nettles, this family contains Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata and the Bee-balm Monardia fistulosa.  There is also Catmint Nepeta cataria, Henbit Lamium amplexicaule, and the decorative Bells-of-Ireland Molucella laevis.

Catnip Nepeta cataria

They are very good sources of nectar for pollinators including bees and flies.  Insects like Bumblebees seem to be attracted to purple and pinks, the colour of lots of Dead-nettle flowers.

Conclusion

I hope this Lamaceae wildflower family blog was useful.  I’ll be doing a couple more of these blogs over the coming months.  References include my FSC botany course, the Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and the excellent Naturespot website.

Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata

The post Wildflower families: Lamiaceae appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

As a background, you may want to look for explanations of terms used on my the basics of botany blog, and fruit types.  What’s in a name 1 and part 2 discuss how Latin names work and why they matter. Some of the other families I’ve examined include the Ranunulaceae (Buttercups), Caryophyllaceae (Campions), Rosaceae (Roses), Fabaceae (Peas), Brassicaceae (Cabbages), with Asteraceae (Daisies), Orchidaceae (Orchids) and Lamiaceae (Dead-nettles) yet to come over the coming months.

Fool’s water-cress Apium nodiflorum

I am not a trained botanist, but a botanical illustrator and keen amateur.  So if you see a mistake, please let me know, thanks.

Wildflower families: Apiaceae

The Carrot family has 420 genera and over 3,100 species.  The flowers are held in distinctive inflorescences called umbels, are small, and have curved petals.  Leaves are deeply divided and sheath the stem (which is often hollow).  Fruit are a 2 celled schizocarp.  As well as Cow parsley, Apiaceae contain lots of herbs like parsley, chervil, dill, fennel, cumin and coriander.  Celery is also a member of the Carrot family.  Decorative garden plants include showy Eryngium.

Hemlock Conium maculatum

Economically, carrots and parsnips are vital crops, with the tap root being the edible part.  There are loads of wildflowers in this family, in the UK hedgerows are frothy and white with Cow parsley in early summer.  I dedicated a blog and a step by step youtube film to cow parsley, such a beautiful wildflowere.  Pignut grows in woodland, sanicle and wild angelica are common, and giant hogweed (an invasive – for more on this take a look at my blog) is easy to spot.

Poisonous plants like Hemlock and Water dropwort are members this family, and the sap of some other species (like the hogweeds) can cause skin irritations, especially when exposed to sunlight.

The poisonous Hemlock Water dropwort Oenanthe crocata

Apiaceae overview

Plants in this family have alternate leaves with wide bases that enclose the stem.  Leaves are mostly divided, often sub-divided several times (these divisions are known as being Pinnate).  This makes them look feathery and fern-like. The Marsh pennywort and Sea holly, however, have non-divided leaves.

Sea holly Eryngium maritimum

Flowers have five petals.  They are borne in compound inflorescences known as umbels, which look a bit like umbrellas, and the umbels may be further branched.  The schizocarp is a 2-celled dry fruit, vital for identifying an Apiaceae to species level.

Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris fruit

The name Apiaceae is based on the term Apium, coined by Pliny the Elder around 50AD, referring to celery-like plants.  This family used to be called the Umbelliferae, referencing the inflorescence shape.

Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris sketchbook study sheet

This family can be very tricky to key out to species as many look superficially similar.  Characteristics of the schizocarp including wings, markings, and even scent are frequently needed. The BSBI guide by Tutin is an invaluable aid.

Apiaceae Leaves

Apiaceae leaves are mostly divided and sub-divided.  This makes them quite tricky to illustrate.  Sometimes the leaves are so divided that they are almost linear, like dill.  In other species the pinnate sections are heftier, as with the lower leaves of the Hogweeds.  In many species, leaves at the base and higher up the plant are different shapes.

Persian Hogweed Heracelum persicum and Giant Hogweed Heracelum mantegazzianum comparison of lower leaf shape

Carrot family species don’t have stipules (leafy paired processes at the base of a leaf, present in other families like the Roseaceae).

Sketchbook notes on Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris leaves

The base of the petiole encases the stem, and is often inflated.  It can be flushed red, and some species have spotted leaf bases and stems (Hogweeds).  Stems are frequently ridged.

Leaves can be hairy or smooth, and often look pretty similar across species.

Apiaceae Flowers

Firstly, flowers of the Carrot family can be tiny, and are borne on the end of branches which grow from a central stem into umbrella-like umbels.  It’s worth seeing how many sub divisions of umbel branch you can spot as this can help identify a species.  The shape of the umbel is important, it can be highly domed or almost completely flat.

Persian Hogweed Heracelum persicum and Giant Hogweed Heracelum mantegazzianum comparison umbels

Secondly, the flowers have five free petals, which are mostly white.  They often curve backward, making each flower a little convex in shape.  Parsnip flowers, Dill, and some other Apiaceae are yellow, and you will often see one or two deep purple flower in the middle of an umbel (as with the Sea carrot Daucus carota gummifer).

Sea carrot Daucus carota gummifer showing distinctive one or two purple flowers in the centre of an umbel

Thirdly, most of the flowers in an umbel are regular, with radial symmetry.  Those on the outside edges are often irregular, with the outermost petals elongate and lobed.

Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris showing flowering head from above and inner flowers (on left) and outer ones (on right)

Fourthly, there are five sepals which do not fuse, and flowers have five unfused stamens.  These may unfurl at different times, and the anthers point inwards.

Persian Hogweed Heracelum persicum outer flower

Finally, they have inferior ovaries and two fused carpels.

Apiaceae Fruit

The schizocarp is a two celled dry fruit which splits at maturity into two mericarps and releases tiny seeds.

The schizocarp may have wings, be ridged, or have hooks.  Some have structures which make them easy to identify, like the Shepherd’s needle, with its’ long beaks on top of each fruit.

Sheperd’s needle Scandix pecten-veneris showing beaks on fruit

Each mericarp has five ridges, the outermost of which are the seams along which the mericarp splits.  There are often oil-canals called vittae between the ridges.

Persian Hogweed seeds showing vittae Heracleum persicum

The shape and position of all these features is quite variable, and vital in telling similar species apart.

Apiaceae: Roots

Carrots and parsnip are the roots of Apiaceae plants.  In the past, Pignut root was also foraged and eaten.  It’s these species with a swollen main tap root that have proved useful as food crops.

Wild Parsnip Pastinaca sativa

Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope my Apiaceae wildflower blog was helpful.  I’ll be doing more of these blogs over the coming months.  My references included my FSC botany course, the Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and the excellent Naturespot website.

Giant Hogweed Heracleum mantegazzianum

The post Wildflower families: Apiaceae appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

For definitions of botanical terminology, look at my  basics of botany blog, and a second one on fruit types.  What’s in a name 1 and part 2 discuss Latin names and why they matter.  Some of the other families I’ve examined include the Ranunulaceae (Buttercups), Caryophyllaceae (Campions), Rosaceae (Roses), Fabaceae (Peas), Brassicaceae (Cabbages), with Apicaceae (Carrots), Asteraceae (Daisies), Orchidaceae (Orchids) and Lamiaceae (Dead-nettles)yet to come over the coming months.

Spiked speedwell Veronica spicata

Although I know a bit about wildflowers, I am not a trained botanist.  So if you see a mistake, please let me know, thanks.

Wildflower families: Plantaginaceae

The Plantain family has 90 genera and nearly 2000 species globally.  There’s a massive amount of variety between genera and between species.  Some flowers have 2 petals, others have four.  The Speedwells (Veronica species) are in this family, as are plantains and some of the plants which used to be classed as Figworts, Scrophulareae.

Speedwell

A note on DNA comparison and re-classification of plants

DNA analysis has shown that some flowers which were once placed in the Figwort family have very little to do with others, so they’ve been removed.  Turns out Speedwells and Plantains are close relatives, so the Speedwells join the Plantaginaceae family.  Other families have been added to the Plantain family.  These include Snapdragon Antirrhium, Foxgloves Digitalis, Ivy-leaved toadflax Cymbalaria muralis, and Hebes.

Foxglove flower Digitaria purpurea

Figwort family members that are now in the Plantain family include the Mulleins and Figworts.  Buddlejas (which were in yet another family previously) are also now in the Plantain family.

Butterfly bush Buddleja davidii

Expulsion from the Broomrapes

Meanwhile, some species have been chucked out of the Figworts.  All the Broomrapes Orobanchaceae and Yellow-rattle, have been put in their own family (the Broomrapes).  They are joined by the Louseworts, Spurges, Cow-wheat, and Bartsia.  Keeping up?

Lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica – no longer in the Scrophularaceae (nor Plantaginaceae!), but now in Orobanchaceae.

Plantaginaceae overview

So the plants in this family are really varied.  We can break them into two groups, however, the Plantains and the Veronicaceae (Speedwells). The name Plantaginacea comes from the Latin Planta, meaning young plant or sole of the foot.  However, this only refers to the plantain family.  It’s worth noting that the plantains related to bananas ae nothing to do with this family.

Leaves are often alternate on the stem and whorled or opposite lower down and have no stipules.  Flowers are irregular with four or five fused petals and sepals.  The Speedwell have two stamens, all the other family members have four and flowers can be single or several in a raceme.

Wood speedwell Veronica montana

Plantaginaceae Leaves

Leaves are mostly simple rather than compound and have no stipules.  (For more on simple and compound leaves, check out my blog).

They can be opposite or alternate, and those lower down the plant are frequently in a whorl.  There’s a massive range of variety here, both in leaf arrangement and shape.

Bucks horn plantain Plantago maritima

For more on Plantains, check out the Flora of East Anglia guide.

Foxglove Digitalis leaves are oval and large, and in opposite pairs,  They have little margin teeth. (For more on leaf margins, look at my blog).  Hebe has evergreen leaves with smooth edges, borne in pairs up the stem.  Leaves are small, elliptical and may be variegated.  Speedwell have downy or hairy leaves that range in shape from the toothed paired oval leaves of Germander speedwell Veronica chamaedrys to the softly lobed rounder leaves of Ivy-leaved speedwell Veronica hederifolia.  Snapdragons Antirrhinum have compound leaves, which is unusual for this family. For more on simple and compound leaves, check out my blog).

Germander speedwell Veronica chamaedrys

Plantaginaceae Flowers

Plantain family flowers are bisexual and irregular, having bilateral rather than radial symmetry.  They grow in racemes or as solitary blooms from the leaf axils (as with the Linaria, like Yellow toadflax.)

There are bracts or bracteoles.  The five sepals are fused into a calyx tube.

The Corolla has five united petals (four in the Speedwells) which are often two-lipped.  Examples of this include the Snapdragons and Foxlove Digitalis purpurea.  There’s a lot of variety here.

Toadflax have long spurs at the back of the corolla tube.  Speedwell flowers are flat and forward facing.

Speedwell flower with 4 stamens and Plantain flower with 2 stamens

Stamens are four (but number two in Speedwells.)

The ovary is superior with a nectar producing disc below.

Plantaginaceae Fruit

There are two fused carpels which produce a fruit that is often surrounded by the calyx.  Seeds are numerous and tiny.

Plantaginaceae: Other species

As well as the flowers mentioned, other plants in this variable family include the Ivy-leaved toadflax Cymbalaria muralis, Dwarf snapdragons Chaenorrhium,  Cancerworts or Fuellins Kickxia, the Toadflaxes Linaria, and Weasel snouts Misopates.

Ivy leaved toadflax Cymbalaria muralis

Conclusion

I hope this rather confusing Plantaginaceae wildflower family blog was useful.  I;m still trying to get my head around the new family organisation and bet it shows in this blog!  I’ll be doing one more of these blogs over the coming months.  My references included my FSC botany course, the Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and the excellent Naturespot website.

Sea plantain Plantago maritima

The post Wildflower families: Plantaginaceae appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

For terminology, look at my  the basics of botany blog, and on fruit types.  What’s in a name 1 and part 2 discuss how Latin names work and why they matter.  Some of the other families I’ve examined include the Ranunulaceae (Buttercups), Caryophyllaceae (Campions), Rosaceae (Roses), and Brassicaceae (Cabbages). I hope to add more over the coming months.

Wood vetch Vicia sylvatica

I know a bit about wildflowers, but I am not a trained botanist.  So if you see a mistake, please let me know, thanks.

Wildflower families: Fabaceae

The Pea family has 640+ genus and a whopping 18,000 species and is the second largest family of flowering plants.  They grow across most of the globe and include many crop plants.

Leaves have stipules, and tend to be made of three leaflets (trifoliate) or many paired leaflets.  They also have tendrils.  Fabaceae play a vital role by fixing free nitrogen in their roots, which helps soil health.  Fruits in the Fabaceae are variable, although most grow in pods which split down both sides at maturity.

As well as Sweet peas and Broom, other Fabaceae garden flowers include Lupins, Wisteria, and Laburnum.  (For a step by step blog on painting a sketchbook study of a Lupin, click here).Crop plants in the pea family include lentils, peas, beans, alfalfa, tamarind and the nitrogen fixing clover.  There are many wild flowers are in this family, including vetches, gorse, and the excellent Bird’s foot trefoil.

Bird’s-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus 

Fabaceae overview

Plants in this family have trifoliate alternate leaves with stipules at their base, twining tendrils, and nitrogen fixing roots.  The stipules are often large.  The flowers have five petals of different shapes, and only one line of symmetry, and the fruit grow in pods. The name Fabaceae comes from the Latin for bean, Faba.

Broom Cystisus scoparius lena sketchbook study

Fabaceae Leaves

Fabaceae leaves are compound, many consisting of three leaflets.  A good example is the Red clover.  (For more on compound vs simple leaves, look at my blog).  Lots of Fabaceae have pinnate leaves, (a leaf made of multiple pairs of leaflets).  Vetches have pinnate leaves.  Leaf margins tend to be smooth.

Red clover Trifolium pratense. A step by step blog on illustrating clover can be found here

There is a lot of variety in Fabaceae leaves.  Gorse has reduced its’ leaves to furrowed spines, and leaflets can be elongate, lanceolate, or almost round.  (I did a blog on leaf shape, if  it appeals.)

Bush tea Gliricidia sepium

Stipules grow in pairs at the base of a leaf, and vary in size.  The garden pea has obvious rounded stipules, whilst those of the vetches are far smaller.  In some cases, like the Acacia, these stipules have evolved into spines.

Bitter vetch Lathyrus linifolius showing paired stipules

Garden pea Pisum sativa stipule

Lots of plants in the Pea family have thread-like tendrils which help the plant climb and grow by twining around supports or other plants.  These may be single or split into several smaller branches.  These splits can be useful in telling differences between species.  Tendrils can grow from leaves, or from the stem of a plant.

Tufted or Bird vetch Vicia cracca tendrils

Fabaceae Roots

Roots of Fabaceae often have nodules, or tubercules.  These can be seen with the naked eye.

Clover root nodules

Tubercules are part of the root, and house communities of Rhizobia, symbiotic bacteria.  The bacteria can fix free atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, which the plant uses.  When a Fabaceae dies, all the ammonium rots down to nourish the soil, along with other plants growing there.

Nootka lupin Lupinus nootkatensis roots

This explains why cover crops are used in agriculture, and how many green manure crops work.

White clover Trifolium repens with roots and nodules

Fabaceae Flowers

Pea family flowers are usually bisexual and made of five petals which grow in a distinctive shape.  The standard is the top petal, standing erect.  Below this are a pair of lateral petals, the wings.  The lowest petals are fused and act like a landing pad for visiting pollinators and is called the keel.

Common pea Pisum sativum flower showing typical Fabaceae flower structure

Flowers are often borne in densely packed clusters, known as racemes.

Crimson clover Trifolium incarnatum flowering head

You can see this in the clovers and plants such as the Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria.

Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria

However, they can also be borne singly, or in pairs.  The Broad-leaved everlasting-pea Lathyrus latifolius is an example with a few-flowered raceme.  For a step by step guide on illustrating this plant, look at my blog.

Broad-leaved everlasting-pea Lathyrus latifolius

The sepals are fused into one calyx tube and there are either 10 fused stamens, or 9 which are fused and one which is free.  These are mostly tucked away inside the corolla tube, so you may need to dissect the flower to see them.

Blue bonnet Lupin Lupinus polyphyllus cross section

There is one or occasionally two carpels (the female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of a style, an ovary, and a stigma) which is superior, growing above the flowering structure.  For more on ovary positions look at my blog on the ovary.

Fabaceae Fruit

Pea family mostly bear their fruit in pods. The pod itself is known as a legume, and splits down both sides (sutures) at maturity.  There are many different shapes of legume pod.  Some have wings, or are flattened like the Judas tree Cercis siliquastrum.

Judas tree Cercis siliquastrum pod

Some have constrictions between the seeds, like the Bird’s-foot species.

Little White Bird’s-foot Ornithopus perpusillus

Other split open at maturity, using this mechanical force to spread the seeds.  You can hear this as distinctive “pops” on a hot day in late summer, among gorse plants.

The pods may be clustered together, as with lupins, or single, like the garden pea and broad bean.  Pods can be smooth or furry.

Blue bonnet Lupin Lupinus polyphyllus seed pods

They may remain green until mature or turn brown or black.  Our garden peas are harvested before the peas are fully ripe, but even if left to grow the pea pod remains greenish.

Garden Pea Pisum sativum pod

Some species have clusters of small pods, each containing one or two seeds.  Black medick has lots of little pods held together which go shiny black at maturity.

Black medick Medicago lupulina pod

One of the most surprising is the spirally coiled seed pod of the Alfalfa (or Lucerne) Medicago sativa.  These pods contain 10 to 20 seeds.

Alfalfa (or Lucerne) Medicago sativa pod

Fabaceaee: Other species

This blog has already covered loads of the Fabaceae species; both those that are economically important, and those that we use in our gardens.

Sweet pea (for a step by step blog on illustrating this click here)

From beans to alfalfa, laburnum to wisteria, peas to vetches, gorse to chickpeas, fenugreek to restharrow….  Fabaceae are a widely varied family, but thanks to the splitting pods and distinctive flower shape, they are comparatively easy to recognize.

Restharrow Ononis repens

Conclusion

I hope this Fabaceae wildflower family blog was useful.  Click here to access my blogs on other common wildflower families.  I’ll be doing even more of these blogs over the coming months.  My references included my FSC botany course, the Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and the excellent Naturespot website.

Gorse Ulex europaeus

The post Wildflower families: Fabaceae, the Pea family appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

This series talks about some common wildflower families.  For basic terminology, look at my  the basics of botany blog, and another on different fruit types.  For more on scientific names, how they work, and why they matter,  look at What’s in a name 1 and part 2.  Take a look at  the other families I’ve looked at so far, the  Ranunulaceae (Buttercups), Caryophyllaceae (Campions), and Brassicaceae (Cabbages)  I hope to add more families over the coming months.

Rock cinquefoil Potentilla rupestris

I know a little about wildflowers,  but I am an amateur, and not a trained botanist.  So although I’ll try and get stuff right, if you see a mistake, please let me know.

Wildflower families: Rosaceae

The Rose family has 107 genera and over 3100 species globally.  Flowers have five or ten petals, and often have an epicalyx (see below).   Leaves have stipules, and tend to be alternate.  There’s a vast array of fruits in this family, from plums and apples to strawberries, Mountain avens with its dry achenes in one head, to Lady’s mantle with a lone seed in a receptacle.  As well as Roses, other Rosaceae garden flowers include Cotoneasters, Pyrocanthus, and Geums.  Our most common fruit crops are Rosaceae, and lots of highly varied wild flowers are in this family, including Cinquefoil, Meadowsweet, and Agrimony.

Entire leaved Cotoneaster Cotoneaster‌ integrifolius and other Cotoneaster species

(For more on telling Cotoneaster species apart, not a fun occupation, please check out my blog).

Rosaceae overview

Plants in this family have alternate leaves with stipules at their base.  A stipule is like a tiny leaf that grows in pairs at the base of a leaf stalk, next to the stem. Flowers have five or ten petals, lots of stamens, and can be solitary or in racemes. The name Rosaceae comes from the Latin for rose, Rosa.  There’s a suggestion that the name is far more ancient than that, possibly dated back to ancient Persia where ornamental roses were first grown.

Copyright Jersey Post: Roses Nostalgia Rosa Nostalgia

Some members of this family reproduce asexually, without seeds.  Strawberries do this with runners, while Raspberries, Blackberries, and some roses put up suckers at some distance from the parent plant.

Barren strawberry Potentilla sterilis showing a runner

Rosaceae Leaves

Rosaceae leaves are often lobed, with toothed or deeply notched margins.  (For more on leaf margins, look at my blog).  Some may be very deeply lobed, like Tormentil.

Tormentil Potentilla erecta

Some Rosaceae have compound leaves made of an array of smaller leaflets rather than simple ones  (For more on simple versus compound leaves check out my blog).  You can tell if a Rosaceae leaf is compound or simple by looking for a stipule.  You’ll only stipules at the base of a leaf, so if you look at a Rosaceae “leaf” and see no stipules, it could well be a leaflet.  Examine a rose leaf (compound, of many leaflets) or a Blackberry (likewise) and use the stipule position to decide where the stalk of the entire leaf (not that of a leaflet) attaches to the plant.  The shape of leaves, if not the size, is pretty consistent across the whole plant.

Agrimony Agrimonia eupatoria clearly showing basal stipules

Stipules can be tiny to really large, smooth to toothed.  Often the stipules can prove confusing as they resemble part of the main leaf.

Rosaceae Flowers

Rosaceae flowers are regular, with radial symmetry.  They have five petals, which tend to overlap, and five to ten sepals which also overlap but mostly do not fuse.

Blossom of Pear Pyrus communis

Some Rosaceae have an epicalyx, a whorl of bracts just below the calyx.  You can see this in the Cinquefoils and the Strawberry.  If you look closely at the green “top” of a strawberry, you can see the sepals, the epicalyx in a circle below them, and you may also see some residual stamens, clinging to the inner edges of the calyx array.  There’s a good blog on this, by The botanist in the kitchen.

Wild strawberry Fragaria vesca showing calyx and epicaylx

Flowers grow in compound clusters at the ends of the stem, known as cymes or racemes.  However, they can also be solitary.

They are bisexual with lots of stamens surrounding one or many free carpels.  The stamens, should you care to examine them, grow in whorls of 5 or more, but this can be really hard to see.  They bend inwards towards the flower.

Individual Hawthorn blossom Craetegus monogyna showing incurved stamens

Carpels (the female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of a style, an ovary, and a stigma) tend to be superior, growing above the flowering structure.  In some species, they are Perigynous, meaning the flowering parts grow around the edge of the receptacle where the pistil (the tube down to the seed, through which pollen has to travel to fertilize the ovule and form a seed) is housed.  Cherries and roses are perigynous. For more on ovary positions look at my blog on the ovary.

Cherry Prunus avium

Rosaceae Fruit: Aggregates, Drupes and Achenes

There is an extraordinary amount of variety in the fruits of the Rosaceae, and I’ve ended up putting my research here into a separate blog which I’ll publish in a week or two.  Below is a summary.

Rosacea produce one to two seeded fruit, but that’s where the similarities end.

Consider the variation.  Like the Ranunculaceae, some species have assemblies of achenes. Some achenes have spikes to help dispersal, such as the Geum and Avens species.  Or have achenes twisted together so they look like a “mister whippy” ice-cream, a beautiful effect shown by Measdowsweet.

Assembled carpels of the Mountain avens Dryas octopetala

Some familiar soft fruit, like the blackberry and raspberry, are made of lots of individual fruits.  Each a little “blob” is called a drupelet, and contains one or two seeds.  These are known as aggregate fruit.  From the position of the calyx, you can tell these have developed from superior ovaries.

Copyright Jersey post 2017 Blackberry Rubus fruticosa

Drupes are formed when ovary tissue swells to become fleshy, enclosed in a thin skin.  At the centre of this you have a hard stone, a woody coat for the seed within.  Peaches, plums, cherries and apricots are drupes.

Plum Prunus prunus

Apples and pears are pomes.  A pome is formed from the receptacle, the area below the flowering structure.  This swells and within it you find the apple core with five to ten pips.

Somerset redstreak apple Malus domestica

Strawberries attach their fruit to the outside of a swollen receptacle.  The fleshy red bit isn’t a fruit at all.  The fruit is each of the tiny yellow seeds embedded in the red flesh.

Strawberries Fragaria × ananassa

Rosaceae: Other species

As well as the fruit discussed, Rosaceae contains the Lady’s mantle, Silverweed, Cinquefoil, Piri-piri bur, Rowan, Sorbus species, Cotoneasters, and (of course) roses.

Piri Piri bur Acaena novae-zelandiae

Conclusion

I hope this blog on the Rosaceae wildflower family was of some interest.  What a varied family!  I hope to do more of these blogs over the coming weeks and months.  References include my FSC botany course, the Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and information from Naturespot.

Rowan Sorbus aucuparia sprig with berries and blossom

The post Wildflower families: Rosaceae, the Rose family appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

White mustard Sinapis alba

These blogs discuss some common wildflower families.  To get the basics sorted, take a look at my blogs on  the basics of botany, different fruit types, and how Latin names work and matter (What’s in a name 1 and part 2).  Check out the other families I’ve researched, the Ranunulaceae (Buttercups) and Caryophyllaceae (Campions) and keep an eye out for more families over the coming months.  You could also browse all my blogs on Botany: Telling species apart.

Although I know a bit about wildflowers, I am an amateur, and not a botanist.  I’ll try to get stuff right, but if you see a mistake, please tell me.

Sketchbook study of Wallflower Erysimum cheiri

Wildflower families: Brassicaceae

The Cabbage family has 390 genera and over 3000 species globally.  Flowers have a distinctive four-petalled cross shape, and leaves are varied but alternate.  Seed pods, or siliques, are another marker of this group of wildflowers.  As well as Cabbage, vegetables like Cauliflower and broccoli, and turnips; Brassicaceae include garden flowers like Stocks and Candytuft.  Many wildflowers are in this family, including the mustards, and ubiquitous Shepherd’s purse.

Savoy cabbage Brassica oleracea var. sabauda

Brassicaceae overview

Plants in this family have alternate leaves, cross-shaped flowers with four petals, and tend to have seeds held in elongate or squat seed pods which split in any number of ways. The name Brassicaceae comes from the Latin for cabbage, Brassica.  It’s interesting to note that the Welsh (and other Celtic languages) for cabbage is similar, Bresych, which probably predates Latin as the source.

This family used to be known as the Cruciferae, referring to the four-petalled flowers, like a cross or crucifix.

Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata

Brassicaceae Leaves

Brassica leaves are simple, with smooth edges.  Some may be very deeply lobed, like the Watercress.  (For more on simple versus compound leaves check out my blog)   They do not have stipules.  There can be a big difference between leaves at the base and higher up the stem of a plant, with lower leaves lobed and upper ones entire.

Watercress Nasturtium officinale

Brassicaceae Flowers

Brassicaceae flowers are in large clusters, and are yellow or white.

The bumpy bits of broccoli and cauliflower that we eat are, in fact, flower buds.  Leave broccoli to grow, and it’ll produce a spike of yellow flowers (which are also edible).

Broccoli Brassica oleracea italica

Flowers are regular, with radial symmetry and that distinct four-petalled shape. They do not have bracts or bracteoles.

There are four free sepals and four free petals.  Within, there are four stamens, two short ones on the outside and four longer ones in the centre of the flower.  Unlike members of the Ranunculaceae family, anthers face inwards.  Flowers are bisexual.

Oil seed rape flower Brassica napus

Two fused carpels form a superior ovary, which grows above the rest of the flowering structure.  For more on this look at my blog on the ovary.

Brassicaceae Fruit

Seeds develop in one of two pods, both of which are dry and split at maturity.  The shorter pods are called Siliculas (like Shepherd’s purse), the longer ones are referred to as Siliqua (like Mustard or Oil-seed rape).  They may be flattened, or clearly show the round seeds inside.  Some, like mustards, have long beaks.  Some seeds, like those of Woad, aren’t in pods at all, but non-splitting pendulous winged fruit.

Oil seed rape flower Brassica napus with long beaked siliqua

When mature, they split from the bottom upwards. Sometimes this is a simple split, like the Wallflower and Honesty.  Sometimes there’s a twist at dehiscence (as with Hoary whitlow grass) which pings the seeds far from the parent plant.

You can see the seeds within, attached to both sides of a papery partition wall (the replum).  If the seeds attach parallel or perpendicular to the replum can help tell species apart.

Wallflower Erysimum cheiri siliqua

The seeds themselves have almost no endosperm, but a large oily embryo.  Seed coats can be mucilaginous.

Brassicaceae: Other species

As well as the vegetables and crop plants we’ve discussed, Brassicaceae contains horse radish, Garlic mustard, and one of my favourite wildflowers, Lady’s smock or cuckoo-flower.

Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines butterfly with Cuckoo-flower Cardamine pratensis

Conclusion

I hope this blog on the Brassicaceae wildflower family has been helpful.  I plan to write more blogs in this series over the coming weeks and months.  References include the FSC botany course, from Common Families of Flowering Plants by Michael Hickey & Clive King, and from Naturespot.

Sea radish Raphanus raphanistrum maritimus

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