Guinea grass Megathyrsus maximus

As many who read this blog regularly will know, I love illustrating grasses, so this day was a real treat for me.  (For more on grasses, see my blogs on Shortcuts to identifying some common grass species, Grasses of Montserrat, telling Sedges, Grasses and Rushes apart, An introduction to grass, the C4 Rice project, A class on Grass, and Glorious Grasses. Unless otherwise noted, all illustrations in this blog are by yours truly.)

A day of grasses

This one day event was organised by Kimberley Glassman, who is a postdoctoral research associate for the botanical collections at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Landscape of rocks & Grasses, William Pyce 1806

Not only did she organise botanical drawings for us to see, and get us access to specimens from the Cambridge University Herbarium collections, but she pulled together an extraordinarily diverse group of students and experts to spend the day talking about why grasses don’t get the attention they deserve.  And what we can do about it.

Grass blindness

We are surrounded by grass.  Most of our food crops are grasses.  Fields of oats, barley, rice, sorghum, corn, and wheat are common across the globe.  Parks and hillsides are swathed in grass.  Our gardens are full of the stuff.  But how often do we stop and look at these diverse and amazing plants below our feet?

Bread Wheat Triticum aestivum

As Howard Thomas says in Grass Blindness (2019), “Some plants are born invisible, some achieve invisibility, and some have invisibility thrust upon them.  Grasses are a case in point”.

The conversations during the day focused on how the collections could be used to engage future museum and herbarium visitors (and researchers), and help shine a spotlight on the long-forgotten grasses.

Soft brome Bromus hordeaceus

Botanical drawings of grasses at the Fitzwilliam: Grasses as secondary subjects

After assembling and introducing ourselves, we got to see a selection of botanical illustrations, selected by Kimberly.

Everyone came with different areas of expertise, seeing the images in contrasting ways.  Conversations flowed, on topics ranging from women naturalists in the 19th century, to how grass is used as a material for making baskets and textiles in Vanuatu, field botany in the 17th C, and the manufacture of artificial flowers in 18th C France.  Members of the group are researching herbalism in book history and plant dyes, Victorian women in paleontology, gene editing in potatoes, North European paintings, and the genetics of crops and grasses.

Interestingly, I felt that only two of the beautiful illustrations laid out for us came close to respecting grasses as subjects in their own right.  The majority used grass as compositional elements, or to add heft to another, more blousy species.

Glass vase of pink & White roses, Antoine Chazal 1893

For example in the painting above, an exquisite miniature, there are grasses in the foreground that might be barley, or wheat.  But they are simply adjuncts to the roses and other flowers.

Bermuda grass is shown alongside another rose, in a 19th C illustration produced in Canton.  But there’s no focus on the grass, it’s all about the roses.

Spray of old roses & Bermuda grass, Canton workshop 19th C

Botanical drawings of grasses at the Fitzwilliam: Grasses as equal subjects

However, it’s clear in the painting by Harriet Cockerell that the grasses in her composition are true to life, probably a brome.

Posy containing Iris, Moss rose, Speedwell, Lilly; Harriet Cockerell 19th C

My favourite piece was a Pre-Raphelite-esque study.  Even though it’s not flowering, I reckon the grass painted alongside the snowdrops could only be Cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata.  Grass being seen as worthy of illustrating, not only as an accessory.

Snowdrops in Undergrowth, Unknown artist 19th C

We wondered if the term “grass” helps reduce this group of plants to a catch-all.  Is it, in fact, a derogatory term?  Are grasses more visible in other cultures?  Braiding sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer was name-checked.  Are grasses mostly classed as “good” (crops) or “bad” (weeds, in itself another very problematic term)?  Are we blind to them because they are so familiar?  And they are not alone.  Moss and even fungi tend to go un-noticed too.

Grasses & Me: A love story by Madelaine Bartlett

Next stop was a fascinating talk by Madelaine.  She heads the Bartlett group which studies the evolution of grass and flower morphology at Cambridge University Sainsbury’s lab.

She pointed out that many flowers are morphologically conservative.  They get stuck because of their relationship with pollinators.  If you evolve and change, your pollinators may not keep up, and you run the risk of not reproducing.  Grasses, pollinated by the wind, have no such inhibiting factors.  Their morphological diversity is astounding, and perhaps this helps explain their variety?

Bamboo grass Lasiacis divaricata

She touched on the importance of corn, both in research and as a crop.

Then we learnt how we can use the genetic codes of diverse living grasses to figure out what the molecules of ancestor grasses may have looked like.  Thus empowered, you can switch around and project forward, by-passing the temporal constraints of evolution, and figure out ways to modify crops and imagine new as-yet unevolved species.

Common oat grass Avena fatua

But you can’t do any of this without really dense sampling.  This is where collections come in.

Herbariums have sheets and sheets of grasses.  These are not only a visual resource, but a genetic one too.  We can sequence DNA and proteins from tiny fragments of preserved materials.  Recently, RNA has been sampled as well.  Who knows how future scientists will be able to use such collections?  Already, herbarium specimens are being used to study changes in specimens due to climate change. We must future-proof, and conserve them, as physical specimens, not just digital records.

Herbarium visit

Next was our chance to see a selection of grasses from the herbarium, chosen by Juliet Anderson.  These were exquisite.

I often work from online images of herbarium specimens, and was amazed at how much richer and more beautiful they are in real life.  Although flattened, that slight three-dimensionality changed the way I saw them.

Specimens at Cambridge Herbarium

There was a table of specimens that we’d be drawing later, another of grasses as crops, and a third of historically interesting specimens.

Annual meadow grass Poa annua variety

I’ve had a lot to do with Annual meadow grass recently, and to see this sheet showcasing its extraordinary morphological diversity was lovely.

Juliet had also pulled out some pen and ink studies of grass flowers, and some 19th C teaching aids which I was very jealous of.

Bromus erectus flower illustration by Hounslow

On one table there were lots of crop species.  Looking at the Sugar cane, I felt entirely justified in having found the illustrating of its’ flowers last year something of a nightmare.

Sugar cane Saccharum officiarum

Sugar cane Saccharum officiarum

There were also samples showing Ergot in grains of crop species.  I knew about the suggestion that Ergotism was the cause of the hallucinations that sparked the Salem with trials (still hotly debated, see Debunking the Moldy bread theory), but was delighted to hear the suggestions that some of Hieronymous Bosch‘s visions may have been prompted by the same cause.

Ergot

Cambridge Herbarium and The Voyage of the Beagle

Entirely unexpectedly, there on a table were three of four grasses which, it transpired, had been collected by Charles Darwin on the Voyage of the Beagle in 1831 -1836  (For more on this remarkable adventure, listen to In out Time: The Voyage of the Beagle).

Voyage of the beagle Eragrostic pilosa

For someone who has always been in thrall to Darwin and the enormous changes his research caused, this was incredible.  Whether or not he also completed the excellent line drawing of the flowering spikelet, I do not know,  But imagining him gathering these specimens of the Galapagos, and seeing them on a table right in front of me, felt surreal.

Voyage of the Beagle Eragrostis ciliarius

Leaving the herbarium, it was inspirational to realise that all these collections are open to the public (by prior arrangement.)  What a way to combat grass blindness.

Reimagining grasses: A place for art collections & Herbaria

The last talk of the day was the keynote lecture, by Dawn Saunders of Gothenburg University.

This was a whistle stop tour of grasses in art, and an exploration of how artists have tried to build a doorway into the life of plants.

Grasses Harper Collins plate

Dawn was part of the “Beyond Plant Blindness” project, alongside Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir, Mark Wilson, Eva Nyberg, and Bente Eriksen. This focussed on the grass Stipa pennata.

One Stipa seed was enlarged to a gigantic 14m long SEM image, hung in a barn.  The same image was made into a wool tapestry hung the height of the atrium in Gothenburg University. Dawn talked about how visitors were confused and fascinated by the image.

The image turned our normal view of plants on its’ head.  The seed was at the front, an image of the plant become secondary, behind it.  Our role as human curators was a mere foot note.

Grasses: False Oat, Crested Dogs-tail, Cocks-foot, and Yorkshire Fog

The aim was to make people consider what being a plant means, what “plant-ness” is.

As Dawn said, “How do we build relational encounters for people to build narratives around their experience with the curated objects?”  How do you use art and herbarium objects to invite new people to think about plants in new ways?

The following discussion touched on the conceptualization of wonder, comparisons of preserved herbarium vs taxidermied specimens, the importance of naming things and the delight of recognition.  Rich grounds indeed.

Crab grass Digitaria ciliaris

Grass drawing workshop

The final activity of the day was an hour long workshop, illustrating grasses.  I’d been so interested I’d almost forgotten I was leading the session, and setting up was something of a rush.

I’d collected loads of little Poa annua plants, the only grass that flowers in late March in the UK, and some Dactylis, complete with in-your-face ligules to discover.  Alas, the Sainsbury’s lab couldn’t allow live material into the building (which is fair enough).

Annual meadow grass Poa annua

Juliet saved the day by selecting and photographing a wide array of common UK grasses held in the herbarium.  People worked from these print outs, first on gesture drawings and then on more detailed illustrations.

Quaking grass, Barley, Oats and Rye grass all proved popular.  By this point in the day, we were all really comfortable with each other, so people chatted happily as they sketched.

Quaking grass Briza media

An hour was not long enough, and it felt like we needed to finish up much too early.

Conclusion

And with that, the day of grasses was over.  It was, as I said to Kimberly, an inter-disciplinary fever-dream.  Historians, biologists, sociologists, curators and botanists.  All drawn together to be awed, excited, and inspired by grasses.  To fight Grass blindness, as individuals and as a group.  To work towards finding ways to use the collections at Cambridge University to encourage the whole world to embrace grasses for their beauty, importance, and diversity.

Enormous thanks are due to everyone who was involved in organising this event.  It was wonderful.

BBC Wildlife Magazine: Common British meadow grasses

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Creating a drawing for a colouring book

To be honest, these illustrations are probably the swiftest and easiest that I get ask to complete.

You start, as always, by researching your subject and coming up with a composition that works.  Next, draw up a pencil rough and submit it to your client.

Bridge over a stream pencil rough

In most cases, this gets approval.  Once approved, I draw over the pencil lines using an 0.1mm nib Uni pin pen, with fade resistant and waterproof ink.  When I rub out the underlying pencil lines, the ink doesn’t shift.

Because the drawings are atonal, simple lines without shade, they are very quick to complete.

When pen and ink illustrations need tonality, it takes hours as this is built up with thousands of tiny dots.

Apple and half completed for Fernway

The flip side of this is that every line has to be perfect.  There is no room for wobbles, and errors are pretty much impossible to fix (although white gouache paint has saved the day on a few occasions).

Art for Mindfulness: Winter wonderland

The biggest colouring-in project I’ve worked on was completing 62 illustrations for HarperCollins’ Art for Mindfulness: Winter wonderland.

Cover of Winter wonderland

The elephant in the room was snow.  Unless you want to do some really subtle work with a pale blue coloured pencil, there’s not a great deal of colour in snow.  But time and again I’d have my roughs returned with the hopeful comment, “can we add more snow”?

It was a challenge to come up with 62 wintery subjects.  I drew up mammals and birds from Europe and the Americas.  There were landscapes, snowy trees, cityscapes, and a few cosy illustrations of fireplaces and Christmas trees.

Squirrel from Winter wonderland

Michael Peres graciously allowed me to work closely from his gorgeous snowflake photos, and those are amongst my favourite pages of the book.

Snowflakes from Winter wonderland

HarperCollins needed one of the pages to be half coloured in, and chose a Robin in a snowy garden as the subject.  Deciding what to colour and what to leave as a line drawing was tricky.  It also made my realise coloured pencil is not my preferred medium!

Part coloured robin from Winter wonderland

Despite being published back in 2015, the book still seems to be selling well.  For more on this project, check out my blog.

HarperCollins test illustrations

I also completed some test images for colouring-in books which ended up not getting commissioned.  These were fun.

Hibiscus with bumble bee

As with the Winter wonderland, these needed to be half coloured-in, so it was back to the coloured pencil box.  There was also some talk of a cat colouring in book, but again, this didn’t materialize.

American lady butterfly on Margeurite daisies

Foraging with kids

Another book I illustrated with colouring-in illustrations is Foraging with Kids by Adele Nozedar.

These images are botanical illustrations, reduced to line drawings.  It sounds simple, but trying to represent blackberries and shiny conkers with pen and ink, atonally, is a challenge.

Horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum from Foraging with Kids by Adele Nozedar

Equally problematic was the puff-ball, such a big space with no details to break it up!  However, I enjoyed showing the cloud of spores by stippling the lines of the blades of grass behind it.

Giant puffball Calvatia gigantea

The conceit of the book appeals enormously.  Go out and forage for these wild foods with kids.  When you get home, get the children to colour-in the plates in the book, referring to what they gathered out of doors.

Raspberry Rubus idaeus from Foraging with Kids

I had already illustrated some of the featured species, so sometimes I’d simply trace the illustration using an ink pen.  There’s always room for improvement though, and I tend to make alterations as I draw.  You can see this in the dandelion below.

Dandelion Taxacum officinale watercolour and pen and ink from Foraging with Kids

For more on this project, read my blog.

Montserrat National Trust

The last client I’ve done lots of colouring-in drawings for is Montserrat National Trust and the UKOTCF.

Bush tea or Quickstick Gliricidia sepium

This is a lovely project.  My full colour watercolour illustrations of plants are also provided as line drawings for teachers and educators to use with their primary school classes.  It helps raise awareness of the unique ecosystems on the island, and gives the children an easy introduction to drawing their native flora.

Soursop Annona muricata

Not only have they provided these common edible and medicinal plants as colouring-in drawings, but they have done the same for the ten species of Montserrat grasses I’ve illustrated (for more on this see my blog).

Crab grass Digitaria ciliaris

I very much enjoyed working on these, possibly because I’m a bit obsessed with grasses, but also because I think they make great subjects for colouring-in.

Sour grass Digitaria insularis

Animals of Montserrat

There’s also a whole batch of animals of Montserrat, also for colouring-in.  It was such a treat to have lots of non European animals to research and draw!

Antillean crested hummingbird (male & female) Orthorhyncus cristatus

Montserrat ameiva (ground lizard) Pholidoscelis pluvianotatusn

Latest illustrations for HarperCollins

So what are these latest images?  Well, they’re all of butterflies.  Wing patterns are tricky at the best of times.  But trying to keep track of them as you flip from wing to wing and reduce areas of tonality to simpler shapes?  That was a massive challenge, but in such a good way.  I loved working on all three.

We left the wings blank on a couple of the blue butterflies.  That way people can try their hand at drawing, as well as adding colour.

Red admiral Vanessa atalanta & Spring azure Celastrina ladon

I like that the art editor added variety by asking for one of the images to show the top and underside of a butterfly, almost like a pinned museum specimen.

Painted lady top and underside Vanessa cardui

Conclusion

I am surprised at just how many of these line drawings I’ve completed, and for such a range of clients, both years ago and right up to the present day.  Creating pen and ink line drawings is something I really enjoy, so it’s great that there are clients out there who want to commission them!

It’s also worth remembering that fully tonal pen and ink illustrations, like those I’ve done for Fred Hageneder’s Living wisdom of Trees, can be great for colouring too.

Cherry Prunus avium

During lockdown I agreed with publishers to share some of my illustrations as colouring-in sheets.  It’s a resource that’s still available: Pinterest quarantine colouring in pages.  So if you want to get the coloured pencils out, be my guest!

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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

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The first featured crop is Ginseng, Panax ginseng.

Ginseng: Description

Ginseng is a member of the Apiaceae, or carrot family.  It has three to six palmate leaves with serrated leaflets; each leaf has 3 to 5 leaflets.  Clusters of 30 to 50 small red flowers are borne on long peduncles, and produces bright red berries, with white kidney-shaped seeds.  The plant reaches up to 60cm in height.  However, it’s not the leaves, flowers, or berries that are the focus of ginseng use.  It is the root, which tends to be cylindrical and have 2 branches.

Leaf of ginseng plant

Ginseng: Distribution and History of use

The ginseng is native to temperate mountainous woodland zones in Korea, NE China, and the far east of Russia.  It is now cultivated in many other countries where growing conditions can be met; including Canada, Japan, and the USA.

The first written mention of ginseng is from 2,000 years ago, although there is evidence is was used as far back as 4,500 years ago (Journal of Ginseng research. March 2013).  It’s Latin name, Panax ginseng, contains the etymological root “Panax” meaning all-healing.  This is also the same root as the word for a cure-all, a panacea.

Ginseng: Preparation and cookery

Ginseng root can be used fresh or dried.  In its’ fresh form, raw ginseng, it is 75% water, so can’t be stored for long.  It is used in traditional Chinese and Korean recipes, often in soups.

There are two dry forms. White ginseng is sun-dried from raw, and thinly peeled.  It can be straight, curved, or semi-curved. Red ginseng is steamed before being dried, and can last up to 20 years.  This red ginseng makes up the majority of health food supplements and nutritional additives which are sold in many forms.  It can be eaten in teas, drinks, as tablets, in candy, as powder, and as extracts.

Ginseng: Medicinal uses

As a cure-all, the ailments treated with ginseng are wide-ranging.  They include kidney, liver, reproductive and cardiovascular ailments; as well as a tonic for general well being.  It’s also been claimed it is a cure for alopecia; and a preventative for flu, diabetes, and cancer.  In ancient China and Korea, it was used as a love potion, and more recently it has been used to treat erectile dysfunction (“Red ginseng for treating erectile dysfunction: a systematic review” British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2008).  For more on the history of Ginseng use, click here.

Ginseng root contains antioxidants and vitamins (such as B1, B2, B3, B5, and B12).  Trace elements found in ginseng include zinc, copper, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, vanadium, potassium, sodium and phosphorus; along with volatile oil polysaccharides, pectins, and sterols. (Journal of Ginseng Research 2023).  They also contain ginsenocides which may be useful in combating disorders due to old age. ( “Panax ginseng and aging related disorders: A systematic review” de Oliveira Zanuso et al Experimental Gerontology 2022)

Ginseng root

There is little clinical proof of the medicinal benefits of ginseng use (“Panax ginseng”. MedlinePlus, 2024), although it may have some effect on general health and in reducing stress levels.  It can react unfavourably with other drugs such as anticoagulants like Warfarin, with diabetic medicines, and over 100 drugs are known to interact with it (Drugs.com).

 As with many established folk medicines, the fact that it has been in constant use for over 2,000 years carries some weight.

Ginseng berries

Ginseng: Commercial considerations

Four countries produce 99% of the world’s ginseng.  In 2013 this was 80,080 tons, with a value of $2,084 million.  Canada, the USA, and South Korea run second to South China where roughly half of the world’s ginseng is produced.

As the Journal of Ginseng Research puts it, over ten years ago, “Since the interests in alternative medicine and healthy food is increasing globally, the consumer market of ginseng…is expected to expand continuously.” (Journal of Ginseng research. March 2013)

Conclusion

Before illustrating this plant, I knew little about it.  I know you can get ginseng tea, and that it is important in Chinese and Korean traditional medicine.  The wide ranging cures and effects attributed to it amaze me, as does the commercial importance of this crop.  I am equally surprised by the appearance of the plant, with those stunning scarlet berries!

Botanical illustration is full of surprises, and doing the Ginseng illustration for the Crops Trust is another example of just that.  Keep an eye out for blogs on the other three crops illustrated; namely Pearl millet, the Date palm, and the Olive.

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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.

Third page of the FSC guide to Socttish Urban plants

Why a guide to urban plants?

Plants are incredibly resilient, and many species have managed to carve out a niche despite all the tarmac and concrete in our towns and cities.  We often overlook these plants, or disregard them as “weeds”.  But there is an enormous amount of variety in the plants of urban spaces, and they’re well worth examining closer.

As the guide points out, “Although urban plants are easy to dismiss as ‘weeds’, they have many fascinating adaptations that are worthy of a second look. Some have a fast lifecycle, tolerating limited space, not much soil, and highly fluctuating temperatures and moisture. Others spread quickly through stolons and rhizomes to form large stands. Old walls have specialist plants all of their own, especially where there is soft lime mortar.” (FSC publications 2025)

Wall rue Asplenium ruta-muraria

What makes a plant an Urban species?

As the write up on FSC’s site states, “Since 2015 the Botanical Society of Scotland has been recording urban plants in Scotland, defined as settlements with at least 1000 inhabitants. Volunteer recorders have searched streets, car parks, golf courses, cemeteries, waste ground and many other places. Anything deliberately planted was excluded, but anything that had spread by itself was included.

Currently there are nearly 80,000 records, with over 1200 vascular plant species found so far. This guide covers the most common non-woody species among these records.” (FSC publications 2025)

FSC broke the urban plants featured into categories depending on their habitat and provenance.

Chinese bramble Rubus tricolor

Urban plants: Walls and Buildings

Every one of the species in this section grows on the churchyard wall opposite my house.  This makes life very much easier as I can get fresh material to work with both when drawing up roughs, and when adding colour.  It also shows something of the geographical spread of these plants.

Common polypody Polypodium vulgare

There are several similar species of Polypody fern in the UK, and I struggled to be certain which one I was drawing.  The BSBI produce “crib sheets”, pdfs comparing and contrasting similar species.  The one on Polypody ferns proved very useful.  There’s also a good video from the Botanical Society of the British Isles on these ferns if you’d like to learn more.

Wall lettuce Lactuca muralis grows at the base of the churchyard wall, and was just coming into flower.  I recognized it immediately, but had never stopped to i.d. it before.  One of the many things my job gives me is a reason to stop and look at plants differently and closer than before.

Wall lettuce Lactuca muralis

Growing on the wall in my garden is the Wall bellflower Campanula portenschlagiana.  In late May, the whole of the front garden wall is blue with it.  I was surprised to find there are two similar bell flower species.  Again, time was needed to untangle them and ensure I was illustrating the correct species.  Online resources such as the Botany in Scotland blog proved very helpful.

Wall or Dalmatian bellflower Campanula portenschlagiana

Urban plants of Scotland i.d. guide : Walls & buildings, and Garden escapes

Urban plants: Garden escapes

Many of the plants seen in urban settings are garden escapes.  This isn’t surprising.  However, it does mean lots of urban plants are quite blousy.  One example is the Opium poppy Papaver somniferum.

This is a plant I’ve been wanting to paint for a long time, but never had the opportunity.  I was surprised to find the commonest colour of the bloom is mauve, not a deep red.  Like many plants, the Opium poppy has glaucous, waxy leaves.  This means using lots of Cobalt Blue and even some white when it comes to colour mixing.

Opium poppy Papaver somniferum

Another garden escape is the Hybrid bluebell Hyacinthoides x massartiana.  This is a cross between the UK’s native bluebell, and the Spanish bluebell which is often grown in gardens from bulb.  Telling your Spanish bluebell from your native species, and figuring out whether or not you’re looking at a hybrid is mighty confusing.  I did a blog a few years back, trying to untangle them.

Hybrid bluebell Hyacinthoides x massartiana

It was interesting to see that the Welsh poppy Meconopsis cambrica appears in this section.  Where I live, on the border between England and Wales, the Welsh poppy is a wild flower, not a garden escape.

Welsh poppy Meconopsis cambrica

Urban plants: Pavements

The species in this habitat were also a bit tough to untangle as superficially Thale cress, Hairy bitter-cress, and Shepherd’s purse look alike.  It doesn’t take long with a botany bible like Stace’s New Flora of the British Isles and the gorgeous line drawings of Stella Ross-craig to be able to tell them apart with no trouble. Two of them grow, by chance, in pots in my garden.  Thale cress I had to look for a little harder.  It’s an important plant as it’s used as a model in genetics research.  The genome of Thale cress was the first plant genome to be sequenced.  A small weed with a big impact.

Thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana Hairy bittercress Cardamine hirsuta and Sherherds purse Capsella bursa-pastoris

Annual meadow grass was one of only 4 grass species on the whole list.  I can’t believe I’ve not illustrated it before, it’s very common and very pretty!  I started on these illustrations in the depth of winter, and as Annual meadow grass is the only UK grass species to flower year round, it made identification super-easy.  The crinkled leaf blade is another useful diagnostic.

Annual meadow grass Poa annua

Urban plants of Scotland i.d. guide : Pavements

Some of the pavement species are ones I’ve illustrated before.  This includes the Pineapple weed Matricaria discoidea, Broad-leaf Willow-herb Epilobium montanum, and Chickweed Stellaria media.  I know I always go on about it, but an illustrator gets paid for each illustration used, whether or not it already exists.  Hang onto your copyright, illustrators!  Re-use fees make the notoriously low-paid job of an illustrator (almost) a viable career.

Pineapple mayweed Matricaria discoidea

Urban plants: Grassy places & parkland

Some of the prettiest species featured in the guide grow in this ecological niche.  I’d completed all but one of the plants featured in this section for other jobs; it was a pleasure to re-assess them and make sure they still pass muster. One of my favourite wildflowers, Fox and Cubs Pilosella aurantiaca, makes an appearance.  After years of cajoling, I finally have a flourishing population of these flowers in my garden.

Orange hawkbit Fox and Cubs Pilosella aurantiaca

Likewise, with some careful neglect, I now have a healthy amount of Self heal Prunella vulgaris and White clover Trifolium repens growing in my lawn.  It makes me happy, helps protect the grass from drought, and is good for the pollinators.

Self heal Prunella vulgaris

The species in this section that I’d not yet painted is the common Daisy, Bellis perennis.  It’s odd, with the species I get asked to illustrate, sometimes the most ubiquitous plants fall through the cracks.  I’ve been illustrating plants for 25 years, and this is the first time I’ve been asked to illustrate a daisy.  It was a real joy to find the perfect specimen on the lawn and rectify the situation. The illustration takes the basal rosette of one plant and the flowering heads of another.  The benefits of illustrations instead of photography (for more about my feelings on this, check out my FAQ section, but be prepared for a balanced view.  Both are vital tools.).

Daisy Bellis perennis

Urban plants of Grassland and parks: In defence of Ragwort

I wish I’d been able to add the caterpillar of the Cinnibar moth Tyria javobaeae when I illustrated Common ragwort Jacobeae vulgaris.

Ragwort Jacobeae vulgaris or Senecio jacobaea

They’re black and yellow striped, and are really common on the plant.  I know there is a lot of anger towards Ragwort, as the plants can be toxic to livestock.  Sadly, this has been massively over-emphasized, and the mass clearance of this plant has had dreadful effects on the beautiful black and red Cinnibar moth.

Cinnibar moth Tyria jacobaeae

As the Botanic Gardens of Wales say, “Butterfly Conservation’s 2006 report on the state of Britain’s larger moths showed that the cinnabar had declined by 83%, classing it as ‘Vulnerable’.  While this dramatic change is likely due to many reasons, there is little doubt that misconception surrounding the toxicity of ragwort to livestock is a contributing factor to its decline. Farmers and landowners have been encouraged to eradicate the plant to minimise the risks of poisoning. However, ragwort poses little threat to livestock or humans unless considerable amounts are consumed daily, and the only real risk is posed when dried in hay, where it loses its acrid taste. As cinnabar caterpillars feed exclusively on ragwort and groundsel their slow eradication from our countryside poses a major threat to the survival of this species.”

Urban plants of Scotland i.d. guide : Grassy places and parklands pages

Conclusion

What surprised me as I worked on this guide, was just how many of the Urban plants noted in Scotland were equally common here in mid Wales, and down in London.  It’s a testament to the incredible adaptability of some of our plants.  They are filling niches that didn’t exist 150 years ago, and thriving.  Many more species can not make the transition, however, and become rarer and rarer as the urban sprawl continues to eat into the countryside.  Even more reason to care for the wild flower species we do still have, and to celebrate those that we get to see in our cities as well as in the countryside.  And to stop labelling them all as weeds, and trying to eradicate them from our pavements, walls, brownfield sites, and parkland.

Purple toadflax Linaria purpurea

The post Guide to Urban Plants of Scotland illustrations 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

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Roselyn seeds logo, (featuring my Common blue butterfly)

I have also created the artwork for their Wildlife Garden seed mix, and am working on designs for their Meadow cranesbill, Corn chamomile, Borage, and Sunflower packets.

Seed packet designs completed for Roselyn seeds

Design constraints

When working for packaging, there are always things to consider as well as the depiction of a flower species.  In this case, it’s the position of the hole at the packet top (so it can hang up on a display unit), logos relating to the credentials of the seeds, and the name of the seeds along with the Roselyn Seeds logo.

Logos which appear on the left side of the seed packets

Initial thumbnail roughs

The first thing to do is share ideas with the client.  I often submit these thumbnail sketches as pencil drawings, but because colour is so crucial to this design, I roughly added colour to the images, using photoshop.  There were about six options submitted, and once we agree on one or two, the process of fine-tuning the design can begin.

Initial colour thumbnail roughs

Working up roughs

We decided on elements of  two of the colour roughs.  The next step is to decide on a more precise composition, establishing where the flower heads should be, and how zoomed into the meadow the viewer should be.

Working on initial pencil roughs

After feedback on this stage, I worked up a more detailed pencil rough, showing all the elements in the correct position.  We also decide which pollinators to use in the illustration, and where to place them.  The blue circle on the drawing below dictates the position of a honey bee.

Detailed pencil rough

Final pencil rough and layout

Once this gets the go-ahead, it’s time to draw it up in detail and to overlay the design constraints on top of the drawing.  This ensures that the artwork won’t bump into logos or text, and that the logo can still be seen clearly.  The details of the foliage in the background is added.

Final rough in layout

I do this with an acetate overlay.  I use this same overlay for all the designs, hence the wording not being correct.  It’s good enough to prove there will be no stark colour contrasts between flowers and leaves in critical parts of the layout.

Adding the background

I work from background to foreground when I illustrate.  This helps ensure the areas of highest contrast are right at the front, which gives a sense of depth to the illustration.  For more on illustrating landscapes, see my blogs on illustrating a coastal hay meadow and illustrating a water meadow landscape.

The sky is added first.  This is a very watery mix of Cerulean blue and Cobalt blue.  I extend it half way over the meadow so there will be a smoother transition between sky and plants.

At the base of the sky, while the paint is still wet, I add a very pale green wash.  This does not cover the main flowers, but unites all the other elements at the base of the design.

Adding foliage

Next, I outline the leaves.  This is a basic re-draw of each blade of grass and leaf, using a variety of greens.  I add details like veins and accurate leaf margins.  I’ll also put in some suggestions of shadow to give the leaves depth.

Detail of the foliage

The flowers are left as white paper, for now, but will receive similar treatment in due course.  The reason for doing the leaves and grass first and the flowers later is simple.  The flowers are more exciting and fun!

Illustration with background completed and foliage plotted in

Adding the insects

Before getting into the details and darker tones of the leaves and flowers, I add the insects.  This ensures I don’t paint over them by mistake, and that I can calibrate the tonality of the landscape and be certain they’ll show up.

Adding the bee pollinators to the illustration

Each of the seed packets features one or more common pollinators.  For this wildflower mix, we could take our pick from any number of bees, beetles, wasps and butterflies.  This is the Red-tailed bumblebee.

Adding flowers: Yellows

Next, I take on the flowers.  I do this colour by colour.  If you only have yellows on your palette, you’re far less likely to mix some random muddy colour by adding red or blue by mistake.  I delineate each petal, and then the centre of the flowers.  For the white flowers, it’s only the central area of each inflorescence that gets colour added.

Once this is done, I add a more dilute yellow top wash to the marigolds.  The corn chamomile and corn marigolds are more or less finished.

Painting the yellow flowers

Adding flowers: pinks and reds

I repeat the process for the pink Corncockle flowers.  These only have colour at the edges of the petals, the centres are white.  They’re one of my favourite meadow flowers, so I was glad they featured.

Adding the pink flowers

You can see I’ve started adding the red poppies too.  Paint water is changed and the palette is given a wipe, even between painting colours as similar as reds and pinks.  I also add the poppy stamens, making sure they’re a purple hue rather than plain black.

Illustration with Pink, red and yellow flowers completed.

Again, once the poppies have been painted, it’s time to get fresh painting water and to clean the palette.

Adding flowers: Blues

The Cornflowers are such a lovely shade of blue.  It’s a surprisingly easy colour to mix.  Just Cobalt blue and Opera rose.  I have practise in painting these, having done the Cornflower seed packet illustration eatrlier.  It’s useful being able to cross reference your work.

Blue cornflowers are added

A pale diluted blue is added to the top of the cornflower petals, and the central florets are picked out in a darker blue.

Finishing touches, and reflection

To make the colours of the flowers more intense, I add further glazes or top washes.  More distant flowers are kept paler to try and give a sense of depth.

As we need to leave the background behind where the words appear clear enough to allow text to be legible, there’s no scope for adding much in the way of tonal depth to the leaves and grass.  The result is a flattening of the illustration which I’m not entirely happy with.

The flower colours are correct, but because of the lack on nuance in the leaves, the illustration appears both slightly washed out and simultaneously super saturated.

Completed illustration

Illustration with Layout guides

The acid test is to lay the acetate with the design elements over the top of the completed illustration.  It’s a moment of truth, and I am always very relieved when no crucial element is overlapped by bright colour, and no important flower is obliterated by text or logos.

Completed illustration with design overlay

I like many elements of this illustration.  I’m fond of the bumble bee and the poppies.  The composition works.  But the disconnect between the tonality and saturation of the flowers, and the less shadowed leaves feels a little jarring.  This will be reduced once the illustration appears on the seed packet, some of the intensity of colour gets washed out in the printing process.

Other seed packet designs

The seed packet below is for a wildflower garden mix.  It features an idealised garden, complete with pollinators, a bee hive, and a well-visited bird table. (Not to mention a ridiculously clean shed).  I like the way this image works on the packet label.

Wildflower garden seed mix

Below are some of the individual species’ seed packets.  I think they show how the colours are slightly less saturated as a result of the printing process.

The ones I’m currently working on include borage (one of my favourite flowers) and the sunflower.  These seed packet designs are an ongoing job, and one I’m enjoying.

Meadow buttercup and Cornflower seed packet designs

Ox-eye daisy and Red campion seed packet designs.

Roselyn seeds haven’t yet rolled out these designs across all of their products, but will do so soon.  In the meantime, feel free to order their (excellent) wildflower seeds.  And maybe have a go at illustrating them yourself?

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