Paul Sterry - British Wild Flowers - A photographic guide to every common species

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First published in 2006

Text © 2006 Paul Sterry

Photographs © Individual photographers indicated in the picture credits

Colour reproduction by Nature Photographers Ltd.

Paul Sterry asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007236848

Ebook Edition © MARCH 2015 ISBN: 9780008144586

Version: 2016-12-05

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

How to Use this Book

Basic Botany

Glossary

Flowers

Wild Flower Identification

Fruits and Seeds

Leaves

Habitats

Conservation

Species Descriptions

Juniper to Nettle Families

Nettle, Birthwort and Knotweed Families

Knotweed Family Polygonaceae

Blinks to Goosefoot Families

Goosefoot Family Chenopodiaceae

Goosefoot and Pink Families

Pink Family Caryophyllaceae

Buttercup Family Ranunculaceae

Fumitory and Poppy Families

Poppy, Barberry and Cabbage Families

Cabbage Family Brassicaceae

Cabbage and Mignonette Families

Sundew, Pitcherplant and Stonecrop Families

Stonecrop and Saxifrage Families

Saxifrage Family Saxifrageaceae

Gooseberry and Rose Families

Rose Family Rosaceae

Pea Family Fabaceae

Pea and Wood-sorrel Families

Crane’s-bill Family Geraniaceae

Crane’s-bill and Flax Families

Spurge Family Euphorbiaceae

Spurge, Milkwort and Balsam Families

Holly, Spindle, Buckthorn, Box and Mallow Families

Mallow to St John’s-wort Families

St John’s-wort and Rock-rose Families

Violet Family Violaceae

Violet to Willowherb Families

Waterwort and Willowherb Families

Willowherb and Dogwood Families

Ivy and Carrot Families

Carrot Family Apiaceae

Primrose Family Primulaceae

Heather Family Ericaceae

Heather and Crowberry Families

Wintergreen, Bird’s-nest and Thrift Families

Ash and Gentian Families

Gentian, Bogbean, Periwinkle and Bedstraw Families

Bedstraw Family Rubiaceae

Bedstraw, Jacob’s-ladder and Dodder Families

Bindweed and Borage Families

Borage Family Boraginaceae

Vervain and Dead-nettle Families

Dead-nettle Family Lamiaceae

Dead-nettle and Butterfly-bush Families

Nightshade and Figwort Families

Figwort Family Scrophulariaceae

Figwort and Broomrape Families

Broomrape, Moschatel and Valerian Families

Valerian and Butterwort Families

Plantain and Arrowgrass Families

Honeysuckle and Teasel Families

Teasel and Bellflower Families

Bellflower Family Campanulaceae

Daisy Family Asteraceae

Iris, Black Bryony and Lords-and-ladies Families

Orchid Family Orchidaceae

Water Plants

Pondweeds Potamogetonaceae

Bur-reed, Bulrush and Rush Families

Rush and Sedge Families

Sedge Family Cyperaceae

Sedge and Grass Families

Grass Family Poaceae

The West Country

The Lizard

The Isles of Scilly

Channel Islands

The New Forest and Isle of Wight

South-East England’S Estuaries and Coasts

The South and North Downs

East Anglia

The Chilterns and Cotswolds

English and Welsh Uplands

Scottish Highlands and Western Isles

Shetland and Orkney Isles

Ireland

Further Reading and Useful Organisations

Index

About the Publisher

PEOPLE LIVING IN BRITAIN and Ireland seldom have to travel far to find a wealth of wild flowers and, although the region’sv plantlife faces significant conservation issues, residents should feel privileged to live in such a flower-rich part of the world. Underpinning our floral diversity is a rich array of habitats, the product of our region’s topography, geology and history of land use. Good fortune, in the form of the Gulf Stream, dictates a mild and comparatively equable climate for much of the time, and this, too, contributes to botanical diversity. Complete British Wild Flowers has arisen from my personal love for the flora of Britain and Ireland, not to mention half a lifetime devoted to photographing our wild flowers.

The region covered by this book comprises the whole of mainland England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, as well as offshore islands including the Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides, Isle of Man and the Isles of Scilly. In addition, I have included the Channel Islands because their proximity to, and ecological affinities with, northern France allow them to make a valuable contribution to our flora.

The coverage of the book is restricted mainly to what most people understand to be wild flowers – not a strict botanical term, but taken to mean flowering plants of relatively modest stature, species that in most cases do not exceed 2m in height. For the sake of completeness I have also included a number of woody flowering shrubs, but I have excluded obvious tree species. Terrestrial habitats harbour the lion’s share of our flowering plants and this is reflected in the coverage of this book. But I have also included species that are strictly aquatic, both those that occur in freshwater habitats and the limited range of flowering plants that grow in coastal marine environments.

Complete British Wild Flowers is aimed primarily at the botanical novice and those with a moderate degree of botanical experience. Consequently, for the main section of the book, I have selected species that the naturalist stands a reasonable chance of encountering, although a few scarce but spectacular and distinctive species have also been included here for good measure. Some botanical groups are minefields for the beginner: for example, hundreds of so-called ‘microspecies’ of brambles are recognised by experts and similar complexity is found among dandelions, hawkweeds and eyebrights to name three more. In a book of this size, accurate identification of these subdivisions is impossible to achieve. So rather than baffle the reader, I have chosen to ‘lump’ the subdivisions together within these complex groups and treat them as species aggregates.