#Wildflowerhour. Pretty Eyebright species (Euphrasia species,) found at Gait Barrows Reserve N. Lancs

Autumn colour from yesterday’s #WiltsBotSoc meeting at Great Wood, Grittenham - (Swedish?) Whitebeam, Wayfaing Tree, Bullace (very tasty!) and Wild Service Tree #WildflowerHour

From today’s walk in Bradford-on-Avon and Winsley here’s a self-sown Japanese Anemone on top of the pub wall, a Greater Celandine and some Ivy #WildflowerHour

Plants flowering in N. Wilts. for this week's #WildflowerHour: Marsh Woundwort, Tormentil, Common Toadflax, Nettle-leaved Bellflower (f. alba), Meadow saffron, Monkeyflower, Devil's-bit Scabious, Welsh Poppy, Sowbread & Wood Avens. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Two #ByTheSea #FavouritePlants Early Spider orchid at Worth Matravers (ish) and Thrift at Slade in Co. Wexford #WildflowerHour

Far too many to choose from, but I've finally decided on this Marsh Pea, Lathyrus palustris, as my #FavouritePlant this year. A plant I had been longing to find for ages, and finally did so in July of this year at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen. 😍 #WildflowerHour

Two #FavouritePlants from #WiltsBotSoc weekend in Suffolk/Norfolk Fiddleneck from Knettishall Heath and Tephroseris palustris (can’t remember common name and running out of charge on train 😬) from Dickleburgh #WildflowerHour

Difficult to choose a single #favouriteplant for the #WildflowerHour challenge, so I've plumped for two lovely orchids I saw for the 1st time this summer: Greater Butterfly Orchid & Marsh Helleborine. They elicited a 'Wow!' from me. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

#Seedheads of a Mallow - at the time I assumed Common but the upper stem leaves look rather classy, so not too sure #WildflowerID please! #WildflowerHour

1st of 3 collages of #SeedHeads in N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour challenge: Wood Avens, Common Gromwell, Wild Marjoram, Field Scabious, Hop, Self Heal, Square-stalked St John's-wort & Hedge Woundwort #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

2nd of 3 collages of #SeedHeads in N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour challenge: Greater Burdock, Great Mullein, Agrimony, Meadowsweet, Teasel, Wild Clematis, Water Figwort & Greater Knapweed. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

3rd of 3 collages of #SeedHeads in N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour challenge: Hogweed, Wild Angelica, Perforate St John's-wort, Hemp Agrimony, Woolly Thistle, Great Willowherb, Water Mint & Common Knapweed #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Some butterflies enjoying the warm sunshine in N. Wiltshire yesterday afternoon: Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral & Small Copper. #butterfly #Butterflies #wildlifephotography #nature #NaturePhotography @savebutterflies.bsky.social @britishnatureguide.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

#Fruits for #WildflowerHour Bramble, Sloe, Elderberry, then Oak (masses of Knopper galls this year), Sycamore, Sweet Chestnut (no Conkers on Horse Chestnut round here 🙁). Finally Hawthorn, Field Maple, Dogwood. All from brief walk to supermarket in Bradford-on-Avon

1st of 2 posts of #fruits in N. Wilts for the #WildflowerHour challenge: Honeysuckle, Black Bryony, Yew, Barberry, Lords-and-ladies, Bramble, Purging Buckthorn & Dog Rose hips. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

2nd of 2 posts of #fruits in N. Wilts for the #WildflowerHour challenge: Guelder Rose, Wayfaring Tree, Elder, Hawthorn (haws), Wild Service Tree (chequers), Blackthorn (sloes), Crab Apple & Dewberry. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

It’s looking a bit like autumn! Plump, luscious fruits are brightening the hedgerows like vibrant jewels, beautiful, but can you identify them? This week find the fruits of wild plants, snap away & post your lovely pics for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm using #fruits 🍒

#WilderHook had its Gentian walk today, just in time for #wildFlowerHour #GentianChallenge #gentian - marsh gentian - Gentiana pneumonanthe #NEHampshire

In the week we went to the New Forest to see the beautiful Marsh Gentians the #WildflowerHour challenge is #GentianFamily What a happy coincidence @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Not all #PavementPlants so I’ll borrow @concretebotany.bsky.social ‘s term #CrackWeeds - Shaggy Soldier and Apple of Peru in Bradford-on-Avon, and Skullcap and Black Horehound along the K&A canal near Devizes #WildflowerHour

Two #GentianFamily members in N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour challenge: Yellow-wort & Common Centaury - anthers shaped like fusilli pasta! Fruitless 2-hr search for Autumn Gentians at Wiltshire WT's parched Morgan's Hill reserve. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A variety of flowers seen in N. Wilts. this week for #WildflowerHour: Nettle-leaved Bellflower (f. alba), Round-headed Rampion, Fleabane, Clustered Bellflower, Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea, Devil's-bit Scabious (💜&🤍) & Musk Mallow. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Autumn Lady's-Tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) struggling to put on a show in N. Wilts. as the last of out native orchids to bloom. Most plants are significantly smaller than usual, presumably due to the prolonged dry spell. @ukorchids.bsky.social @europeanorchids.bsky.social

Some #DaisyFamily plants seen in N. Wilts. for #WildflowerHour: Dwarf, Creeping, Welted & Woolly Thistles, Hemp Agrimony, Chicory, Saw-wort, Nipplewort, Smooth Hawksbeard & Catsear. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Autumn Lady's-Tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) struggling to show in N. Wilts. as the last of out native oprchids to bloom. Most plants are significantly smaller than usual, presumably due to the prolonged dry spell. #WildflowerHour #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

2nd of 2 collages of plants with #PollinatorPals (IDs in Alt text) in N. Wilts. #Wildflowerhour Creeping Thistle, Field Scabious, Wild Majoram, Wild Angelica, Purple Loosestrife, Hemp Agrimony, Small Scabious & Buddleja (naturalised). #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

1st of 2 collages of plants with #PollinatorPals (IDs in Alt text) in N. Wilts. #Wildflowerhour Round-headed Rampion, Carline Thistle, Greater Knapweed, Woolly Thistle, Small Scabious, Common Ragwort, Black Knapweed & Grt Willowherb. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

This week’s challenge is #PollinatorPals! Find a flowering wild or naturalised plant with a pollinating visitor & snap away. Of course it’s not just about bees! Butterflies, moths, wasps, flies & beetles can all be #pollinators too! Share your pics for #Wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm!

I hope the saltmarsh of the Severn Estuary near Caldicot counts as #ByTheSea - clockwise from top left here’s Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea, Wild Celery, an unusually violet-blue Spiny Restharrow and Marsh Mallow for #WildflowerHour

#wildflowerhour challenge not viable in N. Wilts, but saw these this week: Willowherb, Wild Marjoram, Scentless Mayweed, Strawberry Clover, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Woolly & Carline Thistles, Common Fleabane, Common Toadflax; Soapwort. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Common Dodder, Cuscuta epithymum, parasitising Gorse (Ulex minor I think in this case) on Thursley Common. This fascinating plant has no chlorophyll and no roots, and gains all its nutrition by attaching itself directly to the stems of its host plant via special structures called haustoria.

Dwarf Elder (Sambucus ebulus) & Dodder (Cuscuta epithymum) seen in N. Wilts, where they're scarce and rare, respectively. Here Dodder parasitizes various species, e.g., Lady's Bedstraw, Field Scabious & Wild Marjoram. #Wildflowerhour #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Some members of the #Deadnettlefamily flowering in N. Wilts. for the #wildflowerhour challenge: Marsh Woundwort, Hedge Woundwort, Gypsywort, Betony, Wild Marjoram, Wild Thyme, Wild Basil, Common Calamint; Water & Corn Mints. #WiltsBotSoc @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

No Harebells this week unfortunately but, at the other end of the ‘delicate’ scale, this Cut-leaved Teasel Dipsacus lanceolatus was an exciting find 😊🥳 A first for me and, I think, Wiltshire. #WildflowerHour

Despite the frustrations of breezy conditions, here are some captures of charming Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) growing on limestone downland in N. Wilts. for the #Wildflowerhour #HarebellChallenge. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A delightful young #fox that drops by my N. Wilts. garden every day to eat up the dropped food under the bird feeders and play amongst the hostas. #wildlife #nature #mammals @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social @mammalsociety.bsky.social @britishnatureguide.bsky.social

Some are stellate, glandular, forked, simple or branched. What are? I hear you ask! Hairs! This week’s challenge is to find a hairy plant, the hirsuter the better and examine its trichomes! Post your bristly pics using the hashtag #hairyplants for #Wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm

A variety of flowers seen in N. Wilts. this week for #WildflowerHour: Meadowsweet, Common Valerian, Common Restharrow, Wild Mignonette, Musk Mallow, Round-headed Rampion, Lady's Bedstraw, Wild Thyme, Tufted Vetch & Field Scabious. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

The daintily delightful flowers of Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) in N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour #HelleborineChallenge. Sadly, no luck finding Broad-leaved or Violet Helleborines on my patch so far. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

Dark Red, Marsh, Dune, Green-flowered, Broad-leaved - can you find a flowering Epipactis species for #WildflowerHour this week? If you can, share your finds this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #HelleborineChallenge! With special thanks to @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social for this week’s theme!

A bit early for #WildflowerHour as I am out this evening. Smaller Cats-tail, Quaking Grass, and Crested Dogs-tail, for the #GrassChallenge. (Bit of an animal theme I realise.) All at Hutchinson's Bank in Croydon.

From Bradford-on-Avon this morning Johnson-grass, False Brome, Common Bent with False Fox Sedge, and Timothy for the #GrassChallenge #WildflowerHour

Windy conditions caused much oath muttering in N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour #GrassChallenge: Reed Canary-grass, Cock's-foot, Yorkshire Fog, False Oat-grass, Branched Bur-reed, Wood Club-rush, Hard & Soft Rushes; False Fox & Remote Sedges. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Windy conditions caused much oath muttering in N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour #GrassChallenge: Reed Canary-grass, Cock's-foot, Yorkshire Fog, False Oat-grass, Branched Bur-reed, Wood Club-rush, Hard & Soft Rushes; False Fox & Remote Sedges. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Some #AquaticPlants for #WildflowerHour from Bradford-on-Avon: Common Club-rush, Branched Bur-reed, and Yellow Water-lily

Not quite #AquaticPlants but here are Marsh Bedstraw, Loosestrife, and Meadowsweet, with a side order of Amphibious Bistort (not in flower) beside the Kennet & Avon canal for #WildflowerHour

Some #AquaticPlants from N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour challenge: Blue Water-speadwell, Brooklime, Marsh Thistle, Water Figwort, Monkshood, Yellow Iris, River Water-crowfoot, Meadowsweet, Square-stalked St Johns-wort & Water Forget-Me-Not. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Flowers from N. Wilts. for the #WildflowerHour #UrbanPlants challenge: Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Meadow Cranesbill, Common Mallow, Red Valerian, Yellow Corydalis, Purple Toadflax, Welsh Poppy, White Stonecrop & Wall Pennywort. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Probably around 100 Lesser Butterfly Orchids seen today, mixed in with Heath Spotted too. Dunsdon NNR Devon today with the Devon Botany Section. #wildflowerhour Platanthera bifolia