Native Irish wildflowers

JennyS · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 8:14 pm Post subject: Native Irish wildflowers

Hi folks
This is the start of a bit about some of the plants you might see growing wild in Ireland - there are about 900 different wildflowers that can be found here. If anyone comes across a wildflower that they woud like to know the name of post a picture up and I'll do my best to identify it for you.
Some are hard to miss, like the carpets of Wood Anemones in spring, the Dandelions that have threaded the roadsides and are now going to seed.....oh I hear groans from all the gardeners (including me) as those little parachutes head their way on the breeze .... Foxgloves, Fushia and Meadowsweet....
Others you have to look more closely to find, the Violets half-hidden in the roadside bank, pink flowers of Bitter-vetch starting to show, and the intense blue of Heath Milkwort . St.Patricks Cabbage , Bogbean and Butterwort are also flowering now....

Bogbean ___________________ Butterwort

One of the most noticable flowers out at the moment is Lady's Smock, also known as Cuckoo Flower, growing in damp fields and roadsides and by water. A very old Irish poem mentions it as one of the flowers from the time of the Fianna, legendary warriors of Ireland.
In herbal medicine it is believed to be good for soothing nervous afflitions such as hysteria.
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Irish wildflowers

BlackBird · Rowan Tree Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 147

Beautiful images. Did you take those yourself JennyS? Looking forward to the next installment.

foamcutter · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 82

Have to agree with Blackbird

JennyS · Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 10:03 pm Post subject:

Thank you both for the compliments - yes I took the photos, got hooked when I got a digital camera, filled my computer with flowers and then could magnify them to screen size and really see the details.....garden inside and out!
Some suggestions on what anyone would be interested in re: wildflower bit would be really appreciated, and I'd love to see some pictures up of wildflowers in Ireland that anyone else has taken......
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Irish wildflowers

shefra · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 50

great pics JennyS, I adore wildflowers, went on hols 2 years ago near Castlegregory and got some great pics, however will have to wait for my son to come from school to download, he is the computer whiz in our house, will post.By the way where are you getting the info on the wildflowers? Have you seen Derek Mooney's bk on irish wildflowers?

shefra · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 50

Actually JennyS, the bk is called Complete Irish Wildlife intro by Derek Mooney,pub Collins 2004, it the first most comprhensive guide to irish flora and fauna with loads of pics, a must have for the shelf.I checked to see if your flowers were mentioned, sure enough, though your pics are better, check it out.

JennyS · Last edited by JennyS on Sun May 27, 2007 8:26 pm; edited 2 times in total

Here are some wildflower photos taken when I went down to Barley Cove last week:

Above: Burnet Rose, Western Marsh-orchid and Sea-spurrey
Below: Small-flowered Cranesbill, Creeping Willow, and Heath Spotted Orchid,

Theres a whole different range of wildflowers to be found by the coast, and driving was hazardous as I had one eye on what was growing on the roadsides....every so often the car had to be quickly parked as something interesting was spotted.....
I was lucky to find a tiny field near the sea which was full of marsh orchids, yellow rattle, buttercups, small-flowered cranesbill and clover - a proper wildflower meadow!

Marsh Orchids generally have leaves covered with dark blotches, but in some parts of Ireland they have un-spotted leaves. Heath Spotted Orchids are another orchid with spotted leaves, but the leaves of paler flowered ones can be un-spotted .... the patterns of the markings on the flower lip are an important guide to identification, which can be difficult as orchids are very variable and frequently inter-breed.
Please don't be tempted to gather them from the wild, though they can be locally frequent they are very vulnerable, and many are declining due to loss of habitat. Enjoy the flowers in the wild, but please buy orchids for planting in the garden from a reputable seller.

The Creeping Willow is Irelands smallest native tree, though the prostrate form grows to less than 50cm in height. The photograph shows the distinctive seedheads.
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Irish wildflowers

GPI · Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 8:13 pm Post subject: heath or bog orchid?

Sorry about this pic, it is totally out of focus.
I presume it is a heath or bog orchid, JennyS
Its from a bog topic in another section of IG.

JennyS · Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 8:42 pm Post subject:

Hi GPI - I've got a lot of very out of focus orchid pictures too, people only get to see the good ones!
IFrom the shape it could possibly be an Early Marsh Orchid, but it could also be Heath Spotted - the two have very different leaves which can help with ID. They are both flowering / starting to flower now, any chance of getting some more photos?
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Irish wildflowers

GPI · Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 8:52 pm Post subject: Only orchid photo

shefra · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 50

Hi JennyS, like GPI, alot of the pics that I said I'd send are out of focus, or not close up, one or two not so bad. I must invest in good camera, you have got me going.

Liparis · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:35 am Post subject:

Hi JennyS,
Lovely pictures.
Here's some of mine.

Anacamptis pyramidalis (pyramid orchid) growing just north of Dublin. A colony of about 50 plants with one albino in the colony.
Liparis
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JennyS · Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 3:33 pm Post subject:

Hi Bill - beautiful photos! Smile

What other wildflowers have you (and anyone else) seen this year, as it would be very interesting to see/hear whats growing in other parts of Ireland? And it would be great to see more of your photos.........
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Irish wildflowers

Liparis · Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:19 pm Post subject:

I don't get as much time as I would like to photograph wild flowers, but I can often be found lying at the bottom of a tree after photographing things such as the common hazelnut Rolling Eyes

Delightful flowers such as these are so often overlooked. Sometimes they make the pain worthwhile.
Liparis
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PatsAnn · Hazel Tree Joined: 11 Jul 2008 Posts: 5 Location: US

What a fantastic thread this is, JennyS--love the photos you've taken! Is West Cork far from Whitegate? (Forgive my ignorance--I'm in the US, and trying to learn about gardening in Whitegate, where my family originated.)

Also, very glad to get the title of Derek Mooney's book on Irish wildlife--thanks, Shefra.
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