Woodland and hedgerow plants : the foxglove
by The blog at woodlands.co.uk, 15 February, 2021, 0 comments
Whilst Foxgloves are familiar as plants found in cottage gardens, they are also widespread in woodlands and hedgerows. They may be particularly obvious in woodland clearings or areas where coppicing or felling has taken place as they can readily colonise disturbed ground. If flowering, the foxglove is recognisable by its tall ‘spike’ of pink to purple flowers. The plants are biennial, existing as a rosette of leaves in the first year and then producing the flowering shoot in the second. The leaves are rather soft to the touch, and downy due many small hairs on their surfaces (see images below).
Foxgloves are favoured by bumblebees which ‘disappear’ into their tubular flowers in search of nectar. The flowers, which hang downwards, have a wide ‘mouth’ [often with hairs] and provide a ‘landing stage’ for visiting insects. Read more...
