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Woodland and hedgerow plants : the foxglove

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...

What the bees see .......

What the bees see …….

by Chris, 25 October, 2017, 1 comments

Flower-visiting insects evolved in the Cretaceous Period (about 100 million years ago) - a time when the major flower groups (Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons) came into being. Flowers have a number of “ploys’ to encourage pollinators to visit them - for example, by their colour, scent, reflectance, size, outline, temperature, motion and nectar guides. The latter are markings or patterns on the petals and floral parts to guide bees, bumblebees or other pollinators towards the nectar and to encourage pollination. This link (click here) shows how a flower might appear to a bee or butterfly - due their sensitivity to U.V light. Read more...

Electric bumblebees

Electric bumblebees

by Chris, 15 June, 2016, 1 comments

Flowers have various ways of tempting pollinating insects to visit them. Indeed, some have very complex mechanisms to promote pollination and fertilisation, for example, the bee orchid. In order to attract pollinating bees, the orchid has evolved “bee-look-alike” flowers. These draw the bees in with the “promise of sex”. They attempt to mate with the flower, landing on the velvety lip of the flower and pollen is transferred. The bee leaves ‘frustrated’. However, the right species of bee doesn't live in the U.K., so here bee orchids self-pollinate. Read more...

Wild Flower Guide

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Read our guide to wild flowers of woodland and hedgerow

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