The letter ‘S‘ is one of the easier ones on the ABC Wednesday roster, but still I thought for a while about what to post.
I looked through my archived pictures and found several things I could have used. I’ve talked about the Sovereign Quarter Horse stables more than once already, but should I tell you about San Francisco, for instance? Or Solvang? What about Sheffield? Then there was the Springfields Meet and Greet for a local greyhound rescue, one of Sid‘s first outings. Here he is sitting sweetly in his smart collar and showing off his stump to the shoppers.
Well, OK, I couldn’t resist slipping Sid in there, but I’ve decided to show you somewhere local – Southey Woods.
And look – there I found another type of stump!
Southey Woods has been a popular dog walking venue for us since we had our first greyhound. It’s about fifteen minutes away by car, but it’s worth it as you can see by the pictures, and last May we took a ride out there because we were feeling sad after the loss of our two dogs and we needed to get out and walk somewhere peaceful.
It’s a lovely place, with a mixture of conifers and broadleaved species, including beech, oak, ash, silver birch and elder. Naturally, it’s home to many shade-loving plants such as bluebells and yellow archangel, and I was amazed at how many there were with names that began with ‘S‘. For instance, here is Greater Stitchwort, otherwise known as Soldier’s Buttons.
There is a lesser Stitchwort, too, with tiny white cross-shaped flowers and whorls of lanceolete leaves. Here it is growing alongside purple bugle.
Interestingly, Silene dioica, or Red Campion, is also known by some people as Soldier’s Buttons!
When you start looking, it’s fascinating how many different names there can be for one plant. Even the common English bluebell has several. Most people know it as Hyacinthoides non-scripta, but it is also known as Scilla non-scripta and Scilla nutans. There is much discussion about what constitutes a true English bluebell, but that link will take you to the Natural HIstory museum, and one must presume they know their taxonomy.
The problem, you see, is that nurseries began importing the Spanish bluebell for garden use, and like all invading species, it is a danger to the existence of our own native bluebell. The Spanish bluebell can be identified by its upright habit and sturdier stem. The English bluebell is much more slender and the flowerhead droops gracefully. See?
I looked up alternative names for the wild arum (Arum maculatum), or Cuckoo Pint because it has so many different names I thought one might begin with ‘S‘ and I was right. It’s also known as Starch-Root, and was once used as a food supplement by country folk. Wikipedia says: “The root of the Cuckoo Pint, when roasted well, is edible and when ground was once traded under the name of Portland sago“.
However since other parts of the plant are extremely toxic, I have to wonder how someone made that ‘stonishing discovery! Interestingly, the spadix (the brownish/purple rod-like flower enclosed in the green spathe) is attractive to mice, and they often chew it right away to a stump. Ha! Another stump for you!
Of course, another shade-loving plant you find in all corners of England is the Stinging Nettle, and here it is with Yellow Archangel, which is a close relative.
And there are benches to sit on in the shade of the silver birches, should you feel tired after stretching your legs.
When we were done walking, just outside the gate we found Sheep’s Parsley in the hedgerows bordering this acid yellow field of oilseed rape. This crop has become so common that yellow fields are now a part of a typical springtime English scene.
See those stormy clouds up there? The drops of rain were just beginning to fall as we got back into the car at the end of our walk.
What beautiful photos Jay! Those woods look absolutely wonderful… I would love to walk there too. You are quite the botanist; I can never remember plant names, never mind their scientific ones!
“So Maureen, what do you have planted there?”
“Um, it’s a purple plant.”
Yeah. I roole the garden.
Maureen´s last blog ..Up On the Roof
Those photos are fabulous! What a great collection and thank you for all the information to go with them. Beautiful post for “s”.
carolynUSA´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday / "S"
Wonderful ‘S’ post, Jay. Gorgeous photos accompanied by a wealth of information. Thanks!
Tuli´s last blog ..Tools
I’ve always said that autumn was my favourite season, but when I look at those photos and compare them with what I saw outside today (rain, clouds, more rain and even darker clouds), I think I have to reconsider!
Mara´s last blog ..S is for…
What beautiful photos and great information who would have known so many great stats.
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Gorgeous flowers,Jay! Amazing how many of them begin with “S”.Thank you for showing all those beautiful places.
Reader Wil´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday, that’s My World, S for Saint Nicholas
What a beautiful wood, I love bluebell time and the heady scent. Love your etherial macro. I was thinking the same as you about the cuckoo pint; still there are allsorts of plants that you wonder who was the person that first decided to take a gamble and eat that (probably somebody like Ray Mears). A great flowery S post
Joy´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday – S
I can feel the love and joy you shared in Southey Woods! This post reveals such reverence, not only for the beautiful plants, but for the spirit of your beloved dogs!
)
A truly breathtaking post, Jay! Thank you!
petra michelle´s last blog ..
That woodland scenery looks divine. The gentle colours are so nostalgic.
Amazing S post! so much to look at! I love the Stitchwort & the bluebells, The trail looks like a nice place to go for a walk with your dogs too.
Lily´s last blog ..S is for stuffed animals
Super S Series!
oh those woods!!Gorgeous in my dreams I’m going there Sid you doll sandy
Maureen – LOL! Well, trust me, there are subjects you’d get answers like that on from me! Isn’t it the same for everyone?
Carolyn USA and Tuli – Thank you for your kind words!
Mara – I think what I love about spring is the promise … yes, it’s quite lovely all by itself, but unlike autumn, you have good stuff to look forward to. Autumn merely drags winter onto the scene.
Dorothy Stahlnecker – Like everyone, I only know about those things that interest me. Ask me a computer programming question and watch me flounder! LOL!
Reader Wil – ‘S’ is a busy letter in English, that’s for sure . The wonder is that some wild plants have so MANY alternative names!
Joy – Thank you! Yes, it’s something I’ve often wondered about. Who discovered that you can eat the stems of rhubarb, but not the leaves, or the tubers of potato but neither the leaves or the fruit? There were some brave – or desperate – souls in our history!
Petra – It’s fair to say I can’t walk there without thinking of all the dogs who accompanied us and had fun there. So I guess that’s a form of reverence, isn’t it?
Rinkly Rimes – So English, isn’t it?
Lily – Yes, it is a lovely place to walk – and surely everyone loves bluebells!
Tumblewords and Sandy – Thanks!
Bluebells – how I love and miss the bluebells. Wondeful photos – thanks for the memories. Oh, and can you give Sid a bit of a hug from me please. I would do it myself, but it is a bit far to go.
Don’t Bug Me!´s last blog ..It’s Not All About the Boobies
I love bluebells, they remind me so much of my childhood in England and the only place where I know they grow in Australia is at the temperate Mt Tomah Botanical gardens but not enough to blanket the woodland floor.
And that dog is just a big puss!
The beauty of English woods is no biteys or crawlies. Just the odd nettle! Nothing a burdock leaf can’t cure! They look so cool and inviting. We’re having a heatwave yet again . . .
What’s sheeps parsley? Looks like a planted crop?
Baino´s last blog ..Street Philosophy
DBM – Consider Sid hugged! He loves a hug, actually, unlike many dogs. But you really should come and do it yourself, you know!
Baino – Ah yes .. we don’t have much here that wants to take chunks out of you or kill you, that’s for sure. Just the odd bee or wasp or hornet – or the adder, of course, which is our only venomous snake, luckily rather rare and shy.
Sheep’s Parsley is a member of the umbelliferae family. It’s one of the tall white things with ferny leaves and frothy white flower head. You can see it from mid left to bottom right in the picture – sorry, it’s not very clear. But the yellow stuff is indeed a planted crop – oilseed rape, which is used to make .. uh .. oils. LOL! Also, I believe, used for forage.
super set of photos. and narrative’s nice too.
Roger Green´s last blog ..The Lydster, Part 68: the North Pole
Beautiful and thought-provoking sequence Jay. Our walks hold memories good and rueful for us too and we sometimes see rescued Greyhounds elegantly walking in ‘our’ forest.
Thank you for all the information!
jabblog uk´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday Round 3 S is for . . .
Lovely collection of “S”, i like the first and the last pictures most. Have a nice weekend.
Grace and Bradley´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday & Skywatch Friday: S for Sunset at South Tufa
What a beautiful place you have on your doorstep, and lovely as your photographs are, I know from experience the reality rarely has justice in the captured image. Little wonder this is a favourite spot of yours.
I had no idea about the different varieties of bluebell. Our glen is carpeted with them in season – next time they are in bloom, I must take note to see if they are truly as indiginus as I assumed they were!
I see sweet Sid is wowing his audience – his confidence has grown muchly in the short time he has been with you (smile). I always enjoy visiting with you, you never fail to put a smile on my face.
shrinky´s last blog ..Sprucing Up
Roger Green – Thanks!
Jabblog UK – Wherever we have loved, there are memories, huh? So true.
Good to know you have greyhounds where you are, too!
Grace and Bradley – Thank you!
Shrinky – It is lovely, isn’t it? And typically English, too.
Your bluebells, if they grow wild on your craggy island, will almost certainly all be the real deal. But yes, go check them out in April or May and let me know!
Jay, I always enjoy seeing photos of Sid and your other canine companions. But as a gardener, I really enjoyed all the scenery and the wildflowers today. I’m curious what the oilseed rape is used for. This looks like a lovely place for a walk–for humans as well as dogs!
Rose´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday: "Why I Garden"
Rose – Thanks, yes, Southey Woods is rather lovely!
Oilseed rape is mainly to produce vegetable oils for the food industry, but it’s also being used these days as a ‘bio-diesel’.
SUPER post!
Do I see some SUNSHINE peeking through the treetops, in the silver birch picture?
I love the picture of the SERPENTINE path, SNAKING through the woods, and the SIMPLE SINUOUS curves of the handrails.
Quite the SERENE SANCTUARY, these Southey Woods!
ethelmaepotter´s last blog ..Thanksgiving Week
Ethelmaepotter – Yes, indeedy, all of the above! LOL! Thanks for the smile!
What great S words! And what a collection of them! Lotsl of beauty and many smiles! Terrific! Enjoy your day!
Sylvia
Sylvia Kirkwood´s last blog ..Evening, Wisdom and Beauty