Wyre Forest Study Group
9
February, 2018
Signs of Spring!
On a Wyre Forest Study Group walk along Dowles this week there were many signs of spring in spite of the cold temperatures. Wild Arum (Arum maculatum) and Bluebell leaves were pushing up through the leaf litter, a few brave birds were singing and hazel catkins hung decorously from their twigs in glorious yellow.
Wild Arum leaves, Dowles valley 7 February 2018
Photograph by Rosemary Winnall
“Wild Arum is known by an abundance of common names including snakeshead, adder’s root, arum, wild arum, arum lily, lords-and-ladies, devils and angels, cows and bulls, cuckoo-pint, Adam and Eve, bobbins, naked girls, naked boys, starch-root, wake robin, friar’s cowl, sonsie-give-us-your-hand, jack in the pulpit and cheese and toast. The name “lords-and-ladies” and other gender-related names refer to the plant’s likeness to male and female genitalia symbolising copulation”
Bluebells are a species of deciduous woodland over much of their range, flowering and leafing early before the canopy closes in late spring, filling the air with the subtle fragrance of the scent, often attracting early spring butterflies such the Orange Tip.
Bluebell leaves, Dowles Valley, 7 February 2018
Photograph by Rosemary Winnall