Although we’re fast approaching autumn, if you walk around the reserve you might notice that there are still quite a few wildflowers hanging about, lending us a few remaining splashes of summer colour.
White dead-nettle, for instance, can still be seen alongside a lot of the visitor paths – particularly on the path to the Kingfisher screen from the visitor centre. Keep your eyes low to the ground to see this beautiful (and I think quite underrated) flower. The leaves are superficially similar to those of the common stinging nettle, but they don’t sting, hence ‘dead-nettle’! In folklore, a distillation of the flowers is said to “make the heart merry, to make a good colour in the face, and to make the vital spirits more fresh and lively” – having never made tea from it myself, I can’t testify to this, but it sounds lovely doesn’t it!
White dead nettle along the discovery trail
Not only do we have white, but also red dead-nettle! This plant grows all the way along the wall leading up from the car park to the visitor centre – try squeezing the leaves a bit – they smell rather aromatic when bruised!
Red dead-nettle by the visitor centre
The tiny yellow flowers of Lady’s bedstraw can be seen in clusters within our wildflower patch in front of the visitor centre. In the past, the dried plants were used to stuff mattresses (hence the name), and were also used to add colour to the cheese double Gloucester.
Lady's bedstraw in the wildflower patch
Ragwort can be seen in odd clumps all around the footpaths, and is best known as the larval foodplant of the cinnabar moth. The caterpillars of this brightly coloured moth eat ragwort, which is toxic, thus accumulating the toxin in their own bodies; a defence against predators! As those who keep livestock will know, ragwort is extremely toxic to animals, and part of the work we do on the reserve is ‘ragwort-pulling’- essential so that our resident highland cows don’t ingest any.
Ragwort along the riverbank trail
The pretty pink flowers of Red Campion can be seen along the paths of the discovery trail. Red campion provides a valuable nectar source for moths and butterflies in the summer, and in the past the crushed seeds have been used to cure snakebites!
Red Campion near Pickup Hide