It's amazing what you can find in the relatively unexplored areas of Langford, as I found out yesterday whilst making my way along the ditch at the northern edge of the woodland surveying for plants. The area was alive with butterflies (making a welcome change from the recent lack of insects in general!), with meadow browns, ringlets, small and essex skippers, commas and a lone purple hairstreak.
However, it was indeed a plant that caught my eye and one that I haven't seen at Langford before - a beautiful hartstongue fern, or Phyllitis scolopendrium to be scientific. They are common throughout much of the UK and indeed also much of Europe and are unusual in that they are the only ferns occurring in Europe with undivided fronds. Their preferred habitat is damp, shaded places such as river and stream banks and crevices in walls and usually occur on neutral or basic soils.
The leaves are smooth and shiny in appearance and can range from 10-60cm in length and 3-7cm in width and give the plant it's name, being said to resemble the shape of a hart's tongue.
And here is our Langford specimen, growing on the ditch bank among bramble....