Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Tag: flora

  • The uncertain future of Ayton’s Weeping Ash

    The uncertain future of Ayton’s Weeping Ash

    In the annals of Scandinavian mythology, the ash went by the name ‘Yggdrasil,’ the tree of life, ‘the greatest and best of all trees. Its branches spread all over the world.’ Now, I’m no tree whisperer, and botany isn’t exactly my strong suit. I’m hazarding a guess, but this seems to be the ‘Fraxinus excelsior,’…

  • The Scented Secrets of ‘Mousse de Chêne’

    The Scented Secrets of ‘Mousse de Chêne’

    What a delightful day! Bitter, raw, cold enough to freeze your marrow. The wind, a so-called “lazy wind,” doesn’t bother taking the scenic route around you; it simply chooses the direct route, right through your very being. Upon Coate Moor, amidst a gap in the trees, a view up Kildale. The young trees hereabouts, mostly…

  • A Nature Whodunit: The Case of the Wayward Eucalyptus

    A Nature Whodunit: The Case of the Wayward Eucalyptus

    Attention green-fingered readers. Can anyone identify this tree? It’s growing in a pretty exposed spot on Cliff Rigg. According to the ‘Seek’ app on my trusty phone, it’s a member of the myrtle family, and opinion is that it might be part of the Eucalyptus genus. If that’s true, this tree has ventured quite a…

  • The Ironstone Depression and Winter’s Sustenance

    The Ironstone Depression and Winter’s Sustenance

    In a deep depression caused by subsidence from the ironstone mining, a hawthorn tree is burdened with scarlet berries. Roseberry’s sandstone crag furnishes a striking backdrop. This tree will supply valuable sustenance for birds in the upcoming winter. Folk tales are rife with accounts of solitary Hawthorn trees flourishing above pots of buried gold. But…

  • Oak boughs in a wild dance

    Oak boughs in a wild dance

    The snow persists giving an almost monochrome image of Newton Wood, a predominately oak woodland. The sombre boughs stretch out endlessly, weaving intricate angles and twists, forming a chaotic yet captivating network that reaches both upward and downward. It is a common belief that oak woodland is the original vegetation of much of lowland Britain…

  • St. Michael’s Day

    St. Michael’s Day

    Apart from the purplish hue of the ling, the crimson shade of this bramble leaf also holds a special place in my colour preferences. It seems this vibrant colouration owes its existence to anthocyanins, naturally occurring chemicals found in blackberries. These compounds come together within certain leaves when sugar levels experience an increase during the…

  • Heather’s Purple Dance with Golden Grass

    Heather’s Purple Dance with Golden Grass

    Apart from the swathes of purple heather, there is another colour that resonates with me and epitomises the moors at this time of the year: the golden brown of grasses. These strands of gold flourish abundantly upon the ancient swiddens, gently swaying in the breeze and contrasting with the purple that’s nothing short of mesmerising.…

  • Sticky bobs

    Sticky bobs

    Burdock, an awkward and ungainly plant, possesses the virtue of strength, standing tall with its sizeable leaves, making it a favourite subject for landscape painters, often adding depth to shady corners. Yet, it is in our childhood memories that we recall this plant by various names: Bachelor’s buttons, Button sourees, Bcggar’s buttons, Love leaves, Sticklebacks,…

  • Hey, it’s good to be back home again

    Hey, it’s good to be back home again

    John Denver could have sung about this old hill being like a long-lost friend. OK, I’ve paraphrased. He was actually singing about his farm. A month away and the changes around here have been absolutely dramatic. The bluebells, the mayflowers, and the primroses. They’ve all had their moment and moved on. But the bracken, of…

  • Shig-shags

    Shig-shags

    While cutting back the bracken in Newton Wood today, I was taken by surprise when I stumbled upon what seemed to be miniature apples. Of course, these were not genuine apples, but rather galls created by insects as excrescences. And as it dawned on me that they were attached to a small oak sapling instead…