Discover more about our native wildflower; how to identify them, their history, mythology and past u Anyone can come along.
Want to learn a bit more about the plants you encounter everyday? Come for a walk with us for a fun way to discover more about native Irish wildflowers. Walks will be carried out by Botanist and Horticulturist Mies Stam. Check out our meetup.com page here:
http://www.meetup.com/Wildflower-Walks-Ireland/
Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a non-native tree with large, sticky red-brown buds and horseshoe-shaped leaf scars, making it a fairly easy tree to identify in winter.
Hazel (Corylus avellana) is one of the easier trees to identify in winter. Let me show you how!
See you tomorrow for the BSBI
More details here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1CSKZuvpYY/
Beech (Fagus sylvatica) buds make this another easy to identify tree in winter. Pointed, narrow buds, zigzag stems and old leaves being present on young trees are all identifying features of beech.
Ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior) are one of the easiest trees to identify by bud in winter: grey-green stems with large mat-black buds.
Alder (Alnus glutinosa) loves growing in wet soil, as it does here, beside the Avoca River in Arklow. The flowers should open around February.
15/12/2025
I'm planning on organising a New Year Plant Hunt in South Wicklow. Keep an eye out for the details.
Sea Spurge (Euphorbia paralias) is a leathery- leaved plant, as the name suggests, found by the sea in sand or single along dunes or beaches. Their flowers have no petals or sepals. their leathery leaves help this native perennial cope really well with coastal conditions. Their leaves also have poisonous milky latex sap in them, so be careful when touching this plant.
Fox-and-cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca) are easily identify by their bright orange, hawkweed-type flowers on hairy stems above a downy rosette of leaves. Often found in lawns or grassy areas, this is an introduced, non-native plant.
Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a spiky biennial plant recognised by its large purple flowerheads with spiky bracts.
Burnet Rose (Rosa spinosissima or R. pimpinellifolia) is a native perennial usually found in grassy places. I've only found it once before in the Burren, so I was excited to find it locally. Its five white petals, straight dense thorns and black hips make it easy to identify at this time of year.