Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Bright Red Poppy






Papaver rhoeas (common names include corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, red poppy, red weed, coquelicot, and, due to its odour, which is said to cause them, as headache and headwark) is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae. This poppy, a native of Europe, is notable as an agricultural weed (hence the "corn" and "field") and as a symbol of fallen soldiers.

The plant is a variable annual, forming a long-lived soil seed bank that can germinate when the soil is disturbed. In the northern hemisphere it generally flowers in late spring, but if the weather is warm enough other flowers frequently appear at the beginning of autumn. 

Due to the extent of ground disturbance in warfare during World War I , corn poppies bloomed in between the trench lines and no man's land on the Western Front. Poppies are a prominent feature of "In Flanders Fields" by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, one of the most frequently quoted English-language poems composed during the First World War. During the 20th century, the wearing of a poppy at and before Remembrance Day each year became an established custom in most western countries. It is also used at some other dates in some countries, such as at appeals for Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand.

In Menorca it is very commong at Spring.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

50 Shades of blue...maybe more


Sunny but windy morning. Just perfect for a stroll along the South Coast. Amazing colours, and the sun is warm enough. I officially declare the winter is over.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Wild Flowers


 Malva sylvestris is a species of the mallow genus Malva in the family of Malvaceae and is considered to be the type species for the genus. Known as common mallow to English speaking Europeans, it acquired the common names of cheeses, high mallow and tall mallow (mauve des bois by the French) as it migrated from its native home in Western Europe, North Africa and Asia through the English speaking world.  
M. sylvestris is a vigorously healthy plant with showy flowers of bright mauve-purple, with dark veins; a handsome plant, often standing 3 or 4 feet (1 m) high and growing freely in fields, hedgerows and in fallow fields.



Allium triquetrum is a bulbous flowering plant in the genus Allium (onions and garlic)  native to the Mediterranean Basin. Common names include wild garlic (used for many Allium species) and three-cornered leek. It was described by Carl Linnaeus and first published at Species Plantarum in 1753.

All parts of the plant, from the bulb to the flowers, are edible fresh (for example in pestos) or cooked, with "a subtle flavour like leek or spring onion.


 

Monday, April 7, 2014

Wild-olive tree

Olea oleaster, the wild-olive tree, has been considered by various botanists a valid species and a subspecies of the cultivated olive tree, Olea Europaea, which is a tree of multiple origins that was domesticated, it now appears, at various places during the fourth and third millennia BCE, in selections drawn from varying local populations.



Sprays of tiny, lightly scented white to greenish flowers (March to July) are followed (October to February) by small, spherical, thinly fleshy fruits (either sweet or sour) which ripen purple-black.



The hard, heavy and beautiful golden-brown wood is used for furniture and in Menorca to made the traditional Menorcan fences.