Category: David

The unopened bud gives little clue of the colour the flower will be. If it is a wild plant, then yellow. If descended from an escaped cultivated variety, a more striking orange.

The flowers are poisonous, like other parts of the tree. They are responsible for the old name: “the golden chain tree”.

The bluebells under the trees in Bantock Park had a definite pinkish tinge.

This plant, in a garden facing onto Compton Road, is like a small cascade of vivid red.

They are inconspicuous, and they appear dangling from the oak’s twigs when the new leaf cover is already there, so oak flowers tend not to be noticed.

Aka Cape primrose. Streptocarpus species are popular indoor plants because they don’t need direct sunlight. The common name points to many species originating in southern Africa, and a resemblance of the leaves to those of primroses, which are not actually closely related.