Wolves Wild

This nettle was still flowering a week or so back.

Primitive plants originating before flowers evolved. Often found in dark, damp spots.

In Wolverhampton, the old man’s beard is barely coming into flower. But in Bridgnorth the seeds of this plant were already beginning to ripen some days ago.

A favourite food for goldfinches, apparently.

Today’s posts are plants from the gardens on the valley side of Castle Walk in Bridgnorth – originally cultivated, but now seeming to have taken off on their own account.

This Virginia creeper was unusual not only in being even more vivid than normal, but also in having remnants of flowers.

The leaf has pointed lobes – perhaps from an exotic variety of oak.

The geese, ducks and gulls on the river Severn by Bridgnorth head for this little beach at the Low Town end of the bridge when they are hoping to get some bread.

A small and inconspicuous inkcap, this is fairly common but easy to overlook. These were spotted in West Park last week.

This waterlily on the pond at Wightwick Manor garden still had a flower on September 10th (it was Heritage Open Day, when the garden could be seen without the usual £4 entrance fee).

At its largest, this mushroom can grow to about six inches tall, with a cap of about six inches in diameter. This makes it the second largest mushroom which can be commonly found around here, smaller only than the Parasol mushroom, which can get to about twice as big.

The brown “shaggy” substance on the cap is remnants of protective coating.

There was a troop of these fruiting bodies near to Southgate in West Park, between twenty and thirty, at a spot they regularly pop up at this time of year. When I saw them they had, so far, escaped kicking down because they were hard to see under low branches.