Odds and ends

No walk again this morning as we were hospital visiting again, so a few pictures and odds-and-ends from previous walks. Starting with a a small, but no less pretty flower from our garden. Related to the tall and elegant Rosebay (Epilobium angustifolium) and Greater Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum), the Broad-leaved Willowherb (Epilobium montanum) is diminutive by comparison.

Not so long ago, I was trying to identify a plant which was giving me some problems. At the time, it was not in flower and the leaves were very like those of several other plants, but, as soon as the flowers opened and the plant matured, it became clear that it was Hoary Pepperwort (Lepidium draba). A member of the cabbage family, it is native to eastern Europe and Western Asia, but has become rather a nuisance plant in many parts of the world, rather like the Japanese Knotweed I mentioned previously.

The tall and beautiful Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a member of the same family as the Pomegranate (Punica granatum) and the well-known house plant known as a Cigar plant (Cuphea ignea), but strangely, it is no relative of the other British wildflowers which share the name Loosestrife. This one was growing along the banks of the Mapperley Reservoir.

Lastly for today. another tall plant, this time a yellow flowered one called Tall Melilot (Melilotus altissimus). This is yet another member of the pea family which, as we have seen, is such a large and diverse family of plants. The Tall Melilot is a very common species in these parts and it covers large areas of the car parks around the old American Adventure Theme Park.