Mixed

The weather was 'mixed' as we walked around Shipley Park this morning.  We set out in the sunshine and a brisk wind.  Shortly after that we had a light shower, followed by more sun, then cloud, more sun and another light shower as we got closer to home again.  As Malcolm said, all four seasons in one morning.  Things are looking increasingly autumnal around the park and the Great Reedmace (Typha latifoli) plants are looking delightful in the sun.

Often referred to as a 'Bulrush', they are in fact not a member of the rush family.  The rhizomes of this plant are edible and there is evidence that they have been ground into flour and eaten in parts of Europe, for 30,000 years.  The bases of the young leaves are edible too as are the unopened flower spikes, which can be eaten like corn-on-the-cob.
When I was a child, the brown flower/seed spikes were popular as dried flowers.