Blink and You'll Miss It

Grass-vetchling (Lathyrus nissola) is one of those plants that is only visible for a few brief weeks each year, so its always a pleasure if you manage to find it in full bloom. Brian Davis sends news that he has just re-found it at Kimbolton Airfield, Huntingdonshire where it was last reported 10 years ago. I was also lucky enough to find a 100 or so plants along an arable margin at Old Weston, where the following photo was taken.

While enjoying the vetchling, something else caught my eye that I would otherwise have missed. An unusual vetch with a yellow tinge to the flowers (although not as yellow as some books suggest - it is quite a variable species and a pinkish tinge to the standard is not uncommon) and distinctively hairy seed pods. This turned out to be Yellow Vetch (Vicia lutea), new to Huntingdonshire.