Moth Mullein at Paxton Pits (VC31)

Ian Dawson sends news of Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria) by the Haul Road at Paxton Pits, showing that there are still some nice plants around despite us being nearly into November.

These plants are white flowered (f. albiflorum), so with potential to cause confusion given this species is widely cited as yellow flowered. White forms are common in cultivation. Photo from Ian below.

Wester Flisk

It's the time of year when British botanists have to find other outlets, so I've been falling back on seed catalogues and gardening in recent weeks. One of the plants I want to try and establish from seed this year is Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), one of the cultivars of which rang a few bells in the back of my head.

The Wester Flisk Group is notable for its red tinged petioles and stems and this reminded me of some striking plants found at Little Paxton Pits (VC31) in March 2009. These must surely be part of this group, if perhaps not the best examples of this seed strain. That said, I believe the weather can also impact the intensity of the red colouration. There are several naturalised colonies of this species in VC31, but I don't remember seeing any others of this group.

And in case like me you are wondering why the odd cultivar name - apparently its the name of the garden in Fife, Scotland where it was first found.