The Hart’s Tongue Fern’s scientific name is Asplenium scolopendrium, asplenium meaning ‘belonging to the spleenwort family’ and scolopendrium deriving from the Greek skolopendra, meaning millipede or centipede, which the underside of the fronds is supposed to resemble. It is a small, very hardy evergreen fern with dark green fronds and forms clumps with broad, wavyContinue reading “The Hart’s Tongue Fern”
Tag Archives: #temperaterainforest
The Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopus major, dendrocopus being Latin for ‘tree striker’, is the most frequently seen of the four species of woodpecker native to the British isles. It is rapidly becoming the most common too as it’s range has spread to areas it was previously rare, including Scotland and Ireland, where they became absentContinue reading “The Great Spotted Woodpecker”
Some notes on Placenames of the Northwest and the Ancient Wildwoods
The long and complex history of the British isles, composed of centuries of conquest and colonisation, has bequeathed to us a linguistic heritage unlike that of any other country, this is reflected most clearly in the history behind our place names. Inspired by the article I recently published about ‘Bothvar’s farm’ here we have aContinue reading “Some notes on Placenames of the Northwest and the Ancient Wildwoods”
Rhododendron, the foreign invader smothering our native woodlands
Rhododendron, arguably the most destructive non-native plant in the British isles The common Rhododendron, Rhododendron ponticum, is widely regarded to be one of the most destructive and widespread non-native terrestrial plant in Britain and has been responsible for the degradation of many of our native habitats, including our temperate rainforest, of which there is veryContinue reading “Rhododendron, the foreign invader smothering our native woodlands”
The Alder
The Common alder Alder glutinosa, is a very hardy species of tree found all along the cloughs, streams and riverbanks of the Northwest, with some areas of Alder woodland traditionally referred to as ‘Carr’. As it does not usually suffer from late spring frosts and is hardy to early autumn frosts it has been plantedContinue reading “The Alder”
Lichens, and how they can be used to measure air pollution
Lichens There are many rare and exotic species of Plants, Lichens and Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), which call the British isles home and they all have their charms and important roles to play in our ecology, for me one of the the most interesting families has to be the Lichens. Lichens are not what youContinue reading “Lichens, and how they can be used to measure air pollution”
Northwest Nature and History 