The torment of Trailing Tormentil

Trailing Tormentil and fungi

Plants can be ranked in the ease or difficulty of identifying them. One of the attractions of using common names is that often they skip these difficulties in identification - a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So while a buttercup is a buttercup it could also be one of several species.

The problems with identifying Trailing Tormentil is that it can be a hybrid - a cross between two species - and this can make identification tortuous for a beginner like myself. Two possibilities for the plant in Falmouth Cemetery are Potentilla x mixta or P x italica. I have tried posting photographs including the one above to canvass opinions. However it was then pointed out that the orange patches on the underside of the leaves might be the fungi, Phragmidium potentillae - so now I have two identifications to find this year.

Andrena labiata on Trailing Tormentil flower

My interest in the Tormentil is heightened as its flowers are visited by a species of solitary bee, Andrena labiata that nests in the cemetery. This is a scarce species and has only been recorded at one other location in Cornwall this century. One consequence of the Tormentil being a hybrid is that it appears its seeds are sterile. As there are only two small patches of it in the cemetery I am considering trying to propagating it from cuttings and trying to establish a few more patches in the cemetery.

This last week I found a few plants flowering that I missed in my New Year Plant Hunt.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax flower - Cymbalaria muralis

Some patches of Ivy are still producing flowers

A few violets are flowering

While many wildflowers have common names this is not so with hoverflies. The only one that comes readily to mind is the marmalade hovery, Episyrphus balteatus. It is one of the few species that is about in the winter, another being Meliscaeva auricollis. In the last week I have seen both in Fox Rosehill gardens. 

Marmalade hoverfly - Episyrphus balteatus

Winter active hoverfly: Meliscaeva auricollis

It has generally been a mild start to the year and on the 3rd January I saw honeybees foraging on Camellia flowers in the cemetery. In Fox Rosehill Gardens the Mahonia flowers attract a steady stream of buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). On the 8th there were three workers on the flowers at 16.10 with the last one leaving about 16.26, sunset was at 16.36.

Honeybee on/in a Camellia

Bumblebees are foraging until nearly sunset

New Year Plant Hunt

Being on the coast Falmouth enjoys a mild maritime climate and so seeing a frost today was a surprise. In shaded areas the frost did not lift. There was though sunshine all day giving enough warmth to see honeybees and some flies about.

Several honeybees were attracted to the Camellia flowers

This was my first visit of the year to the old parts of Falmouth with the intention to begin a record of the wildflowers that are in flower. The most numerous were those of Winter Heliotrope, an invasive species that has established itself in the cemetery. Introduced from the Mediterranean in 1806 it is now considered naturalised. The next most common was small clumps of daises followed by primroses and then Red Campion.

Top-left: Winter Heliotrope, Top-right: Primrose
Bottom-left: Daisy, Bottom-right: Red Campion 

Today I saw my first hoverfly of the year, an Eristalis tenax that mimics a bee and even buzzes like one. These hibernate during the winter but will emerge on sunny days making it a species that can be seen every month throughout the year.

Eristalis tenax sunning itself on dried Pampas grass

Although I record hoverflies I generally shy away from trying to identifying other species of fly. There is simply far too many and separating the different species requires dedication and time. Thankfully in this age of the Internet I am sometimes able to obtain an identification by posting photos from helpful experts. 

Calliphora vicina, the most common species of Bluebottle

I left the cemetery with a question unanswered. I have discovered some small flowers on a Holly tree. My suspicion is that it is a hybrid or cultivar, more research is required and probably an online discussion to confirm this.

Holly flower, probably a hybrid species