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Bevendean Down
Bevendean Down is a Local Nature Reserve in the Bevendean district in Brighton, East Sussex. It is owned by Brighton and Hove Council and managed by tenant farmers and others. It is mainly chalk grassland and there are also areas of woodland and scrub. This site is in five separate blocks. Bevendean Down and Hogtrough Bottom Bevendean Down itself is above Heath Hill Avenue and Norwich Drive. Its south and east bank form one of block of the Local nature reserve. The southern area has a dew pond, a variety of orchids and insects such as the hornet robberfly. In the early 1900 it was famous for its butterflies and although the diversity is less it is still a good area for them. Many key chalkland species can be found there including adonis blue, grizzled skipper, dingy skipper, small blue, green hairstreak, chalkhill blue, and dark green fritillary. Other butterfly species that frequent the area are the common blue, marbled white, wall brown and small and large skippers.< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bevendean
Bevendean is a district of the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, England. The estate lies to the north-east of central Brighton, and was largely developed after World War II with a mixture of council housing and private development. A large proportion of the council houses are now privately owned. The area has limited local facilities and there is only one road access route into and out of the area. The manor of Bevendean was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is derived from 'Beofa's valley'. It was later divided into two estates, Upper Bevendean on the hill and Lower Bevendean in the valley. Some housing development began in the 1930s, with the population expanding rapidly from 1948 onwards. An industrial estate was developed from the mid-1950s. The two local churches are: the Church of the Holy Nativity, built in 1963 as a Modern-style building in brick by architect Reginald Melhuish, ARIBA, and The Salvation Army - which occupies a building that was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockrose Family
The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in nine genera that are not very distinct, distributed primarily in the temperate areas of Europe and the Mediterranean basin, but also found in North America; a limited number of species are found in South America. Most Cistaceae are subshrubs and low shrubs, and some are herbaceous. They prefer dry and sunny habitats. Cistaceae grow well on poor soils, and many of them are cultivated in gardens. They often have showy yellow, pink or white flowers, which are generally short-lived. The flowers are bisexual, regular, solitary or borne in cymes; they usually have five, sometimes three, petals (''Lechea''). The petals are free, usually crumpled in the bud, and sometimes in the open flower (e. g. ''Cistus incanus''). It has five sepals, the inner three of which are d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawkbit
''Leontodon'' is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae, commonly known as hawkbits. Their English language, English name derives from the Middle Ages, mediaeval belief that hawks ate the plant to improve their eyesight. Although originally only native to Eurasia and North Africa, some species have since become established in other countries, including the United States and New Zealand. Recent research has shown that the genus ''Leontodon'' in the traditional delimitation is polyphyly, polyphyletic. Therefore, the former ''Leontodon'' subgenus ''Oporinia'' was raised to genus, generic level. According to the nomenclatural rules the name ''Scorzoneroides'' has priority at generic level and therefore, the members of ''Leontodon'' subgenus ''Oporinia'' were transferred to the re-erected genus ''Scorzoneroides''. Ecology Seeds of ''Leontodon'' species are an important food source for certain bird species. Uses In Crete, the species ''Leontodon tubero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scabiosa
''Scabiosa'' is a genus in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious, but some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in related genera such as ''Knautia'' and '' Succisa''; at least some of these were formerly placed in ''Scabiosa''. Another common name for members of this genus is pincushion flowers. Etymology The common name 'scabious' comes the Latin word ''scabiosus'' meaning 'mangy, rough or itchy' which refers to the herb's traditional usage as a folk medicine to treat scabies, an illness that causes a severe itching sensation. Description Some species of ''Scabiosa'' are annuals, others perennials. Some are herbaceous plants; others have woody rootstocks. The leaves of most species are somewhat hairy and partly divided into lobes, but a few are smooth and some species have simple leaves. The flowers are borne on inflorescences in the form of heads ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felwort
''Swertia perennis'' is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names felwort and star swertia. It is native to several regions of the northern hemisphere, including much of Eurasia and western North America. It is a plant of wetlands, particularly calcareous fens. It is common to abundant in many areas, but it is known to be negatively impacted by habitat fragmentation and other habitat destruction, and human activity has led to its extirpation from some areas where it was once common.Lienert, J., et al. (2002). Local extinctions of the wetland specialist ''Swertia perennis'' L. (Gentianaceae) in Switzerland: A revisitation study based on herbarium records. ''Biological Conservation'' 103-1 65-76. It is a perennial herb producing usually one erect stem growing 10 to 50 centimeters tall. The basal leaves are spoon-shaped with rounded tips, and leaves higher on the plant are widely lance-shaped or somewhat oval, with pointed tips. The inflorescence is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knapweed
''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich. In the western United States, yellow starthistles are an invasive species. Around the year 1850, seeds from the plant had arrived to the state of California. It is believed that those seeds came from South America. Common names Common names for this genus are centaury, centory, starthistles, knapweeds, centaureas and the more ambiguous "bluets"; a vernacular name used for these plants in parts of England is "loggerheads" (common knapweed). The ''Plectocephalus'' group – possibly a distinct genus – is known as basketflowers. "Cornflower" is used for a few species, but that term more often specifically means either '' C. cyanus'' (the annual cornflower) or ''Centaurea montana'' (the perennial c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Bangs
David Bangs is a field naturalist, social historian, public artist, author and conservationist. He has written extensively on the countryside management, both historically and present day in the English county of Sussex. Biography Bangs worked as a public mural painter in central London from 1980 to 1990. Bangs has campaigned on a number of fronts to protect access rights to Sussex Downland. He is the co-founder of Keep Our Downs Public. In 2016 councils across Sussex threatened to privatise large areas of the Downs, including Brighton Council's Downland Estate, Worthing Council's Downland Estate, and Eastbourne Council's Downland Estate. Bangs was in the leadership teams of successful campaigns to prevent their sale from public ownership to private ownership. Bangs was co-leader of the Sussex Access Campaign and its programme of mass trespasses that helped build pressure for the enactment of a partial right to roam in the CROW Act (Countryside and Rights of Way Act, 2000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purseweb Spider
Atypidae, also known as atypical tarantulas or purseweb spiders, is a spider family containing only three genera. They are accomplished ambush predators that spend most of their time in a sock-like, silken retreat on the ground from where they kill their prey. Distribution '' Sphodros'' and '' Atypus'' occur in North America, while '' Atypus'' and '' Calommata'' occur in Asia and Africa. Only '' Atypus'' species are found in Europe. '' Atypus affinis'', '' Atypus muralis'', and '' Atypus piceus'' are the only mygalomorph spiders found in northwestern Europe. Biology ''Atypus'' builds a silken tube parallel to the surface of the ground. While up to 8 cm of the tube lie on the ground, about 20 cm are buried vertically. The spider rests at the bottom of the tube. When prey walks on the exposed part, the spider, alerted by the vibrations, stabs the prey through the silk, cuts the web and drags the prey inside to be eaten. ''Calommata'' species, instead of building a purse w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four-spot Orb-weaver
''Araneus quadratus'', the four-spot orb-weaver, is a common orb-weaver spider found in Europe and Central Asia, and as far as the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. Females can reach 17 mm in length, especially when gravid, with males around half that. They are quite variable in appearance, ranging from brown to bright orange or green, but they always have the characteristic four white spots on the abdomen. The darker color morphs are easier to identify, due to the contrast between the white spots and the rest of the body. The legs are sometimes brightly striped. The spider lives in gardens, wooded areas, or wherever there is vegetation to string an orb web across. This species builds its web close to the ground to catch jumping insects such as small Caelifera, grasshoppers. The female builds the more elaborate web, complete with a funnel-shaped retreat off to the side where she goes during inclement weather. The web is smaller and closer to the ground than those of other speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Webcap
''Cortinarius'' is a globally distributed genus of mushrooms in the family Cortinariaceae. It is suspected to be the largest genus of agarics, containing over 2,000 widespread species. A common feature among all species in the genus ''Cortinarius'' is that young specimens have a cortina (veil) between the cap and the stem, hence the name, meaning ''curtained''. Most of the fibres of the cortina are ephemeral and will leave no trace once gone, except for limited remnants on the stem or cap edge in some species. All have a rusty brown spore print. The common names cortinar and webcap refer to members of the genus. Due to dangerous toxicity of several species (such as ''Cortinarius orellanus'') and the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between various species of the genus, non-expert consumption of mushrooms from the genus is discouraged. Distinguishing features The veil protects the gills in younger specimens and usually disappears leaving little to no trace of itself as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waxcap
''Hygrocybe'' is a genus of agarics (gilled fungi) in the family Hygrophoraceae. Called waxcaps in English (sometimes waxy caps in North America), basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are often brightly coloured and have dry to waxy caps, white spores, and smooth, ringless stems. In Europe they are characteristic of old, unimproved grasslands (termed waxcap grasslands) which are a declining habitat, making many ''Hygrocybe'' species of conservation concern. Four of these waxcap-grassland species, ''Hygrocybe citrinovirens'', '' H. punicea'', '' H. spadicea'', and '' H. splendidissima'', are assessed as globally "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Elsewhere waxcaps are more typically found in woodlands. Most are ground-dwelling and all are believed to be biotrophs. Around 150 species are recognized worldwide. Fruit bodies of several ''Hygrocybe'' species are considered edible and are sometimes offered for sale in local markets. Taxonomy History ''Hygrocybe'' was first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
