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Rack Marsh
Rack Marsh is a nature reserve in Bagnor, on the north-western outskirts of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is part of Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain, which is a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, and a Nature Conservation Review, Nature Conservation Review site. It is also part of the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation. Geography and site Rack Marsh is an old wet meadow. A thick layer of peat has developed on top of the deposits of alluvium and gravel which the river has spread over the chalk. The river Lambourn flows through the meadow. History There is evidence of prehistoric activity in the area: a prehistoric canoe was discovered in the layer of peat by some labourers who were digging a ditch to form a boundary of a garden. In 1996 the discovery of the rare Desmoulin's whorl snail on the reserve meant that the Newbury bypass was almost sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagnor
Bagnor is a village close to the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire and situated on the banks of the River Lambourn. At the 2011 census the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Speen. It is best known as the home of the Watermill Theatre. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Bagenore''. "Humphrey the Chamberlain holds Bagenore from the King. Wulfeva held it freehold from King Edward. Then it answered for 4 hides; now 1 hide. Land for 3 ploughs: In hardship 1 (plough) 3 villagers and 3 smallholders with 2 ploughs. 1 slave: a water mill at 20s meadow 22 acres: woodland at 4 pigs". It is located in the West Berkshire district. The Blackbird, a public house, has stood in the village since the 17th century. It is near the villages of Speen, Donnington, Boxford, and Winterbourne, as well as the hamlet Honey Bottom. Donnington Castle, a significant site in the history of the First English Civil War, lies less than a mile to the ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Whitethroat
The common whitethroat or greater whitethroat (''Curruca communis'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan. Taxonomy The English ornithologist John Latham described the common whitethroat in 1783 in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds'' but introduced the binomial name ''Sylvia communis'' in the supplement to this work which was published in 1787. The specific ''communis'' is Latin for "common". The common whitethroat is now placed in the genus ''Curruca'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morpho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dactylorhiza Praetermissa
''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'', the southern marsh orchid or leopard marsh orchid, is a commonly occurring species of European orchid. Description ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'' grows to tall, with leaves generally unspotted. The flowers, appearing from May to July, are various shades of pink with variable markings. The basal lip of the flower is rounded. This species is able to form hybrids with other ''Dactylorhiza'' species, and crosses with ''Dactylorhiza fuchsii'' occur especially often. Distribution and habitat It is native to northern and central Europe (Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Estonia and Latvia). It is also reportedly naturalized in Italy and in parts of Canada (Ontario and Newfoundland). This species is found close to water, in damp alkaline meadows, by ponds, lakes or reservoirs and in dune slacks. Ecology The flowers of this species are pollinated by insects including the cuckoo bee and skipper butterfly. ''Dac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triglochin Palustris
''Triglochin palustris'' or marsh arrowgrass is a species of flowering plant in the arrowgrass family Juncaginaceae. It is found in damp grassland usually on calcareous soils, fens and meadows. The species epithet ''palustris'' is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat.Archibald William Smith It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It can be found locally in the British Isles especially the north. Description It is a slender perennial herb 15 to 40 cm tall. It has no stolons, and emits a pleasant aromatic smell when bruised. The leaves are linear, 10 to 20 cm long, rounded on the lower side, deeply grooved on the other. It has many 3 petaled flowers arranged in a long spike, with purple edged perianth segments, 2 mm long. It flowers from June until August. The fruits are club shaped, 10 mm long and 2 mm wide. These plants can adapt to animals attacking it by closing i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angelica Sylvestris
''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual or short-lived perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbels of minuscule white or pale pink flowers in late summer. Habitat and ecology The Latin specific epithet ''sylvestris'' means “growing in woodland”. However it tolerates a range of conditions including fields, hedgerows, open woods, marshes and fens. It will grow in light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. It has recently been determined to be an invasive weed in New Brunswick and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. "According to the New Brunswick Invasive Species Council, unless this species is controlled, Woodland Angelica could spread throughout Canada, overwhelming other vegetation." The flowers are visited by a wide array of insects and are thus characterised by a generalised pollination system. Adult wasps of ''Dolichovespula norwegica'' are know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mentha Aquatica
''Mentha aquatica'' (water mint; syn. ''Mentha hirsuta'' Huds.Euro+Med Plantbase Project''Mentha aquatica'') is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia.Flora of NW Europe''Mentha aquatica'' Description Water mint is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant growing to tall. The stems are square in cross section, green or purple, and variably hairy to almost hairless. The rhizomes are wide-spreading, fleshy, and bear fibrous roots. The leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate, long and broad, green (sometimes purplish), opposite, toothed, and vary from hairy to nearly hairless. The flowers of the watermint are tiny, densely crowded, purple, tubular, pinkish to lilac in colour and form a terminal hemispherical inflorescence; flowering is from mid to late summer. Water mint is visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized pollination syndrome, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myosotis Scorpioides
''Myosotis scorpioides'' ( syn. ''Myosotis palustris''), the true forget-me-not or water forget-me-not, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. Distribution and habitat It is native to Europe and Asia, but is widely distributed elsewhere, including much of North America, as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv .... The plant is common and widespread in Britain, however is very rare in Jersey. The plant is usually found in damp or wet habitats, such as bogs, ponds, streams, ditches, fen and rivers. Whilst it favours wet ground, it can survive submerged in water, and often can form floating rafts. Description It is an erect to ascending plant of up to 70 cm, bearing small ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrophularia Auriculata
''Scrophularia auriculata'', the shoreline figwort or water figwort, is a perennial plant of the genus Scrophularia in the family Scrophulariaceae. It is found commonly in Western Europe and North Africa, on the margins of rivers, ponds and similar damp places. It is an upright plant reaching 70 cm with blunt oval, crenate leaves in alternate pairs on the greenish–purple square stem, most leaves may have two small lobes at their base. The spikes of flowers are held stiffly on square stems which arise from the main stem in the angle of the leaf stalks. The square stems have a wing running down each corner. These wings are more obvious than on the closely related common figwort (''Scrophularia nodosa ''Scrophularia nodosa'' (also called figwort, woodland figwort, and common figwort) is a perennial herbaceous plant found in temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere except western North America. It grows in moist and cultivated waste groun ...''). The flowers are small, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geum Rivale
''Geum rivale'', the water avens, is a flowering plant in the genus ''Geum'' within the family Rosaceae. Other names for the plant are nodding avens, drooping avens, cure-all, water flower and Indian chocolate. It is native to the temperate regions of Europe, Central Asia and parts of North America, where it is known as purple avens. It grows in bogs and damp meadows, and produces nodding red flowers from May to September. Distribution ''Geum rivale'' is widespread in Europe, particularly in the northern and central parts. It is found throughout the British Isles, the Faroes, Iceland, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and much of Central Europe (up to elevations of 2400m in the Alps and in the Carpathians). It is absent from the Pannonian Basin and western France; on the Italian Peninsula it is found in scattered locations in the northern and central Apennines, while on the Iberian Peninsula it is restricted between 1000 and 2200m in the Cantabrians, Pyrenees, the Iberian a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scutellaria Galericulata
''Scutellaria galericulata'', the common skullcap, marsh skullcap or hooded skullcap, is a hardy perennial herb native to northern areas of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia, and almost all of Canada. It is a member of the mint family. The form is upright and is usually 20-45 centimeters in height, sometimes reaching up to 80 cm. It is a wetland-loving species and grows along fens and shorelines. The blue flowers are 1 to 2 centimeters long. The flowers are in pairs and are all on the same side of the stem. The flowers do not appear at the top of the stem. The plant is native to many parts of the world and, as such, is known by a variety of names. The Latin ''galericulata'' means "hooded", relating to the length of the flower's tube being much longer than the calyx. The variation ''epilobiifolia'' translates as ''leaves like willow-herb'', and refers to the slightly serrated long thin leaves which look similar to those of the genus ''Epilobium''. Medici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caltha Palustris
''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flowers between April and August, dependent on altitude and latitude, but occasional flowers may occur at other times. Description ''Caltha palustris'' is a high, hairless, fleshy, perennial, herbaceous plant that dies down in autumn and overwinters with buds near the surface of the marshy soil. The plants have many, thick strongly branching roots. Its flowering stems are hollow, erect or more or less decumbent. The alternate true leaves are in a rosette, each of which consist of a leaf stem that is about four times as long as the kidney-shaped leaf blade, itself between long and wide, with a heart-shaped foot, a blunt tip, and a scalloped to toothed, sometime almost entire margin particularly towards the tip. In their youth the leaves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lychnis Flos-cuculi
''Silene flos-cuculi'' (syn. ''Lychnis flos-cuculi''), commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. This species is native to Europe and Asia, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and pastures. In Britain it has declined in numbers because of modern farming techniques and draining of wet-lands and is no longer common. However, it has become naturalized in parts of the northern United States and eastern Canada. Description ''Silene flos-cuculi'' forms a rosette of low growing foliage with numerous flower stems 20 to 90 cm tall. The stems rise above the foliage and branch near the top of the stem and end with the pink flowers which are 3–4 cm across. The flowers have five narrow petals deeply divided into four lobes giving the flower an untidy, ragged appearance, hence its common name. The calyx tube is five-toothed with ten stamens. The leaves are paired, with the lower leaves spoon-shaped and stalked. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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