Buttercup Petals

Did you know that you can calculate the age of your meadow by counting number of buttercup flowers with more than 5 petals? Select 100 flowers at random and count the ones that have mutated to have 6 or more petals. I tried it in our orchard and got...none... This is not to say the technique doesn't work, just that our orchard is not untouched meadow land. See an article about the research that established the method here.

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Botany Outing: There is an outing to see the orchids of the Eperon Barré de Murat on Sunday 25 May. Meet at 14.30 in front of the church in Ferrière Larçon. The outing is organised by the Association de Botanique et de Mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine.

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Orchids in the Claise Valley: Despite the rain yesterday (which was steady and heavy in the late afternoon, but lighter earlier in the day) I took a pair of anglo-australian clients out on an orchid walk in the morning. He was a keen nature photographer and was very pleased with the orchid score, even though I did have to act as umbrella roadie. Here is a list of what we saw:

Pyramidal Orchid (Fr. Orchis pyramidal) Anacamptis pyramidalis

Narrow-leafed Helleborine (Fr. Céphalanthère à longues feuilles) Cephalanthera longifolia

Red Helleborine (Fr. Céphalanthère rouge) Cephalanthera rubra

Small-leafed Helleborine (Fr. Epipactis à petites feuilles) Epipactis microphylla

Common Fragrant Orchid (Fr. Orchis moucheron) Gymnadenia conopsea

Violet Limodore (Fr. Limodore à feuilles avortées) Limodorum abortivum

Common Twayblade (Fr. Listère ovale) Neottia ovata

Bee Orchid (Fr. Ophrys abeille) Ophrys apifera

Fly Orchid (Fr. Ophrys mouche) Ophrys insectifera

Early Spider Orchid (Fr. Ophrys araignée) Ophrys sphegodes

Man Orchid (Fr. Orchis homme-pendu) Orchis anthropophora

Military Orchid (Fr. Orchis militaire) Orchis militaris

Lady Orchid (Fr. Orchis pourpre) Orchis purpurea

Monkey Orchid (Fr. Orchis singe) Orchis simia

Man x Monkey Hybrid

Lady x Monkey Hybrid Orchis x angusticruris

Greater Butterfly Orchid (Fr. Orchis verdâtre) Platanthera chlorantha

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Yesterday's Quiz: PG is the winner because she got in first, but Carolyn and RiF get points too.