“It's Cow Parsley, isn't it?”
At one point, even I thought that everything white and frothy on the road verges was Cow Parsley. Alas, that is not the case, although it is fair to say that our native Cow Parsley is probably the most wide-spread Umbellifer in the UK, and it does pop up pretty much all the year round, although it mostly only flowers in early May.
But did you know that some of the things-which-look-like-Cow-Parsley are poisonous? One or two in particular can be quite nasty, so it really is time we got back to teaching our children which ones to avoid, and the first step in doing that, is to learn about them yourself.
Umbellifers are a really easy group to study, as they quite literally do pop up everywhere: in our gardens, underneath hedgerows, along footpaths, in the woods, in the open: they are just about everywhere, making it easy for Botanists to study them.
This Field Guide is one of a series of books intended for use in the field by UK Botanists, both Improvers and complete beginners, to help swiftly narrow down the identification of a plant, and to extend your knowledge and understanding of the genus.
They cover commonly found UK species, and are not intended to replace a full-length Field Guide such as Poland or Rose: but they present the salient information in an easy-to-read format, to people who have gone beyond having to key out every single plant, and who are now trying to learn the difference between species.
The Kindle is the perfect format for this, as you can look up any words you don't understand in the Kindle dictionary, and then annotate the Table to remind yourself.
Originally they were in the form of a pack of A6 cards on a ring, and you may prefer to print out the Crib to take with you: but if you can take your Kindle out botanising with you, then so much the better!
At one point, even I thought that everything white and frothy on the road verges was Cow Parsley. Alas, that is not the case, although it is fair to say that our native Cow Parsley is probably the most wide-spread Umbellifer in the UK, and it does pop up pretty much all the year round, although it mostly only flowers in early May.
But did you know that some of the things-which-look-like-Cow-Parsley are poisonous? One or two in particular can be quite nasty, so it really is time we got back to teaching our children which ones to avoid, and the first step in doing that, is to learn about them yourself.
Umbellifers are a really easy group to study, as they quite literally do pop up everywhere: in our gardens, underneath hedgerows, along footpaths, in the woods, in the open: they are just about everywhere, making it easy for Botanists to study them.
This Field Guide is one of a series of books intended for use in the field by UK Botanists, both Improvers and complete beginners, to help swiftly narrow down the identification of a plant, and to extend your knowledge and understanding of the genus.
They cover commonly found UK species, and are not intended to replace a full-length Field Guide such as Poland or Rose: but they present the salient information in an easy-to-read format, to people who have gone beyond having to key out every single plant, and who are now trying to learn the difference between species.
The Kindle is the perfect format for this, as you can look up any words you don't understand in the Kindle dictionary, and then annotate the Table to remind yourself.
Originally they were in the form of a pack of A6 cards on a ring, and you may prefer to print out the Crib to take with you: but if you can take your Kindle out botanising with you, then so much the better!
