Abbey Meadows

Abbey Meadows

Thursday 17 May 2012

Cottingwood






Herb Paris (Paris quadrifolia)


Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum)

A day off today and it is raining again so I went to the woods for shelter. Cottingwood is a steep sided woodland to the North of Morpeth. It has a fine carpet of Bluebells but the best species here is Herb Paris. There is a healthy plant community here and they are at their best at the moment, you can appreciate their beauty when you look at them close up. The site where they grow is the very place where William Turner first discovered Herb Paris which was a new plant for Britain at that time. He described it as Libardbayne or one berry in his herbal of 1548. 

3 comments:

Ragged Robin said...

Lovely photos - looks a beautiful bluebell wood.

Its great to see a photo of Herb Paris - one of those plants I've only ever seen illustrated in books but I would love to see one in the wild.

Stewart said...

Hi Nige, I've only ever seen Herb Paris in Slovakia! It was as common as Dogs Mercury in some spots. I must make an effort to some some here, I believe there is some in Newham Fen up here?

abbey meadows said...

Thanks for the comments
RR Herb Paris is a declining species especially in the South East
SS I have e-mailed you the rare plant register for VC68 and Newham fen is probably the best site.