Tag: old mans beard

#365daysofbiking Herbivore

July 15th – The flowers continue to appear daily. Rosebay willowherb is the latest – a beautiful, tall weed, it paints wasteland, hedgerows, scrubs and derelict land with a beautiful hade of purple, complimenting the buddleia which it competes against for light and space.

In a few weeks it will seed with fluffy, wind-born seeds that float on the breeze and were locally known as ‘fairies’ when I was a kid, hence it’s colloquial name ‘Old man’s beard’.

We really should look more closely at the plants we dismiss as weeds.

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August 31st – The willow herb is going to seed now, I noticed the fluff as I rode the cycleway through the Goscote Valley. Filling the air at the slightest provocation from the breeze, the seeds this dweller of the margins produces float and dance on the wind.

When I was a kid, we called the little floating seeds ‘fairies’ and it was considered good luck to catch one. These days, I just tend to catch them in my mouth while riding.

My grandad called this ‘old man’s beard’ and you can see why.

This is a real end-of-summer occurrence and so a little bittersweet, but no summer would be complete without it, even if it does make me spit!

August 1st – A return home in steady drizzle that wasn’t as bad as expected. At Clayhanger, I noted the purple rose bay willowherb was flowering well and looking beautiful in the rain.

It won’t be long before this dweller of the wastelands and scrubs goes to seed, and the light, wind-borne seeds drift around on the breeze.

A beautiful plant on a wet afternoon.

July 8th – Another tick in the arrivals list for midsummer was added today: rose bay willow herb, or old man’s beard. I had to nip into Great Bridge from Darlaston, and spotted this interesting blue-finger variant on some waste ground. It’ll be a rash of colour for a few weeks, then fill the air with floating seeds.

Apparently, the leaves make a decent tea, and once skinned, you can bake and eat the roots. It’s a fascinating plant, but one that dwells on the fringes and is sadly ignored by most folk.

August 23rd – I had to pop into Aldridge on an errand, and so I took the canal. There’s an autumnal nip in the air, and everything is ripening. A fine crop of elderberries, blackberries and haws will make some fantastic pddings and wine, and the rosebay willowherb is demonstrating beautifully why it’s know as ‘old man’s beard’. 

The only disappointment is the acorn crop, which is very, very bad. Only the second tree I’ve seen with any fruit this year – oddly, the acorns that grew are fat and in excellent shape, but the tree is mostly carrying the dead buds of undeveloped fruit. Most odd.

And then, that heron. He’s persistent, I’ll give him that. A fine bird.

July 2nd – The onward march of summer means more purples – the urban wasteland warriors that are willowherb and buddleia come into bloom around now. This willowherb – or old man’s beard – is growing well at Telford Station near the overpass, and is a welcome splash of colour in an otherwise dull patch of scrub.

After flowering, this tall, distinctive and very common wasteland plant forms wind-borne seeds that will drift on the breeze and fill the station with white fluff.

Good for birds and butterflies, both plants grow well in urban areas and spots either beyond the reach of man, or out of his sight. They are a testament to the tenacity of nature.

August 23rd – Spinning out through the countryside, I noticed how many plants and trees are fruiting – rowan, oak and many I don’t recognise. The willow herb is seeding, too, and it’s easy to see why it has the colloquial name ‘old man’s beard’. It’s very hard to escape the fact that autumn is now on my heels. A sobering thought.

July 16th – Another steady click in the escapement of summer, the willow herb is in flower. This tall plant with soft purple flowers is the king of the margins, the scrub and wastelands. It grows in any neglected spot, requires little from the ground, and spreads via familiar late-summer wind borne seeds often called ‘fairies’ by kids. The seeds are fluffily and white, and give rise to the colloquial name ‘Old man’s beard’. 

This part of summer is all about the transition from the yellows of spring to the blues, pinks and purples of high and late summer; nightshade, foxglove, lupins, buddleia, vetch, Himalayan balsam.

Right now, every day is a delight of new flowering.

July 20th – The rosebay willow herb – old man’s beard – has been coming out for a couple of weeks now. This tall, viciously purple plant occupies urban waste grounds, rural set-asides, hedgerows and lay-bys, and fruits to a hairy, airborne seed that we all know. This fine summer flower- often dismissed as a mere weed – is a veritable bee magnet and I counted at least seven species on this small clump near Ive House Farm in Lower Stonnall. As fine a summer feature as you’re likely to find.