An amble through British flora.

[bilko]

Just a thought Rich, but what's that place called that collects seeds from all the plants incase they all get wiped out? Eden? or something similar.
Anyway i would think they would have a good deal of different seeds and knowledge of the plants they grow into etc.
Might be a good place to start.

 

[JonnyP]

Just a thought Rich, but what's that place called that collects seeds from all the plants incase they all get wiped out? Eden? or something similar.
Anyway i would think they would have a good deal of different seeds and knowledge of the plants they grow into etc.
Might be a good place to start.

Not eden, but the national seed bank at wakehurst place........

 

[hammock monkey]

there's a big plan going on in Norway to do something similar
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4605398.stm

USA zoo's are doing the same with animlas...

seems to me like half of us are destroying the place and the other half are bundling as much away for a 'rainy day'

kind of heartening to think that someones doing all this, although its pretty horrifying to think that they need too...

 

[rich59]

I reckon the biggest problem with getting to grips with British flora is time. I originally set myself a target of a plant a week! Anyway, I have a new camera now that can take nice digital photos with little effort and immediate results. So:-

My next plant is the following one - found growing wild in my garden and flowering now in December.

I think it is a violet. The perfume is somewhere in the cat pee direction of nice. What do people know about it?

 

[JonnyP]

Hi Rich.....If it smells then it is probably sweet violet, viola odorata, though I wouldnt say it smells of cat pee....???
It can be used in homeopathy for earache, rheumatism, asthma and whooping cough. Flowers and leaves can be used in salads. The decocted flowers produce an antiseptic eyewash.
It should flower from march to may......

 

[xylaria]

Hi Rich.....If it smells then it is probably sweet violet, viola odorata, though I wouldnt say it smells of cat pee....???
It can be used in homeopathy for earache, rheumatism, asthma and whooping cough. Flowers and leaves can be used in salads. The decocted flowers produce an antiseptic eyewash.
It should flower from march to may......

I agree it looks like viola odorata. Many violets can flower again mild winters. Sweet violets smells like the taste of perma violets sweets, but it might smell of cat wee if you have cats visiting the garden. There is an entry in dr dukes you can look up.

When photographing plants they are easier to id if the leaf shape and the flowers face are visable. With sweet violet they are one of the few wild violets that smell, hence why it could be id'ed. Also being able to see a small amount of the surrounding environment (soil/ leaf litter/ grass) is really helpful.

 

[rich59]

Thanks for the tips on photography.

Using various resources I have now learned several things about viola odorata. The scent does seem to clinch the identity. The visible hairs on the flower stem being close to the stem and not spreading probably identify it as well.

The leaves (and flowers) are edible. I tried some leaves and I agree they seem to taste good, both raw and lightly cooked. I also liked the tea you can make from them.

The relationship of the violets to other plants surprised me. Apparently some of the closest relatives include the willow trees and the euphorbias. Its relationship to willow may explain why it also has aspirin in it.

Apparently it can thicken a soup.

I am recovering from flu and I did feel a lot better for a few hours after taking some sweet violet tea. Perhaps I will try some again today as I have to pep myself up for a party tonight!
These little plants seem full of fascinating properties. Watch out for the next one.

 

[xylaria]

The relationship of the violets to other plants surprised me. Apparently some of the closest relatives include the willow trees and the euphorbias. Its relationship to willow may explain why it also has aspirin in it.

.

Could you explain this please

2-hydroxybenzioc acid is a very common plant hormone, and 2-(acetyloxy)benzoic acid is aspirin which is found is serveral unrelated plants. A plant will often contain metabolic tertiary compounds as it for instance turns 2-hydroxybenzioc acid into 2-(acetyloxy)benzoic acid. Meadowsweet for example contains a anti-ulcer drug as well as aspirin. The compounds are chemically related but meadowsweet is not related to willow. Meadowsweet and euphorbias are Rosidae, and willow and violets are Dilleniidae.

 

[rich59]

I am learning that the relationships of the known plants is a hot topic, informed by very up to date research and prone to change if new information becomes available. To see the malpighiales group that includes euphorbia, salix and violas see:-

http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/orders/malpighialesweb.htm#Malpighiales (click on "other" at the top of the chart to see euphorbia.

To see how malpighiales fits into the bigger picture see:-

http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/treeapweb2map.html

As a point of reference look out for "rosales" (that contains rosaceae) a few below "malpighiales" on the right.

What was your source for information about euphorbias being in Rosidae?

 

[xylaria]

:why: My head hurts!!!

APG II is a very new way of classifying plants and appears to be incomplete. The ICBN system is as old as Linaeus and is system that I use for plants and the system that plants for the future use. These will become one usable system in time which will make alot more sense than the present phyletic vs phenetic.

http://www.pfaf.org/database/families.php

If you look very carefully at the tree diagram on the link you posted will see that the 'other groups' have direct line to the ancestor point, and are not the same evolutionary branch. Euphorbias are one those familys that will shift order anyway, much like hygrophoropsidaceae do with fungi as they obviously evolutionary intermeadarys.

Please remember phylogenetically speaking humans are 45% brassica

 

[rich59]

Sorry about the head Xylara!

So, it looks like violets are related to willow trees then on both structures. That is pretty amazing, since there is little in flower, seed, leaf, stem, etc to link them.

I was looking back at my original questions

<<
"Can I eat it?" Leads to "Can I confidently identify the family it is from?" and "Are there any dangerous ones in this group?" So that can be a good one.

other starters for 10 might be:-

"What is it useful for?" or "Is it British or naturalised?" or "What are its brothers and sisters in the plant family like?" or "Why is it successful?"
>>

Can anyone answer if viola odorata was a native before man came along in the UK?


I seem to be evolving a direction in my wander. - "Take whatever is showing flower." Not too many this time of year. Will get a bit faster later in the year if I can keep up.