There are many yellow-coloured wildflowers presently showing along the Tarka Trail!
Prominent of course are the various hawkweed, sow-thistle and ragwort species, not forgetting representatives of the cabbage - cruciferae - family such as charlock and the statuesque hedge mustard. Common Fleabane, golden-road, common toadflax, lady's bedstraw, ribbed melilot, meadow vetchling, tansy, St John's wort, yellow bartsia, evening primrose, bird's foot trefoil, agrimony, fennel, yellow wort, tutsan, tormentil and silverweed are all to be found at some point along the way.
 |
• Tansy was once known in Devonshire as golden buttons. |
This year, at Instow, I came upon the most impressive stand of henbane I have ever seen.
 |
• The flower of the henbane |
Here the majority of the plants are five feet tall with stiff decurved branches spanning a similar distance outwards and bearing rows of seed capsules. At the ends of the branches are the bell-shaped flowers mirroring those of the petunia. Henbane is a member of the plant order Solanaceae, to which belong the valuable Bella Donna, potato and tomato. And the accursed tobacco!
 |
• Seed capsules ofhenbane |
The Ancients found medicinal uses for henbane and its properties are very much in demand still...