Wild West Yorkshire nature diary
brimstone parsley piert

Limestone Quarry

Sunday 14th May 2000
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old limestone quarry WE'RE JUST OVER THE BORDER today, in North Yorkshire, on our Wakefield Naturalists Society field meeting to investigate the wildflowers in an old limestone quarry which is now managed as a reserve by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

I realise how shallow my botanical knowledge is when I walk with friends who take identification a stage further than I do. A magnifying glass and a field guide can add a lot to a wildflower walk.

parsley piert Take Parsley Piert, an annual that grows on bare ground, such as on the old quarry floor and along the track. You'd easily overlook it, but if you can focus in on ground level you'll find that the leaves are quite attractive, like miniature versions of Lady's Mantle, to which it is related. The flowers are tiny.

small nettle They point out an Annual Nettle to me. Now when I look at the illustrations in a flora, our two varieties of nettle look identical to me but, if you're with someone who has taken the trouble to sort out the differences, they are not so difficult to tell apart. The leaves on the annual, or Small Nettle brimstone A Brimstone butterfly goes by, but we're surprised how few butterflies we see considering that it is a hot sunny day.

Richard Bell
Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@daelnet.co.uk'

  
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