The Flora of Castlewarden

  Latin:  Solanum dulcamara Irish:  Fuath dubh This native perennial is a relative of the Potato and the Tomato and is sometimes called Woody Nightshade.   It is a climber without hooks or twining stems that simply climbs by leaning on other plants in hedges, woodland margins and waste places.   The leaves are 4–12cm long, roughly arrowhead-shaped, dark green to purplish in colour and often lobed at the base. Flowers, with the same form as those on potato and tomato, are produced from June onwards.  They

Latin:  Sisymbrium officinale Irish:  Lus an óir   This member of the Cruciferae family is widespread in Ireland but is not native .  It is a stiffly erect annual or biennial which is commonly found in waste ground, hedgerows and on disturbed ground. It has tough stems that grow up to 80cm high and its tiny (3mm across), yellow, 4-petalled flowers appear from May to October. This cluster of flowers elongates as the fruit develops as hairy pods (6-20mm long) that are closely pressed into the

Latin:  Sedum album Irish:  Grafán bán na gcloch   This is a species that grows profusely on the walls surrounding the machinery yard at Castlewarden. This is a species from a family called the Crassulaceae that has thick, fleshy leaves and are often referred to as “succulents”.  These plants are generally regarded as being super efficient in their use of moisture – a characteristic that enables them to thrive in very dry conditions. White Stonecrop is not a native species and is probably a garden escape.  It

Latin:  Rumex obtusifolius Irish:  Copóg shráide This a close relative of Curled Dock and the twp species are alike in many respects.  However, Broad Dock, as the name suggests, has large, broadly oblong leaves in contrast with the more elongated leaves of curled dock.   In addition, this species does not have conspicuous curling along the edges of the leaves and it tends to come into flower about a month later than Curled Dock.  There are less apparent morphological differences in the flowers of the two

Latin:  Rumex crispus Irish:  Copóg chatach   This is a very common native species that grows on roadsides, meadows, arable fields and waste places.  In fact, it is so adaptable to different environments that it is said to be one of the five most widely distributed plants in the world. It is deep-rooted perennial that is extremely difficult to eradicate or control even with modern herbicides.  It’s status as an especially difficult weed led to it being categorised as a “Noxious Weed” and landowners allowing it

Latin:  Rumex acetosa Irish:  Samhadh bó   This is an abundant native perennial that grows as a clump on grassy banks and in pastures.  The leaves are elongated oval in shape and have two lobes at the base that point backwards. In June and July reddish-green flowers are produced on whorled spikes up to 60cm tall.  Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants (dioecious) and are wind pollinated. The leaves have a high oxalic acid content which gives them a sour, acid-lemon, thirst-quenching taste

Latin:  Rubus fruticosus agg. Irish:  Sméara dubha Rubus fruticosus agg., or Bramble, is the name given to an aggregation of native species differing in details of stem angles, thorn, hair or leaf shape and demanding considerable expertise for accurate differentiation and identification.  This complexity is due to the bizarre reproductive behaviour of Bramble.  These plants, even though they do produce pollen, can produce seeds without pollination taking place so that individual plants can give rise to distinctive populations or species. Rubus fruticosus, sometimes referred to as

Latin:  Rosa canina Irish:  Feirdhris   This native species is a member of the Rose family all of which are shrubs with erect or scrambling growth and thorny stems. It is one of the most familiar wildflowers and is very frequent throughout Ireland in hedges, thickets and waste places. Dog Rose has particularly strong, hooked thorns and it had been suggested that the name “Dog Rose” is a corruption of “Dag Rose” where “dag” means a dagger and refers to the sharpness of the thorns.  It

Latin:  Ranunculus repens Irish:  Fearbán reatha   This is a native perennial that occurs in abundance in damp field, roadsides and ditches throughout the country.  It and its close relative, Meadow Buttercup, is probably one of our most familiar wild flowers. It is erect (up to 40 cm tall) and hairy and spreads by runners that creep across the soil surface, sending down roots at intervals. The leaves are roughly triangular in outline and divided into 3 lobes that are roughly toothed. The flowers (20-300mm across)

Latin:  Vinca major Irish:  Fincín mór This is not a native plant and was probably brought toIrelandfrom southernEuropeas a garden plant.  It is usually found growing in hedges and roadsides and, typical of a garden escape, is often found close to old houses or ruins. It is a hairless perennial with long, creeping stems that root at intervals.  The leaves are evergreen, glossy and grow in opposite pairs on the stem.  Flowers are produced as early as March and flowering may continue until June or July.