Isn’t this poster by #wildflowerhour member Kevin Widdowson utterly stunning? It’s also incredibly useful in helping us identify wild plants by their fruit. Here, Kevin explains why he’s done it. Enjoy learning.
Just because it’s nearly winter doesn’t mean the opportunities for botanical adventures are over. Whilst we enjoy the intricacies of shape and colour, the real point of wildflowers is reproduction.
At this time of year I get fascinated by the multitude of ways plants produce fruit. Over the past few months I have been collecting, researching and photographing different types of fruit to investigate the variety of mechanisms that plants use to protect and disperse their seeds.
Poster by Kevin Widdowson
As you might expect, plants in the same family usually adopt similar methods (think of the pappus of Asteraceae or the cupule of Fagaceae). In fact fruit can often be used as a diagnostic feature to identify a plant to species level. This is particularly the case for the Brassicaceae family.
Poster by Kevin Widdowson
Poster by Kevin Widdowson
Moreover, what captures my imagination about these highly functional structures is how beautiful they are. I hope this inspires some of you to get out and do some autumnal botany. The next obsession to get me through the winter will be winter tree identification. Can’t wait.
from #wildflowerhour http://www.wildflowerhour.co.uk/blog/2017/11/16/stunning-seeds/
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