Ladies, gents and bucklers

When I started looking for ferns at Christmas, there was no lady’s fern. Now its graceful fronds are everywhere. It grows in a neat shuttlecock formation. The pinnules are, aptly, like a frilly version of male fern’s. Three buckler ferns are found in Devon: broad buckler, narrow buckler, and hay-scented buckler. Hay-scented buckler is fairly easy…

Into the woods

Primroses and bluebells in Penstave Woods.        An impressive Drinker moth caterpillar on the verge of Bittaford Road. Note the ‘horns’ of hair at either end. The moth drinks dew. Also the first early purple orchid. I’m fascinated by these mutant plants. They seem to be quite common along this stretch of road. Could traffic…