Claytonia perfoliata 穿葉春美草, 印第安生菜, 礦工生菜, 春美人, 冬天馬菜

Common name: Springbeauty, Indian lettuce, miner's lettuce, winter purslane
Scientific name: Claytonia perfoliata 穿葉春美草, 春美人, 印第安生菜, 礦工生菜, 冬天馬菜Genus: Claytonia 春美草屬
Family: Montiaceae 水卷耳科*,  spring beauty family, miner's lettuce family

Remarks*: Claytonia was placed in Portulacaceae 馬齒莧科, the purslane family, previously. In the APG III system, Claytonia were moved to a newly adopted family - Montiaceae 水卷耳科. The differences between these two families morphologically are as follows:

a Fruit dehiscence circumscissile, top portion shed intact as a lid (operculum) -- Portulacaceae
b Fruit dehiscence valvate starting at the top, without true operculum -- Montiaceae

The common name of miner's lettuce refers to how the plant was used by miners during the California Gold Rush, who ate it to prevent scurvy. It can be eaten as a leaf vegetable.The entire plant is edible, except the roots, and it provides vitamin C. In North America the plant was appreciated by both native Indians and the gold miners in California. Hence, it is also called Indian lettuce.

The generic name Claytonia refers to a botanist of the 1600’s by the name of John Clayton, while its specific name, perfoliata is due to the perfoliate leaves which completely encircle the stem and are attached at the base of the plant.

Origin: Neophyte* (established after 1500 AD). It is native of western N. America. It was introduced into cultivation in 1794 and was first recorded in the wild in 1849.

Date:  28th March

appears beside and on the tree

a young plant

the base of the plant and the long-stalked leaves

The leaf above is actually formed by fusion of two opposite stem leaves. Flowering stalks appears from the middle of the fused leaves.

The back of the leaves.

5 petals, 5stamens

This flower has only three stamens (note the small yellow color of the anthers) at this stage, where are the other two?

2 green sepals

fruits?

Lamium purpureum 圓齒野芝麻, 大苞野芝麻, 寶蓋象草

Common name: Red Dead-nettle
Scientific name: Lamium purpureum 圓齒野芝麻, 大苞野芝麻, 寶蓋象草
Genus: Lamium 野芝麻屬
Family: Lamiaceae or Labiatae 唇形科, mint or deadnettle or sage family

Remarks: The generic name Lamium is from the Greek lamia meaning ‘devouring monster’. This refers to the helmet shape (galeate 盔帽狀的) of the flower which has the appearance of open jaws. It is likely that this plant was introduced to Britain with early agriculture and evidence for it has been found in Bronze Age deposits.

Origin: Archaeophyte (established before 1500 AD). It has a European Southern-temperate distribution. 

Date:  27th March

An erect plant, can reach up to 45cm.

leaves stalked

viewed from the top

corolla of 2 unequal toothed lobes

bracts bluntly toothed, stalked, resembling the leaves

corolla tube straight, longer than calyx; calyx of 5 distinct equal teeth;
stamens 4, not protruding beyond corolla, outer pair of stamens longer than the inner

A ladybird found on the plant. 

Cerastium glomeratum 球序卷耳

Common name: Sticky Mouse-ear
Scientific name: Cerastium glomeratum 球序卷耳
Genus: Cerastium 卷耳屬 
Family: Caryophyllaceae 石竹科, pink or carnation family

Remarks:

Origin: native

Date:  25th March

A smaller but erect plant.

Need to look carefully to see if the bud-like structures are buds, closed flowers or fruits

photo in natural light

bracts and leaves

flowers clustered into compact heads

photo enlarged below to show the glandular sepals 

note some of the hairs (especially those on the lower part of the sepal) on the sepals are glandular 

green sepal with long white hairs extending beyond tip

petals about equaling sepals, split to less than half way;
 stamens 10; styles 5 (vs styles 3 in Stellaria 繁縷屬)

fruit on the left of the head

capsule

capsule; green sepals with long white hairs extending beyond tips

capsule on the top of the photo

The tip of the capsule split open a little bit to become capsule teeth.

split open capsule on the left of the head

The tip of the capsule split open a little bit to become 10 capsule teeth.

look from the tip of the split open capsule to see the orangish-brown seeds inside

seeds inside the split open capsule

Anemone nemorosa 櫟林銀蓮花, 櫟木銀蓮花, 叢林銀蓮花

Common name: Wood Anemone
Scientific name: Anemone nemorosa 櫟林銀蓮花, 櫟木銀蓮花, 叢林銀蓮花
Genus:  Anemone 銀蓮花屬
Family: Ranunculaceae 毛茛科, buttercup family

Origin: native

Date:  25th March & (22nd April)

3 stem leaves, stalked, divided into 3 lobes

6-7 white sepals

89 (22nd April)