Ivy-leaved Speedwell

This Speedwel is one of the first to flower and it is really tiny. It is easy to find on old stone walls, in gardens and on the sides of a walking path. Its leaves look a little bit like those of Ivy, hence its name, Ivy-leaved Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia).





Only when the sun shines the blue flowers open and show their white inside, they are not bigger than half a centimeter.





Like in other Speedwells, the crown has four lobes.





It is end of March and already fruits develop.

Hairy Violet

Normally Hairy Violets (Viola hirta) do not grow in wet places, but here it grows near a stream amongst yellow Lesser Celandines (Ficaria verna).






Small spring violets are much alike. The difference between species is in the details.






The Hairy violet has rounded sepals...






... and, as its name says, hairs. You can find them on the new leaves, but they are very short and nearly invisible if you don't use a magnifying glass.





Here are some plants growing amidst dead ferns at a wood edge, the usual habitat for this species.

Fritillary

The Fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) are in flower!






Every year in March they are having a party.

In wet valleys you can find the purple bells, in a sunny meadow or near the stream under the trees.







Normally they are surrounded by other spring flowers, here with contrasting yellow Lesser Celandines.






Or, to stay with pink and purple, wuth Cuckoo flowers.

Enjoy!

Plymouth Thistle

In the center of a very small road all kinds of plants grow, the tarmac is nearly invisible. Thorny rosettes came out last autumn, normally they should give stems with flowers this year.

In this place it is not very probable that big thistles will develop. Just beside the road there is another rosette. Here circumstances are better for the development of the Plymouth Thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus).

The leaves are a bit soft and hairy at the underside. The points that carry spines are white.

Plymouth Thistle is a rather spindly plant. It flowers end of May and June with many small flower heads.

Maybe its colour is a bit more pink than other thistles. The stalks are covered in fine hairs and  spines that give it a silvery sheen. The leaves are no longer soft, and really thorny.

Under the flowers the stalk has no thorns but only short, silky hairs.

Plymouth Thistle is very rare in Dordogne, but maybe its presence is underestimated, it is not a very conspicuous plant. It grows in cultures and ruderalized corners. Originally a plant from the Mediterranean it has been introduced in America and Australia where it is now considered as a pest difficult to eradicate. But here you are glad when you meet it!