Butterwort

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 I mentioned in my last blog that the butterwort is in flower. I used to see this plant all the time in Scotland but it is less common in England and is restricted to the North and North West. This plant grows in moist habitats  and bogs where the soil is deficient in nutrients (especially Nitrogen). The plant has a rosette of leaves that lie along the ground and which secrete a mucus. The mucus makes the plant appear wet and attracts insects. The insects land on the leaves and as they struggle to get free more mucus is released. Eventually the leaves curl at the edges to keep the fly in the trap. The plant then secretes enzymes which digest the fly (leaving just the exoskeleton) and the nutrients are absorbed into the plant through pores in the cuticle.

A delicate purple flower is visible at this time of the year. You might spot some flies trapped in the leaves at the bottom.




It used to be thought that if you rubbed the leaves of this insectivorous plant onto the udders of cows it would improve milk yield (hence butterwort). The leaves will also curdle milk.

Diary
I have taken to searching the lawn at night before I go to bed to look for hedgehogs. Success last night - a photo taken with the flash in near darkness.

Overnight trail cameras produced the usual crop of rabbits but nothing else. Moth trap produced 2 black burying beetles, 4 species of moth and a cockchafer beetle.








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