Rose Bay Willow Herb

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 I notice that the rose bay willow herb is in full flower. This distinctive tall plant common in the Northern Hemisphere goes by a number of names. In the USA it is fireweed, in Canada it is great willow herb, and in some parts of the UK it is still known as "bomb weed" because of it's prevalence as a colonising plant in the wreckage of a bomb site in WW2.

The plant is an early coloniser of any bare earth. In the USA it is quick to grow in the aftermath of forest fires. Seeds remain viable in the soil seeedbank for years and the plant produces fluffy seeds that are very efficiently wind dispersed In the UK this was considered a rare plant in the 18th Century and its rapid spread coincided with the development of the railway system - a perfect vehicle for blowing the seed down the line and the production of miles of bare earth. A wide variety of insects pollinate the plant and some species of moth use it as their primary food source.



Diary.
It's warm and sunny today with temp of around 23C. I am showing a clip of a roe deer from a camera  I invited my 7 year old granddaughter to set  earlier this week. Well done Sophie!

The tawny owl was on it's usual perch in the orchard this morning about 4m up in a pine tree. The owl seems to stay there until the direct sunlight falls on it around mid morning and then it moves off into shade.




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