30 Days Wild Day 11 - Ribwort Plantain

We needed to be up in Carlisle again, and I was wondering when (if at all) I would get chance for our 30 Days Wild challenge.  On the way back we stopped in a lay-by to see what we could find.  It is times like this when you realise how good the Wildlife Trust 30 Days Wild is.  

We spent a quarter of an hour or so prowling the grass verges looking closely at the plants etc in a way we wouldn't have been doing if not for the challenge.

I got a shot of a small blackish butterfly which I haven't yet identified (time constraints) so that is out for the blip.  Finally I decided on this Ribwort Plantain - Plantago lanceolata.  Ribwort Plantain is a common weed which is beginning to reveal it has uses.  Sheep find it very palatable and it is being used in seeds mixtures to improve hill land, it is also a valuable source of sodium, phosphate, calcium & potassium as well as trace elements.