Dark Green

A late afternoon / early evening walk round Bedford Purlieus NNR in intermittent sunshine and strong gusty winds gave me my first sighting of Dark Green Fritillary this year, the males still busy feeding on the flower-heads of Marsh Thistle.

The main objects of my admiration were the the plants, with a wide range of interesting sedges and acid-loving species that are quite rare locally, as well as three fine plants of Vervain growing in the car-park (see extra). 

I was almost overwhelmed by the mixture of scents on some of the rides, the rich but rather cloying scent of Small-leaved Lime blossom, mingling with Common Valerian, Meadowsweet and the sharper notes of Water Mint underfoot to produce a very heady mixture..