Yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor June is the season for the marvellous hay meadows of Dentdale. Upland hay meadows beside the River Dee refreshed with overnight rain and under cloud slow to disperse. A freshness welcome after a heat-wave. Hay meadows rich with a fragrant flora of golden buttercups and rosy sorrel, with red and white clover, eyebright, bistort and pignut. Then yellow with hawkbit, autumn hawkbit, I believe. It's a complex genus of hawkbit, hawksbeard and hawkweed.
The key to the success of hay meadows is the presence of Yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor and Eye-bright, of the Euphrasia genus. Underground and unseen, they make magic.
The key to the success of hay meadows is the presence of Yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor and Eye-bright, of the Euphrasia genus. Underground and unseen, they make magic.
It's rare to see yellow rattle so prolific. Pollinated by bumblebees the yellow flower dies back and its inflated green capsule ripens to brown. Shake it to hear the seed within: yellow rattle, hay-rattle, rattle-belly. An annual, it’s vital that the seed sets and falls back into the soil to ensure a thriving hay meadow next year. Late in summer, a crop of hay is taken for winter fodder. The presence of yellow rattle encourages a thriving, species-rich hay meadow, as we see along our way. Yellow rattle is hemi-parasitic, and its roots send out haustoria (projecting bridges) to penetrate the roots of several grasses, taking water and nutrients and sapping its hosts of strength. Dependent on grasses, yellow rattle weakens but does not kill them. Along our way we see how a hay meadow full of yellow rattle has an abundance of flora and grasses cannot grow tall. Where Rhinanthus minor is absent or scarce, grasses flourish. Hilary points out the contrast in a meadow of tall grasses and few flowers. The day is cloudy until later in the afternoon but these hay meadows are a resource for bees and pollinating insects.
Once upon a time this was the picture of summer all across the country. In childhood (if only we might remember) hay meadows of diverse flora and abundant wildlife were the English countryside. In the 21st century they're a precious resource. With the loss of so many hay meadows the programme is conserve and restore. To conserve requires traditional management with low input, few fertilisers, a cut late in the season and a carefully scheduled grazing regime. To restore impoverished hay meadows, donor hay meadows are cropped and their seed given to receptor meadows. Walking in a circuit from Dent beside the River Dee, I’d like to talk with the farmers to discover more about management of specific hay meadows and how far conservation is co-ordinated across Cumbria and Yorkshire.
Once upon a time this was the picture of summer all across the country. In childhood (if only we might remember) hay meadows of diverse flora and abundant wildlife were the English countryside. In the 21st century they're a precious resource. With the loss of so many hay meadows the programme is conserve and restore. To conserve requires traditional management with low input, few fertilisers, a cut late in the season and a carefully scheduled grazing regime. To restore impoverished hay meadows, donor hay meadows are cropped and their seed given to receptor meadows. Walking in a circuit from Dent beside the River Dee, I’d like to talk with the farmers to discover more about management of specific hay meadows and how far conservation is co-ordinated across Cumbria and Yorkshire.
Rhinanthus minor, Yellow Rattle. You can see the blue-grey colour at the hooked tip of each flower. Those green, inflated capsules will turn brown and the seed will rattle within. Top left, the tiny white flower is eye-bright.
Hay meadows attract bees, insects and birds. Bel alerts us to a barn owl flying across our path and deep into trees and she spots a small mammal that might be prey. Toward the conclusion of our walk she spies a kingfisher. We pass through a farm yard where a spotted flycatcher nests in the farmhouse wall, so we are told.
All along the banks of the River Dee were wild roses, ox-eye daisies, red campion, meadow cranesbill, betony, meadowsweet and elder flowers. What a treat!
Home from the Dentdale hay-meadows, I am immersed in flowers: editing and exploring my own images and discovering new websites relevant to the flora and management of hay-meadows. I've known and loved eye-bright for longer than I can remember. There are many variants and sub-species but what interests me is the part it plays in the ecology of a hay- meadow. Like yellow rattle, it's an annual and hemi-parasitic, attaching itself to the roots of grasses and taking water and nutrients from host plants. So two species we see in such profusion in the Dentdale hay-meadows, yellow rattle and eye-bright, have an underground network of haustoria locking into root systems of grasses. Picture that. Haustoria are not easily visible, even if you know what you're looking for.
All along the banks of the River Dee were wild roses, ox-eye daisies, red campion, meadow cranesbill, betony, meadowsweet and elder flowers. What a treat!
Home from the Dentdale hay-meadows, I am immersed in flowers: editing and exploring my own images and discovering new websites relevant to the flora and management of hay-meadows. I've known and loved eye-bright for longer than I can remember. There are many variants and sub-species but what interests me is the part it plays in the ecology of a hay- meadow. Like yellow rattle, it's an annual and hemi-parasitic, attaching itself to the roots of grasses and taking water and nutrients from host plants. So two species we see in such profusion in the Dentdale hay-meadows, yellow rattle and eye-bright, have an underground network of haustoria locking into root systems of grasses. Picture that. Haustoria are not easily visible, even if you know what you're looking for.
My thanks to:
Jill Hayes for a splendid walk for Kendal Ramblers. The route was full of interest, not only in the magnificent hay meadows. To Geoff Brooks for tracing Jill’s route. To Bel Burn for her image of a bright-eyed spotted flycatcher fledgling. And to all companions eager to share the wonders of upland hay meadows and all we discovered along the way.
Jill Hayes for a splendid walk for Kendal Ramblers. The route was full of interest, not only in the magnificent hay meadows. To Geoff Brooks for tracing Jill’s route. To Bel Burn for her image of a bright-eyed spotted flycatcher fledgling. And to all companions eager to share the wonders of upland hay meadows and all we discovered along the way.
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