Sunday, July 6, 2008

Late June wildflowers

The last of my wild flower photographs from last week.



Red-leaved Rose
Family: Rosaceae
Species: Rosa glauca / Rosa rubrifolia



Woody nightshade, also known as Bittersweet
Family: Solanaceae
Species: Solanum dulcamara
Perennial

The name Solanum was given to the nightshade family by Pliny, the famous Roman naturalist. The word may have been derived from the Latin word "solamen", which means solice and may have been a tribute to its medicinal properties.



Common Mallow
Family: Malvaceae
Species: Malva sylvestris
Perennial

Malva is a Latin word which derives from the Greek "malakos", which means soft or soothing which may refer to the seeds, which produced an emollient.


Lady's Bedstraw
Family: Rubiceae
Species: Galium verum
Perennial

Galium derives from the Greek "Gala", which means milk. The leaves of Galium verum were once used to curdle milk.



Common Vetch
Family: Leguminosae
Species: Vicia sativa
Annual

Vicia is a Latin word, possibly derived from the Latin word vincio, which means "to bind".


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