The Great Unfurling

    Bracken is one of the most widespread plants in the world. It likes dry, preferably acidic soil best of all and as a result it flourishes in Crow Wood. When fully grown it shades out most other ground cover plants and in that respect it is a bit of a nuisance and therefore not the ecologist's best friend. But when the first fronds push through the soil in early Spring and begin to unfurl they are a thing of real beauty. 

       Known as "fiddleheads" these early stages of an otherwise poisonous plant are said to be edible....not a dish I have ever eaten and not one I intend to sample.  Bracken is a fast growing plant. The unfurling of the fronds lasts just a few days - best seen as an aesthetic rather than a culinary delight.

                                     ...and the first leaves of a European Larch to finish on

       (these photos are published in recognition of the German photographer, Karl Blossfeldt, 

                               1865 -1932, one of the greatest names in plant photography)