Woodland Wildflower Identification for Forest School – How to Identify 10 Wildflowers & their Uses

Brush up your woodland wildflower identification skills for Forest School and join me for a springtime wander to identify 10 common UK woodland wildflower species. We will be looking at key identifiable traits, talking about uses, foraging (or poisoning!) and point out certain species that could be confused with each other. TIMESTAMPS & SPECIES LIST: 00:00 – Intro 01:18 – Primrose (Primula vulgaris) 02:38 – Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) 04:54 – Lesser Celandine or Pilewort (Ficaria verna previously Ranunculus ficaria) 07:18 – Lords & Ladies or Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum) 09:39 – Ramsons or Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum) 12:46 – Woodland Wildflower Ecology 13:27 – Red Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) 15:44 – Ground Ivy or Aleshoof(Glechoma hederacea) 17:42 – Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) 21:30 – Dogs Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) 23:12 – Hedge Garlic, Garlic Mustard, or Jack by the Hedge (Alliaria petiolata) 25:00 – ID Quiz 26:00 – Poem WHAT TO WATCH NEXT? Leading Foraging Activities at Forest School – Stay safe & within the law - https://youtu.be/zDCgPeYNBVI Come to the woods with me, Forest School Lou, I’ll share Forest School knowledge and skills with you. Since 2007, I’ve trained people face to face, Now in 2020, I’m sharing through videos in this place. If you like my content, do consider subscribing, To my channel, which I am describing – https://www.youtube.com/c/forestschoollou GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS: ANTHER – pollen producing structure on end of the filament, part of the stamen (the male reproductive parts of a flower) BIENNIAL – a plant that takes 2 years to complete its lifecycle DECUSSATE – leaves arranged on a stem in opposite pairs, at right angles to those above or below (making a cross shape) DIOECIOUS – having male and female reproductive parts on different plants INFLORESCENCE – a collection or cluster of flowers on a stem LAMIACEAE – the mint or dead-nettle family of plants LANCEOLATA – Shaped like a lance head, tapering to the point at the apex MONOECIOUS – having male and female reproductive parts on the same plant NATIVE – a species that self sustains naturally within a given ecosystem or region, usually having colonised an area through its own dispersal (eg. Not introduced by humans) PETIOLE – stalk that attaches a leaf to a stem RANUNCULACEAE – The buttercup or crowfoot family ROSETTE – circular arrangement of leaves, usually lying near to the ground SPADIX – a spike of minute flowers, arranged around a fleshy axis and typically surrounded by a spathe SPATHE – a large bract (modified leaf) that surrounds a whole inflorescence, typically a spadix. QUIZ ANSWERS: 1. Bluebell 2. Hedge Garlic 3. Foxglove 4. Dogs Mercury 5. Ground Ivy 6. Lords & Ladies 7. Lesser Celandine 8. Primrose 9. Ramsons 10. Red Dead Nettle LINKS: - https://www.field-studies-council.org/product-category/publications/ - Fold Out guides by the Field Studies Council - ‘The Wild Flower Key’ by Frances Rose - https://bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/Code-of-Conduct-v5-final.pdf - ‘Code of Conduct for picking, collecting, photographing and enjoying wild plants’ by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. - https://www.forestschoolassociation.org – The Forest School Association, the UK charity for Forest School. CREDITS TO IMAGES FROM PIXABAY: Clapperboard Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images-3736 Lily of the valley - _Alicja_2553 images Red Dead Nettle arial - wikiMediaImages Red Dead Nettle - wikiMediaImages Yellow Archangel - fauke ground-ivy-by Hans Braxmeier spanish-bluebell-anthers by Ian Lindsay Spanish-bluebell by Aline Dassel CREDITS TO MUSIC: Blue Creek Trail by Dan Lebowitz (Youtube) Disclaimer: All information shared within the Forest School Lou channel is provided in good faith, and based on my own experiences of Forest School in the UK. It is not designed to be a replacement for quality face to face accredited Forest School training, rather as a resource to support Forest School practitioners and those in training. I am a Forest School trainer, but not your Forest School trainer, therefore no training contract exists between us. Ensure you are appropriately qualified and undertake your own risk assessments before undertaking any activity yourself or with groups, which takes into account the learners age, ability and level of understanding. Forest School Lou is a trade name of Birchwood Learning Ltd.