Would appreciate any species identification you can provide for any of these. I would have liked to post four photos as I have split my pics into four groups: flowers, trees, small flowers/weeds, grasses/bushes/shrubs.

Will likely post the other three images over time but I don’t want to flood the forum all in one go.

I usually take photos like these when out walking as I like to pay attention to what’s happening in different locations/different seasons. These photos are from a recent trip abroad - not used to finding such a variety of colour. My pics are usually of different leaves, buds, catkins and twigs - all browns, reds and greens.

I often wonder whether/what people in days gone by used the local plantlife for. Would like to increase my knowledge on this as a casual project over time. Seemingly unremarkable weeds that we see all the time and fail to consider, might have been sought after commodities in pre-historic, ancient or medieval times.

I think it was when first reading about gruit that I started to look differently upon previously overlooked verges at the side of a road etc. From there the rabbit hole deepens…

  • Trillian
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    2 years ago

    Judging from the top center one only (Succisa pratensis or a relative to it), you were in Sweden. But the others are not wild here afaik, so… probably somewhere else.

    Top right, the one lower on the photo, looks like some kind of Spiraea.

    • FluminaInMariaOP
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      2 years ago

      Thanks, have added these names to the photo. The Spiraea was in the garden of the hotel, just west of Verona. Most of the flowers were from Lombardia in the hills to the west of Lake Garda.

      The photo of the Succisa Pratensis wasn’t very flattering compared to some of the patches we saw of it. I thought I had taken a nicer photo of it showing more abundantly but apparently not. According to Wikipedia it was used to treat scabies, and sores caused by bubonic plague. Now it’s just a weed or a meadow flower I guess. Will do some further reading - thanks again.

      :)