Encountering an Archangel

It's not every day that you go for a walk and encounter an archangel...  You stand a fair chance, though, with one that blooms between April and August! Mind you, you do have to be in the right sort of place  - deciduous woodland - to see it.  I first saw it quite locally to where we live, but I've seen it in several different places this year.  It's far less common in Scotland and Ireland than it is in England and Wales.

I took this photo while I was out on a very long walk (by my standards!), taking in Castor Hanglands National Nature Reserve and Swaddywell, a Local Nature Reserve owned by the Langdyke Countryside Trust; I saw my first wild strawberry plants growing at Swaddywell, which was a bonus*.  I will say that I took a break at a local farm shop/country café where a cold drink and a slice of Victoria sponge were consumed.  I am planning to visit both sites (and the farm shop/café) again in a few weeks time.

Incidentally, Swaddywell is also a Local Geological Site (the Earth science equivalent of a Local Nature Reserve),** showcasing our local limestone and a very impressive fault where the rock has effectively been torn like a strongman's telephone directory, showing some impressive drag folding as a result.  The site's first and foremost claim to fame, though, is its connection to the shepherd poet John Clare, who came from and is interred in the nearby village of Helpston.  There's a cottage museum there, dedicated to him, next door to a pub where the food is truly excellent.

Coming back to the archangel, you can see from the shape of the corolla that this is related to the white dead-nettle; archangel is sometimes called a 'yellow dead-nettle)'.  Both are members of the mint family.  The flowers' lower lips have quite an intricate pattern of brown honey-guide markings.  Unless you are lucky enough to see one at eye level, though, the lower lips are difficult to see!  Mind you, it does grow to be up to 2ft/60cm tall. There's a variegated subspecies with silver and green leaves that is truly invasive and unwelcome.

Like all flora and fauna, archangel has a Latin or Latinate scientific name - Lamium galeobdolon.  The genus name Lamium comes from the Roman name for dead-nettles, but the species name, galeobdolon, implies that it smells like a weasel.  I've seen weasels - we've even had one running around on our patio -  but I've never smelled one so I don't know how they compare. And is there a difference between the smell of a wet one and a dry one? I think we should be told!

I was really interested in how it got its common name, which dates back to the 17th century; it seems likely that it was bestowed on it in recognition of the fact that the leaves look like the leaves of stinging nettles, but that they don't have stings.  

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*I saw my first Star of Bethlehem growing by the roadside on the same walk; it was a good weekend! 

** I am a geologist by training although I am currently enjoying working in science communication.  Please see my profile for a link to my geology/palaeontology blog, A shutterbug of stone.  

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