Chasing bees and butterflies is great fun but there is work to do and besides seeds I also have an overdue mea culpa note on Thalictrum isopyroides – read it here if interested.
Talking about seeds, last week I collected some of Uvularia grandiflora. I will keep writing about this wonderful but under-used woodland plant until more people start growing it! It is hard to estimate when the seeds are ripen, so for those who want to collect their own seeds here’s a tip I learned the hard way: the capsules will get from green to greenish-white to white (but still remain firm and crispy) before splitting to release the seeds. The seeds are equipped with elaiosomes and ants will carry them away quickly.
It is a gradual transition, easy to over-wait thinking they are not ripened yet. Just like when boiling pasta al dente; you think it’s not quite there and a few seconds later it’s already overdone.
Note: I assume that everyone reading this enjoys pasta, at least eating it if not cooking.