Cichorium intybus

Cichorium intybus
Chicory
Chicorée amère


Chicory is a somewhat woody herbaceous perennial, native to Europe.
The plant has been developed for a variety of uses:
~ leafy vegetable in various colors, in a head form like radicchio, or as a dandelion-like leaf
~ root crop (C. intybus var. sativum) which is roasted and ground, used as a coffee substitute
~ forage crop for pasturing animals

Leaves are lanceolate and unlobed

Bloom. Lacoste valley. 9.27.14

Lacoste valley 9.27.14

Illustration: Jan Kops, Flora Batava, 1853

In Situ, Lacoste valley 9.27.14

Echinops ritro

Echinops ritro
Small globe thistle
Echinops ritro, Boule asurée 

Native to southern Europe and Western Asia
A compact, bushy, herbaceous, perennial thistle not be confused with E. sphaerocephalus whose stem is brown instead of white
Steel blue flowers in late summer

In Situ Lacoste.9.16.14

Blossom

Leaf.Lacoste.9.16.14

In Situ

 

Campanula trachelium

Campanula trachelium
Nettle-leaved bellflower, Throatwort
Campanula gantelèe

Campanula is from Latin meaning "small bell". It is native to Denmark and England,now found southward through much of Europe into Africa.
The alternate name throatwort is derived from an old belief that C. trachelium is a cure for sore throat, and the species name trachelium refers to this old belief.
It is a perennial plant with one or more unbranched, often reddish, square-edged stems that are roughly hairy.

Bloom

Flora Batava, Christiaan Sepp illustration, 1849

Blossom.Lacoste.11.02.14 
The inflorescence is a spike with a few slightly nodding flowers. 
Each flower has five sepals which are fused, erect and hairy, and the five violet (or occasionally white) petals are fused into a bell that is hairy inside. 
There are five stamens and a pistil formed from three fused carpels. 

Leaf. Lacoste.11.02.14

Solidago virgaurea L.

Solidago virgaurea L.
European goldenrod, Woundwort
Verge d'or

Native to Europe and Asia
'Solidago' means "to make whole"; used to treat many maladies including wounds, urinary tract infections, prevention of kidney stones
Perennial with single woody stems growing 12 - 40 inches tall. 

Lacoste woods 9.22.14
Stems are usually branchless, bristly, virtually glabrous.
Small flowers in clusters generally appear July to Oct.

Sturm Illustration, Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen, 1796

Leaf.Lacoste woods.9.22.14
Leaves are alternate and range between entire and serrate margins.
 

Spring leaves

Seed Heads

 

Papaver rhaeticum

Papaver rhaeticum
Yellow alpine poppy, Rhaetian alpine poppy
Pavot des Alppes rhétiques

Found in the Pyrenees, southwest and eastern Alpes; in limestone rocks and screes, 1500 to 3050 meters
It is a quite rare and localized alpine poppy (www.plantworldseeds.com)
The flowers are 4 petaled and light yellow to orange. 
This quite rare and very localised alpine poppy, has light yellow to orange petals 

Leaves

In Situ, on the top of Mt.Ventoux.10.03.14

Blossom

 

Convolvulus cantabrica

Convolvulus cantabrica
Cantabrica Morning Glory, Dwarf Morning Glory
Liseron des monts cantabres

Native to southern Europe and widespread in the Mediterranean coast
Prefers rocky places, sunny slopes, scrublands with calcerous soils at an altitude up to 1300 meters 
Flowers are usually pale pink but can be white. Flowering period extends from May through October

Blossom.Forét des Cèdres.9.16.14

In Situ.Forét des Cèdres.9.16.14

Leaf.Forét des Cèdres.9.16.14

 

In Situ

Euonymous europaeus

Euonymous europaeus
European Euonymous, Common spindletree
Fusain d' Europe, Bonnet d' évêque 

Native to much of Europe; deciduous shrub or small tree 
Tends to thrive in nutrient-rich, chalky, and salt-poor soils
The common name 'spindletree' is due to the very hard wood which was used to make wool spindles. 

Inconspicuous, hermaphrodite, small greenish-white flowers May to June
Capsular fruits in fall are red to purple or pink with 4 lobes. When ripe, the lobes split open to reveal bright orange seeds. The seeds yield a yellow dye when boiled in water and a green dye with the addition of alum. The dyes are fugitive however, fading with exposure to UV rays.

Ripening seeds

Fruit 10.30.14

In situ, Goult.10.30.14

Leaf 10.30.14, Leaves are opposite, lanceolate to eliptical

Form, summer

Along the roadside outside Lacoste, 11.13.14

Lacoste roadside, 11.13.14

Hedera helix

Hedera helix
Common Ivy, English Ivy
Lierre


Native to most of Europe and western Asia
Juvenile stage is the climbing/spreading stage in which plants produce thick, 5-lobed leaves on non-flowering stems. Adult stage is the shrubby non-climbing stage with unlobed, cordate leaves, and round umbrella-like clusters of greenish white flowers in early fall, followed by blue-black berries.

The flowers are very rich in nectar, an important late autumn food source for bees and other insects. The purple-black berries ripen in late winter, providing an important food source for many birds. 

Top row: Juvenile leaf, Bottom row: Adult leaf

In flower

Hedge along a lane, Lacoste, 9.16.14

Rootlets

Berries

Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé illustration, 1885

Vinca major

Vinca major
Greater periwinkle
Grande pervenche

Native to western Mediterranean

The genus name probably derives from the Latin word vincire, meaning bind, as the long creeping vines were used to prepare garlands.

V. major is distinguished from V. minor by its calyx, long, hairy sepals as well as the edge of its rigid and hairy leaves

In Situ along the edge of a vineyard, Lacoste, 4.08.13

Bloom

Hairy sepal

Hairy leaf edge

 

 

Viburnum tinus

Viburnum tinus
Laurustinus
Laurier tin

Small evergreen shrub, native to the Mediterranean region

Fruit is a very characteristic dark blue-black drupe

Form

In Situ Maison Basse in the Lacoste valley, Bloom 4.18.13

Berries

Jacob van Huysum, 1730

 

 

Valeriana tuberosa

Valeriana tuberosa
Tuberous valerian
Valériane tubéreuse

Native to the Mediterranean
Flower extracts were used as perfume in the 16th century

Valerian root is used to make herbal medicine to treat insomnia and anxiety

Genus name comes from Latin valere, meaning to be strong and healthy

Leaves are aromatic when bruised;  radical leaves are entire, oval; stem leaves are deeply cut into 5 -9 elongated segments

Flowers are arranged in small, terminal heads; blooms April - June

“Red Valerian” is a different species: Centranthus ruber

In Situ, Lacoste, 5.17.13
 

Flower stalk 5.17.13

Bloom 5.17.13

 

 

Trigonella esculenta

Trigonella esculenta (Willd.)
Wild Trefoil
Trigonelle comestible

Native to Mediterranean

Family: Leguminosae

Flowers are clustered tightly at the end of a long peduncle

Trifoliate leaf, hence the common name of “trefoil”

Bloom 5.21.13

Seed Pods

Leaf 5.21.13