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

 

 

Tragapogon porrifolius

Tragopogon porrifolius                
Salsify
Salsifis

Biennial grown for its edible roots; 3-4 months until harvest

Native to Europe

After flowering, the involucres (series of bracts around the flower) close up. When ready, they open wide again to produce dandelion-like feathery fruits

Bloom in a cherry orchard near Lacoste, 5.07.13

Emerging Fruiting Head 5.22.13

Fruiting head 5.22.13

Seed Pods 5.22.13

In Situ, Goult windmill 5.19.13

Life cycle illustration

Johann Georg Sturm, 1796

Harvested Roots

Tamarix gallica

Tamarix gallica
French tamarisk
Les tamaris

Indigenous to Saudi Arabia and sinai Peninsula but very common in the Mediterranean region. It was first classified by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753 but has been in cultivation since at least 1596. A relatively long-lived plant, it can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions.
It is a deciduous, twiggy, shrub or small tree, growing to 15 feet tall. The tiny pink flowers, arranged in narrow, feather-like spikes along the branches, bloom in the spring often earlier than the leaves appear. The leaves are scale-like; an adaptation over time to exceedingly dry conditions.

Anti-inflammatory properties from extracts made from leaves and flowers – traditionally used for management of inflammation and pain.

Form in front of Abbey Saint-Hilaire, Ménerbes, 5.15.13

Spring branches.5.15.13

Blossoms.4.30.13

Scale-like leaves in summer

 

 

Fall, Lacoste,11.08.14

Symphytum officinale

Symphytum officinale
Comfrey

Grande consoude

A large, coarse, tuberous-rooted, clumping perennial, native to Europe and Asia
The word 'comfrey' comes from the Latin 'con firma', meaning strength in reference to its reputation for healing wounds and broken bones. It has been cultivated since 400 BC as a healing herb. The leaves and roots have been used for many years in poultices for treating a variety of rashes and inflammations as well as sprains and broken bones.

Teas are made from dried leaves and roots.
Large, hairy, ovate-lanceolate dark green basal leaves grow to 8" long. Tubular, white to pink to purple flowers appear in drooping clusters spring to early summer.
 

Form, wetlands near Lacoste, 4.11.13

Blossom 4.08.13

Early Bud 4.08.13

Illustration by F.E. Kohler, 1887

 

Spartium junceum

Spartium junceum
Spanish Broom
Genêt d’Espagne

It is the sole species in the genus Spartium

Indigenous to southern Europe where it was used for weaving and making baskets due to its long and supple branches

The thick, somewhat succulent rush-like shoots provide much of the photosynthesis for the plant as the leaves are somewhat insignificant; a water conserving strategy in its dry climate

Form, woods behind the village of Lacoste, 5.17.13

Bloom, 5.17.13

Stem, Leaf, Blossom

 

Silene vulgaris

Silene vulgaris
Bladder Campion
Siléne enflé

Native to Europe

Commonly used in dishes in Italy, Spain, Crete, and Cypress. Young leaves and shoots are eaten in salads; Older leaves are boiled or fried

Considered an invasive weed in many states in the US

In Situ 5.22.13, Lacoste valley

Flowers with bladder-like calyx

Bloom 5.22.13

Leaf

 

 

Salvia verbenaca

Salvia verbenaca
Wild Sage, Wild Clary
Sauge à feuilles de verveine

Native to Mediterranean region

Leaves, somewhat pubescent, range from oval or ovate with crenate or serrate margin, to lobed or deeply divided

Bloom 5.22.13

On path from Lacoste to Bonnieux, 5.07.13

In Situ 5.22.13

Leaves and fading blooms, 5.22.13

Lacoste field in the fall, 9.27.14

 

 

Robinia pseudoacacia

Robinia pseudoacacia
Black Locust
Robinier faux-acacia

Native to North America

Planted in Place Dauphine, Paris in 1601 by Jean Robin, gardener of Louis XIII and now naturalized throughout Europe. That tree no longer exists, but there are still 2 seedlings from that tree; One was planted in 1601 in René Viviani Square across the Seine from Notre Dame; Another was planted in 1636 in Le Jardin des Plantes

It can grow in poor soils because Robinias are in the Fabaceae family and nitrogen fixing.

Robinia is a large, irregularly shaped tree, growing to 25 feet and suckering freely.

Bloom 5.23.13, trail behind Chateau Marquis de Sade in Lacoste

Leaflet, 5.23.13, trail behind Chateau Marquis de Sade

Tree planted in 1601 in René Viviani Square, Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, Paris