![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ447WZizBg/Seg0APUqCUI/AAAAAAAAA9E/bGtttebDFGI/s280/Nemouridae-web.jpg)
Butterbur has put up its flower spikes all the way along the river bank:
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ447WZizBg/Segz5Rl8iyI/AAAAAAAAA88/7YoRVmyAiFg/s280/butterbur-web.jpg)
This is the last stages of the Coprinid Bolbitius vitellinus. You have to be up early to see these ones in pristine condition: they generally only last a day or two at most.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ447WZizBg/SegzvpCY3vI/AAAAAAAAA80/B3JwU_QKXTo/s280/bolbitius-vitellinus-web.jpg)
I always think that the early, uncurling, fronds of ferns have a distinctly animal look about them. Scaly Male Fern:
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ447WZizBg/SegzkNfQOGI/AAAAAAAAA8s/7aXz7Xf42S8/s280/scaly-male-fern-web.jpg)
Hartstongue Fern:
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ447WZizBg/SegzdzqEhPI/AAAAAAAAA8k/EWfsb8jI_Kw/s280/hartstongue-web.jpg)
Ramsons, or Wild Garlic, is just about to flower. The flowerheads come pre-packed in a protective sheath:
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ447WZizBg/SegzWzbMQbI/AAAAAAAAA8c/ksxaZZORLOs/s280/ramsons-sheath-web.jpg)
There's a very interesting story behind this fungal rust on the Ramsons. Many rusts have two hosts - 'alternate hosts'. The two hosts don't have to be remotely related, and the alternate host for this Puccinia sessilis is Reed Canary Grass - Phalaris arundinacea. So the rust spends the summer months on Ramsons and the winter months on Reed Canary Grass. That's all very well, but I haven't found Reed Canary Grass within 25 miles of this spot. Spores are airborne, so I presume the spores travel quite some distance to travel between their summer and winter homes.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ447WZizBg/SegzQjG2DEI/AAAAAAAAA8U/bRqf4InJ7p4/s280/garlic-rust-web.jpg)
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