Ramsons, "probably my favourite garlic"

It's a long-standing quote of mine, "Ramsons, probably my favourite garlic!" I don't really know why, maybe because it's one of the few plants that even my poor sense of smell can detect, possibly because there's not an awful lot that can beat the sight of an undulating woodland floor carpeted in its broad leaves and delicate white flower heads. Possibly because in a previous life I've foraged the stuff and added it to my meals, possibly because it has the perpetually charming Ramsons Hoverfly associated with it. I'm not sure, but I feel a deep connection with the stuff. Just call me weird, I don't mind.

Anyway...

Uig Wood has a very healthy number of Ramsons plants and they're ever so slowly starting to burst into life. And death. Yesterday I went (sans butterfly net FFS...) into them thar Ramsons and found Portevinia maculata the Ramsons Hoverfly in small numbers. I love this fly! Its entire life revolves around the Ramsons plant. The adults nectar at the flowerheads, the female scrabbles about beneath the leaves, the males sunbathe and hold territory from the upperside of the leaves, somehow they find each other and mate, the female then lays her eggs on the leaves. The resulting larvae tunnel their way through the stem and down into the subterranean roots, the bulb itself in fact, which they then consume. They then pupate in the soil and emerge as adult flies in late springtime to begin their Ramsons love affair all over again. Without the plant, this hoverfly would simply cease to exist, a frighteningly fragile relationship if ever there was. Happily, the foodplant is flourishing very well here in Uig and the hoverflies with it. 

Fairly typical bit of woodland floor in Uig Wood. The lanceolate leaves in the foreground are all Ramsons

I've never really understood why we call the stuff beneath our feet 'floor' if it is indoors and 'ground' if it is outdoors...unless it's in a woodland, most of which (in my experience) occur outdoors. I work with a bunch of non-Brits, they all tell me English is a complicated, sometimes stupid language. In this instance at least, I can only agree. 

But Ramsons has more to offer than just Portevinia maculata, it has the utterly delightful rust Puccinia sessilis that grows on the leaf surfaces. Here's a pic

Puccinia sessilis in all of its glory

In other parts of Britain, Puccinia sessilis also affects Lords and Ladies. Up here, on the outermost rim of the known universe, we have no Lords and Ladies. Nope, not known from this part of the world at all, a bizarre but true fact. I suspect they may grow Italian Lords and Ladies in the gardens of Dunvegan Castle but, essentially speaking, Skye is an Arum free zone.  Yet Puccinia sessilis perseveres, as does the delightful Botryotinia globosa, which I've snazzily dubbed Ramsons Rot. Here's a pic, you can see where I got the name from.

Botryotinia globosa, another entirely Ramsons-dependant organism

So yesterday I neglected to bring my net, today I made sure it was close to hand. Not too many flies on offer, though I think I swiped at most of the more sizeable individuals. My Backlog Box is now full, something I was aiming to avoid. I now need to sit back and ID some of the trickier stuff I've collected. Trouble is, I've done all of the 'easy' stuff, from here on in it's new territory for me. Well, I guess I do have a few carded beetles that I could nail without too much difficulty (Bembidion - boo!) But many of the flies belong to families that I have zero experience with, hence they are daunting and scary. I need to reduce this backlog of specimens ASAP. 

Backlog Box at full capacity...

In other news, the colony of Mitella ovalis is looking extraordinarily healthy. This is the plant I discovered growing in the wild for the first time in Britain two years ago. It's going from strength to strength with many of the flowerheads having gone to seed already. Poor pic of some seeds for you

One raindrop splash and they're off! 

Here's a pic of an entirely random one metre stretch of the Mitella ovalis colony. As you can see from the number of flowering spikes, it's doing rather well for itself.

Wall-to-wall Mitella. Coolness!

It's less than three weeks until I lead my Skye Nature Group Walk through Uig Wood. I've led this walk before, indeed the very first SNG Walk was led by myself at this very venue, but this time around I'll be playing host to good friend and PSL God, Mark Telfer himself. Plus Bradley...sore loser at LEGO aeroplane wars but generally a great kid. I need to start honing my lichen and freshwater algae ID skillz in preparation for their arrival, it's been a while. Three weeks to go, I can do this.. Maybe I'll just hide in their campervan and chat bats with the lovely Jo. 

Bats = vampires = Lost Boys! (alright, so let's see you do better at short notice). It's a great song from a great flick, I mean just look at the cast! Ok, so best you don't look at the cast, but it's still a great film...