Plant of the day!!

Today I found a patch of an elegant tall plant with bright yellow simple 5 petalled flowers that I felt I vagiely knew but couldn't name. So I got identifying and it was St John's wort. A plant of many talents...it has antidepressant benefits as a herbal remedy and apparently if hung above your door will ward off evil spirits. That is very useful and although I didn't pick it straight away and put it in a noose above the door I may still (--- depending how alone, haunted and peculiar I become.)
But my botany highlight of the day was finding a smaller more delicate patch of what I presumed was also St John's wort in the woodland. Once I got my lovely pictorial guide out and hand-lens I discovered the beauty in the detail. St John's wort has fine black stripes on the underside of the yellow petals and two distinct edges to the stalks but my woodland specimen lacked both but had small hairs on the stalk. Hairy St John's wort came to light.

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