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Do you think Plants are boring?
Try to imagine the world or the area around your home without plants. Plants are one of the most important elements of the natural world, so step inside their fascinating world.
In earlier centuries it was the usefulness of plants / flowers rather than their beauty that enticed people out into the fields and woods to look for them. Most medicines were made from plants, and it was necessary for collectors to know them well, for some medicines were said to be effective only if a particular plant was collected at a certain time.
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here are some 2500 species of flowering-plants native to Britain. The common names by which many plants are known are often passed on through generations and they are sometimes far from their true name. For example, Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatis) has over 70 folk names such as 'Bacon and Eggs', 'Lady's shoes and stockings', Crow's toes' and 'God Almighty's thumb and finger'.
Sometimes the original meaning of the name has been lost over time or describes a quality of the plant or the use to which man once put it. Woundwort was used to dress wounds, for example while fleabane got rid of fleas and soap was made from soapwort.
The scientific system of naming plants was devised by the 18th century Swedish naturalist Linnaeus, in order to clarify this confusion about names and to simplify the study of nature in all its forms.
lower identification requires time and patience, but once you get used to looking closely at the plant it should be possible to recognise it at a glance. Look closely at the flower's petals, to see how many there are or how they are attached; the leaves may offer a clue too.
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