Flower of the Month!
August 2010
Flower of the Month: Bog Asphodel
As you are on the top of Bennachie in the damp peat areas you will see
this plant. It is between 10 and 40cm tall and consists of an erect leafy stem, which terminates in a group of 6-20 star-like yellow flowers at its apex. These flowers appear between July and September after which the whole plant takes on a warm orange hue before dying back over winter. It was once thought that cattle grazing on this plant suffered from brittle bones and this is reflected in the plants Latin name of ossifragum, meaning 'bone breaker'. In fact the lack of calcium in bog plants as a whole would have lead to nutrient deficiencies in those cattle that grazed there.
