Up Glen Banchor

A walk up Glen Banchor will show you an interesting collection of flowers at the moment.  As you go over the first cattle grid, before the car parking lay-by, there is a clump of Mountain Everlasting (Antennaria dioica).  It has white flowers in this photo, but it also has a form with pink flowers.

Mountain Everlasting with some Bell Heather in the foreground and Alpine Bistort behind.

Pink Mountain Everlasting

White Mountain Everlasting

The dioica part of the name means that it  has separate male and female plants. It is unusual to find it up the Glen, and the main population is down by the Spey in the shingly areas. It likes dry areas with good drainage.

Further up the Glen, by the turnoff to the Calder footpath, stop and look at the wet area by the stream.  Wet areas are always worth a second look as interesting flowers grow there.  At the moment there are two kinds of orchids in this patch.  Heath Spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata) and Heath Fragrant-orchids (Gymnadenia borealis). 

Heath Spotted-orchids (pale pink) and Heath Fragrant-orchids (darker pink)

Heath Spotted-orchid in front and Heath Fragrant-orchid behind

There are also some plants that will only grow in wet areas, and they are all flowering at the moment.  

Butterwort showing the basal rosette of leaves

Butterwort seed

Butterwort flower

A tiny Sundew about to flower - you can see a Butterwort behind, and some Sphagnum moss

Sundew flower

Both these plants, Butterwort( (Pinguicula vulgaris) and Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) catch insects on their leaves and then digest them to supplement their diet.

The Sundew is very small and you have to get down onto the ground to see it. Because they are flowering just now, it makes them easier to find.

Sundew

Sundew leaves

The Butterwort is much easier to spot as the pale green of the leaves stands out.

Butterwort plants