Fumitory

In the last few days I have found flowers locally that I don't see very often,  The first one was Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) by the Tennis Courts in Newtonmore. It prefers chalky soil - which we don't have locally- or sand, so it is not as common here as the name suggests.  There are several Fumitories which are tricky to tell apart as you have to look at the shape of the sepals and the fruits.

Common Fumitory

A close-up of the flowers.  The sepal is the white mini-leaf at the base of the flower.

The narrow sepal of Common Fumitory

This fruit has a blunt end - Common Fumitory

I have also found another Fumitory up at Ballachroan.  This was Fumaria muralis - which sounds as if it should be called Wall Fumitory, but it is called Common Ramping-fumitory.  This is one of the commonest species found in the North. It has a wider sepal, though it is tricky to tell, and the fruit is more rounded with a narrow neck.

Common Ramping-fumitory

The wider sepal of Common Ramping-fumitory

The fruit of Common Ramping-fumitory

The name is a bit of a puzzle but Collins dictionary says:

 

C14: from Old French fumetere, from Medieval Latin fūmus terrae, literally: smoke of the earth