From a Tuscan Hillside: Summer wildflowers

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Summer wildflowers

Summer fields sprinkled with flowers

Besides scabiosa, wild chicory, poppy (rare at this point of summer) wild dianthus (pink) in the river meadow below Le Ripe, many 'new' wildflowers intrigue the curious observer.

Silene vulgaris, bladder campion, maidenstears

probably Dipsacus sylvestris or fullonum, wild teasel or fuller's teasel

Clearly of the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae family, but which amongst the 3,700 species of this huge family?

Nigella damascena love-in-a-mist, ragged lady, devil in the bush, here the seed capsules only

Digitalis grandiflora, yellow foxglove

if not Digitalis grandiflora, then what?

yellow thistles and scrubby bush with bright yellow, five-petalled flowers with orange centres, see below for closer view

Trifolium arvense, hare's foot clover rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover

Anthriscus silvestri, cow parsley, possibly

Origanum volgare, oregano

Silene vulgaris amongst ...?

thistle, but which one? Could be milk thistle, Silybum marianum, also known as Marian thistle, Saint Mary's thistle

yellow thistles, could be Centaurea sostitialis, yellow star thistle, also known as Saint Barnaby's thistle

Galega officinalis, commonly known as galega, goat's-rue, French lilac, Italian fitch, or professor-weed

Leucanthemum vulgare, oxeye daisy

could be Astralagus danicus, purple milk-vetch, or something similar, surely a vetch

mystery yellow bush again: July 19, it has been suggested that this is a Verbascum, or mullein, a large genus of 250 species...this exemplar has smaller leaves and a bushier shape than the familiar mullein

Identification is tricky: if readers are in the know, suggestions are welcome...

2 comments:

Amy WhitneyDecember 29, 2018 at 12:29 AM
I've seen that mystery yellow bush/plant, too, and, like you, some kind of Verbascum is as close as I've come to sorting it out. Maybe Verbascum nigrum?

I saw it last summer growing at the edge of a field near Montepulciano, and also on top of the wall around the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa.
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Melissa KFebruary 4, 2019 at 11:45 AM
I can't tell you how helpful this post is! My fiance is from the area and we're getting married in Radda this summer. We want to forage for our own wildflowers to decorate. Seeing pictures of what we might find was really wonderful, thank you for posting. Also, it led me to your rental site, looks like an excellent option for a place to stay!
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Situated on a hillside, Le Ripe in Chianti has an orchard with heritage fruit trees, an organic vegetable garden, a row of 18 olives, wild figs, wild grapes, dozens of lavender bushes, a medieval hortus conclusus,a shrubbery, English roses and drifts of bulbs, all requiring labour and love but giving much pleasure in return.

The farm buildings, once home, stable, sty and byre, now renovated, host our friends and family. The cottage, a former barn, and two apartments in the main building, once stable and stall, are rented to guests who come by the week or longer. For more information on staying at Le Ripe, see our rental website.

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