|
Edgware Way Grassland
Edgware Way Grassland or Edgware Way Rough is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It is traversed by Edgwarebury Brook and contains traces of a planned railway viaduct and embankment. This was part of a planned extension of the Northern line from Edgware to Bushey, which was cancelled when the introduction of the Green Belt after the Second World War led to the cancellation of the developments which the railway was to serve. Part of the site is the Environment Agency's Edgwarebury Park Flood Storage Area. The reserve is typical unimproved London Clay grassland. Damp, herb rich areas have uncommon plants characteristic of old meadows such as great burnet, sneezewort and devil's bit scabious. The brook is lined by sedges and water-cress, while breeding birds include yellowhammer and spotted flycatcher. The reserve adjoins Edgwarebury Park. It is private land, but is crossed by a public footpath from Edgware Way wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sneezewort
''Achillea ptarmica'' is a European species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the genus ''Achillea'' of the daisy family Asteraceae. Common names include the sneezewort, sneezeweed, bastard pellitory, European pellitory, fair-maid-of-France, goose tongue, sneezewort yarrow, wild pellitory, and white tansy. It is widespread across most of Europe and naturalized in scattered places in North America. It is native to Europe and western Asia. ''Achillea ptarmica'' has loose clusters of showy white composite flower heads that bloom from June to August. Its dark green leaves have finely toothed margins. Like many other plants, the sneezewort's pattern of development displays the Fibonacci sequence. The name ''ptarmica'' comes from the Greek word ''ptairo'' (=sneeze) and means 'causes sneezing'. Uses Leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. ''Achillea ptarmica'' yields an essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily eva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brockley Hill Tube Station
Brockley Hill was a proposed London Underground station in the Brockley Hill area of north London. The planned location is in what is now Edgware Way Grassland close to Edgwarebury Park on the north side of the junction of Edgware Way / Watford Bypass ( A41), and Spur Road ( A410). This station was part of a 1930s extension project named the: Northern Heights. Where new extensions were to be made across the Northern Line. This, along with 2 other stations on the same route called Elstree South and Bushey Heath, would have opened. However, due to World War II, the project had to be scrapped by the organisation of the Green Belt. History Planning and construction The station was the first of three planned by London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) in 1935 to extend the Northern line from Edgware to Bushey Heath. There was debate about the name for the station, with ''Edgwarebury'', ''Edgebury'', ''Canons'', ''North Edgware'' and ''All Souls'' all being proposed. The extensio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Reserves In Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet, on the northern outskirts of London, is mainly residential, but it has large areas of green space and farmland. The spread of suburban development into the countryside was halted by the designation of a statutory Green Belt around London after the Second World War, and almost one third of Barnet's area of is Green Belt. Without this control, Barnet would be very different today, and this list of nature reserves would be much shorter. Most of Barnet lies over London Clay, which is poor for agriculture, and open land is mainly used for activities such as horse grazing, playing fields, parks and golf courses. Features of the traditional agricultural landscape have survived, such as old hedgerows, ancient trees and areas of herb-rich grassland. Some hay meadows have a large diversity of wild flowers, and the London Ecology Unit (LEU) described them as one of Barnet's most important ecological assets. Barnet has large areas with designations intended ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgwarebury Park
Edgwarebury Park is a 22-hectare park in Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It was once part of the manor of Earlsbury, which was first mentioned in 1216. In the later Middle Ages it was owned by All Souls College, Oxford, and there is still evidence of the older landscape of fields and woodland. Hendon Rural District and Middlesex County Council bought the land in two parts in 1929 and 1932, and the park opened in the latter year. It is now owned and managed by Barnet Council. The park has extensive sports facilities, a playground, a cafe, and ornamental gardens. During the 1990s, Watling Chase Community Forest planted a new block of woodland in the north east corner. Edgwarebury Brook runs down the western side, with Edgware Way Grassland adjacent. Edgwarebury Park is a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation, its most distinctive feature being its magnificent old hedgerows. Fine old oak and ash trees tower over the bushes, and the wild service-tree is an indica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotted Flycatcher
The spotted flycatcher (''Muscicapa striata'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range. This is an undistinguished looking bird with long wings and tail. The adults have grey-brown upperparts and whitish underparts, with a streaked crown and breast, giving rise to the bird's common name. The legs are short and black, and the bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. Juveniles are browner than adults and have spots on the upperparts. Taxonomy The spotted flycatcher was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Motacilla striata''. The genus name ''Muscicapa'' comes from the Latin ''musca'', a fly and ''capere'', to catch. The specific epithet ''striata'' is from the Latin ''striatus'' meaning striated. There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellowhammer
The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern subspecies is partially migratory, with much of the population wintering further south. The male yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, streaked brown back, chestnut rump, and yellow under parts. Other plumages are duller versions of the same pattern. The yellowhammer is common in open areas with some shrubs or trees, and forms small flocks in winter. Its song has a rhythm like "A little bit of bread and no cheese". The song is very similar to that of its closest relative, the pine bunting, with which it interbreeds. Breeding commences mainly in April and May, with the female building a lined cup nest in a concealed location on or near the ground. The three to five eggs are patterned with a mesh of fine dark lines, giving rise to the ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water-cress
Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans. Watercress and many of its relatives, such as garden cress, mustard, radish, and wasabi, are noteworthy for their piquant flavors. The hollow stems of watercress float in water. The leaf structure is pinnately compound. Small, white, and green inflorescences are produced in clusters and are frequently visited by insects, especially hoverflies, such as ''Eristalis'' flies. Taxonomy Watercress is listed in some sources as belonging to the genus ''Rorippa'', although molecular evidence shows those aquatic species with hollow stems are more closely related to ''Cardamine'' than ''Rorippa''. Despite the Latin name, watercress is not particularly closely related to the flowers popularly known as nasturtiums (''Tropa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedges
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' with over 2,000 species. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical Asia and tropical South America. While sedges may be found growing in almost all environments, many are associated with wetlands, or with poor soils. Ecological communities dominated by sedges are known as sedgelands or sedge meadows. Some species superficially resemble the closely related rushes and the more distantly related grasses. Features distinguishing members of the sedge family from grasses or rushes are stems with triangular cross-sections (with occasional exceptions, a notable example being the tule which has a round cross-section) and leaves that are spirally arranged in three ranks. In comparison, g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Succisa Pratensis
''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field scabious have five lobes and hence it has been placed in a separate genus in the same family. It also grows on damper ground. Name Species of scabious were used to treat scabies, and other afflictions of the skin including sores caused by the bubonic plague. The word scabies comes from the Latin word for "scratch" (scabere). The short black root was in folk tales bitten off by the devil, angry at the plant's ability to cure these ailments, in anger against the Virgin Mary, or as part of some 'devilish plot'. The Latin specific epithet ''pratensis'' literally means "of the meadow". Description ''Succisa pratensis'' is a herbaceous perennial up to 1m tall, growing from a basal rosette of simple or distantly-toothed, lanceolate leaves. Its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Burnet
''Sanguisorba officinalis'', commonly known as great burnet, is a plant in the family Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. It is native throughout the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1 m tall, which occurs in grasslands, growing well on grassy banks. It flowers June or July. ''Sanguisorba officinalis'' is an important food plant for the European large blue butterflies '' Phengaris nausithous'' and '' P. teleius''.World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. . Downloaded on 6 October 2010 Commercial uses Use is made of its extensive root system for erosion control, as well as a bioremediator, used to reclaim derelict sites such as landfills. Ornamental ''Sanguisorba officinalis'' is one of several ''Sanguisorba'' species cultivated as ornamental plants. The cultivar 'Tanna' is widely available, and has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The synonym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Site Of Nature Conservation Interest
Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature conservation and geological value. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has recommended the generic term 'local site', which is divided into 'local wildlife site' and 'local geological site'. There are approximately 35,000 local sites, and according to the former Minister for Biodiversity, Jim Knight, they make a vital contribution to delivering the UK and Local Biodiversity Action Plans and the Geodiversity Action Plan, as well as maintaining local natural character and distinctiveness. Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and local nature reserves (LNRs) have statutory protection, but they are only intended to cover a representative selection of sites, and Local sites are intended to provide comprehensive c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
