Two events on Mitcham Common early in July, for further information please see the Events page on this website:

Saturday 6 July:  Common Flowers, a walk discussing some of the wild flowers found on the Common, starting at 3.15 p.m.

Report:  The Friends of Mitcham Common’s Open Day, of which this walk formed part, was rather poorly attended; possibly people were discouraged by the rainy weather.  None the less six people chose to join the walk and we spent 75 minutes wandering around a small part of the Common, concentrating on an area which is being  successfully managed as a wild flower meadow. Here we found, enjoyed and discussed yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor), lesser trefoil (Trifolium dubium), knapweed (Centaurea nigra) and a wide range of other herbaceous species.

Wednesday 10 July:  Remembering Uses of Local Plants, a walk starting at 7 p.m.

Report:  After a dull and gloomy day by 7 p.m. the weather had improved, so we were able to spend a pleasant 70 minutes examining  and discussing the uses of some of the common plants on a small area of the Common.  The 13 people who attended came from a variety of countries, including Guyana, Lithuania and Romania, and all contributed to the discussion.  Greater celandine, Chelidonium majus, used for treating warts in Britain is also used for this purpose in Romania, while the game cock-or-hen played with false oat grass, Arrhenatherum elatius, in Britain is also known in Lithuania.  Thank you everyone for your contributions!

‘Thanks for the convivial walk last night.’

Image:  ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris, which is thriving on Mitcham Common, July 2024.