We have had Hedge Bindweed on the blog, this is it’s little cousin Field Bindweed.
So how do you tell Field Bindweed from Hedge Bindweed? If you are familiar with both plants it isn’t a problem they don’t really look the same.
If you are not familiar with both species then this is how you can easily tell.
This is a photograph of Hedge Bindweed.
The Leaf like structures, forming a cup that the flower sits in are called Bracts, they are just modified leaves and I think that their primary function in this case is to protect the flower.
Lots of different flowers have bracts of one sort or another. Hedge Bindweed has them…
Field Bindweed doesn’t. (Simples 🙂 )
Field Bindweed can be very pink, the flowers that I photographed today were very pale but this next one is a common colour to find.
I also quite regularly find them quite white from above but with a strong candy stripe like this on the underside of the petals.
Here are some more pictures of this morning’s flowers.
A Tramp in the Woods 
As a nipper in Gloucestershire the common name for Hedge Bindweed was “Wet yer Bed plant”. The thinking behind this was that milky sap could cause problems if one picked it as a flower. Nobody I know in Sussex have ever heard that name.
LikeLike
I didn’t know that you were a Gloucestershire lad, I am not, I was born a Man of Kent but I have kicked around a bit. Were you in the Forest area? They have great local accents here. 🙂 I know a few plants with diuretic properties that I once enjoyed chasing the girls around the playground with but I didn’t know it of this one. I have a special love of flowers that are a part of children’s games from Daisy chains to Sticky Willy, innocent days and wonderful toys but children do still play the same games with them today. You know that if you hold a Buttercup under somebody’s chin you can tell if they like butter, that is wonderful 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve heard the last one of course, but I’m “Proper Cornish” really, but went to primary school in Uley for several years.
We lived near Uley Bury, and I had the run of all the fields, and local streams without the hindrance of adults.
Back then I was pretty ace at wild flowers and trees, partly learnt from my relatives in Cornwall, partly learnt from PG Tips cards.
LikeLike
I constantly battle this (or very similar plant) in my flowerbeds and around shrubs.
. . . I’m winning, but just barely . . .
LikeLike
Thanks Emilio 🙂 Yes these things don’t work very well in gardens.
LikeLike
Beautiful! They sort of remind me of a Morning Glory. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
Thanks Sandi 🙂 They are sometimes called Morning Glory but that name is applied to a lot of plants of the same family and so I avoided it.
LikeLike
Thanks for letting me know. I don’t know the names of flowers and insects; I just enjoy them. I enjoy your blog so much and look forward to seeing your posts. Sandi
LikeLike
Just this morning, I came across this same flower on my hike and wondered what it was. Thanks for answering my question and saving me Google search time! 🙂
LikeLike
That is really nice to know. Thank you Irene 🙂
LikeLike
Lovely flowers and thanks for the lesson! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you Eliza 🙂
LikeLike