August around Stockholm

Ripe lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). Grinda (Stockholm archipelago), 18 August 2023.

My trip was a couple of weeks later than usual, in mid-August. The lingonberries were ripe, and there were lots of impressive mushrooms. School was starting again, in a relaxed kind of way. We watched the summer's last "Allsång på Skansen" on TV.  Bathing spots and parks were still lively, the ferries plied busily through the archipelago. No leaves were turning: summer was over and yet its finery persisted.

Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus, Sw: Stinksvamp). Hagaparken (Stockholm), 16 August 2023.

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria, Sw: Röd Flugsvamp). Grinda, 19 August 2023.

There were plenty of flowers around. I had rashly left home without grabbing my battered copies of Fältflora and Den Lilla Svampboken, so had to use Google Lens to identify stuff, never a satisfactory experience.  And I continued to lament the disappearance, some years ago, of Den Virtuella Floran which was a wonderfully informative online resource. Anyway, most of my pictures were of plants I've already written about, but I'll share the ones that came out best.

Marsh Woundwort (Stachys palustris, Sw: Knölsyska). Staket (Mälaren), 15 August 2023.

We were wandering below the high bridges for trains and motor traffic that cross this strategically important point, a narrow channel connecting Lake Mälaren by water to Sigtuna and Uppsala.

(I always imagine that here is the scene in Strindberg's Erik XIV where the Stures are apprehended while crossing a bridge.)

The waterway is lined with jetties and small boats, a favoured spot for fishing.

Lucerne/Alfalfa (Medicago sativa, Sw: Blålusern). Staket, 15 August 2023.

Lucerne (Medicago sativa),a plant whose numberless variations always seem to catch me out.

Orpine (Hylotelephium telephium, Sw: Kärleksort). Staket, 15 August 2023.

A very common plant round here. This is subspecies maximum, with yellowish flowers.

Pale Toadflax (Linaria repens, Sw: Strimsporre). Kallhäll,  16 August 2023.

Beside a cycle track. There was so much of it around and it felt so familiar that I almost didn't bother to photograph it. Only later did I grasp that this familiarity came from Spain, not Sweden! C.A.M. Lindman (in about 1900) wrote that it was "occasional in e.g. ballast sites". The exceĺlent Finnish website Luontoportti explains: cargo ships returning empty from abroad used soil as temporary ballast. Where they dumped the soil  after getting back to Finland (or Sweden), Strimsporre sprang up. (https://luontoportti.com/sv/t/1575/strimsporre .)

Burgundy Snail or Escargot (Helix pomatia, Sw: Vinbergssnäcka).  Kallhäll, 16 August 2023.

Another introduction from the south.

Small Balsam (Impatiens parviflora, Sw: Blekbalsamin). Hagaparken (Stockholm), 16 August 2023.

And another introduction that's increasing rapidly in Sweden, as far north as Uppland.

Vincetoxicum hirundinaria (Sw: Tulkört). Grinda, 18 August 2023.

Juniper berries (Juniperus communis, Sw: En). Grinda, 18 August 2023.

Juniper trees have no place in popular culture in England, but it's a different matter in Sweden. In the book of word-puzzles supplied by his Mum for the boat trip, my 8-year-old nephew had instantly recognized an outline drawing as "En".

Sheep's Sorrel (Rumex acetosella, Sw: Bergsyra). Grinda, 18 August 2023.  

The coastal variety of Garden Angelica (Angelica archangelica, Sw: Kvanne), growing in seaweed. Grinda, 18 August 2023.

Procumbent Pearlwort (Sagina procumbens, Sw: Krypnarv), on rocks by the sea. Grinda, 18 August 2023.

Nottingham Catchfly (Silene nutans, Sw: Backglim). Grinda, 18 August 2023.

Twilight at Grinda, 18 August 2023.

Thanks to my sister Annika for showing me how to make the phone take dusk shots!

Leaves of Silver Birch (Betula pendula) 'Dalecarlica', from a tree by the hotel terrace. Grinda, 19 August 2023.

Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula, Sw: Ältranunkel). Grinda, 19 August 2023.

Most images show much narrower leaves, which led me astray for a while. Here the plant was scrambling across damp ground in alder woodland by the sea.

Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula, Sw: Ältranunkel). Grinda, 19 August 2023.

Caterpillar of Rusty Tussock-Moth (Orgyia antiqua) on Bilberry. Grinda, 19 August 2023.

Seen while picking a cupful of late bilberries. The peak crop would have been a couple of weeks earlier. Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) are a huge part of Swedish summer culture, rivalling wild strawberries.

The Swedish name for bilberry is "blåbär", i.e. blueberry.

However, the last twenty years, in Sweden as elsewhere in Europe, has seen the rocketing popularity of the American blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), a fruit that is perfect for supermarkets (unlike bilberry). And, of course, in Swedish supermarkets it is called "blåbär", which you'd think must cause some confusion.

Herb Paris (Paris quadrifolia, Sw: Ormbär). Grinda, 19 August 2023.

Peach-leaved Bellflower (Campanula persicifolia, Sw: Större Blåklocka). Grinda, 19 August 2023.

A plant that my phone camera refused to focus on. Common in Sweden as far north as Uppland.

The leaves you can see are the upper stem leaves, which are almost linear. It's the basal leaves (long since withered away) that bear a passing resemblance to peach leaves.