Number 11 - Double delight
11. Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) For a southern botanist, the lure of Scotland, and its wealth of plants, is very strong indeed. My only trips north of the border had been when the 'leafy stuff' did not figure in my thoughts - it had been all 'birds, birds, birds' back then, and I must have walked straight past a wealth of botanical delights on my quests for Ptarmigan, Golden Eagle and Crested Tit. I looked back on this myopic treatment of the natural history around me and shuddered... In the summer of 2006 I aimed to right these botanical wrongs and, together with Derek Coleman, set out on a grand tour of the highlands. As much as our wish list was heavily populated by the many alpine specialities on offer, there was one plant that I wished to see above all others - Twinflower. On 27th June we arrived at Culbin Forest, a large pine plantation on the edge of the Moray Firth. This was home to One-flowered Wintergreen and Creeping Lady's-Tresses amongst others ...