This week, I identified two of the smaller white flowers that are very common around here at the moment, at an altitude slightly above our house.

These are called Eyebright or Euphrasia, and the only thing I knew about them till now is that I see them every year and they look like pretty little faces.  They are very small.  Now I know that there are many kinds, and all the ones in my field guide are virtually indistinguishable.   They are semi-parasitic on grasses, so I seem to be making a thing of parasitic and semi-parasitic plants just now.  I had no idea until recently that such things existed.  They have been used in various herbal medicines.  They seem to prefer colder parts of the northern hemisphere, and highish altitudes where I live.

This is Yarrow, and I know from observation that the petals vary from white to slightly pink, also the little clusters in the centre, that I suppose are the real flower can be larger or smaller, depending on the plant.  The Yarrow is easy to recognise because of the feathery leaves.  It is/was also a medicinal plant.

I also added Wood Sorrel to my list of known species because I suddenly remembered its name while the trefoil leaves were staring me in the face.  It flowers much earlier than this, with yellow flowers, but the leaves are easy to recognise: There are three of them, but they are more heart-shaped than clover, a fresher green, and live in the shade of the woods.