Umbellifer advice is this Honewort?

[awarner]

As the title says is this Honewort? the size of the plant around 20cm (possibly a little less), the ridged stem all seem to match based on the book reference of T.G.Tutin
There appears to be a male and female flower so presume this is the male as it's more uniform.
Just to add this is not growing on a limestone soil and in Hampshire on a sunny meadow it's far from the Mendips which is it's usual haunt.

If this is not what else could it be as I can not find anything else this small?

 

[Muddypaws]

Is the central flower in the umbel in the first picture a dark. purple colour, or is it just a piece of dirt/insect/etc?
If it is a flower it would suggest it is a wild carrot, as a central dark flower is a feature of these plants.
It is not clear from the photo, but it looks like there may be some bracts present beneath the umbel - wild carrot has these, but (according to my book) Honewort does not have these bracts.
Anyway, Wild Carrot (daucus carota) is my best guess.

 

[xylaria]

looks most like wild carrot, the pink clustered unopened one looks right. Previous post went through correct features, re purple one in middle and feathery bracts. They are quite common near me.

 

[awarner]

Thanks for the advice, what threw me was the size as its a fraction of what the wild carrot should grow to, plus the leaves did not seem quite right but that could be down to the stunted growth?

 

[Herbalist1]

Sorry - the photos were a bit fuzzy on my iPad for me to comment helpfully. However, just one point in response to your comment regarding size which I hope is useful. I've got Yarrow growing in my garden that is almost 3 feet tall, I've also got a one growing in a crack between cobbles that is in flower at less than 4 inches. So size as given in handbooks is often little more than a guide and can be one of the more unreliable features. Plant size can vary dramatically depending on soil type and depth, in shade or full sun, competition from other plants, whether there is grazing or mowing. Flower structure is the most reliable way to learn to identify new plants. Once you can ID plants reliably by flower, you can start to take note of foliage etc so that you can begin to recognise the plant when it is not in flower.
You probably already know all that, in which case sorry - not trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs, but it might be useful info for anyone new to plant ID.

 

[awarner]

Any advice is always welcome and as you say it may certainly help someone else reading this. Only a fool would claim to know it all and it's easy to forget the little things sometimes.
I've seen the same types of plant vary in size especially selfheal as an example, it was just the drastic size difference that tricked me along with the leaf.

On the plus side, I have managed to identify (sometimes with help gratefully received here) 174 different trees, plants and fungi.
The ferns and grasses are the real challenge and I'm sure I've made a couple of mistakes, but if anyone is down by the Hamble river and would like a scenic walk and possible help to confirm what I have found give me a shout

 

[Herbalist1]

Absolutely, still learning and still got lots to learn. Yes Selfheal is a good example - couple of feet tall in my garden but flowers at about an inch in close grazed turf.
ferns and grasses are certainly tough to ID. Even experts in grass taxonomy often get it wrong. For instance, most grass species have been identified and classified more than once - some several times. That gives me some hope. To be honest I don't bother too much with grass ID except species which I have use for. I'd rather spend the time on other species - but grasses really do it for some people.

Sorry you are at the other end of the country other wise it would have been good to go out for a bimble. Hope you find someone close by - it's always fun to go out with someone else and two heads are often better than one.
Keep posting the photos and keep us on our toes

 

[Drain Bamaged]

I often don’t reply to the ‘help to identify’ threads simply because I don't know and also because of the variations that can occur generally through position or conditions, when I do respond I normally start with “is it? Or “it looks like”……I know myself if I am given a suggestion of what it might be and what to compare it with I find it easier to dismiss or confirm it’s ID rather than being told (sometimes incorrectly) that it is such and such a plant…….Several years ago I planted eight clones from a clone of what was supposed to be the ‘Major Oak’, how true the description was I am not sure but the timings would have been right, they had been doing some work on the tree at about the time the original material was supposed to have been collected however, the 8 saplings I planted into several different areas of my little bit of woodland now look like at least 5 separate types of Oak, rate of growth, basic shape, even colour varies…..some are planted in slightly wetter areas, some on clay one on chalk/flint and one in the open.
It’s a bit like an iceberg there is a lot more going on underneath than you actually see on or above the surface, it’s amazing what a handful of Iron Filings can do if scattered around the base of certain plants especially Hydrangeas for example

D.B.

 

[awarner]

Interesting about the oaks, one interesting thing I see with field maple in the woods is how the leaf subtly changes shape as you go though the woods.