Spring: Hectic Catch Up

Spring has passed and I have not produced a single post. So here, cobbled together without any real narrative, are some of the pictures I've amassed over the past months. 

For continuity we return where winter left us in the Aberystywth University Vice-Chancellor's garden where, in March, a strange parasite pokes artificial looking purple and white buds through the leaf-litter. Lathraea clandestina is an alien that mostly occurs in gardens and is scattered across the UK. In Aberystwyth it grows at the base of a Metasequoia glyptostroboides a species that is not thought to be a host though the population is not far from its more generally favoured Salicaceous hosts. 

Lathraea clandestina, buds,
SN 59354 82044, March 2014

Lathraea clandestina, flower,
SN 59354 82044, March 2014

And so spring continued and I briefly left the safety of Aberystwyth for a trip north-east to The Ecological Genetics Group Conference in Newcastle. The second day of the conference saw us escape the confines of the hotel and head out to the remains of an old open cast coal mine near Hauxley. It had, as is often the case with old mine workings, been turned into a nature reserve featuring scrapes and hides. The botany was limited and despite the visit being lead by John Richards (of which more later) not a single Taraxacum was investigated. One very large species that was new to me and admired by all for its architectural qualities was Dipsacus laciniatus an uncommon alien of waste places.     

Dipsacus laciniatus, Spring rosette, 
NU 28323 02379, 14/04/2014

Dipsacus laciniatus, Old heads, 
NU 28323 02379, 14/04/2014

Shortly after returning from Newcastle I travelled to North Wales with Andy Jones for the BSBI Taraxacum Workshop. With events like this somewhere after the fifth or sixth micro-species and its accompanying explanation you begin to realise that you're fighting a loosing battle, characters and names blur, until, eventually, most that remains is an mental soup of undifferentiated Taraxacum. However John Richards descriptions were informative and often amusing. A favourite statement, acquired from the Danish Taraxacologist Hans Øllgaard, being 'ah, lovely, pedagogic material'. Pedagogic in this sense apparently meaning 'exemplary'. The etymology of which I presume is related to the specimen being perfect for demonstrating the characters of the species. Anyway despite the information overload I did pick up a few species. Taraxacum britannicum a section Celtica species with small involucres with dark tips and erect or adpressed bracts in bud. Taraxacum argutum a section Erythrosperma species with closed capitula and inrolled reddish ligules. Taraxacum insigne a section Ruderalia species with long spoke-like bracts held at right angles to the bud. So three of the 230 or so UK Taraxacum species are now part of my botanical repertoire which is a start I suppose...

Taraxacum britannicum, Treborth, VC49, 24/04/2014

Taraxacum insigne, Aberffraw,
VC52, 25/04/2014

The second Taraxacum day began with a visit to Newborough Warren. Some amusement was had when John Richards initially misidentified what he soon realised to be 'his dandelion' Taraxacum richardsianum. A few plants of this section Nervosa species with its spotted leaves grew in a sandy scrape beside the path. As we picked our way through a minefield of dog poo that spreads out from the car park our Taraxacum list grew with most species turning out to be new county records.

Huddling Taraxcicologists, Newborough Warren, VC52, 25/04/2014

Taraxacum richardsianum, Newborough Warren, VC52, 25/04/2014

As we eventually left the path and headed onto the dunes it began to rain and with lunch time fast approaching it was decided that retreat was the wisest option. Before we turned back we added a few delicate Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma species including the widespread T. oxoniense with its pale bordered bracts. Other spring sand dune flowers were also in abundance including Vicia lathyroides and the dwarf Valerianella locusta var. dunensis. 

Taraxacum oxoniense, Newborough Warren, VC52, 25/04/2014

Vicia lathyroides, Newborough Warren, VC52, 25/04/2014

As we headed back I made a last effort to find one of the target species for our visit to Newborough. Taraxacum palustre a member of section Palustre and one of the more easily identified Taraxacum species. Local and closely associated with damp calcareous situations Anglesey is one of its strongholds and there were old records for Newborough. Searches in the tall vegetation during the morning had failed to reveal anything but in eventually in short grazed turf I and another member of the party found two small populations. The majority of the plants were clinging to tussocks of Schoenus nigricans. A particullary picturesque one of these showed nicely the closely appressed bracts and undivided leaves that make section Palustre 'unmistakable' in dandelion terms. 

Taraxacum palustre, Newborough Warren, VC52, 25/04/2014

Our last stop was a seemingly unremarkable lane leading up from the edge of the Menai Straits at Foel Farm. By this point I had seen far too many Taraxacums to assimilate any related information. As we were about to leave Richard Price spotted a single plant of Fumaria purpurea in the hedge bank. It turned out to be a noteworthy end to the day as the species had not been recorded from the county for many years.

Fumaria purpurea, Lane near Foel Farm, 
VC52, 25/04/2014

The day after I returned from North Wales and with Taraxacums still plaguing my every waking thought I shipped out to Preston Montford in Shropshire to assist on a University field course. It was a busy week of varied tutorials covering ecology, geology and land-use with eighty undergraduates. Plants had their place and even took centre stage on a few of the days and we saw a few interesting species along the way.

John Warren demonstrates Equisetum spore movement,
The Ercall,  SJ 64425 09556, 29/04/2014

The first afternoon was spent in Ashes Hollow, in a small stream that flows down the east flank of Long Mynd into Little Stretton. While not strictly botanical I did get to indulge my intermittent interest in Coleoptera when a large and distinctive looking Staphylinid with a fine golden pubescence flew into the side of my head. Later research revealed it to be Ontholestes tessellatus a widespread but not common species associated with dung and carrion.  

Ontholestes tessellatus, Ashes Hollow,
Shropshire, SO 42625 93068,
Coll: 27/04/2014

Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia),
Barrister's Plain, Shropshire, SO 42600 92750, 27/04/2014

Returning to the minibuses atop Pole Bank John found Teesdalia nudicaulis growing on a knoll by the car-park. This diminutive Crucifer with its neat little spathulate leaves grows in very dry nutrient poor places and is uncommon in the West.  

Teesdalia nudicaulis, Pole Bank,
Shropshire, SO 41741 94305, 27/04/2014

Later days of the trip included visits to a number of other small hills south though Shropshire as well as the Fens to the north. On the penultimate day we visited the Iron Age fort of Nordy Bank in the Brown Clee Hills. The impressive earthworks atop the small hill supported some nice species including Moenchia erecta, Trifolium micranthum and many little Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma that were still a mystery to me. 

Moenchia erecta, Nordy Bank,
Shropshire, SO 57469 84752, 30/04/2014

On the last day we climbed the Stiperstones to look at heather cycles and moorland management for grouse. We passed through some nice fields of upland acid grassland dotted with dewy Viola lutea. In the patchwork of managed heather we stopped to set up basic quadrats and record the handful of species present among which were flowering Vaccinium vitis-idaea and the bronze shoots of  Melampyrum pratense.   

Viola lutea, Stiperstones,
Shropshire, SO 36285 98816, 01/05/2014

Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Stiperstones,
Shropshire, SO 36298 99357, 01/05/2014

So that's spring. Hopefully I'll manage more regular updates for the remainder of the season...

BSBI AGM Anglesey

I've recently returned from hectic and disorganised foray north for the BSBI AGM. My lack of preparation and planning meant that I was only able to attend a couple of the field excursions. After a lengthy bus journey cumulating in almost missing the excursion coach I finally arrived at the first day's destination: Cors Erddreiniog. This large and varied area of fenland is owned and managed by NRW (formerly CCW). We were met by the long-serving site warden Les Coley and some of his colleagues and split into groups to be shown round the site. 

My group proceeded through the drizzle at the dawdle typical of botanical parties. The marshy ground near our starting point provided immediate interest firstly in the form of Glyceria notata a species that I had previously worried that I was overlooking. Seeing it in situ revealed it as quite distinct from G. fluitans, forming more discrete clumps, its foliage a paler shade of green and its panicles distinctly more diffuse.

Glyceria notata, Cors Erddreiniog, VC 52, June 2013

The next species of interest was the Tufted-sedge, Carex elata. A  local species of fen habitats this member of the C. nigra group stands out due to its tufted habit, large inflorescences and small bracts.

Carex elata, Cors Erddreiniog, VC 52, June 2013

Potamogeton coloratus appeared next. Initially resembling P. polygonifolius until the broad leaves, held to the light, revealed their strong net-venation. This very local species of strongly calcareous waters was first  recognised as distinct from P. natans in the UK by Charles Babington on the Channel Islands in 1839  (Preston, 1995).

       

Potamogeton coloratus,
Cors Erddreiniog, VC 52, June 2013

After roughly an hour wandering through marshy fen-meadow we arrived at the promised Schoenus flushes. Immediately evident were myriad Dactylorhiza all of which resembled, to varying extents, the fen species D. traunsteinerioides. Some were very typical of the taxon with thin unspotted leaves and sparse asymmetrical heads while others were more stout and symmetrical. While I generally have little time for Dactylorchids the more typical of these specimens were very different from other marsh orchids I've encountered.

         

Dactylorhiza traunsteinerioides,
 Cors Erddreiniog, VC 52, June 2013

After a brief and midge infested lunch unimproved by the claimed anti-midge properties of crushed Myrica we hopped across Carex elata tussocks toward the day's holy grail. Ophrys insectifera growing, unusually for UK populations, on Molinia tussocks in marl fen. The diminutive plants had recently come into flower and were marked with small red flags making their discovery unchallenging. Despite the literal red flags the size of the group still made it difficult to limit the trampling threat from a enthused crowd of botanists. By this point my camera had taken offence at the conditions making photography difficult through the fogged lens.  

       

Ophrys insectifera,
Cors Erddreiniog, VC 52, June 2013

As rain began to take its toll on morale we snaked our way around the tempting shelter of a hazel wood. Luckily our interest was held by a small population of Eriophorum latifolium. Appearing remarkably like a strange lilly the drooping, nascent flowers stood out clearly from adjacent E. angustifolium.     

Eriophorum latifolium, Cors Erddreiniog, VC 52, June 2013

A wander through an area of previously improved grassland now stripped down to the underlying marl as part of a fen regeneration experiment was followed by an encounter with a species I had entirely forgotten existed. Hottonia palustris grew among tall sedges in an inundated area intermingled with Cardamine pratensis, a species to which it bears a passing resemblance.  

Hottonia palustris,
Cors Erddreiniog, VC 52, June 2013

The second day began in the dunes at Aberffraw where the plants had advanced considerably since my previous visit. While the pace of the walk was somewhat unconducive to serious botany a number of nice species were still observed. An abundance of Ophrys apifera in their prime grew with plentiful Dactylorhiza purpurella and a scattering of probable hybrids with one of the diploid Dactylorhiza species.

Ophrys apifera,
Aberffraw, VC 52, June 2013

Dactylorhiza x formosa, OR D. x venusta
Aberffraw, VC 52, June 2013

Stabilised  grassland overlying small rocky outcrops at the back of the dunes provided plentiful Botrychium lunaria. Finding the first individual required a short search but it was soon discovered in abundance making it  difficult to look closely at one without inadvertently crushing others adjacent.  

Botrychium lunaria,
Aberffraw, VC 52, June 2013

After lunch a move to South Stack was accompanied by an improvement in weather and an efficient viewing of the two specialities of the site. Firstly the local endemic subspecies Tephroseris integrifolia subsp. maritima growing abundantly on the steep slope between the shear cliff and the more gentle grass atop the cliff. Nigel Brown provided able leadership and an interesting ecological observation on the species from the book of the week: Hugh Davies' 1813 Welsh Botanology, a very early county flora. Davies observes 

'There is something singular about the particular attachment of this plant to its maritime situation; although it must for ages have annually ripened its seeds, on the south west side of this country, from which point the wind blows about three-fourths of the year, and must consequently convey the downy seeds plentifully into the country, yet we never see a plant of it, at any distance from its favoured ground, though there is a good deal of uncultivated land near, where it might be propagated without interruption.'  

This observation holds true to this day making this subspecies very ecologically distinct from our subsp. integrifolia that mostly occurs on downland in the south of England. However this species is part of a large continental complex the taxonomy of which has not been properly revised.    

Tephroseris integrifolia subsp. maritima,
South Stack, VC 52, June 2013

A short walk across the rocky heath lead us to Tuberaria guttata. This tiny little plant is one of the specialities of Anglesey and, strangely, a species I had not previously encountered. Being a dull afternoon the flowers were not open but it was still exciting. Such a small and specialised plant is always good to see in its niche as it allows one to bring the species to mind in other suitable sites in the future.     

Tuberaria guttata, South Stack, VC 52, June 2013

Davies, Hugh. (1813). Welsh Botanology. 
Preston, C.D. (1995). Pondweeds of Great Britain and Ireland (BSBI Handbook No. 8). BSBI publications, London, 1995.

North Wales

A recent trip to North Wales presented the opportunity for some botanical tourism. Firstly though I took a wander around my mother's garden in Rhiwlas. Over the years I have filled the garden with a range of ferns and in spring  they are at their best, their croziers unfurling in fresh greens. Though not in any way uncommon  Hart's Tongue, Asplenium scolopendrium has to be one of the most beautiful ferns of spring. 

Asplenium scolopendrium,
Hen Ardd, Rhiwlas, VC49, May 2013 

Around the small pond at the bottom of the garden Rough Horsetail, Equisetum hyemale was poking its cones through the mess of Juncus and Agrostis. Elsewhere my Asplenium septentrionale continues to be munched to the edge of existence by the larvae of the Psychoides micro-moth and Gymnocarpium dryopteris continues its determined invasion of any part of the garden it has not yet conquered.    

Equisetum hyemale, 
Hen Ardd, Rhiwlas, VC49, May 2013

Leaving the garden I visited the woods at Padarn Country Park near Llanberis. Tufts of Hairy Wood-rush, Luzula pilosa were flowering on the woodland floor and the delicate panicles of Wood Melick, Melica uniflora drooped from the slate walls beside the path .

Luzula pilosa,
Padarn Country Park, VC 49, May 2013

Melica uniflora, Padarn Country Park, VC 49, May 2013

Further into the woods I revisited an orchid that I first found a decade or more ago: the Narrow-leaved Helleborine, Cephalanthera longifolia. This rarity normally favours calcareous habitats and its occurrence in these highly acidic woods is explicable only with reference to the multitude of small slate and mortar buildings scattered through these woods. The mortar from these leftovers of the slate mining industry has, over the years, leached into the surrounding soil enriching its pH enough for Cephalanthera to tolerate. Unfortunately my visit was a couple of weeks too early for the flowering season so the picture below is far from exciting.     

Cephalanthera longifolia, Padarn Country Park, VC 49, May 2013

My next stop was Penrhyn Castle, a local National Trust property. This nineteenth century mock-castle was the home of the Pennant family, owners of the lucrative Penrhyn slate quarries a couple of miles further up the Ogwen. The grounds of the castle are the only North Wales site for Southern Wood-rush, Luzula forsteri. This species, as its vernacular name suggests, has a southerly distribution though it was first described from Cardiganshire. It is closely related to L. pilosa but differs from this species in having the branches of the panicle ascendant rather than divergent.

Luzula forsteri,
Penrhyn Castle grounds, VC 49, May 2013

Leaving the mainland I headed across Anglesey to the dunes at Aberffraw. My main purpose in visiting this famous botanical locale was to search for its most famous (botanically at least) resident: Early Sand-grass, Mibora minima. This diminutive winter annual is, apparently, the smallest grass in the world. A rarity in the UK it has its headquarters on Anglesey with a few scattered populations elsewhere on the west coast. I was quickly rewarded in my search and soon realised that at Aberffraw it is abundant wherever the sward is open enough for it to establish.

Mibora minima, Aberffraw, VC 52, May 2013

As well as my target species the bare sandy areas in the dunes supported a rich assemblage of other winter annuals. The dwafed culms and congested heads of (probable) Bromus hordeaceus subsp. thominei were just poking through and the very pretty Sand Cat's-tail, Phleum arenarium was abundant.  

(probable) Bromus hordeaceus subsp. thominei, Aberffraw, VC 52, May 2013

Phleum arenarium,
Aberffraw, VC 52, May 2013

A final wander along the low cliffs to the south of the dunes provided a smattering of flowers. The thrift and primroses of the steep rocks giving way to Spring Squill, Scilla verna in the tight sward atop the cliffs.

Scilla verna, Aberffraw, VC 52, May 2013

Breakwater Country Park, Anglesey

During the last couple of weekends I have been surveying the Breakwater Country Park on the outskirts of Holyhead. Stuck between the grimy degeneration of the port town and the hilly lump of Holyhead Mountain,  the country park consists of an area of coastal heath and a number of scrubbed over old quarry workings. The contorted Precambrian rock was quarried in the mid Nineteenth century and transported a mile or so along the coast by rail to contribute to the building of  Holyhead Breakwater. Later a brickworks was built on the floor of the abandoned quarry, still later this too was abandoned leaving the area to dog walkers and duck fanciers.

My visits, being in October, were too late in the season to encounter many plants at their best. The Genista anglica (Petty Whin) among the grassy heath atop the low cliffs had gone to pod. The previously confusing Dactylorhiza species were also nothing more than dessicated spires. Despite this I saw a handful of things of interest, both dead and alive. 

While recording relevés of coastal heath I came across a familiar species typical of the habitat but looking nothing like it had on any of my previous encounters with it. Scilla verna (Spring Squill) is a small plant that now, post APG III, belongs to the family Asparagaceae. Growing exclusively on salt-sprayed sea cliffs its small blue flowers emerge in spring and somewhat resemble a small bluebell. I had know it would be frequent on the site but had suspected that I may miss it due to the season but its delicate seed pods, once noticed were everywhere. Later, when crawling around examining mosses growing on bare peat on a skeletal area of heath I came across the other end of the squill's cycle. Tiny succulent green shoots poking up from the peat readying themselves for the spring.   

Scilla verna open seed pods with seed
Breakwater Country Park, October 2012

Scilla verna shoot
Breakwater Country Park, October 2012

A flushed and overhung area of tumbledown soft cliff  a little further along the coast supported a range of mossy cushions and wefts. Among these was the plain coastal pleurocarp Drepanocladus polygamus. Not an uncommon species but, as I am still a relative novice with regard to bryology, a new species for me. 

Drepanocladus polygamus Breakwater Country Park, October 2012 (N.B. while specimens of this species from this site were confirmed
microscopically the plant in the picture was not and therefore
I can not say with 100% certainty that it is this species)  

One species very noticeable for its malodorous bloom during my visits was the ivy. At once one of the most universally recognised species and one that, in this case, has only recently come to 'exist'. Nearly all of the ivy in the west of the British Isles was relatively recently (1990) recognised as a different species, Hedera hibernica. Despite having now been understood for over two decades this species is still mostly ignored. See  the 1990 paper by McAllister & Rutherford in the journal Watsonia for details of the differentiation between H. hibernica and H. helix.            

Hedera hibernica flowers
Breakwater Country Park, October 2012 

Pale Tussock (Calliteara pudibunda) caterpillar
Breakwater Country Park, October 2012