A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by davidbr

I don't officially "count" ferns on my list but, in case I ever change my mind, I do tend to grab a picture or two of any I happen to come across

What I can't do, though, is identify them... so if anyone can help me put a name to these, I'd be very grateful

(Fern No. 1) (Fern No. 2 )

Hi david,
I've only just spotted your fern query.
Your fern No.1 is Rusty-back Fern - Asplenium ceterach.
I'm pretty sure your fern No.2 is Maidenhair Spleenwort - Asplenium trichomanes.

Regards
Mike.

[KeenTeen17]

great find on the Star of Bethlehem David. I have a site for it where I have been going a lot recently . we have called in on it twice but it wasn't up, so hopefully it will be up next time

[davidbr]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

Hi david,
I've only just spotted your fern query.
Your fern No.1 is Rusty-back Fern - Asplenium ceterach.
I'm pretty sure your fern No.2 is Maidenhair Spleenwort - Asplenium trichomanes.

Regards
Mike.

Thanks, Mike

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

great find on the Star of Bethlehem David. I have a site for it where I have been going a lot recently . we have called in on it twice but it wasn't up, so hopefully it will be up next time

I was certainly surprised It was only a pity I couldn't have had the same luck with the Snake's-head Irises

[davidbr]

24th April 2009 (Friday)

There'd be a change of scenery and county for the next few days, since I was heading off to south Hampshire in the hope of collecting some local rarities hard or impossible to get in the Bristol area First, though, I squeezed in a quick tour of one of my usual urban haunts, and managed to pick up two new species

Rock Cranesbill (Geranium macrorrhizum) was, appropriately enough, growing out of a crack in a street-side garden wall; a very pretty plant and an escape I'd hoped to come across at some point this season. And, in a neglected corner of St Werburgh's Churchyard, was a fine specimen of Violet Wallflower, Erysimum linifolium - apparently it's only established UK site is an abbey on the Isle of Man, so this one was a definite bonus

(Rock Cranesbill, Geranium macrorrhizum)

(Violet Wallflower, Erysimum linifolium)

[davidbr]

Anyway... heading south, our first stop was at Martin Down, on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border; it's a famed site for orchids later in the year, but I had a specific target in mind today. En route, a couple of bushes of Spanish Gorse (Genista hispanica) caused my girlfriend to perform an emergency stop on the A36 just before the Martin turn-off (she was doing the driving on this trip; my recent medical issues mean I'm still declared unfit to get behind the wheel ). Along the minor road a couple of bushes of Dwarf Cherry (Prunus cerasus) were in full bloom in a hedge, a good omen, and it didn't take long to find the plant I was after. It was literally "a" plant - just the one Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris), in a helpfully conpicuously orange-fenced section of the reserve, and a fine sight even though it was probably a week or so past its' best.

(Spanish Gorse, Genista hispanica)

(Dwarf Cherry, Prunus cerasus)

(Pasqueflower, Pulsatilla vulgaris)

(Green-winged Orchid, Anacamptis morio)

Our base for the weekend was at Avon Tyrrell, near the village of Burley in the heart of the New Forest; I'd chosen the place especially because I'd read that the grounds were excellent for naturalised plants, and that certainly proved true. Four species of Rhododendron had found the sandy soil to their liking and were well established; the common Rhododendron ponticum, Yellow Azalea (R. luteum), the magnificent bright red Tree Rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum and a white-flowered one that I'll be posting later along with several others I still require ID help on

(Tree Rhododendron, Rhododendron arboreum)

An ornamental lake in the grounds was surrounded by Bog Myrtle (Myrica gale), in the lake itself were Parrot's-feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) and (on the surface) purple-leaved Hybrid Waterlilies (Nymphaea x marliacea); I'd presume the latter had been planted at some point, but they were spreading well and would make a fine sight when they flower probably in a couple of months time. Checkerberry (Gaultheria mucronata) had seeded freely around the place, and I also came across a couple of bushes of the attractive Mountain Fetter-bush, Pieris floribunda - you'd struggle to find many of those in or around Bristol

Unfortunately the photo upload thingy seems to be playing up again on the site, so a lot of the ones I've tried to upload just haven't worked I can't for the life of me figure out why, when they're all sized exactly the same, some upload properly and others don't

[KeenTeen17]

Hey wow David. Thanks thats another species for me. The tree rhododendron occurs in a park near me and I always put it down as Common Rhododendron or a random variety. yay new species

[davidbr]

25th April 2009 (Saturday)

Our second day in the Forest started off at Holmsley, hunting for Narrow-leaved Lungwort (Pulmonaria longifolia) along the old railway embankment there. For once a target plant was both easy to find and, for a rarity, quite common, underneath any bushes where they were safe from the ponies

Boggy areas nearby held more Bog Myrtle (Myrica gale), tiny Ivy-leaved Crowfoot (Ranunculus hederaceus and the smallest-flowered specimens of Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) I've ever seen - again, I'm guessing, the result of those ponies As far as I'm concerned, though, plants don't have to be in flower to count - hence the leaves of both Marsh St John's Wort (Hypericum elodes) & Marsh Lousewort (Pedicularis palustris) were photographed and added to my list

Two more new "ticks" were also easily found; Heath Dog-violet (Viola canina) proved to be fairly plentiful in and around the Forest, and we'd come across Changing Forget-me-not (Myosotis discolor) several more times as well; seemingly absent in Somerset, it must be far more common down here.

The afternoon brought a total change of habitat, as we headed to a coastal site I knew well from my birding days; Keyhaven Marshes, a reliable spring site for Little & Common Terns and a range of passage waders (we saw both the terns, and waders today included Whimbrel & summer-plumaged Dunlin & Black-tailed Godwits). I wasn't really looking for birds, though; the path fringing the estuary is good for a range of coastal species, and I soon added Sea-purslane (Atriplex portulacoides) & Sea-milkwort (Glaux maritima); two common enough seaside plants I'd somehow missed last summer

Subterranean Clover (Trifolium subterraneum) was more of a welcome surprise, its' small white flowers being quite a challenge to photograph in the annoyingly strong wind, and there was also a pepperwort (Lepidium sp.) that as of yet I've failed to name. A few aliens also brightened the afternoon; Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium) in flower in a hedge near the car park, Cypress Spurge (Euphorbia cyparassias) & Lavender-cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus) actually in the car park and, in amongst (painfully stinging ) nettles by the sea wall, a flowering bush of Tartarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica).


(Cypress Spurge, Euphorbia cyparissias)

(Lavender-cotton, Santolina chamaecyparissius)

Heading back inland I failed dismally to find American Skunk-cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) at Brockenhurst Weirs; it was far from a wasted trip, though, because a roadside pond at the South Weir held both Common Water-crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis) & Round-leaved Crowfoot (Ranunculus omiophyllus)... and in places had been turned red by an expanse of Hampshire-purslane (Ludwigia palustris), a local rarity that hadn't even been on my radar

It's actually a very interesting area, even if we missed the target alien; Creeping Willow (Salix repens), in one of the ditches with fresh catkins, was another new tick and the only example of the species we'd see in the Forest; strange for a plant I'd been told was very common here

[KeenTeen17]

If you want the Salix repens, then the Sefton Dunes are well worth a visit. Its absolutely everywhere and theres also the green flowered and dune helleborines as well as the gentians.

Most of the species are actually listed in this thread:
Sand Dune Bio-Diversity

[davidbr]

26th April 2009 (Sunday)

Today started with us getting hopelessly lost, as we totally failed to find Mogshade Hill and its' supposed duo of alien cotoneasters. That's how we came to end up at Beaulieu Road Station, another place I'd known as a birding site, and by suffering wet feet in silence we were able to find several interesting plants in & around the boggy areas.

It's far from the right time of year for most of them, but you tend to look at the leaves of sundews rather than the flowers and both Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) & Oblong-leaved Sundew (Drosera intermedia) were found; D. rotundifolia was common, but I only managed to find one specimen of D. intermedia in amongst them. More Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) & Round-leaved Crowfoot (Ranunculus omiophyllus) added a touch of white to the bog, with Heath Dog-violet (Viola canina), Heath Milkwort (Polygala serpyllifolia) & Lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica) on drier, short-grass areas nearby.

The highlight of the day, though, proved to be a chance stop in the centre of Lyndhurst to have a look at the shops; where, on a brick wall in Church Street (surprisingly enough, next to the church...) was festooned with Fairy Foxglove (Erinus alpinus) - a really stunning little plant

(Fairy Foxglove, Erinus alpinus)

Another couple of newies were added on the way back to Avon Tyrrell; the leaves of Orpine (Sedum telephium) in Ivy Wood, a lovely patch of ancient-looking woodland, and Juneberry (Amelanchier lamarckii) in a hedge on the edge of the village of Burley. I'd heard it was a common alien in the Forest, and we did end up finding a few more specimens.

(JUneberry, Amelanchier lamarckii)

[davidbr]

April 27th 2009 (Monday))

The weather so far hadn't been too bad, but that had all changed for this morning; heavy rain greeted us as we prepared for the long drive back to Bristol, and I do mean heavy!!

Still, that didn't put us off having a look for the Giant Butterbur (Petasites japonicus) said to grow in St Mary's churchyard at Hale Park, in the north of the Forest. What I didn't realise was the church was about 3/4 mile from the road, so we were thoroughly soaked by the time we reached it - it was worthwhile, though, as not only did we easily find the P. japonicus (although it'd just finished flowering), there was a fine display of Water Avens (Geum rivale) in the churchyard grass nearby and plenty of Three-veined Sandwort (Moehringia trinerva) along the access lane - three new species in the space of half an hour


(Water Avens, Geum rivale)

(Three-nerved Sandwort, Moehringia trinerva)

By the time we reached Somerset, and the Mells area, the rain had thankfully gone - hence we were able to dip out on Coralroot (Cardamine bulbifera) in the dry! It's supposed to be "spreading on both sides of the road" in the village of Trudoxhill, but if it is then it must be doing so in secret Thankfully the Common Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) was far easier to find, and just outside Mells village itself a roadside surprise presented itself - Bridal-spray, (Spiraea x arguta), a popular & attractive garden plant that'd probably resulted from dumped material.

(Common Barberry, Berberis vulgaris)

(Bridal-spray, Spiraea x arguta)

Finally, a group of roadside Early Purple Orchids (Orchis mascula) provided the last new plant of our four days. I'd added at least 35 species to the list (with some more still to be identified ); not at all bad, I'd say, even though I was disappointed to have missed most of the aliens for which I'd researched specific locations. Whether the info I had was out of date, or we were just plain unlucky, I don't know - I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes

(Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula