Go Back   Wild About Britain > British Wildlife > Wildflowers, Plants & Tree Forums

» Log in

User Name:

Password:

Not a member yet?
Register Now!

» February 2012

S M T W T F S
293031 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 123

» Stats

Members: 48,633
Threads: 78,838
Posts: 820,933
Top Poster: glsammy (14,775)
Welcome to our newest member, yvonnem
Reply

 

LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #91 (permalink)  
Old 28-04-2009, 07:51 PM
Lancashire Lad's Avatar
Knight Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Red Rose County
Posts: 5,070
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidbr View Post
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.
__________________
Common sense is not so common.

Lancashire Lad's Gallery
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #92 (permalink)  
Old 28-04-2009, 10:39 PM
KeenTeen17's Avatar
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Preston in NW
Posts: 3,698
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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
__________________
Lancashire Nature
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #93 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 05:24 PM
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,023
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad View Post
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

Quote:
Originally Posted by KeenTeen17 View Post
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
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #94 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 07:18 PM
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,023
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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)
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #95 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 07:36 PM
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,023
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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

Last edited by davidbr; 29-04-2009 at 07:48 PM.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #96 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 07:47 PM
KeenTeen17's Avatar
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Preston in NW
Posts: 3,698
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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
__________________
Lancashire Nature
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #97 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 08:14 PM
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,023
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #98 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 08:19 PM
KeenTeen17's Avatar
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Preston in NW
Posts: 3,698
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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
__________________
Lancashire Nature
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #99 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 08:28 PM
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,023
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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)
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #100 (permalink)  
Old 29-04-2009, 08:44 PM
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,023
Re: A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

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
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Reply  

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


» New Wildlife Posts

Go to first new post Lepiota species possibly
Last post by Chris Yeates
Today 10:34 PM
11 Replies, 170 Views
Go to first new post Another "Big Cat"...
Last post by loripo
Today 10:29 PM
17 Replies, 450 Views
Go to first new post Birding 2012 Year List!
Last post by cookieyum
Today 10:20 PM
629 Replies, 10,367 Views
Go to first new post Hedgehog Suicide pact?
Last post by fairplay
Today 09:41 PM
38 Replies, 771 Views
Go to first new post fieldfare and rewing
Last post by IanS
Today 09:30 PM
3 Replies, 105 Views
Go to first new post The 'Active Winter...
Last post by Toby
Today 09:15 PM
95 Replies, 2,058 Views
Go to first new post Pathetic article on...
Last post by JoulesH
Today 09:01 PM
13 Replies, 380 Views
Go to first new post Bad horse owners
Last post by Littlesparrow
Today 08:31 PM
23 Replies, 583 Views

» New Environment Posts

Go to first new post is spring coming?
Last post by nursiebernard
Today 08:57 PM
291 Replies, 8,093 Views
Go to first new post Is Man the climax...
Last post by Dorts
Today 08:34 PM
87 Replies, 1,648 Views
Go to first new post WIND POWER. Is it time...
Last post by Manders
Today 08:26 AM
139 Replies, 4,750 Views
Has anyone organised a...
Last post by PlattHillBadger
Yesterday 07:36 AM
2 Replies, 310 Views

» New Activity Posts

Go to first new post Osprey Hide in the making
Last post by speyghillie
Today 10:14 PM
44 Replies, 1,087 Views
Go to first new post Raw file editing?
Last post by Kayleigh
Today 08:11 PM
30 Replies, 1,231 Views
Go to first new post Panasonic FZ45 or...
Last post by Jim Ford
Today 07:43 PM
2 Replies, 62 Views
Go to first new post where did you walk today?
Last post by ChrisJB
Today 05:21 PM
1,410 Replies, 47,350 Views

» New Community Posts

Go to first new post Please support Vale...
Last post by Hedgehoggy
Today 10:09 PM
5 Replies, 93 Views
Go to first new post Adverts on WAB
Last post by DorsetDunk
Today 08:52 PM
85 Replies, 1,231 Views
Go to first new post How to grow a planet
Last post by loripo
Today 04:43 PM
4 Replies, 176 Views
Go to first new post Only 10 posts per page?
Last post by pressld2
Today 09:29 AM
2 Replies, 49 Views

All times are GMT. The time now is 10:38 PM.


Copyright Wild About Britain 2009

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074