A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

[leifus]

Originally Posted by davidbr

What range of species does everyone count on their lists? Do you include ferns, sedges, rushes, grasses, bamboos etc, as on the BSBI database?

Personally I don't, but that's purely because the book I used to use for identification didn't cover them. They're all in Stace, so I guess there's no real reason for leaving them out - I just wondered what the consensus was?

i have included a few grasses and sedges yes but the majority are flowering plants.

not ferns though

[leifus]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

All of the species counted in my total are the flowering species. I will probably go into ferns once I have sussed the chickweeds, mouseears, willowherbs and crucifers out first next year.

I still photograph ferns when I can. This year I have seen royal fern and a few others.

I have photographed a few rushes but only because they were growing next to my house and I wondered what they were - turns out they were toad rush and soft rush

what about the umbellifers, st' johns-worts and hawksbeards/hawkbits/hawkweeds? ;D lol

[davidbr]

Seven days into 2009, today brought the first two additions to my list - somewhat surprisingly on a bitterly cold day, with ice on the ground, in the Somerset village of Queen Charlton (near Bristol)

This one, thanks to the expertise of members on here, I've been able to put a name to as Ipheion (Ipheion uniflorum), apparently a South American member of the lily family. It was growing as a well-established patch underneath a hawthorn bush on the village green, but I'd never seen the plant before even in a garden

And the second? Well, it was bound to come eventually, though the first week of January is rather earlier than I'd expected - Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), one of the common spring flowers I'd missed through only starting my hunt in June last season.



Also in the same area, the first Primroses (Primula vulgaris) of the year had just about survived the cold spell, as had Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) on the shelter of an old stone wall - this plant seems to be flowering right through the winter this year

[leifus]

awesome - im on about 5 so far this year and i agree with the ivy-kleaved toadflax

[KeenTeen17]

no primroses yet. but I did find something quite unusual the other day.

It was a fresh sun spurge in flower. Obviously a new one that had just come up

[KeenTeen17]

Originally Posted by davidbr

Seven days into 2009, today brought the first two additions to my list - somewhat surprisingly on a bitterly cold day, with ice on the ground, in the Somerset village of Queen Charlton (near Bristol)

This one, thanks to the expertise of members on here, I've been able to put a name to as Ipheion (Ipheion uniflorum), apparently a South American member of the lily family. It was growing as a well-established patch underneath a hawthorn bush on the village green, but I'd never seen the plant before even in a garden

And the second? Well, it was bound to come eventually, though the first week of January is rather earlier than I'd expected - Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), one of the common spring flowers I'd missed through only starting my hunt in June last season.



Also in the same area, the first Primroses (Primula vulgaris) of the year had just about survived the cold spell, as had Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) on the shelter of an old stone wall - this plant seems to be flowering right through the winter this year

why don't you post these on the flower of the day thread? Weve got a nice record of the winter on there.

you'll see on there that I've posted what Ive seen today

[davidbr]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

why don't you post these on the flower of the day thread? Weve got a nice record of the winter on there.

you'll see on there that I've posted what Ive seen today

Have done

According to the weather forecast we're meant to be getting some warmer weather over the weekend, so maybe a few more spring species will be up in the next couple of weeks?

[leifus]

Originally Posted by davidbr

Have done

According to the weather forecast we're meant to be getting some warmer weather over the weekend, so maybe a few more spring species will be up in the next couple of weeks?

the aconite should be up soon - especially with some warmer weather

[davidbr]

I'm still looking for a reliable site for Winter Aconite (because the one I had been told about & earmarked turned out to have been blatantly planted...), so if anyone knows of one, I'd be very grateful

[KeenTeen17]

what area of the country are you prepared for? Worden Park has a very well established patch of aconites. been there 25 years I have been told by an expert botanist.