A 2009 plant-hunter's diary

[davidbr]

14th April 2009 (Tuesday)

With the Bank Holiday out of the way, I reckoned I'd be safe to venture down to the coast again without being trampled by crowds; it was still pretty busy, being the kids' half-term holiday, but through starting early I managed a decent haul of finds from Weston-super-Mare and nearby Sand Bay, one of the best-known sites in Somerset (especially for established aliens in & around the National Trust nature reserve of Sand Point!.

However, it's a heck of a walk; about six miles from Weston to the base of Sand Point, with another mile or so if you fancy heading out to the end of the point But, even with my rather dodgy knees, it doesn't seem anything like as far when you've plenty to look at; I started off well with a self-seeded Hedge Veronica (Hebe x franciscana) on a wall at Weston seafront, and soon got better as I added another three species around the town's old Birnbeck Pier

(Hedge Veronica, Hebe x franciscana)

Shrub Ragwort (Brachyglottis "Sunshine"), one of those annoying hybrids without a proper name, is a common garden shrub I've long kept an eye out for in a wild situation; Shrubby Orache (Atriplex halimus), however, was a total surprise; I hadn't realised it grew anywhere in the UK away from the Scilly Isles Even more unusual, and certainly far prettier, nearby were several patches of the yellow-flowered Alpine Wallflower (Erysimum helveticum); it really looks nothing like the common wallflower, E. chieri, annoyingly I can't seem to manage to upload a photo though

(Shrubby Orache, Atriplex halimus)

(Trailing Bellflower, Campanula poscharskyana; a common plant of the walls of Weston-super-Mare)

Heading on to the dunes of Sand Bay, natives such as Spotted Medick (Medicago arabica) Sticky Stork's-bill ([i]Erodium lebelii[/i) & Common Stork's-bill (E. cicutarium) were all in flower, and alien bulbs added a splash of colour (amongst them Garden Tulips (Tulipa gesneriana) & the Spring Starflower (Ipheion uniflorum) patch I found here a couple of weeks ago. Oriental Poppies (Papaver pseudoorientale) were well-established along the roadside but still only in bud, and Pink-sorrel (Oxalis articulata) had just a couple of blooms; it ought to make for a real show in a month or so's time!

The National Trust car park at Sand Point is a well-known site for several alien introductions, most famously the Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia characias) clumps that have been known on the rocks here for more than fifty years; at the moment they're at their best! Around the toilet block some unexpected Spring Sowbread (Cyclamen repandum) was easy to miss amongst the rough grass & nettles, and a clump of Perennial Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) had just one lone flower - as did the expanse of Pencilled Cranesbill (Geranium versicolor) nearby, although that was at least a couple of months early by my reckoning Spanish Gorse (Genista hispanica) was also just about hanging on; one bush on the rocks was almost set to flower.

(Spring Sowbread, Cyclamen repandum

(Perennial Candytuft, Iberis sempervirens)

Up on the Point itself, Small-flowered Buttercup (Ranunculus parviflora) was only in leaf, but I was bitterly disappointed not to be able to track down the Snake's-head Iris (Hermodactylis tuberosa) that's meant to be established around here; it's possible, I suppose, that I was just a bit too late

(Small-flowered Buttercup, Ranunculus parviflora)

Nevertheless, it'd been a decent day's work and, late in the afternoon, I found time to head to the northern fringe of Bristol to photograph a plant I'd noticed a few days earlier from the car, but hadn't been able to stop for; Few-flowered Garlic (Allium paradoxum), on the verge of the A38 at Almondsbury - it's actually a far more attractive plant than you'd think from illustrations in the books

(Few-flowered Garlic, Allium paradoxum)

[davidbr]

16th April 2009 (Thursday))

Unfortunately, today turned into a bit of a balls-up; having decided to head out of Bristol on the bus to have another go at tracking down the Tuberous Corydalis (Corydalis cava) at Ston Easton that I'd missed on Easter Saturday, I somehow managed to miss the stop and, instead, ended up in Wells town centre

Still, Wells has an old cathedral, with a moat and old walls, that looked promising for a few oddities; since I was here anyway, I thought, I might as well have a look around! Yellow Corydalis (Pseudofumaria lutea) & Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) had seized control of the cathedral walls and made for a pretty picture, but far more interesting were a couple of plants around the edge of the moat; two pink flower clusters of Indian-rhubarb (Darmera peltata), and a bush of Fragrant Viburnum (Viburnum farreri) - both, presumably, seeded from the cathedral grounds themselves.

I'd seen Indian-rhubarb before (though never in flower), but the viburnum was a new "tick" and, wandering around the town, I soon added another one - not the corydalis I'd started the day hoping for, but a close relative and probably a far more unusual one; Turkey-corn (Dicentra eximia), a native of North America apparently occasionally used in gardens.

(Turkey-corn, Dicentra eximia)

Chinese Bramble (Rubus tricolor) was another garden plant invading the same area, although for the life of me I can't understand why anyone would want to grow it That was about it, apart from a couple of photos I took of the numerous ferns also covering the stonework; 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 )

[KeenTeen17]

blimey your finding a lot more than me

your second fern is maidenhair spleenwort

[leifus]

Originally Posted by davidbr

14th April 2009 (Tuesday)

doesnt look like spring sowbread to me - more like a campanula but im no good with the garden escapes....

[davidbr]

Originally Posted by leifus

doesnt look like spring sowbread to me - more like a campanula but im no good with the garden escapes....

Ah, so you spotted the deliberate mistake...

Yep, I posted the same picture twice - here's the one that was meant to go in that space

(Spring Sowbread, Cyclamen repandum)

[leifus]

Originally Posted by davidbr

Ah, so you spotted the deliberate mistake...

Yep, I posted the same picture twice - here's the one that was meant to go in that space

(Spring Sowbread, Cyclamen repandum)

thaaaat's better haha

[davidbr]

17th April 2009 (Friday)

It's been a horrible day, weather-wise, with persistent rain ranging from annoying light drizzle to soaking torrential downpours - hence the best I managed was an hour or so wandering around the seafront at Weston-super-Mare. Nevertheless, that was long enough to come across a couple of fascinating finds

A couple of days ago I posted a picture of an early-flowering thrift (Armeria) I'd found at the base of a garden wall, thinking it could well be Estoril Thrift (Armeria pseudoarmeria). I now know better, because today I came across the real thing! The one I found the other day is clearly just a garden form of our native Armeria maritima, specially bred to flower early; the true A. pseudoarmeria is far more distinctive than it looks from online photos, with taller flowering stems & much broader leaves, rather resembling those of a sea-lavender rather than the linear ones of the native plant. Annoyingly I can't get the bloody upload thingy to work on the site so I'm not able, at the moment, to post a picture; there were about twenty or so plants naturalised on a sandy bank along Weston-super-Mare seafront, certainly not a species I was expecting to come across this spring

That wasn't the only unusual Mediterranean plant in the area, either; some rather distinctive tulips, pink with yellow centres, had me baffled at the time, but back home in the dry I soon identified them as Tulipa bakeri; it's a native of Crete, doesn't seem to have an English name (I guess Baker's Tulip would be as good as any??) and isn't listed on either the BSBI database nor in Clement & Foster's Alien Plants of the British Isles!! Of these, I did manage to upload a couple of pictures; as you can see, the flowers are a few days past their best. Altogether there were at least ten plants, maybe more (the rain was belting down by now, so I didn't hang about )

("Baker's Tulip", Tulipa bakeri; the hand in the second photo is mine, it was the only way I could hold the stem still... )

After admiring these, however, I made a quick dash back to the town's railway station to catch a train home; pausing only to add another unexpected Mediterranean plant to my list, where some planted Giant Bugloss (Echium pininana) had produced three or four healthy-looking seedlings, perhaps the basis of a naturalised population? Oh; Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is well established along the railways of this part of the country and, just about coming into bloom, definitely brightens up your journey

(Common Lilac, Syringa vulgaris)

[davidbr]

19th April 2009 (Sunday)

On a beautiful, sunny spring day in Somerset, I finally made it third-time lucky in my search for the Tuberous Corydalis (Corydalis cava) at Ston Easton, 10 miles or so south of the city of Bath.

In Terrace Wood, next to the Ston Easton Park Hotel, C. cava forms the main ground-cover in places; unfortunately many of the plants had finished flowering, so the show wasn't as spectacular as it could have been, but there were still plenty of flowering spikes to be photographed!

(Tuberous Corydalis, C. cava; purple form & white form, the population's about an even split between the two types)

Leaving on a high from that success, I headed on a few miles to the nearby village of Stratton-on-the-Fosse. Here, the target was Fairy Foxglove, Erinus alpinus, naturalised on walls at St. Benedict's Church. First, the good news; I found the location & the plants very easily. The bad news; they weren't yet in flower, so I had to settle for a photo of the leaves Never mind, though; at least I know where to come back to in a few weeks' time

(Fairy Foxglove, Erinus alpinus; sadly, not a flower in site... )

That was two new species for the photo list, then; I soon made it three, chancing across Spotted Hawkweed (Hieracium maculatum) on a roadside wall at Ashwick, another small village in the Mells area. Of course these weren't in flower, but it's the foliage that's distinctive and you could see where they get their name from

(Spotted Hawkweed, Hieracium maculatum)

Finally, I ended an excellent few hours with a streamside walk near Mells. Ramsons (Allium ursinum), Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) & Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica) made for a contrasting carpet of path-side colour, but by far the most noticeable species here was a long way from flowering; Giant Hogweed (Hieracium mantegazzianum), though, is distinctive at any time

(Giant Hogweed, Hieracium mantegazzianum)

Nearby a patch of Sweet Spurge (Euphorbia dulcis) allowed me to take a close-up photo of its' tiny red flowers, and Great Forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) was a change from the usual Green Alkanet. Oh; and a Yucca of some sort, which I'm still working on for ID, was presumably the result of some cast-out garden rubbish

(Sweet Spurge, Euphorbia dulcis)

(Great Forget-me-not, Brunnera macrophylla)

Yucca, as of yet unidentified

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by davidbr

[b]

(Fern No. 1)

This one is Rustyback (Ceterach officinarum)

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by davidbr

That wasn't the only unusual Mediterranean plant in the area, either; some rather distinctive tulips, pink with yellow centres, had me baffled at the time, but back home in the dry I soon identified them as Tulipa bakeri; it's a native of Crete, doesn't seem to have an English name (I guess Baker's Tulip would be as good as any??) and isn't listed on either the BSBI database nor in Clement & Foster's Alien Plants of the British Isles!! Of these, I did manage to upload a couple of pictures; as you can see, the flowers are a few days past their best. Altogether there were at least ten plants, maybe more (the rain was belting down by now, so I didn't hang about )

("Baker's Tulip", Tulipa bakeri; the hand in the second photo is mine, it was the only way I could hold the stem still... )

Tulipa bakeri is now included in T. saxatilis which is recorded in the UK (only Channel Isles though I think). Saw a huge patch with dozens of flowers in my mothers garden yesterday

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by davidbr

That was two new species for the photo list, then; I soon made it three, chancing across Spotted Hawkweed (Hieracium maculatum) on a roadside wall at Ashwick, another small village in the Mells area. Of course these weren't in flower, but it's the foliage that's distinctive and you could see where they get their name from

(Spotted Hawkweed, Hieracium maculatum)

I am not sure on your ID of this one - there are several spotted leaved hawkweeds about - Hieracium scotostictum is a common one. Best left to the experts.

[davidbr]

Originally Posted by Tiggrx

I am not sure on your ID of this one - there are several spotted leaved hawkweeds about - Hieracium scotostictum is a common one. Best left to the experts.

It's supposedly a garden escape (I believe the horticultural name is Leopard-plant?) that's been known in these North Somerset villages for fifty years or so - but of course that doesn't mean they've ID'd it correctly, especially with the Hieracium group

There are a few alien Hieraciums dotted about (H. speluncarum is another one that's meant to be in the same area) and I must admit I hadn't realised there were any native species that also had spotted leaves. I'll have to go back and have another look; maybe see if I can get some better photos when they flower to confirm it one way or another...

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by davidbr

It's supposedly a garden escape (I believe the horticultural name is Leopard-plant?) that's been known in these North Somerset villages for fifty years or so - but of course that doesn't mean they've ID'd it correctly, especially with the Hieracium group

There are a few alien Hieraciums dotted about (H. speluncarum is another one that's meant to be in the same area) and I must admit I hadn't realised there were any native species that also had spotted leaves. I'll have to go back and have another look; maybe see if I can get some better photos when they flower to confirm it one way or another...

I think most of the spotted species are aliens although some are native mountain plants.

I remember looking for H. speluncarum at Mells a number of years ago - I think I found it.

[davidbr]

Anyway, let's try to get this up to date...

21st April 2009 (Tuesday)

With the fine weather continuing, it was off to the North Somerset coast again - this time to Brean & Berrow Dunes, a popular holiday spot just along from Weston-super-Mare (there's a bloody great Pontins leisure park there, which they claim is the biggest in the country... ) The bars in it usually offer a needed, refreshing pint, because it's a long walk (seven miles or so between Brean Down & Berrow village...) especially in the heat of midsummer Today, though, the temperature was just about right and, although I unfortunately missed my main target (the Snake's-head Irises (Hermodactylis tuberosa) allegedly around here), there was enough about for me not to be too disappointed

I was quite surprised to find a Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum angustifolium) coming into flower at the side of a sandy track to the beach; it's been a while since I've seen one and I remembered a far "frailer" looking plant, but apparently there's a lot of variation and the taxonomic position is far from certain. Whatever, it's beyond my level of knowledge to delve any deeper, so O. angustifolium it'll be

(Star-of-Bethlehem, Ornithogalum angustifolium)

The dunes around here tend to pick up all sorts of odd alien species, either bird-sown or dumped from the caravan sites, and so it proved around a small pond on the dunes where (as well as the thick growth of Canadian Waterweed (Elodea canadensis) grew single specimens of Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum) & Thunberg's Barberry ([i]Berberis thunbergii[/b]) - in the summer there are also a couple of introduced willows here, and last July I found a lovely specimen of Thorn-apple (Datura stramonium)

(Fly Honeysuckle, Lonicera xylosteum)

As for smaller stuff, the sandy soil had plenty of Early Forget-me-not (Myosotis ramosissima) & Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium) in flower, whilst the roadside was regularly brightened by the pink of Pink-sorrel (Oxalis articulata) & yellow of Wallflower (Erysimum chieri); the latter is one of the two commonest crucifers here, along with Eastern Rocket (Sisymbrium orientale). And, at Berrow Church, where the non-existent Snake's-head Irises were meant to be, was a lovely clump of Three-cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum); at the start of April I'd been delighted to find just one plant of this right on my doorstep, I'd never noticed just how common it is in this area

(Three-cornered Leek, Allium triquetrum)

That wasn't quite it, because back in Weston-super-Mare I somehow managed to make an almighty F-up and get on the wrong train; instead of heading northwards to Bristol, mine started off south towards (eventually) the delights of Taunton & Exeter (I blame the tablets... )

In fact, though, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because getting off at the next station at Highbridge, I chanced across an overgrown area near the car park with several interesting species. Snake's-head Fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) were managing to hold their own against the carpet of Ramsons, Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) covered a fair-sized area (the first time I'd ever seen the natural, green-leaved form...) and, best of all, a stunning tree of Purple Crab Apple (Malus x purpurea) was in full bloom next to one of the paths With trees you can never be sure, but I'd say it was far more likely to have been bird-sown than planted.

(Snake's-head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris)

(Purple Crab Apple, Malus x purpurea)

(Wintercreeper, Euonymus fortunei)

[davidbr]

22nd April 2009 (Wednesday)

A longish walk along the River Avon, from central Bristol into the famous Gorge, turned up quite a few interesting finds this morning, both riverside aliens and local limestone specialities

Whether it's from seeds washed downstream or just stuff chucked over the edge, the banks of the Avon as it passes through Bristol city centre is home to a fascinating range of introduced species. The only problem is getting close enough to photograph them; a cyclepath/towpath runs all the way along the riverside into the Gorge, but there's no access to the bank itself unless you fancy a steep scramble That's why my photo of the Flag Irises (Iris germanica) isn't great; from 50-plus feet away, through bushes and in poor light, it's the best I could do, but the display was well worth seeing, they've covered a good 10 - 12 feet of riverbank and are currently in full flower.

(Flag Iris, Iris germanica)

I also made a diversion to have a look at some flowering trees I'd spotted on the opposite riverbank; one, an ornamental crab apple, I later identified as Siebold's Crab Apple (Malus sieboldii) and presumably it originated from bird-sown fruit. The other, a Japanese Cherry (Prunus serrulata) of the pink double-flowered cultivar I believe is called "Kanzan" (or, at least, a form very similar) was rather more surprising, because the books say it's sterile

Along the riverside towpath I stopped to have a look at the Late Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster lacteus) bushes which are extensively naturalised around here, together with Hybrid Coralberry (Symphoricarpus x chenaultii) making up the majority of the bushes along the old railway line. Heading into the Avon Gorge itself, the Bristol Rock-cress (Arabis scabra) plants were by now in seed, but another local speciality Spring Cinquefoil (Potentilla tabernaemontani) was just coming into flower and I was pleased to find a few on the limestone banks & along the edge of the towpath.

(Spring Cinquefoil, Potentilla tabernaemontani)

From there I was faced with the steep climb up through the "Nightingale Valley" of Leigh Woods nature reserve (though it's been many years since any nightingales made their home here... ) and back across the Suspension Bridge towards home. Heading through the woods I again failed to find Green Hellebore, but Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) was in flower and is always worth a photo

(Toothwort, Lathraea squamaria)

Finally, on the Clifton side of the Gorge around the area known as the "Observatory", Rosy Garlic (Allium roseum) was just coming into bloom; judging from the number of buds I could spot in the grass, it ought to make a fine sight in a few weeks' time

[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