A 2010 plant-hunter's diary

[davidbr]

A repeat of last year's thread, basically; it's really a bit early to expect to find very much, but boredom has intervened! I'm utterly fed-up of being stuck indoors over the winter and just needed to photograph something - so, earlier today, I made for the grounds of Frenchay Hospital, where the on-site nature reserve turned up a good range of spring bulbs last year.

As well as it being only January 25th, the weather was dull, overcast and pretty cold, meaning a lot of the flowers weren't fully open. Like these Winter Aconites (Eranthis hyemalis); in a few weeks time, when they're all out, the display is really magnificent



I was very surprised to find just the one clump of Early Crocus (Crocus tommasianus) in bloom already - although like most crocuses they wouldn't properly open until some sun shone on them.



Mainly, I'd hoped to see snowdrops - and there looked to be three species on show. Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) was, of course, the commonest, especially in the nearby Frenchay Churchyard



Next most numerous was Greater Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii), showing the distinctive green patches at the base and tip of the tepals;



Then there's Caucasian Snowdrop (Galanthus caucasicus), which is given as a seperate species on the BSBI database;

[davidbr]

At most times of the year, you can usually find Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) in flower - this one was in Frenchay Churchyard, sheltered by an old gravestone.



Not a flower, but Spotted-laurel (Aucuba japonica) is very well established in the Frenchay Hospital Nature Reserve, probably the result of a garden on the site before the hospital was built.



And, lastly, this photo won't win any prizes, but at over 100 feet away and on the other side of a river (which was far too deep to cross... ), it's the best I could do. Japanese Mahonia (Mahonia japonica), a single bush on the far bank of the River Frome in Eastville, Bristol. Like all the others, it's one I'd known about from last spring; maybe by using a telescope, though, I might manage to get a better picture



I'm still waiting for the first addition to my overall list (which currently stands at 1,380 species), that probably won't come until next month. By the end of this season, my ambition is to have photographed 2,000 species of plants in my folder - tough, but I don't think it's impossible

[pammosley]

Hi David, pleased you are doing your diary again this year. I`ll be keeping my eye on it

[davidbr]

Originally Posted by pammosley

Hi David, pleased you are doing your diary again this year. I`ll be keeping my eye on it

Yes, I'll be doing much the same thing again - except I'm planning to do a lot more travelling around this season

I've set myself a target of 2,000 species, meaning I need to add 620 to my list by the end of the season. I should be able to get quite a few of those on the Scilly Isles in June, but I'm also hoping to find a lot more native plants this time - last year, a large percentage of my finds were aliens, that's what happens when your local patch is an urban area

[davidbr]

Although they're still not going to win any awards, I returned to the Frome Valley this afternoon to try to improve on my photos of the Japanese Mahonia (Mahonia japonica) on the riverbank at Glenfrome Road.



Really you need some kind of attachment to fix the camera to the telescope (plus a much better camera... ), all I did was hold the camera against the eyepiece and press the button Still, at least it proves in theory the technique's sound...

[davidbr]

Just to take care of my boredom, really, I decided to get a few extra photos of some snowdrop species this afternoon;

Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis):



Greater Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii):



Caucasian Snowdrop (Galanthus caucasicus):



Still, so far, no new finds to be added to the list

[davidbr]

Inspired by LynM's ID thread, I decided to have a look at what was going on around the Avon Gorge on the last day of January.

Our patch of Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) were just about in flower...



and the Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) were sort of coming into bloom. These ones are garden escapes, not native plants, probably where the Leigh Woods locals dumped their garden rubbish



And, though I don't claim to be any kind of expert on Oceanic shrubbery, I'm reasonably sure this one (self-seeded, probably only over someone's garden wall) is Pittosporum tenuifolium (Kohuhu)

[davidbr]

It's amazing how much difference a couple of days of warmer weather, and a morning's sunshine, can make! Returning to one of my star spring sites at Frenchay, on the edge of Bristol, I found a fine display of plants in bloom

The Winter Aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) are a real favourite of mine, which I've still never seen anywhere else - they only seem to open in full sunshine, though, so this was the first time I'd been able to photograph them properly out this season.



It's a bit early for Spring Crocus, C. vernus, but the sizeable population of Early Crocus (Crocus tomassinianus) were making great progress; again, the sunshine had brought them into full flower.



This was a real surprise - two specim ens of Golden Crocus (Crocus chrysanthus) - I didn't see them here last year, and I'd be surprised if I'd overlooked them...



There were also a few of the much more common Yellow Crocus (Crocus x stellaris) to compare



Plenty of snowdrops can also be found, of three different species (plus what I assume is a cultivated variety...)

Greater Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii)



Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)



Caucasian Snowdrop (Galanthus caucasicus)




Still no new additions to my list this year, but at least things are starting to look up

[KeenTeen17]

Looks great. Not much up up here at the moment.

Maybe we'll run into each other out in the field. I hope to get the Lindisfarne Helleborine this year as well as all the old faves

[diggleken]

must be spring if were doing plants again!
I'll look forward to seeing your finds.
KT out of hibernation then?
Cheers
Ken