field cow wheat in Bedfordshire 2010 update

[lizard orchid]

Dear All,
Had a site meeting at the only known site for Field cow wheat in Bedfordshire last Friday with Graham Bellamy, Conservation officer for Beds and Rodney from College Lake Reserve who is involved with the arable weed project there. Some urgent habitat management is planned at the Beds site including light ploughing and removal of hawthorn scrub, hopefully pulling in help from local landowners. Sadly no plants have been seen at the Beds site for the past two years and the original colony that grew on the lake edge fell into the lake due to the eroding embankments. Good news, the current population of plants at College Lake Reserve could well have come from seed from the original Beds site in the past so a reintroduction of seed from the College Lake plants is planned.

Brian Laney, Botanist, Northamptonshire.

[aeshna5]

Good luck with that. Haven't been to College Lake for many years, but an excellent little site!

[lizard orchid]

Thanks Aeshna5,
Fingers crossed the plant will flower at the site again in the future.