September Highlights

A few odds and ends in a post I never got round to finishing last year. Starting with these two unexpected finds by the stables at Royds Green (VC63) - Marrow (Cucurbita pepo) and Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima).

On an uncultivated arable field at Aberford (VC64) Niger (Guizotia abyssinica). Also found by Mike Wilcox on river shingle at Apperley Bridge (VC64).

Also at Aberford, it was great to refind Wild Liquorice (Astragalus glycyphyllos). This is another rarity of the magnesian limestone that has not been reported for many years. Just a shame I missed it in flower.

Bringing some 'autumn joy' to the local bee population - Hylotelephium (Sedum) 'Herbstfreude' at Rothwell (VC63).

 

Petrosedum rupestre 'Angelina'

A bit of zing on wasteground at Methley Lanes (VC63) this week in the form of this attractive cultivar of Reflexed Stonecrop. A nice find given it joins a select few records in the BSBI database attributable to Mick Crawley, and also because it is the only record for Northern England. One to look out for.

New for Yorkshire

Just back from an enjoyable week at Malham for the BSBI Summer Meeting. More on this to follow soon, but also see the daily accounts on the main BSBI blog.

The first good find of the week didn't take very long. With a little time to kill on the first day, while I waited for everyone else to arrive, I had a stroll round the grounds of Malham Tarn House. Examining the rock cutting by the driveway I found what looked a very odd Caucasian-stonecrop (Sedum spurium - conscious use of the old name here as the database is yet to catch up with Stace 4). The plant looked far too delicate, and the leaves a little too petiolate. So into the pocket it went to look at later.

It didn't take too much effort later to get it to Lesser Caucasian-stonecrop (Sedum stolonifera). The obscurely* papillose leaf margins providing the final confirmation. A first for VC64 and Yorkshire. Surely a species to actively search for elsewhere, as it is probably overlooked.

*correction from original post, stolonifera is obscurely papillose i.e. small raised bumps. In comparison spurium is obviously papillose with long papillae (longer than wide). You can feel them with your finger towards the tip of the leaf.

Skipton and Embsay

On Saturday I took a trip on the train out to Skipton (VC64) to start work on a couple of under-recorded hectads. I picked a circular route out to Embsay and the reservoir. It did not turn out to be the most inspiring countryside with intensive farmland in the lowland and a 'sheep-wrecked' upland edge. But needs must with the pressures of Atlas 2020 mounting, and it just means you have to look a little harder.

The first nice find was a good stand of Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) along Springs Canal, later to be seen again at the entrance to Skipton Wood. This attractive plant does not appear to have been recorded from this hectad previously.

Purple Loosestrife - I am cheating with this photo as it was taken at 

Lowther Lake a couple of weeks back

Walking up The Bailey I was able to look up onto the walls of Skipton Castle where there were naturalised colonies of Aubrieta (Aubrieta deltoidea) and Golden Alison (Aurinia saxatilis). The former had not been recorded here previously, and the only other record for the hectad was last century (pre-1999, details very vague as is the case for too many records). Golden Alison was new to the hectad.

Golden Alison (photo by Prazak from Wikimedia Commons)

After a dull walk down into Embsay things picked up again with a number of oddities along Brackenley Lane. First up was a couple of plants of Upright Spurge (Euphorbia stricta). This is a rare British native but it is a casual up here. I see it is listed by some seed suppliers as 'Golden Foam'. A nice plant but I am not sure I need to grow it my garden. Each to their own.

Old walls further along the lane had Caucasian Stonecrop (Sedum spurium) and Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum), and then this surprise by the steps up to the footpath across the fields. Yellow Oxeye (Telekia speciosa).

Emerging onto Pasture Road I found a nice stand of Dusky Crane's-bill (Geranium phaeum var. phaeum) where Embsay Beck passes under the road. Still a few flowers present despite the season.

Reaching the reservoir I couldn't wait to get down to the shore to look for drawdown flora. Unfortunately this is one of the reservoirs where this is very poorly developed and there were none of the specialities. The highlights being Tufted Forget-me-not (Myosotis laxa) and Marsh Yellow-cress (Rorippa palustris). The latter the first record for the hectad since pre-1969. I was then pleased to find a bush of Glandular Dog-rose (Rosa squarrosa), a hectad first, swiftly followed by yet another in the form of Musk (Mimulus moschatus). A single large clump was growing in the northern inflow.

Musk, photo taken last year at Fewston Reservoir

Heading up onto the Moor, there was only slim pickings but it allowed me to record the usual suspects. The nicest find was Climbing Corydalis (Ceratocapnos claviculata). I then dropped down back towards Embsay. A few useful records were made on route, mainly garden escapes and plantings. The biggest surprise was Algerian Ivy (Hedera algeriensis) established in plantation behind the roadside wall. I suspect this species may be overlooked elsewhere, being passed over for Irish Ivy (Hedera hibernica Hibernica Group). Look out for large leaves, ruby red petioles and young stems, and a pine scent.

An old wall in Embsay had a nice bush of Garden Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) growing out of it, no doubt self-seeded from a nearby garden.

Having a little time to kill before catching my train I wandered up to Skipton Woods. Not the most interesting of woods (especially at this time of year), too many feet and too much bare ground, but adding a few plants that had not been recorded previously. Including such obvious species as Branched Bur-reed (Sparganium erectum). It was also good to find the Herb-Paris (Paris quadrifolia) just about still in leaf, allowing me to collect a detailed grid reference. However justifying this brief diversion was the best find. A large plant of Indian-rhubarb (Darmera peltata) has somehow managed to establish in the bank of Eller Beck by the boardwalk. I'm not sure if this is the same plant last reported in 2004, the location details are too vague, but it seems likely.

Indian-rhubarb

Settle Sojourns

I've been to Settle a number of times this year, it being a handy base for recording this hectad for Atlas 2020. However, I have had little time for posting pictures so it is time for a little catch up. In no particular order ...

Virginia-creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), colonising a wall on the Highway and new to the hectad

Perennial Sunflower (Helianthus x laetiflorus 'Lemon Queen'), start of Stackhouse Lane, Giggleswick. First mentioned to me by Mike Canaway

Double-flowered Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium 'Bachelor's Buttons') at Langcliffe Mill

My second favourite, sad I know, Prickly Sowthistle (after subsp. glaucescens) Sonchus asper subsp asper var. integrifolius in Giggleswick

Boo Hiss, Garden Lady's-mantle (Alchemilla mollis) making its bid for world domination, Craven Lime Works

Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), Craven Lime Works

How many succulents can you spot? churchyard wall Langcliffe. Some answers below

Hen-and-chicks (Jovibarba heuffelii)

Oregon Stonecrop (Sedum oreganum subsp. oreganum)

Cobweb House-leek (Sempervivum arachnoideum)

Armenian Crane's-bill (Geranium psilostemon), new to VC64, west bank of River Ribble, Giggleswick

Stinking Tutsan (Hypericum hircinum) by River Ribble downstream of Settle. Never put a piece in your pocket to look at later and then get on a crowded train!

Stainforth

Last weekend, before summer went on strike, I went over to Settle (VC64) again on the train and then headed off into the countryside on foot. As usual the strategy of a planned route quickly gave way to whim with serendipitous results. The original plan was Winskill Stones which is somewhere I have wanted to visit since a teenager when Plantlife ran its campaign to buy the site. A nice site but one that could not match the image I had painted in my head, and still a little too early for the peak of the flowers. So a headed back into the shelter of the valleys below, with my attention drawn to Catrigg Force on the map - not on the planned route but too close to a waterfall to ignore so off I went.

This deep gorge had much of interest with Golden-scaled Male-fern (Dryopteris affinis sens. str.) in the humid woodland, along with Pyrenean Scurvygrass (Cochlearia pyrenaica), Large Bittercress (Cardamine amara) and Goldilocks (Ranunculus auricomus). While the beck above the falls had an abundance of Hybrid Monkeyflower (Mimulus x robertsii) in peak bloom.

Pyrenean Scurvygrass

Hybrid Monkeyflower

I then headed down Goatscar Lane towards the village where the banks were lush with Smooth Lady's-mantle (Alchemilla glabra). That's when the big surprise came. I have been keeping my eye out for the obscure non-native Various-leaved Hawthorn (Crataegus heterophylla) for a number of years and never expected it to pop up in this setting. How it got here is a mystery, an obscure location for a planting or for a bird-sown bush. But then I thought that with Sorbus x liljeforsii a few weeks previous. I had been starting to feel that I had been overlooking this hawthorn, so it was great to not only find it but also to see that it exactly matched the only two images (see here and here) I had managed to track down. This species is only known in cultivation, and its origin has been lost to time. It keys out in Sell and Murrell with patience and not a little trial and error, but you need enough material to understand the "stipules of leaves of flowering shoots more or less irregularly denticulate-serrate or more or less denticulate" character. Most of the stipules had no teeth (so more of the less!), a few had minute teeth (denticulate) and a few had more obvious ones (denticulate-serrate).

Then down into the village with more plants of definite or likely cultivated origin. No apologies for these. The native flora of the Dales are relatively well recorded, but little attention has been paid to the villages. You can't have a full picture of a region's flora without including artificial habitats.

The first thing to catch my eye on the edge of the village was three plants of Wood Crane's-bill (Geranium sylvaticum) under scrub. This is a native plant and indeed it occurs in meadows just up the hill. However, in the case the flower colour looked off for the wild plant and I think this is the cultivar 'Amy Doncaster'. A trail of plants (more typical in flower colour) led back to a garden and may support an origin as a garden escape.

The road edge nearby yielded Spanish Stonecrop (Sedum hispanicum). The common name is a bit literal, and ignorant in the process, given this species is not a native of Spain. Next to it was Malling Toadflax (Chaenorhinum origanifolium).

The villages of Dales are exceptional for the diversity and luxuriance of plants dripping from the limestone walls. Amongst all the usual suspects were the more notable Colarado Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium 'Cape Blanco') and Cobweb House-leek (Sempervivum arachnoideum).

Recent News - Huntingdonshire

Brian Davis has been to Kimbolton Airfield and refound the Nationally Scarce Slender Tare (Vicia parviflora) after a 20 year gap of records from the relevant tetrad. This species should be kept at the back of ones mind at this time of year when botanising on the clays across the centre of the county, particularly if there is lots of Smooth Tare (Vivia tetrasperma). It often grows with and is disguised by this latter species.

Brian sent the following compare and contrast image which, while I'm sure he won't mind me saying isn't a classically great photo, does show the characteristics of the species (albeit with no mature seed pods to show >4 seeds per pod in parviflora) much better than the multitude of photos viewable via Google.

Slender Tare (left) versus Smooth Tare (right)

Brian also refound Sulphur Clover (Trifolium ochroleucon), another notable, albeit much diminished in recent years, species of the Huntingdonshire clays.

Photo as published on Wikimedia Commons by Bernd Haynold

Meanwhile, Barry Dickerson has been to a favourite spot on his local patch - the area known as railway meadow. This site continues to develop botanical interest and the orchids are thriving this year.

Barry reports 13 Common Spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), 72 Bee Orchids (Ophrys apifera), 135 Pyramidal Orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) and a single Southern-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa). A photo of a fine stand of Pyramidals was sent by Barry and is presented below.

Finally, Jane Croft has followed up my tip-off on the presence of Thick-leaved Stonecrop (Sedum dasyphyllum) at Buckden Towers, and immediately returned news of its presence in the Knot Garden. I have seen this species previously on the old wall by the main gate and on the ground by the church. This is the only known site in the county and it was first reported here in 1762. Jane sends this photo.

The tenure of the stonecrop has been nearly as long as that of the magnificent London Plane (Platanus x hispanica) in the grounds. These enormous trees are likely to be the oldest in the country and deserve to be better known. More information is available here.