Recent Sightings (VC31)

So as not to leave Huntingdonshire out, here is a quick catch up on recent sightings.

Barry Dickerson had Caper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) pop up in his garden in Eynesbury. This species is only of scattered occurrence in the VC and is generally found close to habitation. This is one of my favourite plants, a combination of its alien looks and it being one of the first plants I noticed as a kid. The photo is by Barry.

Lynne Farrell and Barry have been out around Bluntisham and Lynne noted a new colony of Birthwort (Aristolochia clematitis) not far from the long known colony behind the Baptist Church. This species has persisted at this location since at least 1949, when it was first reported.

Photo by Bouba (Wikimedia Commons)

Lynne also found an old pear tree nearby that seems to be Wild Pear (Pyrus pyraster). At first the location seems a bit incongruous, but as this area used to be orchards it is possible that it was planted to serve as a pollinator for the fruit crop. Normally this species is found as an odd tree here and there on the edge of ancient woodland and in ancient hedgerows. Photo taken by Lynne after retrieval from the compost bin to double check a few measurements!

Recent Sightings (VC64)

A quick catch-up on recent news.

Mike Canaway has spotted Perennial Sunflower (Helianthus x laetiflorus) in rough grassland off Stackhouse Lane, Giggleswick. This is a striking but rare garden escape in VC64.

Photo by SB_Johnny from Wikimedia Commons

Jonathan Shanklin has paid the county another visit, for a week of intensive botanising in the Pateley Bridge area. His sightings include ...

New Zealand Hair-sedge (Carex comans) escaped on a road verge at Glasshouses (photo by Dinkum, Wikimedia Commons)

Small Toadflax (Chaenorhinum minus) at Pateley Bridge (photo by Stefan Lafnaer, Wikimedia Commons)

Caper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) at Middlesmoor (photo by JH Mora, Wikimedia Commons)

Wood Club-rush (Scirpus sylvaticus) at Ramsgill (photo by Christian Fischer, Wikimedia Commons)

Meanwhile, I have had the following:

Nodding Bur-marigold (Bidens cernua) at Eccup Reservoir

Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) as a casual in an arable field at Aberford, just what is needed to brighten an October day

Mudwort's Moment

Mudwort (Limosella aquatica) is very much the plant of the moment, having been found at a number of sites in VC64 and neighbouring VCs over recent days. So if you have a reservoir near you with public access then its worth a search.

It is not a common plant nationally - see the excellent BSBI Database which now has open access to the maps, and perhaps use it to identify historic locations for targeted searches. I am sure it must still be present at most of the larger upland lakes and reservoirs. Following on from the last blog it has now been found for the first time at Eccup Reservoir (two new tetrads and one new hectad), Scar House Reservoir (new hectad) and Scargill Reservoir (first hectad record for decades). Please bear in mind that not all these sites have public access, there are plenty more reservoirs with public access worth searching. I would also love it if it was found in Huntingdonshire, where there are plenty of old mineral workings. It is much less common in that part of Britain, but it is known from similar habitats at Titchwell (VC32) so its not impossible and there are a number of very old records.

Mudwort in typical habitat by Scar House Reservoir (photo by Hannah Mitchell)

Part of the reason for recent finds is focussed searching at a time of year when botanical recording activities are winding down. I have been lucky enough to be doing reservoir surveys recently and have been getting my colleagues to keep their eyes peeled also.

Other associated highlights include a new population, and a large one at that, of Small Water-pepper (Persicaria minor) at Eccup. This a major range extension. Like the plants in the reservoirs along the Washburn valley, the plants are all white flowered. Eccup also provided 1000's of plants, enough to be certain it was not just a chance aberration, of an unusual form of Red Goosefoot (Chenopodium rubrum). This goes by the name of var. pseudobotryoides and is readily distinguised because the plants form prostrate to decumbent mats with small leaves. The stems upturn at the end where they produce short inflorescences. Stupidly, I took no photos but there is a picture here. Not the best botanical illustration but it is excellent for showing the general jizz of this variety.

The Draw of Draw-down

Draw-down, the seasonal exposure of sediments around the margins of ponds, lakes and reservoirs over the summer, is a habitat I always like to explore whenever I have the opportunity. It is as appealing to me as arable field corners, as you never know what you might find, and there can be much of interest in late summer when other habitats are winding down.

I have been lucky enough to get around a fair few reservoirs in VC63, 64 and 65 in recent weeks and have found plenty of surprises and also, to be honest, a fair amount of not so much. Its the boring sites that make the other sites so much more rewarding. Here are a few of the highlights.

Mudwort (Limosella aquatica) at Scargill Reservoir courtesy of my colleague Hannah Mitchell, also present at Swinsty and Fewston Reservoirs

Musk (Mimulus moschatus) on the mudflats at the northern end of Fewston Reservoir

A rather poor photo that does not do justice to this delicate species - Small Water-pepper (Persicaria minor var. minor). The whole population at Swinsty and Fewston is the unusual white-flowered form. The more typical pink-flowered form was encountered later at Leighton Reservoir

Not as rare as the preceding species, but it is always nice to see Water-purslane (Lythrum portula subsp. portula). 

Intermediate Plantain (Plantago major subsp. intermedia), a drawdown specialist unlike its weedy cousin Greater Plantain (Plantago major subsp. major)

And that's just a taster without mentioning Shoreweed (Littorella uniflora), Sand Spurrey (Spergularia rubra), Marsh Speedwell (Veronica scutellata), Red Goosefoot (Chenopodium rubrum), Monkey-flower (Mimulus guttatus) ...

You've probably noticed the recurring theme in most photos by now - the menace that is New Zealand Pigmyweed (Crassula helmsii). Please take care to clean your boots so as not to help it spread any faster than it is already managing, otherwise you get this ....

Fewston Reservoir, that really is all New Zealand Pigmyweed and this is but one small part of the infested shoreline of this large reservoir

Kippax & Great Preston (VC64)

A couple of quick pics from this weekends stroll in search of Rosa x irregularis (found!).

I seemed to hit Townclose Hill (Billy Wood) just right this year for the Autumn Gentians (Gentianella amarella subsp. amarella). It was nice to catch them at peak bloom.

Back along The Lines I strayed into an adjacent arable field, I can't resist this habitat as there is always hope of finding a rarity. My luck was in and I was rewarded by a plant that was new to me, this being Niger (Guizotia abyssinica).

Coming back through Water Haigh Woodland Park in Woodlesford (VC63), I was also lucky to find a fine plant of Large-toothed Hawkweed (Hieracium prominentidens), which by the standards of the genus is a doddle to ID and one anyone should be able tackle with confidence. My photos were abysmal so check it out in Yorkshire Hawkweeds. If you don't own a copy yet, buy it while you can as it is written for those only just starting to dabble their toes into the wonderful world of Hawkweeds. A wonderful and well illustrated book.

Rosa x irregularis

I have been taking an interest in roses for a number of years now, a species group to be taken slowly and that rewards close observation, and have been gradually working my way toward trying to get to grips with some of the hybrids. Rosa x dumalis, in this case the cross between Dog-rose (Rosa canina) and Glaucous Northern Dog-rose (Rosa caesia ssp. vosaigaca), has been on my radar for a number of years, is very common and behaves like a species. In Huntingdonshire it is as common as Dog-rose, in VC64 it is also relatively common but as we are in Glaucous Northern Dog-rose territory it needs to be distinguished with care. But other than this one hybrid, I have only really dabbled.

Having come across an old paper where Chris Preston decribes his efforts to investigate and record the hybrids further, I thought it time I stretched myself a little and set myself the target of Dog-rose x Field-rose (Rosa arvensis) i.e. Rosa x irregularis. So I headed up the hill behind the village (part of VC63) where I knew I could expect both parents to see how I got on. Surprisingly well is the answer, and this does seem a good gateway hybrid to get you looking closer and appreciating the subtleties.

Graham and Primavesi in the BSBI Rose Handbook describe Dog-rose as very much the blank canvass species, against which you look for the differences that help to distinguish the other species and hybrids. That proved good advice for my current search as while the hybrid is reassuringly intermediate it might easily be overlooked if you don't know what individual characters preclude Dog-rose and which in combination suggest Field-rose.

The first thing I honed in with on my first likely candidate was the pedicels - were they glandular? (Note - this is not a character discrete to Field-rose). The answer was yes, and variably so but generally at a much lower level than would be the case for Field-rose. The next thing I noticed was the relatively length of the pedicels, very variable but with many much longer than would be expected in Dog-rose or indeed most other native rose species. The fruit, sepals, foliage and stems also looked intermediate with characters of Field-rose but beefed up by the Dog-rose genes. On some bushes there was variability of fruit set with a high proportion abortive. Similarly some bushes had biserrate leaves which again is a Dog-rose character. Another useful character is the intermediate prickles which are often aggregated. I hope the following photographs help illustrate some of these traits. My next challenge is to start to record it in VC64 and 31 as I'm sure it will be common wherever the two species meet.

Note the glandular pedicels

Note the variation in pedicel length with some to 3cm, while the outer fruit are proportioned more like Field-rose and the inner like Dog-rose

Intermediate stems and foliage, on a sprawling and suckering thicket

Towards the middle of the stem, 3 prickles can just be made out in close association (aggregated)

Ilkley Moor Baht 'at

I finally made it, after 7 years of not really trying, up Ilkley Moor this week in the heat of Tuesday and probably unwisely without 'at. This is of course a well botanised site so I was not expecting to add much new to the plant list, and in this light I did quite well.

The first good find was a new stand of the non-native Silver Lady's-mantle (Alchemilla conjuncta), extending its range into a new tetrad.

Not a new location, but of interest to me was the enigma that is Cut-leaved Bramble (Rubus laciniatus). No one really knows this species origins, or whether it is native or endemic to Britain. It is certainly not native in Yorkshire, but in comparison with the thug that is Himalayan Giant (Rubus armeniacus), I am more than happy to welcome it.

By far the best find of the day, apologies in advance for the over-exposed photo I blame the low late season sun!, was a colony of Knotted Pearlwort (Sagina nodosa) along the the historic alignment of Keighley Road. From the data available to me, it does not appear to have been reported from the Moor for decades, so I am pleased to have refound it. The associated Eyebright (Euphrasia) is giving me headaches and is one for the BSBI referee.

To end with, here is the view from Addingham High Moor where the carpets of Heather (Calluna vulgaris) were at peak bloom. Scenic as it is, it is important not to forget what an impoverished habitat this is for native flora. Over a century of over-management for grouse does not leave room for much else, and it is not a very satisfying habitat for a botanist. That said, Ilkley Moor seems to be suffering the opposite effect i.e. a legacy of under-management resulting in an ever increasing dominance of Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). There must be a middle ground somewhere, but it is a challenge to find the most favourable balance in the modern world where traditional agriculture and land management is no longer economic.