Celebrating National Moss Day Saturday 21st October

 We are joining in the centenary year celebrations of the British Bryological Society on the first National Moss Day taking place on Saturday 21st October on the Long Mynd.

We will be meeting at 11:00 am in the small car park off the Burway at SO 437 942. We are hoping to re-find Grimmia montana Sun Grimmia which is the only moss that was recorded in Shropshire in 1923 - the year the BBS was formed. It just happens  that this is quite a rare species but with relatively good representation in Shropshire. We will also seek out other rarities of the Long Mynd. For further information contact Martin Godfrey: mfgodfrey49@gmail.com.

Photograph of Grimmia montana and G. decipiens on the igneous volcanic rock (trachyte) of Traprain Law by Des Callaghan. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

We look forward to seeing you next Saturday.

Brush up on your Sphagnums at Whixall

 Hello botanical friends,

We are meeting on Saturday 23rd September for a walk at Whixall Moss at 11:00 AM in the car park near the canal lift bridge at SJ493353, https://w3w.co/cabbages.pesky.locate.

Martin Godfrey will be leading a Sphagnum workshop at the most important reserve for this group in the county. There has been lots of work there over the last few years and we should hopefully be able to see some splendid plants.

For further information about the meeting please contact Martin Godfrey, mfgodfrey49@gmail.com.

                                                  A picture of Rhynchospora alba White Beak-sedge. 

A Shropshire Earl

Hello botanical friends,

We are meeting on Saturday 26th August for a walk on Earl's Hill. Meet at 11:00 AM in the car park at SJ409057, https://w3w.co/hoot.signed.cobbled. 

Although we visited Earl's Hill just two years ago we are revisiting to record species that are best identified at this time of year. In particular Dryopteris oreades Mountain Male Fern, but also perhaps Colchicum autumnalis Meadow Saffron. The walk will have steep climbs and spectacular views. 

A picture of Dryopteris oreades, Mountain Male Fern.

For further information about the meeting please contact John Handley, johnhandley11@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

In the Club at Nipstone

 Hello botanical friends,

We are meeting on Sunday 23rd July for a walk at Nipstone Rock Wildlife Trust Reserve. Meeting at the car park at 11:00 AM. Meet at the car park at SO356970, https://w3w.co/smirks.scoop.blinking.

There are three clubmosses to search for here, including Lycopodium clavatum Stag's-horn Clubmoss which is scarce in Shropshire. Both Huperzia selago Fir Clubmoss and Diphasiastrum alpinum Alpine Clubmoss have recently been recorded here but only just hanging on. Are they still present? 

For further information about the meeting please contact Mags Cousins, mags@bagbatch.co.uk. 

A picture of Huperzia selago Fir Clubmoss. 

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

In a quarry again

Hello botanical friends,

If one limestone quarry is exciting then two in June must be twice as interesting. This field meeting is being held on Saturday 24th at Dolgoch Quarry, a Wildlife Trust Reserve at 11:00 AM. Parking in the layby just west of Llynclys crossroads on A495. Care is needed as it is a busy road, there is limited space so please consider car sharing. Cross the road and follow the track past the houses. Meet at the gate to the wood SY10 8LN, SJ278242  https://w3w.co/welfare.blurs.perfectly.

It is an abandoned quarry with a large variety of limestone flowers on the slopes and the floor of the quarry. Wooded areas between the grassland sites is also of interest. Rarities Juncus subnodulosus Blunt-flowered Rush and Epipactis palustris Marsh Helleborine have been recorded in the further quarry which also contains a large pool with a good amphibian population. Terrain is quite demanding through the wooded parts between the main grassland areas but it is not a large site.

For further information about the meeting please contact Penny Wysome, 01952 242617, pennywysome@yahoo.com. 

  

A picture of juncus subnodulosus Blunt-flowered Rush . 

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Kicking the season off at the Edge

Hello botanical friends,

We have arrived at the first field meeting for 2023. The weather has been a little unpredictable and I haven't been able to leave my coat at home but there has been sunshine along with the rain and everything in the garden is growing - including the weeds!

We are meeting on Saturday 13th May for a walk in Benthall Edge Woods. Meet at the National Trust car park (£3 for  non-members) at 11:00 AM in the car park at SJ657024, https://w3w.co/moves.hydration.shrubbery. We will be walking through the woodland, there are some steeps slopes and it can be slippy underfoot, particularly after rain.

These woods are owned by the National Trust and have been thinned, removing Ash trees that have been affected by ash dieback, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, ensuring that the woodlands are safe for people to enjoy. This is a wonderful opportunity to see if opening the canopy will have encouraged the ground flora.

As part of the LoRE project we will paying particular attention to the rare plants that have been recorded there previously. Eleven rare plants have been recorded here in the past but only three this century, we may find Hieracium cinderella Long-bracted Hawkweed, Hordelymus europaeus, Wood Barley, Tilia platyphyllos Large-leaved Lime and Epipactis phyllanthes Green-flowered helleborine.

For further information about the meeting please contact John Handley, 07507 054695, johnhandley11@gmail.com. Bring along a coat and your lunch for a wonderful day in a Shropshire woodland in mid May. 

A picture of Tilia platyphllos Large-leaved Lime leaves. 

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Spring Newsletter 2023

Hello botanical friends,

It was wonderful to meet at Preston Montford for the AGM at the weekend and the book sale made a total of £50, and we still have Martin Godfrey's wonderful donation of Volumes 1 and 2 of  "Our Native Ferns" by E. J. Lowe 1874, both volumes with beautiful colour plates. which we are confident will find a worthy home and add to our finances.

It is time to make a pot of tea and sit down with a cuppa and your favourite biscuits: the Spring Newsletter is published!  It is a whopping 35 pages, filled with dates for field outings and articles by brilliant people, including our very own Mark Duffell, on the plants of the Montgomery Canal (see front cover Floating Water-plantain Luronium natans, pic below).  Mark also gave a wonderful talk at the AGM on invasive plants in Shropshire. Thank you Mark and all the other contributors and thank you Andy, our editor, and to Gordon and Sarah for putting the Newsletter together and proof reading. We hope that you enjoy it and we welcome any feedback or inspiration.  

Front Cover: Floating Water-plantain Luronium natans, photo M.Duffell

Members will have been either emailed the Spring newsletter as a pdf or received a paper copy.  Everyone is welcome to have a read online here: Spring Newsletter 2023, or the pdf can be accessed from the Shropshire Botanical Society Dropbox here: Spring Newsletter 2023

Further to the article by John Handley on the "Rare Plants in Shropshire", John has compiled an Excel file that lists the rare plants of Shropshire which is available from Dropbox here:  Rare Plants in Shropshire

Happy summer and we look forward to seeing you at the field meetings this year, see the Field Meetings Programme 2023.