Festive Greetings

To all our members and botanical friends, wishing you a happy, peaceful, healthy and restorative festive break!  

Winter Social, 2-4pm Sat. 16th Jan. 2021, by Zoom

Hopefully we'll see you at this winter social event, which will be a Zoom online meetup.  Members will receive their Zoom link automatically but if anyone else would like to join us, please email: shropbotsoc@gmail.com.  It will be very informal, party hats optional, you don't even need your video on if you are feeling bashful. 

We will have a slide show of New Year Plant Hunt finds from members so do take photos of your own NYPH and send them in to shropbotsoc@gmail.com with your stories to share.

We'll also give the answers and announce the prizewinners of the Bot Soc Christmas Crossword.  You'll need to send your answers in advance, the deadline for answers is Jan. 13th.  When you have completed the clues to the crossword, send your answers to shropbotsoc@gmail.com.  

Finally there will be lighthearted online quiz, answers on the day, no prizes for this one, just for fun.  We hope to see you there, meanwhile have a very Happy New Year! 

Least Water-lily, Nuphar pumila - conservation by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Today is the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the Millenium Seedbank, located in Sussex.  It is the world’s largest underground seed bank & conservation resource for global wild plant species.  For more info on the project check out the MSB webpage.

It seems a fitting day to provide an update of the project which started in 2016 to review the genetic status, ecology, and condition of Least Water-lily Nuphar pumila, at Cole Mere, Shropshire, the only population in England. 

Nuphar pumila Least Water-lily, by Dan Wrench

The partnership included SBS, Natural England, the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) UK Native Seed Hub, Conservation Genetics and nursery teams, Richard Lansdown (Chair IUCN Freshwater Plant Specialist Group), site managers Shropshire Council, and also volunteers from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Colemere Sailing Club.  The latter provided boat transport for a local Dive Club who were enlisted to count the number of petioles emerging from the rhizomes, not their usual dive remit but it was received enthusiastically after a little training.

The vulnerability of the species at Cole Mere was of concern and the project aimed to:

1. Provide a summary of the ecology of Nuphar pumila, management and monitoring recommendations

2. Carry out seed viability tests, and propagate seeds and rhizomes for ex-situ conservation and public display at Kew

3. Carry out DNA analysis to detect hybridisation with Yellow Water-lily Nuphar lutea, also present at Cole Mere.

4. Devise an in-situ conservation management plan.

Seed pods were carefully collected, making sure they were the right species.  The seed pod has a lobed stigmatic disk in contrast to Yellow Water-lily Nuphar lutea which is also present at Cole Mere.

Nuphar pumila with lobed stigmatic disk

The Nuphar pumila seeds were found to be 95% viable, which was great news.  BUT successful germination depended on very specific conditions, especially light levels and only 10 live seedlings  were obtained from 100’s of seed, which was very labour intensive.  Even worse news, all of these seedlings subsequently died.  The seedlings were watered with tap water and Kew had problems with algal growth.

So hopes are now pinned on the rhizomes which were collected during the same operation.  Each year many free floating rhizomes are found on the lake edges, possible uprooted by waterfowl, likely mute swans feeding on the submerged leaves.  Some of the less bruised ones were collected and taken for propogation, but the majority were too battered and died:

Nuphar pumila rhizomes pulled up by waterfowl

However, recent news from Kew is that from the remaining rhizomes with healthy shoots they have managed to divide these and have several healthy plants in the collection which they hope to divide again.  The best conditions appear to be a loam based compost and outside in ambient conditions rather than indoors in a controlled environment.  The mixed success of the propogation shows how important it is to ensure in-situ conservation measures at Cole Mere are as favourable as possible for the species and to continue to monitor the populations.

Zooming into the AGM and "What's in a Name"

We are feeling just a little pleased with ourselves that we held an enjoyable and successful virtual AGM at the weekend.  We swiftly dealt with the Committee business, electing Mags Cousins to Chair and Martin Godfrey to join the Committee; heard the annual report from outgoing chair John Handley, given by Sue Dancey; and the financial report also from Sue, which was all good in a nutshell.

John thanked committee members for their work, especially Hilary Wallace and Gordon Leel for the hardwork of producing the Newsletter, there is a snippet below from a previous edition.  Hilary is stepping down after the autumn edition, and Andrew Perry has agreed to become Editor.  We're always looking for more material and articles so if you have anything that you would like to submit, please email shropbotsoc@gmail.com

After the AGM business was dealt with, we handed over to Mark Duffell of Arvensis Ecology, for an informative and entertaining talk with slides:

"What's in a Name"  A short romp through the science of naming the natural world. Through stories and quirky discoveries learn how plants (and animals) have been named and what their names mean, not all in Latin either!

It is remarkable how some old names given to plants have stood the test of time, whilst others were remarkably descriptive but rather long winded and have changed beyond recognition.   He tested us with this one, do you know this plant? Ignore the chat box, that won't help as Cowslips in cow pats were answers related to the previous slide - yes, he kept us on our toes:

Answer below:

Another quirky fact, a revelation to some in the audience was the penchant for naming plants after wives, friends and foes, and the use of anagrams.  Mitella (Bishop's caps) and Tellima (Fringecups), two different genera, anagrams of each other due to similarities in appearance:

One from the audience is what is behind the name Polypogon monspeliensis, Annual Beard-grass?

It turns out it used to be in the genus Alopecurus and monspeliensis is derived from Montpellier in France where it was discovered.  There were lots of other interesting stories behind plant names, far too many to mention here.  

Huge thanks to Mark for providing the evenings entertainment.  It was lovely to see everyone's little faces again, or just icons for those that were camera shy or simply didn't have enough band width!  Hopefully we will meet in person again before too long, but Zoom-ing together at least provided a chance to get together with fellow botanists and delve into botanical facts.  Thank you to everyone who joined us, including non member guests.

 

Virtual AGM Sat. 26th Sept. 7pm

Members will have heard already we're going virtual for the AGM, next Sat. 26th 7pm, a first for the society. Most of us have had a fair bit of practice with video meetings this year so we're sure to have an enjoyable evening, especially since our very own Mark Duffell will be giving a talk:

"What's in a name - a short romp through the science of naming the natural world."  Through stories and quirky discoveries learn how plants (and animals) have been named and what their names mean, not all in Latin either!

If you are curious about the meaning of a particular plant's scientific name, for instance what does ‘galeobdolon’ mean and how does it relate to Yellow Archangel, then now is your chance to ask.  Mark will attempt to discover the meaning (etymology) behind your favourite plants name (native or non-native, hardy or not) so send your question to him in advance on: mark@arvensisecology.co.uk

At the end of the talk there will be a question and answer session when Mark will provide the answers.  If you don't send your question in advance then we will have to work it out together on the night!.

The Zoom meeting is open to non members so message us for a link, or email: shropbotsoc@gmail.com.    

You can probably guess this one Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica:

We're really looking forward to getting together again, may be even seeing you (virtually), but if you're feeling camera shy you don't have to have your own video on!

More on Sedges... by John Handley

Just like everyone reading this post, being in lockdown, I’ve had to adjust my botanising over the recent months. In the first instance I was trying to sneak a look at plants whilst undertaking my hour of exercise – at one point trying to be inconspicuous whilst admiring the Convallaria majalis, Lily-of-the-Valley, that has naturalised within Bridgnorth Cemetery. 

Recently I’ve been able to enjoy botanising locally which has provided a respite for my family as much as me. One of the areas I’ve been exploring is Stanmore Country Park, an area that has developed from scrub after the RAF Bridgnorth Training Camp was closed in 1963. The vegetation would initially have been dominated by Salix caprea, Goat Willow, and Betula pendula, Silver Birch, and this process is still enclosing the few areas of open grassland that remain. It is an area that is commonly used by dog-walkers, including my family and I. It didn’t occur to me that the secondary woodland and grassland held much interest but encouraged by Ed Andrews, the Country Parks and Heritage Sites Manager, I decided to have a closer look. 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover a diversity of species and semi-natural habitats that are providing a great deal of benefit for local wildlife as well as a much valued space for local residents. Along with over twenty eight individual Epipactis purpurata, Violet Helleborine (is it a good year for them?) I also recorded Carex divulsa subsp. divulsa, Grey Sedge. This is regarded as a rare plant within Shropshire (Lockton & Whild, 2005). The Rare Plants of Shropshire remarks that "although this is a common species in the south of England and Ireland, Shropshire is just on the edge of its range, and it seems to occur here only as a casual.  Of the two subspecies, the only one to have been found in Shropshire is ssp. divulsa. It has been recorded on roadsides, ditch-banks, and along paths in gardens."

Carex divulsa subsp. divulsa, Grey Sedge

The other sedge that I recorded, occurring quite frequently in the better grassland on the acid, sandy soils that occur around Bridgnorth, was Carex muricata subsp. pairae, Small-fruited Prickly-sedge.  This is not to be confused with C. muricata subsp. muricata, Large-fruited Prickly-sedge, which is believed to be one of the rarest sedges in Britain, but occurs in Shropshire, discovered in 1999 by Dr Sarah Whild on limestone scree at Jones’s Rough (SJ2424).  

Grey Sedge and Small-fruited Prickly-sedge are in the subgenus Vignea where the inflorescence is more compound, and the spikes are small in comparison with those of many species in subgenus Carex.  Members are characterised by having bisexual, sessile spikes, where the female flowers have two stigmas each. As you can see from the images the two species differ markedly by the interrupted inflorescence and diamond shape of the utricles, narrowed from above and below in Small-fruited Prickly-sedge. 

Carex muricata subsp. pairae, Small-fruited Prickly-sedge

Exploring in the neighbouring monad, at a local reservoir with a boggy margin, I came across another couple of sedges.  Carex hirta, Hairy Sedge, is less discriminating than many sedges and often the first sedge to come to my attention because of its conspicuous hairiness.  In amongst the verdant vegetation of the water’s edge the swollen, golden utricles were conspicuous, although the grazing water-fowl appeared to prefer Carex disticha, Brown Sedge, which was spreading through extensive rhizomes. A single tuft of Carex pseudocyperus, Cyperus Sedge, with its pendant piano-wire peduncles and bristly inflorescence was great to see, although common in the centre and north of the county where there are more water bodies, it isn’t so common in the south of Shropshire. 

Carex hirta, Hairy Sedge showing the hairy golden utricles

Carex disticha, Brown Sedge                     Carex pseudocyperus, Cyperus Sedge

Searching within the surrounding grassland I recorded Carex pilulifera, Pill Sedge, a tufted sedge that can tolerate the drier soils in the south east of the county.  Here it was lacking the close-set male flowers which I think gives it a distinctive shape. 

Carex pilulifera, Pill Sedge 

If anyone wants to share their own botanical experiences during the last few months, do email us on shropbotsoc@gmail.com.

References 

Lockton, A. J. & Whild, S. J., 2005. Rare Plants of Shropshire. 3 ed. Shropshire: Shropshire Botanical Society.

An abundance of sedges

Now that summer is in full swing we are turning our attention to sedges.  Fiona Gomersall is starting us off with her findings from a farm in south Shropshire where she found eight different species.  Sedges, always a good sign: 

"I visited a farm last winter in the Clun Valley when working as a farm advisor.  Knowing that I had an interest in botany the farmer had asked if I'd like to come back in the summer to have a look at a 'flower-rich patch' on the farm.  He wanted to know what was there and if the land qualified as a local wildlife site.  I returned a couple of weeks ago and surveyed the land as a volunteer and recorded 18 axiophytes which included the three following sedges of the damp areas:

Carex panicea, Carnation Sedge

Carex echinata, Star Sedge

Carex demissa,  Common Yellow-sedge

There were eight sedges altogether and other lovely plants like Scutellaria minor, Lesser Skullcap and Achillea ptarmica, Sneezewort. Yes, the site did qualify as a wildlife site and this would include an adjacent dingle which I hope to return to sometime."  

John Martin has also recently recorded an abundance of sedges, from Venus Pool (VP), the Shropshire Ornithological Society reserve.  There he found no less than 13 different sedge species, one of which was Carex pallescens, Pale Sedge, which has a slightly western and upland distribution.  This one was photographed from a meadow on the edge of Long Mynd.  It only grows on an upper slope of the meadow where there is slight seepage of shallow ground water from the Long Myndian shales.  It is certainly pale and note the crinkles at the base of the lowest bract:

Carex pallescens, Pale Sedge

Last week I came across the stately Carex otrubae, False Fox-sedge, in a damp woodland ride.  This year is was particularly abundant and widespread.  The photo does not do justice to this large, striking sedge:

Carex otrubae, False Fox-sedge

Back to the garden, Carex rostrata, Bottle Sedge is doing well in the pond.  The next nearest wild population to me is only a couple of miles away as the crow flies on the Long Mynd, at Wild Moor Pool where it becomes very abundant and is eaten by the ponies which wade into the pool to belly height to reach it:

Carex rostrata, Bottle Sedge

To a sedge with a totally different habit, Carex caryophyllea, Spring Sedge, a small species of short mesotrophic or acidic grassland.   This one was starting to die back already in the drought of a few weeks ago and is next to a rabbit dropping for scale:

Carex caryophyllea, Spring Sedge

Sedges are an interesting group, many being axiophytes - important indicator plants that reveal something about environmental conditions so are worthwhile investing a little time in getting to know.  Some are actually quite distinctive and easy to identify, so don't be put off.  There are resources available including the excellent BSBI Handbook No. 1 Sedges of the British Isles, by Jermy et al.

Botany Bubble anyone?

Those of you who were at the winter social meeting would have heard Harriet Carty from Caring for God’s Acre give an engaging talk on the Beautiful Burial Grounds project which aims to raise the profile of these wildlife rich spaces and encourage recording.  Members of the Botanical Society were invited to choose a churchyard or two (or as many as you like) in Shropshire and start recording plants.  

Liam Taylor, also from the project, followed up in the Spring newsletter with the list of churchyards and two maps showing where they all are.  Now that we are seeing lifting of restrictions, visiting churchyards near-ish to home and doing some peaceful recording (either on your own, with family members, as a botany bubble or with social distancing etc) is back on the cards.  It seems like a really nice way of easing back gently into botanising so we have reproduced the maps here.  Don't worry that they look small and ineligible, just click on them and they should open nicely.  There has to be a churchyard near everyone, surely.   

North Shropshire: 

South Shropshire:

Please continue to send your records following the usual protocol (see Recording Plants page of this website) to VC recorder Dr Sarah Whild.  Once they are all confirmed send a copy to Liam as well liam@cfga.org.uk.  If at all possible, please use 8-figure grid references with your records. 

This is just a suggestion so please only do what works for you, enabling you and others to stay safe and keep within current guidelines whilst getting out and seeing and recording a few plants.

Growing ferns from spores

You may remember Martin Godfrey's article in the Spring 2019 newsletter on how to grow wild ferns from spores.  Committee member Andrew Perry has done just that and has shared some of his experience here.

Andrew collected samples last autumn, just a few pinnae from each species with ripe sporangia underneath.  The spores look like brown dust which you collect after leaving the pinnae in a paper packet in a warm dry place overnight.

Andrew sprinkled some spores onto some damp compost in jam jars, with lids to keep them moist, and left them on a shady windowsill.

The spores germinated into prothalli, spreading across the compost.  The prothalli produce male and female organs resulting in the fertilized sporophyte stage, familiar to us as the ferns.

Andrew was excited to see that after several months the prothalli had started to produce tiny ferns, just as Martin described.  Athyrium filix-femina Lady Fern was the first to develop followed by Dryopteris borreri Borrer's Scaly Male Fern.  The young fronds were transplanted into some compost in a propagator on a north facing window sill to grow on and Andrew now has six species developing.

Very easy, just requiring a little a patience.  This would be an excellent project for later in the summer when the sporangia ripen.

Flower colour and the seasonal quality of light?

Each year when the blues really kick in, I wonder whether there is a relationship with the seasonal quality of light.  Here are some blues from the garden 6th May; from top left moving clockwise, Germander Speedwell, Bluebell, Slender Speedwell, Green Alkanet, Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Field Forget-me-not, Ground-Ivy, Wood Forget-me-not, centre Grape Hyacinth.  All are wild or naturalised in the garden except the Grape Hyacinth which is in a pot:

This was followed closely by the pinks, 8th May; clockwise from top left Bush Vetch and Red Clover, three geraniums Dove's-foot Crane's-bill, Herb-Robert and Shining Crane's-bill, then Red Campion, Cuckooflower, Red Dead-nettle and centre Crab Apple blossom.  All common native species, in the garden or yard:

And then the whites and more yellows after the earlier Primroses and Cowslips, start coming, more or less simultaneously.  These collections were taken this week, 21st May.  There were also a fair few white umbellifers (Apiaceae) not included here.  Clockwise from top left Bramble, Common Mouse-ear, Bogbean, Hedge Mustard, Wild Rasp, Bog Stitchwort, Cleavers, Oxeye Daisy, centre Heath Bedstraw:

And the yellows;  clockwise from top left again, Yellow Rattle (I just love the tiny violet teeth), Yellow Archangel, Meadow Buttercup, Kingcup, Yellow Pimpernel, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Wood Avens, Hop Trefoil, centre Tormentil:

Is it just what I happen to be seeing around here, or has anyone else noticed a seasonal pattern of changing colours? Admittedly from now it becomes a riot of colours, but later in the summer the deeper pinks and purples become more prevalent.

An hour in Bridgnorth Cemetery, by John Handley

Though well recorded, Bridgnorth Cemetery is a short walk away from where I live and each year I enjoy a brief, but joyful display of a near threatened species in Great Britain.

Teesdalia nudicaulis in Bridgnorth Cemetery

Teesdalia nudicaulis, Shepherd’s Cress has been in decline for quite some time with many losses being recorded before the 1930’s.  T. nudicaulis favours open, free-draining, periodically disturbed shallow gravelly or acid soils.  In Shropshire it is typically associated with rabbit scraped heath grassland and upland screes as here on the edge of the Long Mynd:

The basal rosette of Teesdalia nudicaulis

Teesdalia nudicaulis showing the compressed spoon shaped fruits

The map below displays records of Teesdalia nudicaulis in Shropshire since 2000, showing records from Bridgnorth in the south east of the county, and Prees Heath in the north.  It’s most conspicuous presence is on the Long Mynd in the south, and Earl’s Hill just to the north.  Haughmond Hill near Shrewsbury and then Bulthy Hill to the west are the bulk of most of the remaining records with some scattered sites on the hills to the west.

The more recent losses in the lowlands are probably due to encroaching scrub. It is a winter-annual therophyte which means that it germinates and grows in the autumn, overwinters and then flowers and seeds when conditions are favourable in the spring, generally between March and June depending on the intensity of the spring sunshine.

In Bridgnorth Cemetery it grows where there is disturbance from rabbits which, I’m pleased to say, is currently a healthy population. It is reported to have a very short-lived seed bank which is a concern because without the disturbance from the rabbits, a closing sward won’t favour the germination in the autumn.  However there is some evidence from the Breckland Heaths that suggests that it might be more persistent than initially assumed and might have the potential to re-establish if there is further disturbance.

For more details see the BSBI Teesdalia nudicaulis, Shepherd's Cress species account

At sixes and sevens, or even eights

Hopefully you all enjoyed a read of the Spring Newsletter over the Easter weekend, emailed to you via the Google Group mailing list rather than printed and posted, for reasons that don't need explaining.  In case you are not on the mailing list and haven't yet seen it, you can find it on the Newsletters page of the website, just click the link and read it on line.  Or, you can download a pdf copy from Dropbox.

Members continue to find botanical cheer, no doubt aided by the fine spring weather.  Lalage came across this fantastic patch of Paris quadrifolia, Herb-Paris on Wenlock Edge during a woodland exercise walk.  Always a super plant to find, indicative of ancient woodland and preferring base rich soils.  There are plants with four, five and six leaves visible in this picture:

The flower is in the middle, interesting rather than showy but with leaves like that what does it matter!

Staying in the woods, Anemone nemorosa, Wood Anemone also seems to vary quite a lot with the number of petal-like sepals, here there are six, seven and even eight sepalled specimens:

Likewise Ranunculus ficaria, Lesser Celandine, in this patch on the edge of the Long Mynd is also quite variable, here with eight and eleven petals:

Peta spotted some Lamiastrum galeobdolon, Yellow Archangel, the real deal ancient woodland indicator, unlike the variegated spp argentatum garden escape which is galloping along our hedgebanks.















Pirkko found the hybrid, P. x polyantha, False Oxlip growing with Primula veris, Cowslips and near to the other parent P. vulgaris, Primroses:

Moving out into the open Pirkko also found the diminuitive Erophila verna agg, Common Whitlowgrass on an almost bare limestone path in Nantmawr:

Don't forget that this is actually a group of similar looking species but you will be relieved to know that the aggregate comprises only three species, unlike the infernal dandelions, so is actually quite do-able.  Sarah Whild would love to have your records: E.verna, E. gabrescens or E.majscula, please send herbarium specimens with these records though.  Check out the BSBI Erophila plant crib for a key and images on the VC77 botany website.

So just to end on a blue note, in colour but not in spirits is the lovely Veronica filiformis, Slender Speedwell:

Backyard Botany

Taking the theme of botany on the doorstep quite literally, Jane has sent this photograph of Primula vulgaris, Primroses and Viola riviniana, Common Dog-violets gracing her delightful rustic doorstep.  The tree stump is an old Taxus baccata, Yew tree which gave the farm its name:




Only going slightly further afield and never one to miss an opportunity for some recording, John is giving his local square SJ5011, a thorough going over, each day a few more records from his local walk.  This Daphne laureola, Spurge-laurel was from last week in the hedge by the council car park on Wenlock Road, Shrewsbury on the way to the allotment.  He didn't say which weeds were actually on his allotment!

John is also scrutinising the cracks in the pavements and the bottoms of walls and spotted this Veronica brachysiphon, a Hebe from New Zealand, although this one probably seeded from someone's garden.  I had never thought about the scientific name of Hebe before; brachysiphon is from the Greek, meaning short-tubed (brachy- = short, little; siphon = reed, straw, tube), and presumably relates to structure of the flowers.  I wonder if this one will get a chance to flower this year.










Peta has been casting her gaze downwards (normally she's looking upwards searching the skies for the returning Swifts!), and has bravely tried her hand at photographing the diminutive Adoxa moschatellina, Town-Hall Clock, or Five Faced Bishop.  It is fiendishly difficult to capture this plant to show the leaves and the five sided flower, it would definitely be easier if it was a two-faced bishop, but always lovely to see this ancient woodland indicator.

Lastly for this post is a blooming Damson from Andrew's garden, Prunus domestica ssp. insititia, hopefully it will be good year for delicious fruits too:

Andrew offers some tips about distinguishing the Prunus species.  "Like our native Prunus spinosa, Blackthorn, the flowers appear before the leaves (on many varieties at least!) but the flowers are larger.  Flowers before leaves is also a trait of  Prunus cerasifera, Cherry Plum another early flowering Prunus which is often planted on roadsides.  All these species can be spiny.  Stace separates Cherry Plum by its first year twigs which are green, glabrous and shiny, as opposed to dull grey and often hairy (I've not found the twig colour very reliable though).  Looking at the flowers, I've seen varieties of Cherry Plum with white to pink petals, but never with the cream colour petals of Blackthorn.  With Prunus domestica ssp. domestica, the Plum, apparently the flowers and leaves appear at the same time, and it is not spiny."

That's all for now folks.  Here's to a bit of sunshine and warmth that is forecast for the weekend.  Stay safe and healthy and and we'll bring you more local botanical finds soon.