Saturday 6 May 2023

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.