Compiled by Pete Stroh

Compiled by Pete Stroh

ENGLAND

Himantoglossum robertianum (Giant Orchid) was reported in March this year flowering on the banks of a disused railway line in Oxfordshire (v.c. 23), though I was a bit sceptical about the news at first, as I heard about the discovery on April Fool’s Day. Plant stories don’t often make it into the national press, but few papers could resist telling their readers about a showy Mediterranean orchid found for the first time in the UK that is

Himantoglossum robertianum (Giant Orchid). Ian Denholm capable of growing over a metre tall. The species appears to be genuinely expanding its range northwards into central parts of Europe, but it soon emerged that the Oxfordshire plants had in fact been deliberately introduced a decade or so ago. Journalists were quick to make the link between warming temperatures and the orchid’s evident ability to survive in such northerly climes – a valid point, irrespective of how it actually got here in the first place.

It was pleasing to hear from Roger Smith that a new colony of Carex disticha (Brown Sedge) has been discovered by Hannah Gibbons in a small flood meadow near Chagford, South Devon. This sedge is not particularly uncommon in England in suitable habitat, though there have been declines due to the usual factors of drainage, undergrazing and habitat destruction. It has, however, always been a rare species in the south-west, and Hannah’s record is only the second recent find for v.c. 3. Also in South Devon, Cytisus scoparius subsp. maritimus (Prostrate Broom) has been found for the first time at Bolberry Down (which worryingly, as I write in late July, is on fire), near to a lovely population of Carex punctata (Dotted Sedge), and Phelipanche purpurea (Purple Broomrape) was spotted at Aymer Cove by a visitor looking for Thrift Clearwings. This attractive Broomrape hadn’t been seen in the county for over 40 years. Staying in the south-west, Ian Bennallick reports two patches of Pancratium maritimum (Sea Daffodil) at a new site at Par

Phelipanche purpurea (Purple Broomrape). Roger Smith

Carex punctata (Dotted Sedge). Roger Smith

Beach, East Cornwall (v.c. 2). Each patch had six to eight separate small clumps of leaves. The current consensus using the available evidence is that this species is probably naturalised from gardens in its known coastal locations (Pearman, 2022), though it does occur in similar habitats along the western coasts of Portugal, Spain and France, north to southern Brittany, and so it is just possible that bulbs were carried on currents and colonised at some least of the sites naturally from a native source, with would make it a native species in our area. As Ian says, it would help to know if Pancratium is spreading elsewhere, perhaps colonising new sites along beaches in northern France? Any information would be very welcome.

On a much more depressing note, 30 Ophrys fuciflora (Late Spider-orchid) plants were stolen this spring from one of the better sites for it in East Kent (v.c. 15), and at least 10 Neotinea ustulata (Burnt Orchid) were dug up from Mount Caburn NNR in East Sussex (v.c. 14). Keeping the precise details of locations for such rare plants secret is nigh-on impossible in the age of social media (and really, it was ever thus, thanks to word-of-mouth), and consequently conservation of threatened species largely depends on a shared moral compact, notwithstanding the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. Unfortunately, as Richard Bateman has noted, although these species are relatively easy to grow from seed if you want them in your garden, “some foolish people insist on possessing the ‘real Mona Lisa’ rather than a copy.”

Back to better news, with Bryan Edwards making the rather remarkable discovery of Juncus capitatus (Dwarf Rush) at RAOC West Moors (within Holt & West Moors Heaths SSSI), an MoD site in Dorset (v.c. 9) which is primarily used as a fuel storage facility. The population, which numbered in its hundreds, was growing on bare damp acid ground within tightly mown grass-heath, and is new to the county. We can only speculate about how this species arrived at the site. Rushes have very small seeds with hard casings, and they may well have been trapped in tyres or boots that were previously roaming military training areas in West Cornwall. Alternatively, the seeds may have stowed away on equipment brought over from mainland Europe, or the Channel Islands. There is also the possibility, as a rather inconspicuous species most ‘obvious’ in the spring, that it is a hitherto overlooked native population, though its presence away from the coast combined with the MoD association seems a bit suspect. It’s impossible to be sure, but what is certain is that it would seem to be happy where it grows. I can find no casual

Ophrys fuciflora (Late Spiderorchid). Lliam Rooney records of J. capitatus in England, although in Britain there are Heslop-Harrison records for the Hebrides, and also a 1911 record for Galashiels.

In North-east Yorkshire (v.c. 62), Melanie Earle has been investigating fields in the south of the county which have turned up some unusual plants, the star find being a sizeable population of Hypochaeris glabra (Smooth Cat’s-ear), which hasn’t been seen in the vice-county since the 1960s. And in Teesside, just within v.c. 62, Chris Bell has found 31 spikes of Epipactis phyllanthes (Green-flowered Helleborine) growing on the banks of the Tees, only a couple of metres from the river. This is an excellent record and the first for the vice-county. In Cumbria, Mike Porter reports a new site for Epipactis palustris (Marsh Helleborine) near Kirkby Stephen (v.c. 69) with more than 20 plants, and up to 200 plants of E. phyllanthes var. vectensis in Miltonrigg Wood near Brampton (v.c. 70). This is a known site but helleborines are doing particularly well there this year with many specimens of E. helleborine (Broad-leaved Helleborine), some exceptionally tall. Mike has also confirmed a new site for the hybrid Carex elata x nigra (C. x turfosa) near Warcop (v.c. 69).

John Richards writes that a theme connecting discoveries in South Northumberland (v.c. 67) this year has been new sites for species with a mainly southern distribution, doubtless responding to warmer summers. In particular, the recently designated Silverlink Biodiversity Park, formed from industrial wasteland just north of the Tyne Tunnel, has yielded records for Anacamptis pyramidalis (Pyramidal Orchid) and Hypericum montanum (Pale St John’s-wort). Although known

from the Magnesian limestone south of the Tyne for many years, this is a northwards extension of range for Pale St John’s-wort and a new county record. Pyramidal Orchid had not been seen inland in the county for many years, but appeared in three inland sites this summer. Elsewhere, a selfsown individual of Dactylorhiza praetermissa (Southern Marshorchid) has come to light, the second v.c. 67 site and marginally a northwards extension of range. Lathyrus nissolia (Grass Vetchling) has provided another surprising extension of range, this time to the west, having colonised a Nature Reserve on Whinstone at Walltown, not far from the Cumbrian border. Its origin there seems to be a total mystery.

In Herefordshire (v.c. 36), Hilary Wallace found Carex vulpina (True Fox-sedge), confirmed by Stuart Hedley and Mike Porter. This population extends significantly its previously known western limits, and comes hot on the heels of the discovery by Stuart of another rare sedge in the county, Carex muricata subsp. muricata (Largefruited Prickly-sedge), growing far beyond its previously known range. Graeme Kay has reported two interesting finds for Cheshire (v.c. 58). In the early spring, a first county record for Poa infirma (Early Meadow-grass) was discovered by Eric Greenwood in Port Sunlight Cemetery and Ranunculus parviflorus (Small-flowered Buttercup) was recorded by Brian Laney whist out searching for discarded antlers in deer-grazed grassland in Tatton Park, Knutsford. This is the first v.c. record since 1860. Thirteen plants of Myosotis sicula (Jersey Forget-me-not) have been spotted at its sole location in our area, following conservation efforts last autumn that involved rolling up thick mats of Crassula

Lythrum hyssopifolia (Grass-poly) Pete Stroh

helmsii (New Zealand Pigmyweed) and disposing of the material. The Forget-me-not hadn’t been seen for a few years, and as well as the find being greatly encouraging to the volunteers who removed the presumably heavy rolls of Crassula, it has also galvanised the local environment department into providing cash for more clearance this autumn.

Lythrum hyssopifolia (Grasspoly) was once a rare and declining species in England (see Preston & Whitehouse, 1986), but there have been a number of new sites found this century, and the latest comes from St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly (v.c. 1), where Liz Askins recorded several plants in a sandy bulb field. Grass-poly certainly has a long-lived seed bank, but just how it has managed to spread to so many new sites is a bit of a mystery (at least to me). In East Gloucestershire (v.c. 33), Chris Dixon has refound a few species on the slopes of Salter’s Hill above Hailes that, though relatively widespread across much of England, are rarities there. Holcus mollis (Creeping Softgrass), Danthonia decumbens (Heath-grass), Carex leporina (Oval Sedge) and Potentilla erecta (Tormentil) are all first hectad records this century. Chris also found Pedicularis sylvatica (Lousewort) at the site, which is now far from common in lowland England. On that theme, Carex canescens (White Sedge) and Comarum palustre (Marsh Cinquefoil) have been located at a mire at Frensham Little Pond in Surrey (v.c. 17). The former was last seen in 1961 and the latter in 1994. And a new site for Galium pumilum (Slender Bedstraw) was discovered in v.c. 17 by Simon Riley on the downs above Shere whilst working as a volunteer for Butterfly Conservation.

Lepidium latifolium (Dittander) has been found for the first time in South Somerset (v.c. 5) by Simon Leach, where it was growing on a patch of trackside waste ground on the eastern edge of Taunton, squeezed between a parking lot, a car wash and a motorcycle repair workshop – the glamour of urban botany! There was also a first record for c. 20 years in v.c. 5 for Fumaria densiflora (Dense-flowered Fumitory), found flowering in January by Fred Rumsey in the farm-shop car park at Lopen, near South Petherton, and Fred and Simon also recorded Carduus × stangii (Carduus crispus × nutans) at Ham Hill during a Somerset Rare Plants Group field meeting. This is the first modern record for the vicecounty, the three others being pre-1970.

It wouldn’t be an England Roundup without mentioning new sites for Himantoglossum hircinum (Lizard Orchid). Northamptonshire (v.c. 32) has its second vice-county record following the discovery by Ian Hilbert of one flowering plant on

a public footpath at the Wildlife Trust’s Ring Haw nature reserve in the north-east of the county. A new site in Buckinghamshire (v.c. 24) – only the second this century – was spotted by the sharp-eyed Andrew Luke growing on a roundabout to the north of Milton Keynes. If roundabouts make suitable habitat, Milton Keynes is well-placed to support hundreds of populations! The flowering spike was found on a Saturday, reported to the Bucks Record Centre the following Monday, and mown by oblivious contractors on Tuesday, though hopefully it will live to tell the tale. And there are three ‘new’ sites in Suffolk (v.cc. 26, 27), one of which supports quite a few healthy plants that must have been there for some time, growing with flora typical of the Breckland area.

Staying in Suffolk, Martin Sanford has let me know that, perhaps unsurprisingly, a few drought-tolerant plants have turned up in new places this year. Jo Parmenter found a good population of Ranunculus parviflorus at Lound, and also found Cotula australis (Annual Buttonweed) and Polycarpon tetraphyllum (Four-leaved Allseed) at Lakenheath air base; the latter was seen in another part of the air base by Oliver

Artemisia campestris (Field Wormwood). Alex Hyde Glenister in 2020 so there may be a significant population there. The Polycarpon also turned up in Sudbury and Thetford this year and might be benefiting from dry summers. It has certainly spread nationally, as the forthcoming atlas will show. Jo Jones contacted me to say that whilst surveying a scrape designed to invigorate a population of Silene conica (Sand Catchfly) at Aspal Close LNR in the west of the county, Linda Gascoigne, a Breckland Flora Group (BFG) member, found three plants of Artemisia campestris (Field Wormwood), making it the fourth native site for this species in the UK, assuming you count a site as native if the probable source of dispersal was via machinery (no letters, please). The BFG, managed by Plantlife and working in partnership with Natural England and Forestry England, do a wonderful job helping to conserve the special flora of this area, and are rapidly building an expert volunteer base for monitoring. All very positive.

Not to be outdone by their neighbours, West Norfolk (v.c. 28) has what might be considered the find of the year (though technically it was found last year). Ian Woodward, who discovered Helosciadium repens (Creeping Marshwort) on the West Suffolk/West Norfolk border (marginally into v.c. 26, by a matter of c. 100 m) in 2020 (see Woodward & Webster, 2021), has found a second location for this nationally rare species c. 1 km downstream from the first site in Thetford, but this time just over the border in v.c. 28. This find was not a fluke – Ian has been meticulously searching potentially suitable habitat since his initial find, and his hard work has paid off handsomely in the form of hundreds of plants growing in amenity grassland which is

regularly mown throughout the summer and is often winter-wet. Ian’s working supposition is that the plants established from seed that was brought here from the 2020 site by flooding in winter 2020/21. No fruits were found in 2021, but Ian had more luck this year, and the identity of the species has now been confirmed by Tony O’Mahony. References

Pearman, D.A. 2022. The status of

Pancratium maritimum L. (Sea

Daffodil) in Britain and Ireland.

BSBI News 150: 66–68. Preston, C.D. & Whitehouse,

H.L.K. 1986. The habitat of Lythrum hyssopifolia L. in Cambridgeshire, its only surviving English locality. Biological

Conservation 35: 41–62. Woodward, I. & Webster,

M. 2021. A ‘natural regeneration’ approach

Orobanche picridis (Oxtongue Broomrape). Fred Rumsey to wild flower meadow creation results in the appearance of Helosciadium repens (Creeping Marshwort) in West Suffolk. BSBI

News 146: 3–6.

WALES

Iwas unaware when I wrote my last round-up in the BSBI Bulletin that Barry Stewart had made a very exciting discovery of nearly 20 plants of Orobanche picridis (Oxtongue Broomrape) at Port Talbot Docks in the western half of Glamorganshire (v.c. 41). This may be the largest population in the Britain.

In Monmouthshire (v.c. 35) three vice-county firsts were found by Elsa Wood and Steph Tyler. Alchemilla filicaulis subsp. filicaulis turned up on a limestone track in Great Barnets Wood (subsp. vestita is the usual subspecies in unimproved old pastures), coinciding with the new Alchemilla handbook dropping through the letterbox! They also found Alopecurus × brachystylus, the hybrid between A. pratensis (Meadow Foxtail) and A. geniculatus (Marsh Foxtail), growing near the River Monnow at Monmouth Cap, and Scrophularia vernalis (Yellow Figwort) was discovered by Bob Hewitt at Abersychan. There was also an exciting re-discovery of Epipactis leptochila (Narrow-lipped Helleborine) by Des Evans and Sarah Clay (confirmed by John Richards) in a beech wood on limestone near the Wyndcliff. This species was last seen in the vicecounty at a nearby site in 1926. Two other records from more than 30 years ago were not confirmed and it was thought to be extinct in the vice-county. Other noteworthy new hectad records in the vicecounty included Polypodium

Epipactis leptochila (Narrowlipped Helleborine). Sarah Clay

cambricum (Southern Polypody) on the walls of the church at Christchurch; Dactylorhiza × hallii (Heath Spotted-orchid × Southern Marsh-orchid) in Chepstow Park Wood and at Earlswood; and Polypogon monspeliensis (Annual Beard-grass) and Diplotaxis muralis (Annual Wall-rocket) at Wainfelin near Pontypool, where there was a further surprise of c. 20 plants of Euphorbia stricta (Tintern Spurge) on a bank by a car park. Oenanthe pimpinelloides (Corkyfruited Water-dropwort) continues to turn up in meadows, with three small clumps found at Lydart, Penallt in eastern Monmouthshire and then amazingly, another patch in a small meadow at Llanvaches in the south of the county the following day. One field on the Levels near Pye Corner, Newport, was dominated by this species.

It seems that records of Wolffia arrhiza (Rootless Duckweed) found in reens on the Gwent Levels may need to be questioned. A recent paper by Richard Lansdown (Lansdown et al., 2022) has suggested that at least some previous

records may actually have been the neophytes Wolffia columbina and W. globosa. Ray Woods noted three unusual plants for Radnorshire (v.c. 43) – Crepis biennis (Rough Hawksbeard) along the A470 between Builth Wells and Newbridge-on-Wye, and Urtica urens (Small Nettle) and Chenopodium bonushenricus (Good-King-Henry). Exciting news from Carmarthenshire (v.c. 44) is that Liparis loeselii (Fen Orchid) was rediscovered at MoD Pendine on 10 July, having been thought to be extinct for much of this century. The eagle-eyed 11-yearold Tristan Morris found the first one during a visit by 16 BSBI members attending the annual Glynhir recording week. Five further plants were subsequently found by the party in the dunes. Work has been undertaken here to make the dunes more suitable for Fen Orchids and continuing management will seek to further enhance the habitat at Pendine to encourage further colonisation in future years. Several other rare species were recorded during the day including Gymnadenia densiflora (Marsh Fragrant-orchid), Gymnadenia densiflora x Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Carex punctata (Dotted Sedge), Ophioglossum vulgatum (Adder’stongue) and the second record for v.c. 44 of the non-native Senecio inaequidens (Narrow-leaved Ragwort). Matt Sutton has been doing some important monitoring at MoD Pendine and has found new sites for Torilis nodosa (Knotted Hedge-parsley), the first v.c. record since 1965, as well as Lysimachia minima (Chaffweed) and Koeleria macrantha (Crested Hair-grass).

The Glynhir recording week in v.c. 44 provided the first vice-county record of Cotula coronopifolia (Buttonweed), an alien that has colonised an area of perhaps 1 ha on saltmarsh in the Taf estuary upstream of Black-scar. Arthur Chater reported that it occurs at a single site in a similar situation at Ynys Las in Cardigan. Many other records of interest were made during the Glynhir week, though it was disappointing that species such as Vicia orobus (Wood Bitter-vetch), Carex montana (Soft-leaved Sedge), Genista tinctoria (Dyer’s Greenweed), G. anglica (Petty Whin), Ophioglossum vulgatum and Persicaria minor (Small Waterpepper) that were specifically searched for at sites where they were last seen in the 1980s were not re-found.

Lathyrus japonicus (Sea Pea) at Ceibwr Bay, Pembrokeshire (v.c. 45), its only Welsh locality, 18 July 2016. Stephen Evans

Lathyrus japonicus (Sea Pea) is very rare in Wales, with just a single plant/clump at Ceibwr Bay, Pembrokeshire (v.c. 45). Following its discovery by Sue Phillips in 2010, Stephen Evans had visited the site every year, often more than once, to follow the plant’s survival, with a detailed note written about the first four years (Evans, 2015). Surveys since the publication of this article have noted flowering in 2016 (with 28 stems in three clusters spread over 1.7 × 1.4 m, and 25 pods, though most were still unripe in September), and 2017 when there were 25 stems over 3.4 × 2 m but only three pods in midSeptember, which again were not ripe. Subsequently, it was greatly reduced to between two and four stems, with no flowers, and the plant was last found on 28 June 2021 when it was confined to a 3 × 3 cm area. Its decline could have been partly due to storms, high tides and re-shaping of the beach shingle, or perhaps more likely a result of disturbance from holidaymakers on this small but increasingly popular beach. During the Covid pandemic and the consequent ‘staycation’ tourism boom, damage from barbecues and trampling had greatly increased. There was no sign of the Sea Pea in September 2021 or in June 2022, and so unfortunately it seems likely that it has been lost to Pembrokeshire and therefore, once again, to Wales.

Steve Chambers, VCR for Cardiganshire (v.c. 46), has found Poa infirma (Early Meadowgrass), new for the vice-county, growing on the salted road verge of the A44(T) below Bwlch Nantyrarian. Though inland and upland (300 m alt.), the roadside is a known hotspot historically for other plants of dry, coastal grassland, including Poa compressa (Flattened Meadowgrass) and the halophytic Plantago coronopus (Buck’s-horn Plantain) and Sagina maritima (Sea Pearlwort). The Poa is the third of a trio of nationally ‘on the move’ grasses to be found new for the vice-county in the last two years, and the location is currently the most north-westerly one for the species in Britain.

The long-awaited Wales AGM finally took place in Caernarvonshire (v.c. 49), having been cancelled in the previous two years for obvious reasons. Based at Bangor, the weekend meeting attracted around fifty participants and much useful recording was done during the field visits. The Great Orme flora was at its best and at Morfa Aber, Parapholis strigosa (Hard-grass) was a pleasing update. In full flower with its white anthers obvious, it was much easier to spot than when vegetative. A couple of plants of Drymochloa sylvatica (Wood Fescue) were found by the river bank in the woodland nearby, probably washed down from the Aber Falls gorge on the hillside above, a more typical habitat and its only known vice-county site. In Pwllheli, the first recording group meeting of the year following reports of possible Anacamptis morio (Green-winged Orchid) yielded 29 flowering spikes; this is a new hectad record. In the car park, two flowering plants of Matthiola incana (Hoary Stock) grew in a crack at the wall base, their lovely fragrance filling the air.

Jo Clark and Heather Garrett, joint Recorders for Meirionnydd (v.c. 48), reported that over the winter a few members sorted through some of Peter Benoit’s botanical papers which were retrieved by Annie Seddon from his house after his death in 2021, collating letters and records into broad categories. The papers have been deposited in the Gwynedd County archive in Dolgellau. The hope is for the post-2010 records for locally rare and scarce species to be extracted in preparation for a revision to the vice-county Rare Plant Register. The first field visit this year was held on a cool and sunny day in late March when the Cadair Idris population of Saxifraga oppositifolia (Purple Saxifrage) was checked. Flowering was at its peak and seeing such bright purple flowers against a backdrop of the faded winterbrown upland habitats was a great start to the field season programme. The Snowdonia National Park warden assisted during this trip. May saw Jo and Heather down on the coast at Penllyn farm, Tywyn, at the invitation of the RSPB. The coastal grassland habitat was in good condition and they were tasked with re-finding the five locally rare or scarce species previously recorded here. Ophioglossum azoricum (Small Adder’s-tongue) was spotted in the short turf, but they could not re-find Urtica urens (Small Nettle) or Moenchia erecta (Upright Chickweed), and were too early in the season to see the other remaining two species on the checklist (Spiranthes spiralis (Autumn Lady’s-tresses) and Juncus subnodulosus (Bluntflowered Rush), though did find

Ophioglossum azoricum (Small Adder’s-tongue). Tom Kistruck

one other notable species, Sagina subulata (Heath Pearlwort), a new record for the tetrad. Jo and Heather spent the first part of the Jubilee bank holiday in the catchment of the Afon Eden, Trawsfynydd, surveying land newly acquired by Natural Resources Wales for nature conservation and habitat restoration. They found lots of species typical of upland acidic and marshy grassland, and also Phegopteris connectilis (Beech Fern) growing along a row of old field boundary stones, and Carex pallescens (Pale Sedge) and C. caryophyllea (Spring Sedge), new records for the monad, and Veronica scutellata (Marsh Speedwell), new for the tetrad. On the second part of the Jubilee holiday, they set off up to Moelwyn Mawr, near Blaenau Ffestiniog on what promised to be a wet day. On the way up they recorded P. connectilis, Saxifraga stellaris (Starry Saxifrage), Thymus drucei (Wild Thyme) and three species of clubmoss (Alpine, Fir and Stag’s-horn). The rain luckily held off, so through bursts of thunder, they reached the summit in search of Arabidopsis petraea (Northern Rock-cress), though it was not found. Instead, there was again S. stellaris and a scary scramble to get off the peak! Reference

Evans, S. 2015. Ytbysen y Mor/the

Sea Pea (Lathyrus japonicus) in

Pembrokeshire 2010–2014. BSBI

Welsh Bulletin 95: 27–29.

Joint Recorder for Monmouthshire (v.c. 35)

SCOTLAND

One of this summer’s most remarkable finds was Hypopitys monotropa (Yellow Bird’s-nest) near Aviemore. Following reports on iNaturalist of sightings just east of Coylumbridge, Andy Amphlett and Gus Routledge found 125 fruiting stems at six additional locations just west of the village. These are the first records for Easterness (v.c. 96) since 1875, but also the first records this century for northern Scotland. The plants have been confirmed as subsp. hypophegea and were growing under Pinus sylvestris (Scots Pine), mostly in rather bare situations with needle litter and sparse vegetation. Dead spikes from last year were also present indicating that this is not a very new arrival. See also the article on p. 9 of this issue – Editor.

Like H. monotropa, Neottia nidus-avis (Bird’s-nest Orchid) lacks chlorophyll and derives its nutrition from mycorrhizal fungi. Two new sites were discovered in the north-west earlier this year. A remarkable population of 26 plants was found in Coille Mhor, Balmacara (v.c. 105), while across the water on Skye (v.c. 104) Stephen Bungard chanced upon four plants on the coast near Broadford. It seems to have been a good year too for Pseudorchis albida (Small-white Orchid) on Skye, with new sites and good numbers at known sites. At Corrour (v.c. 97) during a very successful field meeting in July (to be reported elsewhere), P. albida was extraordinarily frequent, with many new locations found.

Orchids are renowned for hybridising, even across genera. Two records of inter-generic orchid hybrids in Easterness were of note. In June a specimen of Pseudorchis albida (Small-white Orchid) × Gymnadenia borealis (Fragrant-orchid) was found by Jane Bowman in Glenmoriston, the fourth location for this rare hybrid in the county. A record of X Dactylodenia varia (Gymnadenia borealis × Dactylorhiza

Hypopitys monotropa (Yellow Bird’s-nest). Andy Amphlett

Pseudorchis albida (Small-white Orchid) at Corrour. Ian Strachan

purpurella) from Tromie Meadow (part of the RSPB Insh Marshes NNR) is the first for the county; the finder, Richard Milne, had photographed the plant in 2012, but only recently submitted the photo. This is the second record for the Cairngorms National Park. Several exciting finds have been made in mid-Perthshire (v.c. 88). Near Bridge of Ericht, Gus Routledge came across a new and very large population of Melampyrum sylvaticum (Small Cow-wheat) on the north shore of Loch Rannoch. Unusually, it was already flowering at the end of May. He estimated that there were at least 2,000 plants, making it comparable in size to the population ten miles to the north-east beside Loch Ossian (BSBI News 148 p. 71). Further south near Ben Lawers, Roger Goulding discovered a single plant of Dryopteris affinis (Golden-scaled Male-fern) subsp. kerryensis below Creag an Lochain, on the east side of Meall nan Tarmachan. This is the first Scottish record of this taxon, which is given specific rank in Rich (2020). It was originally thought to

Melampyrum sylvaticum (Small Cow-wheat). Gus Routledge Filago germanica (Common Cudweed). Matt Harding

be endemic to south-west Ireland, but three sites are now known in Cumbria and one in Somerset. Another surprising discovery was made just across the lochan below Creag an Lochain, near the foot of Ben Lawers, at the end of June – a small population of Linnaea borealis (Twinflower), at 580 m ASL. This is only the second known extant site in the vice-county, at an unusually high altitude.

In Stirlingshire (v.c. 86), Matt Harding reports that fieldwork for the Rare Plants Register has resulted in many exciting finds. On Ben Lomond, Draba incana (Hoary Whitlowgrass) was refound on Breac Leac, where it was last seen in 1968. A visit to the Falkirk Wheel produced one of the highlights of the summer – a cluster of Filago germanica (Common Cudweed) at the edge of the Forth & Clyde Canal. This small but attractive plant was not previously recorded from the vice-county, and there are only two post-2000 records from all the neighbouring vice-counties. Logfia minima (Small Cudweed), a smaller cousin of F. germanica that forms delicate silvery fingers growing out of bare substrate, was discovered in the county a few years ago at two wasteground sites; fieldwork this season has revealed it at various new locations with suitable bare substrate, including Fallin Bing, Cambusbarron Quarry, Almond Bing and Cairnoch Hill – so is this species a rapidly spreading colonist or previously overlooked in the area? Interestingly, it was found new to Skye last year at Portree Industrial Estate, and Stephen Bungard counted 100 plants there this summer.

Other notable Stirlingshire finds this year include Scleranthus annuus (Annual Knawel), Thlaspi arvense (Field Penny-cress), a large population of Draba muralis (Wall Whitlowgrass) and best of all the first modern county record of Teesdalia nudicaulis (Shepherd’s Cress) near Carron Valley Reservoir, growing in abundance on track verges. Another species previously thought to be extinct in the county was Trifolium striatum (Knotted Clover), known from just two historic hectad records. However, an excursion along the Back Walk at Stirling Castle to count T. arvense (Hare’s-foot

Clover) discovered it growing between rocks on the top of a basalt knoll, and a second population was subsequently found on thin sandy soil beside the road in nearby Gowanhill.

In the adjoining county of Dunbartonshire, the energetic new Botany Network is continuing its efforts to re-record every monad; visits have already been made to 411 out of 704 squares since the start of 2021. Of several new vice-county records, the prize find of the year has been Ophrys apifera (Bee Orchid) near Dumbarton, continuing its remarkable spread across Scotland. In Kirkcudbrightshire (v.c. 73) the Ross Bay population of this orchid had 39 spikes this year compared to only six in 201921. Other notable finds in v.c. 73 include new sites for Cladium mariscus (Great Fen-sedge) and Carex limosa (Bog Sedge).

Over on Bute (v.c. 100), Angus Hannah began a small project in March to re-find as many as possible of the species he has recorded there over the last 20 years, and to record them at least once in each hectad where they occur. By late July he had found 720 of these species, with one or two surprises on the way, such as a big previously missed colony of Ophioglossum vulgatum (Adder’s Tongue) and a new hectad site for Carex diandra (Lesser Tussocksedge). A few species seem to have suffered from droughty springs in the two previous years, especially plants of thin turf or small runnels that can dry up, such as Carex caryophyllea (Spring Sedge) and Selaginella selaginoides (Lesser Clubmoss).

Further west in Argyll (v.c. 98), Pat Batty has been monitoring Carex buxbaumii (Club Sedge) at Lochan an Torrnalaich, since first discovering it there in 1986. This Nationally Rare sedge of mesotrophic fens is only known from three other sites, two near Arisaig (v.c. 97) and one in Easterness (v.c. 96). Counts of flowering or fruiting stems made in most years between 1986 and 2000 ranged from several hundred to nearly two thousand, but with no obvious trend. Counts made in the last few years have been substantially lower, with an all-time minimum of just ten flowering stems this summer. This sedge can be a shy flowerer, but limited vegetative estimates (which can be difficult to make) support the conclusion of a substantial and worrying decline. Pat considers that recent high water levels and a lack of grazing are possible causative factors.

In Fife (v.c. 85) a visit by Tim Rich to look for rare endemic hawkweeds had mixed success. At Kinkell cliffs near St. Andrews he was unable to find Hieraceum kinkellense, which had been lost due to a cliff fall. However, at Dumglow in the Cleish Hills a good colony of H. kinrossense was still present. Both taxa were first described in 2013 by David McCosh. VCR Sandy Edwards refound the Nationally Scarce Limosella aquatica (Mudwort) at Morton Lochs (Tentsmuir), last seen there in 1986, as part of the BSBI SHARP project. The Skye Botany Group have also been involved with SHARPP and had notable success with Ribes spicatum (Downy Currant), where all historical records have been re-found and one population is now additionally known in an adjacent tetrad.

Finally, back to industrial estates, which seem to be a popular haunt for botanists! Lysimachia (Anagallis) arvensis (Scarlet Pimpernel), which is rare in the north of Scotland, appeared in the Evanton Industrial park in July – the first record in East Ross (v.c. 106) for 15 years and only the third since 2000.

Reference

Rich, T.C.G. 2020. List of vascular plants endemic to Britain,

Ireland and the Channel Islands 2020. British & Irish Botany 2: 169–189.

Joint Recorder for Westerness (v.c. 97)

IRELAND

In the last Ireland Roundup published in the January issue of BSBI News, Sarah Pierce thanked me for my time as acting Ireland Officer while she was on maternity leave. Sarah had been suffering from ill health over the winter and, with regret, decided to step down as Ireland Officer in February. Consequently, once again I’m back here in the post as the BSBI Ireland Officer. We wish Sarah all the very best in the future.

We have been running our Aquatic Plant Project again this year. Field training meetings have taken place in counties Clare (H9), Limerick (H8), Louth (H14) and Mayo (H27), and we ran three online webinars, the first two on pondweeds, and the third on bladderworts and water-milfoils. These are available on the BSBI YouTube channel. The field training days are great fun, but also very educational, and I was extremely pleased when Cilian Roden showed us Potamogeton alpinus (Red Pondweed) in a river, and then again in a lough, as it was a new species to my life list.

News from around the vicecounties. Jessica Hamilton has refound Sambucus ebulus (Dwarf Elder) and Parentucellia viscosa (Yellow Bartsia) for hectads in Co. Kerry (H1/H2) where they were last reported before 1969. In East Cork (H5) Finbarr Wallace found

Euphrasia tetraquetra (Western Eyebright) on the sea-cliffs at Ballylanders, a new vice-county record, otherwise only known in Co. Cork from the southwest (H3). Rather alarming news from the neighbouring County of Waterford (H6) is Crassula helmsii (New Zealand Pigmyweed), found in large quantities along the River Blackwater at Cappoquin, and otherwise only known from one other site in the county. In Antrim (H39) another Crassula, this time Crassula tillaea (Mossy Stonecrop), has been found new for the county at Newforge in Belfast. This tiny little plant is spreading in Ireland, like it is in many parts of the UK. David McNeill also reports that Vicia lathyroides (Spring Vetch) has been found at Waterfoot, which is a new site and only the second post 2000 record for Co. Antrim. Staying in the same county, David tells me that Ric Else and Hazel Watson have carried out an amazing Ajuga pyramidalis (Pyramidal Bugle) survey on Rathlin Island, recording over 700 flowering spikes this year.

Still in Northern Ireland, Graham Day reports that Polypogon monspeliensis (Annual Beard-grass) has been found new for Co. Down (H38) in Belfast by Jake Dalzell. While Graham was in the Mournes with Valerie Macartney they found Vaccinium oxycoccos (Cranberry) new for the area, which is in itself surprising as the Mournes have been very well recorded over the years. Graham Day also reports that Asplenium trichomanes subsp. trichomanes (Maidenhair Spleenwort) has survived the fire of April 2021 in the Black Stairs, while it would seem the Lycopodium clavatum (Stag’s-horn Clubmoss) has perished.

On the South Tipperary side of the Knockmealdown Mountains on a slope below the road leading from the Vee, Alison Evans and Roger Golding found a large population of Dryopteris affinis (Golden-scaled Male-fern) subsp. kerryensis, new for the county, and also the second county record for subsp. cambrensis. In North Tipperary Lisa Dolan had found Campanula trachelium (Nettleleaved Bellflower) scattered along either side of a small river at Killavalla, east of Borisokane; this being the first hectad record since Robert Praeger saw it in 1900. On a remote shingle beach south of Rossaveel in West Galway (H16) Aoife Boyd found two plants of Lathyrus japonica (Sea Pea), only the second record for Co. Galway. In Co. Wexford

Dryopteris affinis subsp. kerryensis (Golden-scaled Male-fern). Paul Green

Vaccinium oxycoccos (Cranberry). Graham Day

Campanula trachelium (Nettleleaved Bellflower). Lisa Dolan

(H12) Paula O’Meara refound Orobanche rapum-genistae (Greater Broomrape) on the margin of Killoughrum Forest where it once occurred in large numbers and was lasted reported in 1917 by Charles Moffat. Still in Co. Wexford I found Trifolium suffocatum (Suffocated Clover) at Ferrycarrig Castle, a new clover for Ireland. Two of the best finds to report are by Ciarán Byrne of Epipactis phyllanthes (Greenflowered Helleborine) from an oak-ash-hazel wood at Dunsany, Co. Meath (H22), and Andrew Malcolm, who found five plants from a wooded road verge at Villierstown, Co. Waterford (H6); it is a new orchid for both counties. Ciarán also recorded Atropa belladonna (Deadly Nightshade) in the wood at Dunsany, another new species for Co. Meath. Andrew has been busy updating sites of rare species on the Waterford side of the Knockmealdown Mountains, including Neottia cordata (Lesser Twayblade), where he counted over 400 flowering plants under the conifers. And finally, it can sometimes be fun doing the research to see when a plant was first reported from a county. As I was driving through Co. Laois (H14) near Stradbally I noticed a patch of Senecio sarracenicus (Broadleaved Ragwort) on the top of a roadside bank. The DDb (BSBI database) implied it was a new county record. Both A Catalogue of Alien Plants in

Epipactis phyllanthes (Greenflowered Helleborine). Andrew Malcolm Neottia cordata (Lesser Twayblade). Andrew Malcolm

Ireland (Reynolds, 2002) and Census Catalogue of the Flora of Ireland (Scannell & Synnott, 1987) listed it as occurring in Co. Laois. Sylvia Reynolds came to my rescue and dug out the information, and to our surprise it was found by Thomas Chandlee in two places near Stradbally, mentioned in Cybele Hibernica (Moore & More, 1866). It is expected that publications since Cybele Hibernica carried the record forward, but authors hadn’t actually seen Broad-leaved Ragwort growing in the county. Is my record the first Co Laois record since 1866?

BSBI Ireland Officer