Priority plants on Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wales Alastair Hotchkiss 3
Recording strategy – the experience of one recorder Brian Ballinger 7 Notes on Alpine Foxtail (Alopecurus magellanicus) Simon Harrap 9
A yellow form of Orobanche minor var. pseudoamethystea (Sea-holly Broomrape) on sand dunes at Crosby, Merseyside
Philip H. Smith & Steven Cross 12
Status of an isolated colony of pink Calystegia sepium (L.) R.Br. (Hedge Bindweed), on a coastal heath in Anglesey Ivor Rees 14
Arenaria serpyllifolia (Thyme-leaved Sandwort) and A. leptoclados (Slender Sandwort) –a distinguishing character Michael Wilcox 18
BEGINNER’S CORNER
Speedwells (Veronica) Part 1 Mike Crewe 21
ADVENTIVES & ALIENS
Adventives & Aliens News 34
Compiled by Matthew Berry 25
Lindernia dubia arrives in Britain Mark Gurney, Andrew Skinner & Joseph Hobden 38 An American cudweed in Southampton Tristan Norton 40
The first confirmed record of Bowlesia incana Ruiz & Pav. (Hoary Bowlesia) for Britain and Ireland Matthew Berry 44
More leafy spotted hawkweeds have been spotted: Hieracium basifolium (Fr. ex Almq.)
Lönnr. new to Britain and some unnamed taxa Tim Rich 46
More self-seeded garden taxa in Norfolk Suki Pryce 49 What novel Mentha (Lamiaceae) colonists should we expect to find establishing in the wild? Ambroise Baker 52
NOTICES
News, events and updates on the work of the BSBI and its members, including: reports of the British & Irish Botanical Conference 2024 and Irish Autumn Meeting; news of Ireland’s Targeted Aquatic Plants Project 2024; winners of the 2024 Photographic Competition; contents of British & Irish Botany 6:2; Botanical Crossword No. 33. 55
Cover photo: Potamogeton polygonifolius (Bog Pondweed, Bowscale Tarn, Cumberland, by Thomas Garner, winner in the ‘Intrepid: Finding plants in wild places category’ of the 2024 Photographic Competition (see p. 59)
is an honour to be writing this piece for BSBI News in my role as your newly elected President. I have immense admiration for those who have held this role in the past and the significant contributions they have made to the Society and more widely to botany. I hope that I can continue to develop the legacy they have left. I look forward to serving all of you and meeting many of you over the next three years of my term.
I suspect to many of you I am no more than a name. Hence a little introduction is perhaps in order. Permit me the indulgence of writing about myself this once and I promise I will restrict the urge to repeat the vice in the future. Originally from the Lancastrian paradise that is Wigan (the music hall jokes about the town are a ruse by locals to keep house prices down), the Damascene conversion to botany occurred early in my undergraduate years at St Andrews. Whilst I had the outdoor childhood that is now the stuff of legend, plants hadn’t really featured in it beyond identifying trees to climb. However the university department I found myself in was full of knowledgeable, approachable individuals whose enthusiasm was infectious. I have spent the decades following university trying to spread that enthusiasm elsewhere and convert young people to the wonders of botany.
Subsequent moves featured a PGCE at UEA in Norwich, a return to St Andrews to undertake a PhD studying the potential multiple evolution of Senecio cambrensis and then a spell as a schoolteacher of science at a mid-Norfolk comprehensive before my move back
EDITORIAL
Iwasglad to receive plenty of contributions for this issue so was pleased to be able to produce a larger than normal 88-page edition. As usual there is a good spread of articles from members on both native and alien plants and Beginner’s Corner returns with the first of three instalments, covering speedwells. I am also pleased to welcome the return of the botanical crossword (p. 61), which last appeared in issue 136 (September 2017).
I am always keen to receive more articles, especially from new authors, so if you plan to write something or need advice on subject matter, length and illustrations
to Lancashire to take up a lecturing post at Edge Hill University in 1994. I was also privileged to work for the Open University for 18 years from 1990. I joined the BSBI in 1986, much later serving on the Teaching and Education Committee, Publications Committee and as a Trustee. I was also BSBI Handbooks Editor for a spell. The role of President is almost the full set!
The current BSBI is a modern well-run charity with dedicated staff that is very different in its organisation from the one I joined in 1986. However the core ethos of the BSBI remains in place, that of a body professional in its practice and output while providing a friendly place for all botanists to pursue their interests to whatever extent they like. It is this ethos that makes me proud to take on the President’s role.
Each President brings their own influence to the BSBI. Micheline’s legacy includes helping bring the Plant Atlas 2020 to fruition, raising awareness of diversity and actively minimising our carbon footprint. It is for others to say what mine might be. My strengths and experience I hope are apparent from the brief biography above. As President I hope to generate enthusiasm in the way my teachers inspired me and that I have aspired to do with my own students. If I achieve this I will be helping maintain a healthy BSBI for those that follow.
Paul Ashton Ashtonp@edgehill.ac.uk
please get in touch. Shorter submissions are also welcomed for the occasional ‘Botanical Notes’ section.
To anyone that has contacted me via the general BSBI News email which was set up 11 months ago (see inside front cover) but did not receive a reply, please do so again as I have realised that some mail went straight to spam on this account and was subsequently automatically deleted by Google without being forwarded to my usual address!
John Norton john.norton@bsbi.org
Priority plants on Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wales
ALASTAIR HOTCHKISS
We’re well underway with BSBI’s project on the Priority Plants of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Wales. It’s a two-year project, funded by Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Programme, delivered by the Heritage Fund.
There are about 1,000 SSSIs in Wales, covering about 12% of the country. These vary in size from entire mountain ranges like Eryri or Berwyn, to small single meadows. The ‘features’ of an SSSI are reasons for the site’s special status and protection, and around 650 of these are individual plant taxa – bearing in mind that one plant taxon can be a feature of multiple SSSIs. I say taxon rather than species, because some features are subspecies, e.g. Stellaria nemorum subsp. montana (Wood Stitchwort) or Gentianella amarella subsp. occidentalis (Dune Gentian) and there are a few hybrid features too, for example the Carex aquatilis × acuta hybrid that needs refinding at Llyn Tegid, Bala (v.c. 48).
In 2020, a Natural Resources Wales report told us how SSSIs in Wales are doing – one message
was that 50% of species features on SSSIs were considered to be in ‘unknown’ condition – essentially with insufficient information to be able to give a conservation status with confidence. So, the BSBI’s two-year project aims to help out by looking into 165 plant features with no records on the BSBI Distribution Database (DDb) in the past 20 years, within the boundaries of those sites. Some have been missing for much longer, and some species have no localised records within SSSI boundaries (often only with records at hectad level on the database).
What’s missing?
The ‘missing’ 165 are a real range of taxa, on about 120 different SSSIs across Wales (Figure 1). They include geographically restricted rarities like various hawkweeds (Hieracium spp.) or Euphrasia cambrica (Welsh Eyebright), which need refinding on Cadair
Priority plants on SSSIs in Wales
Idris. They also include more widespread axiophytes like Vicia orobus (Wood Bitter-vetch) or Trollius europaeus (Globeflower) and range from Salix herbacea (Dwarf Willow) at the top of Wales’s mountains to Limonium spp. (Sea-lavenders) by its coastal waters. Often these plant features are those that strongly characterise a particular area, like Carex montana (Soft-leaved Sedge) in South Wales, Hypericum undulatum (Wavy St. John’s-
wort) in West Wales or Cicuta virosa (Cowbane) in North-East Wales.
Getting started
The summer was already well underway by the time I joined the role in June. The first job was some investigative work – truth-checking the list, with the aim of figuring what the most genuine priorities
Figure 1. Some of the ‘wanted’ plants on SSSIs in Wales. (1) Hammarbya paludosa (Bog Orchid) needs refinding on SSSIs in Cardiganshire and Caernarvonshire. (2) Trollius europaeus (Globeflower) is missing from several SSSIs across Wales. (3) Pseudorchis albida (Small-white Orchid) is a missing feature of four SSSIs. (4) Hypericum undulatum (Wavy St. John’s-wort) needs refinding on some sites in South-west Wales. (5) Stellaria nemorum subsp. montana (Wood Stitchwort) needs surveying on several SSSIs. (6) Lycopodiella inundata (Marsh Clubmoss) needs searching for on SSSIs in North-west Wales. Pete Stroh (1, 3); Alastair Hotchkiss (2, 4, 5, 6).
were to resurvey. Conversations soon started reveal that there had some recent observations of some things, but that data just hadn’t made it to the DDb. About 40 features were soon ticked off like this, with records now added to the database.
There were also a few features that were very much considered to have been lost, or at least it was thought that resurveying sites would very likely be unsuccessful. Some have been subject to thorough survey efforts recently, with null results. For example a couple of SSSIs listed for Gentianella amarella subsp. occidentalis (Dune Gentian). Some are long-standing missing, and considered to be extinct – Hieracium griffithii as one example, over 100 years since its last record at the only known location at Nant Ffrancon, within Eryri SSSI (v.c. 49).
Getting into the field
After the quick-hits were covered off, it was time to get out and start looking for things. The results of the project will be useful at two different levels. At a strategic level, we’ll help to paint the bigger picture of how plant features are doing on protected sites in Wales, and feed into Natural Resources Wales’ review of SSSI features, alongside the new SSSI selection guidelines. But there is also the very important site-specific output – getting information that actually helps those people managing SSSIs to make decisions and take actions to benefit plants, or indeed, avoid their damage.
This is nothing new. It builds on previous approaches, picking up from the BSBI’s Threatened Plants Project (TPP) form and approach. In many ways this hasn’t changed much since rare plant forms used in the 1980s by Nature Conservancy Council. The reason things haven’t changed much is because it’s what you’d expect to record – we want to capture the distribution and abundance of populations, associates, key management issues, threats, notes about trajectory if known, etc.
Part of last summer’s fieldwork was about testrunning the approach and making some slight tweaks to the TPP form and approach. For most people it’s possible to record to 8-figure grid references, or 10 m squares, so more of the information is oriented
Priority plants on SSSIs in Wales
to those. We’re also recording more information that helps inform the reader of how thoroughly the surveyor feels things been covered – making clear the areas covered and not covered, the time spent, and other constraints such as difficulty of access. This is important for refinds and particularly for null returns. One other thing I’ve been doing is ‘phone sketching’. It might be a stretch to attempt to compare this with David Hockney’s iPad work, as a modern form of painting, but I’ve found it very useful to use my phone to create field sketches, and annotate populations and patches in context, rather than attempt to hand-draw things (Figure 2).
Looking ahead to 2025
There were surveys on SSSIs in 9 of the 13 vicecounties in Wales in the remaining summer of 2024, involving county recorders, members and groups, and some with NRW staff. Thanks to those who helped out. There were successful refinds at several sites including Melica nutans (Mountain Melick) at a Radnorshire SSSI and Dryopteris aemula (Hay-scented Buckler-fern) at a Montgomeryshire SSSI, both of which after 30-year gaps in records. Several refinds on Merioneth SSSIs included a Platanthera bifolia (Lesser Butterfly-orchid) site, Carex pseudocyperus (Cyperus Sedge) at its only v.c. 48 station, a meadow SSSI with Euphrasia rostkoviana (=Euphrasia officinalis subsp. pratensis) and two Salix herbacea (Dwarf Willow) sites, neither of which had any records on the BSBI DDb – both hectads were missing from the 2020 Atlas, as their whereabouts were only known from notes in two old National Vegetation Classification (NVC) reports in Natural Resources Wales’ files. But it’s not all plain sailing. Only about half of the surveys last year were successful with refinds. There’s been a fair few things we’ve not been able to refind (yet!). Lots of staring at peatland vegetation trying, but failing, to spot Hammarbya paludosa (Bog Orchid). It can be a bit disappointing having to leave without seeing the target. But you never really leave empty handed. These visits are often in nice habitats and places, and sometimes other finds make up for failing to refind target species. Seeing Bupleurum tenuissimum (Slender Hare’s-ear), made up for not refinding the
Figure 2. Phone sketching: editing photos in the field is straightforward on most phones. And it means you can annotate the rough extent of plants whilst you’re out there. Framing patches in context, with prominent features can help others refind plants with little time and effort. Top: Platanthera bifolia (Lesser Butterfly-orchid), patches recorded in 2024 on a site with no localised DDb records, only hectads. Bottom: Salix herbacea (Dwarf Willow), patches in context with cairn behind. This was subpopulation 9 recorded in 2024 on Arenig Fawr (v.c. 48), a hectad with no previous records on the DDb. Alastair Hotchkiss
target of Hordeum marinum (Sea Barley) by the tidal section of the River Dee in Flintshire. The lack of finding any Hypericum montanum (Pale St-John’s-wort) at Llanymynech Hill in v.c. 47 was compensated for by finding a new site for Trifolium scabrum (Rough Clover) (2nd v.c. 47 and only extant site).
Next year it would be great to get more people involved. Of the 165 ‘missing’ features at the start in June, the list has been whittled down to just under 100 now, and it would be be great to cover as many as we can in 2025. We have the winter to plan visits, so I’d be pleased to hear from anyone who might be up for getting involved with surveys.
Final thoughts
It may seem that NGOs and the voluntary sector are doing what some might see as the work of the government conservation agencies or their consultants. The reality is that the statutory agencies are simply not given the resources to achieve this necessary level of surveillance of all the features of the sites they are trying hard to protect. It doesn’t look like this is going to change much soon. Local botanists including BSBI members are often the only people aware of, let alone visiting, many rare plant populations, and we can have a critical role in their conservation.
SSSIs are perhaps increasingly getting portrayed as a little archaic, and a bit out-of-fashion – but they remain very relevant for plant conservation. Plant conservation has been well supported by SSSIs –probably relatively more so than some other taxa like fungi or some invertebrate groups. The Welsh Government view SSSIs as a big part of achieving the 30 × 30 global conservation targets in Wales.
Yes, there have been some losses of plant populations, and some SSSIs aren’t in the best shape. But if you look at it the other way, of the 650 plant species features on SSSIs in Wales, the vast majority are actually still present on those same sites, and I expect many of those plants would have been lost if they were not protected in that way. The botanical recording community will have played a significant part in the effectiveness of SSSIs in protecting plants over recent decades. This project is very much a continuation of that.
Alastair Hotchkiss BSBI Wales Officer alastair.hotchkiss@bsbi.org
Recording strategy – the experience of one recorder
Recording strategy – the experience of one recorder
BRIAN BALLINGER
Manyopinions have been expressed about the best way to approach botanical recording, but there do not seem to have been many attempts to evaluate the process. Over the last few years, I have been looking at my performance in terms of location, duration and other aspects of recording. This account describes the attempts of one recorder to assess the methods he has used. A number of small studies are described, many carried out in Easter Ross (v.c. 106) and a few in Dundee (v.c. 85).
1.
When?
(a) Is winter recording worthwhile?
Two thirty-minute visits were made to ten varied sites in Easter Ross, following a standard route of approximately 500 metres. The first visit was made in January or February and the second in June or July 2014 (Ballinger, 2019).
In winter, 334 records were made, noting 95 locations for species at sites which were not repeated in the summer. In summer, 529 records were made, including 315 species locations which were not repeated in the winter.
A further 2023 study of ten urban streets in Easter Ross recorded 52 species, eight being found in winter only and 19 in summer only (Ballinger, 2024). This was part of the Botanical Society of Scotland’s Urban Flora project.
These studies suggest that winter recording may have a part to play, but only as a supplement to summer recording. Plants may be obscured by other vegetation in the summer and some species may die down early.
(b) Time of day
Four sites were visited for 30 minutes at noon and again within an hour of sunset in 2023. Totals of 125 records were made at noon and 99 near sunset. This finding might be expected, given the likely quality of light at those times.
2. How often and for how long?
Four locations were visited three times in a 2-week period in 2016. A single 1-hour visit and two halfhour visits were made to the same sites in random order. The half-hour visits only recorded half the site on each occasion. The eight short visits to the four sites yielded 277 records and the four longer 1-hour visits produced 231 records (Ballinger, 2017). A repeat study in 2024 involved six sites, comparing two 15-minute visits with a single half-hour session. These produced 193 records for the single long visits and 245 records for the two shorter visits. This suggests that two shorter visits may produce more records, although this takes no account of travelling time to the sites. However, it may be possible to cover several squares on one occasion. Light and weather conditions may vary and plants can change even in a short period.
3. Where – monad or tetrad?
The present survey sought to determine whether a 3-hour visit to one monad (1 km square) in a tetrad (2 × 2 km square) or a 3-hour visit to all the four monads in the same tetrad was more effective. The most favourable looking monad in the tetrad was selected for the single monad visit. Visits were made in random order.
The monad visits produced 135 extra species records not seen on the tetrad visit and the tetrad visits noted 120 extra species records not made on the monad visits.
This suggests a possible advantage to a more intensive survey of one monad if time is limited, although the trend is fairly small, and also no information is obtained for the whole tetrad if only one monad is visited.
4. Which way – the way back?
Many site visits are linear and a walk may be followed by a return along the same path. Six such
varied linear sites in Easter Ross of approximately 600 metres were visited in the autumn. A total of 155 species records was made on the way out, but an extra 41 records were found on the return journey along the same route.
A 2023 Dundee survey of 10 urban sites recorded an extra 25% of species on a return journey. These studies suggest that recording should be continued on the return journey, when plants may be seen in different light and from a different angle.
5. Notebook or card?
Standardised recording cards are available for many counties, listing those plants likely to be found in that area. Time is often limited when large areas have to be covered and we should try to make the best use of it.
Four sites were assessed for half an hour each way, using a notebook and card alternately in random order. The notebook method yielded 234 species records and the card 200.
This suggests a possible notebook advantage for this particular (ageing) recorder, but the finding may reflect his problems with small print rather than a true effect. The other advantage of a notebook is that it can be more discreet when a suspicious landowner is encountered by a person holding a clipboard or tablet.
I have not attempted to assess the smartphone and recording app in a similar way and may leave this exercise to others.
6. How many recorders?
It was not possible to set up a systematic study of this, but a much-recorded site (Craig Wood, Dingwall) was assessed.
Since 2000 there had been 13 visits by one recorder (some brief) and 10 by groups.
In total 241 taxa had been recorded; 118 were noted by both single recorders and groups, 86 by groups only and 37 by single recorders only.
A field meeting at Den O’Mains Park in Dundee in 2023 produced 110 species, whereas a preliminary visit by the leader had only recorded 62 species covering a similar route.
Lathraea squamaria (Toothwort) at its northern limit, Craig Wood, Dingwall. Brian Ballinger
So, more species were found by groups, as would be expected, as more eyes generally yield more records and different people often spot different things. However, this is not conclusive, as the time spent was not matched and there were many other variable factors.
Conclusion
This group of studies must be looked at with caution, as they reflect the experience of one recorder and may not apply to others. Some of the trends are small and may be chance findings. Some of the studies were also very limited in scope and others were undertaken away from the main botanical recording season.
Nevertheless, I suggest there is a case for those undertaking recording to think about evaluating their methods. The best approach may not be the same for all recorders.
References
Ballinger B. 2017. Short or long visits – which are better for botanical recording? BSS News 108: 14-15.
Ballinger B. 2019. Recording strategy. The Highland Naturalist 15: 17–18.
Ballinger B. 2024. Near your house – wild plants near houses in Easter Ross. BSBI Scottish Newsletter 46:13–15.
Brian Ballinger brian@garrickwood.org.uk
Notes on Alpine Foxtail (Alopecurus magellanicus)
SIMON HARRAP
Alpine Foxtail (Alopecurus magellanicus), Glas Maol, Cairngorms, July 2021. Simon Harrap
Alpine
Foxtail ( Alopecurus magellanicus ) is an attractive grass. And, if the taxonomy adopted by Stace (2019) is followed, it has a bipolar distribution, being found in South America, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, as well as in Arctic-Alpine regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America, Greenland, Svalbard, the Urals and Arctic Russia, Scotland and northern England. Strangely, it is absent from Iceland and Fennoscandia. It is worth noting here that the moss Sphagnum magellanicum had, until recently, a similarly unusual distribution across both hemispheres, but has recently been shown to comprise several species, with the possibility of more segregates to come (see Shaw et al., 2023). I would not be surprised if Alpine Foxtail was also shown to comprise several cryptic species. In terms of its nomenclature Alpine Foxtail is certainly out to confuse, as in the various field guides and Floras in current use it is known as Alopecurus magellanicus, A. alpinus, A. borealis and A. ovatus. Luckily, pretty much everyone in Britain uses the English name Alpine Foxtail.
Mountain Flowers (Raven & Walters, 1956) states that Alpine Foxtail and Alpine Cat’s-tail (Phleum alpinum ) are ‘the two most attractive of British mountain grasses …’. John Raven continued: ‘The Phleum (the awns of which, when it is fresh, give it a beautiful red-purple sheen) grows among other grasses and sedges on the streams’ banks; the Alopecurus (the awns of which are much shorter
and which is rather the colour of a thunder-cloud) prefers to grow away from much competition in the middle of the shallow stream’.
Who could resist? On a visit to Glas Maol (South Aberdeenshire, v.c. 92) in 2019 they were amongst the plants that I really wanted to see, but in the time available I was only able to find Alpine Cat’stail. Two years later, on 8 July 2021, I again found Alpine Cat’s-tail on the northern slopes of Glas Maol and then, after a bit of a search, was pleased to find what I took to be Alpine Foxtail, with around eight flower spikes in a dry ‘side valley’ at 910 m at NO16437735, together with around 50 spikes of Alpine Cat’s-tail. A little higher up, at 920 m, there were another three flowering foxtails near the stream at NO16527731.
I must admit to suffering from mild paranoia when I see a new plant: I want to be sure that it is the real thing and that the identification is correct, so I try to have a good look. The plants were certainly Alopecurus, as it was not the glumes that were awned, rather the awns came off the back of the lemma. However, the awns were a lovely dark reddish-purple (often tipped paler), and projected rather obviously from between the spikelets, giving the whole flower head a rather ‘spiky’ look, when not smothered by a mass of stigmas and stamens. I had photographs of the relevant pages of Rose (1989) on my phone. This states in its key to foxtails, couplet one, option one: ‘Awn of lemma absent or very short and scarcely protruding from floret’ (my
Notes on Alpine Foxtail (Alopecurus magellanicus)
Comparison of the flowering spikes of Phleum alpinum (Alpine Cat’s-tail) and Alopecurus magellanicus (Alpine Foxtail) on Glas Maol (July 2021) and A. pratensis (Meadow Foxtail) (Norfolk, April 2020). Simon Harrap
emphasis), and this leads to Alpine Foxtail and Orange Foxtail (A. aequalis). Further, the species text for Alpine Foxtail states ‘lemma… with either no awn or a very short one scarcely projecting beyond the glumes.’ That description did not fit the plants in front of me, but then neither did couplet one, option two: ‘Awn at least twice as long as lemma’, which leads to the remainder of the genus. This was a problem – what was I looking at?
Back at base I was able to look into A. magellanicus in a bit more depth. It seems that in the genus Alopecurus the length of the awn is almost always used as the starting point in distinguishing the various species. Of two field guides that cover grasses, Blamey, et al. (2013) has an extremely brief text for Alpine Foxtail but states ‘glumes pointed and unawned and lemmas with or without a short awn’. Streeter et al. (2009) is more comprehensive: the key to Alopecurus offers two choices in couplet 1: either ‘awn ≥ 2 × as long as lemma’ or ‘awns absent or scarcely longer than lemma’, the second option leading to A. aequalis and A. borealis, while the text for borealis is very definite: ‘lemmas very blunt, awn very short and not projecting or absent.’ Moving onto the Floras, in Stace (2019) the first couplet of the key to the genus Alopecurus comprises: ‘lemmas unwanted or with awn shorter than body and not exserted from glumes or exserted by ≤ 0.5 mm’ – this leading to A. aequalis and A. magellanicus, or ‘lemmas
with awn longer than body and exserted from glumes by ≥ 1 mm’ – which leads to the remainder of the genus. Stace is not alone. The key in Sell & Murrell (1996) is almost identical, and their species description states ‘lemma… awnless or with awns up to 2.5 mm on the back from about one-third above the base, with the awn sometimes projecting beyond the tip of the spikelet’.
What about more specialist works on grasses? Hubbard (1984) describes the lemmas as ‘awnless or awned on the back from one-third above the base, with the awn sometimes projecting beyond the tip of the spikelet’. He also notes that ‘The Scottish plants are somewhat variable in structure. Their spikelets may be without awns… or they may have awns extending for one-third their length beyond the tips of the glumes. Such plants have been named var. watsonii Syme.’
Cope & Gray (2009), using the name A. ovatus, distinguish magellanicus from A. pratensis thus: ‘Lemmas awnless, or if awned then the awn exceeding the tip of the lemma by 1–2 mm’ (as opposed to 3–5 mm in pratensis). The description states lemmas ‘awnless or with a slender awn ± demarcated into a slightly twisted column and straight limb, faintly geniculate at the mid-point and exceeding the tip of the lemma by 1–2 mm…’. They go on to note, however, that ‘A. ovatus is a variable species in which the lemma may be either awnless or conspicuously awned…’
‘Awned forms can resemble A. pratensis and are then best distinguished by the degree of fusion of the lemma margins. The is a very difficult character to see since it is not easy to remove a lemma from between the glumes without damaging it; it is, however, reliable when other characters fail.’ In this respect their description states that the lemma has the ‘margins connate only near the base (less than a quarter their length)’ compared to ‘margins connate in the lower third to half’ in A. pratensis. This caveat is repeated in the BSBI species account (Walker, 2014), which notes that ‘awned forms of A. magellanicus can resemble A. pratensis and are then best distinguished by the degree of fusion of the lemma margins and the more inflated sheaths (Cope & Gray 2009).’
So, what about my plants on Glas Maol? The relatively squat flower spikes strongly supported identification as A. magellanicus, as did the very hairy florets and inflated leaf sheaths. Location, altitude and habitat were good too (Plant Atlas 2020 gives the altitudinal range of Meadow Foxtail (A. pratensis) as generally lowland, but reaching 675 m in Cumbria and exceptionally 845 m on Great Dun Fell in Westmorland). My photos from 2021, probably depicting all or almost all of the plants that I saw, show the awns projecting well beyond the tip of the spikelets and in some cases appearing to be longer than the spikelet – and with the spikelets given as 3–4.5 mm long, even at the lower end of this range, they were clearly far longer than most of the literature suggested. I did not collect any specimens of the foxtails, but I did find one spike that had been chewed somewhat, and removed the remains for examination back at home. In the few florets remaining the awn projected around 2 mm beyond the tip of the lemma, and careful dissection showed that the lemma was fused for around a third of its length (fused 1.2 mm, free 2.3 mm), in contradiction to the text in Cope & Gray (2009) but matching Hubbard (1984).
To corroborate my identification I have been looking for photos identified as A. magellanicus taken in Britain, but informative close-ups are almost impossible to find, either online or in print: the closest is the photo in Mountain Flowers (Scott, 2016; p. 173),
which has clearly visible awns. Interestingly, in view of the comment on cryptic species above, looking further afield the Floras do not emphasise short or absent awns. Thus the Flora of North America states ‘awns 2–6(8) mm, geniculate, exceeding the lemmas by 0–5 mm’ (and also ‘lemmas… connate in the lower 1/2–2/3’; [floranorthamerica.org/Alopecurus_ magellanicus; accessed online]. This description may support the suspicion that more than one species is involved.
If the plants that I saw and photographed on Glas Maol were indeed A. magellanicus, comparison with A. pratensis here in Norfolk show that the awns were, in many cases, just as obvious. I can only conclude that, at least for this population, the keys in the readily accessible field guides and Floras are at best misleading, and in many cases downright wrong.
References
Blamey, M., Fitter, R.S.R. & Fitter, A.H. 2013. Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland (2nd edn). A & C Black, London. Cope, T. & Gray, A. 2009. Grasses of the British Isles, BSBI Handbook No. 13. Botanical Society of the British Isles, London.
Raven, J. & Walters, M. 1956. Mountain Flowers. New Naturalist 33. Collins, London.
Rose, F. 1989. Colour Identification Guide to the Grasses, Sedges, Rushes and Ferns of the British Isles and North-western Europe. Viking, London.
Scott, M. 2016. Mountain Flowers. Bloomsbury Natural History, London & New York.
Sell, P.D. & Murrell, G. 1996. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 5: Butomaceae–Orchidaceae. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Shaw, A.J. et al. 2023. Sphagnum diabolicum sp. nov. and S. magniae sp. nov.; morphological variation and taxonomy of the ‘‘S. magellanicum complex’’. The Bryologist 126: 69–89.
Stace, C.A. 2019. New Flora of the British Isles (4th edn). C & M Floristics, Middlewood Green, Suffolk.
Streeter, D., Hart-Davies, C., Hardcastle, A., Cole, F. & Harper, L. 2009. Collins Wild Flower Guide. HarperCollins, London.
Walker, K.J. 2014. Alopecurus magellanicus Lam. Alpine Foxtail. Species Account (Version 1: 9 December 2014). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/ dlm_uploads/Alopecurus_magellanicus_species_account.pdf
Simon Harrap erigeron@norfolknature.co.uk
A yellow form of Orobanche minor var. pseudoamethystea (Sea-holly Broomrape) on sand dunes at Crosby, Merseyside
PHILIP H. SMITH & STEVEN CROSS
On11 June 2024, a yellow form of Orobanche minor (Common Broomrape) was photographed by PHS on sand dunes at Crosby Coastal Park, Merseyside (South Lancashire, v.c. 59) at OS grid reference SJ30889854 (Figure 1). It was with a large population of O. minor associated with Eryngium maritimum (Sea-holly). SC discovered a second, younger, spike on 26 June 2024, adjacent to the first. Descriptions in Thorogood & Rumsey (2020; 2021) indicate that most of the Crosby plants are referable to O. minor var. pseudoamethystea (Sea-holly Broomrape).
Thorogood & Rumsey (2020; 2021) reviewed the taxonomic status of Orobanche minor, describing a new taxon: O. minor var. pseudoamethystea from Sandwich Bay in East Kent (v.c. 15), where it is parasitic mainly on Eryngium maritimum. They give the UK distribution as East Kent and, locally, along coasts of southern Britain, including South Wales, Devon, Cornwall, Scilly, the Channel Islands and, formerly, Isle of Wight and Isle of Man. This taxon also occurs on the north coast of France, in Belgium and the Netherlands. They state that it may be declining in the UK due to losses of its predominant host caused by coastal erosion and visitor pressure. BSBI maps show O. minor var. pseudoamethystea in only three post2000 hectads in Britain and Ireland, the nearest to Crosby being in South Wales.
The habitat occupied by O. minor at Crosby was created in 2011, when 30,000 tonnes of sand were removed from a 3.5 ha dune ridge in the Coastal Park to be used for coastal defence at Hightown, 5 km to the north. This created large areas of bare sand that were soon colonised by typical mobile dune vegetation, including an impressively large population of Eryngium maritimum (Figure 2). From 2017, O. minor plants parasitising E. maritimum were recorded annually (Figure 3), counts increasing from about 30 in 2017 to at least 3156 flower spikes by June 2024 (Figure 4). The yellow form was only seen in the latter year.
Thorogood & Rumsey (2020) state that almost all Orobanche species produce variants in which the purplish anthocyanin pigments are absent, thereby giving rise to striking yellow flower spikes, as at
Figure 1. Yellow form of Orobanche minor var. pseudoamethystea (Sea-holly Broomrape) on Eryngium maritimum (Sea-holly) at Crosby Coastal Park, June 2024. Philip Smith
Figure 2 (left). Eryngium maritimum at Crosby Coastal Park, July 2019 Figure 3 (right). Orobanche minor var. pseudoamethystea on Eryngium maritimum, Crosby Coastal Park July 2021. Philip Smith
Figure 4. Counts of Orobanche minor var. pseudoamethystea flower spikes at Crosby Coastal Park, 2017–2024 (fitted line polynomial).
Crosby. They propose that these are best described as ‘forms’ rather than being given varietal rank. However, both authors confirmed in correspondence that they were unaware of any yellow forms of O. minor var. pseudoamethystea being previously recorded in Britain. They therefore recommend the name Orobanche minor var. pseudoamethystea f. lutea for the Crosby plants, with the intention of featuring them in a future update of the Orobanche Handbook.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Mike Wilcox for helpful comments on a draft manuscript.
References
Thorogood, C.J. & Rumsey, F. 2020. An account of Common Broomrape Orobanche minor (Orobanchaceae) in the British Isles. British & Irish Botany 2: 223–239.
Thorogood, C.J. & Rumsey, F. 2021. Broomrapes of Britain & Ireland. BSBI Handbook no. 22. Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, Durham.
Philip H. Smith Formby, Merseyside philsmith1941@tiscali.co.uk
Steven Cross Waterloo, Merseyside
Status of an isolated colony of pink Calystegia sepium (L.) on a coastal heath in Anglesey
Status of an isolated colony of pink Calystegia sepium (L.) R.Br. (Hedge Bindweed), on a coastal heath in Anglesey
IVOR REES, MARK CARINE & DAN MINCHIN
An isolated colony of Calystegia sepium (L) R.Br. (Hedge Bindweed) with pink flowers (Figure 1) was first noted on the Penrhosfeilw coastal heath near Holyhead, Anglesey (v.c. 52) in July 2000 by Ian Bonner and Sarah Priest. As it seemed to be a taxon not previously recorded in Anglesey, the BSBI referee for Convolvulaceae, R.K. Brummitt (1937–2013) was consulted. He determined it as Calystegia sepium subsp. roseata Brummitt, a subspecies he had first described from near the Dyssini Estuary, Merioneth (v.c. 48) (Brummitt, 1967).
As at December 2024 BSBI maps show there were 22 tetrads with records of subsp. roseata in locations around the northern arc of Cardigan Bay. Most appear to be where marine drift of disseminules could account for colonisation. The Penrhosfeilw site at SH22047987 is an outlier, being north of the Lleyn Peninsula. The location is also unusual in being 38 m above mean sea level and half a kilometre inland from steep cliffs. The Penrhosfeilw colony has been visited in most of the 25 years since it was first noticed. It regularly produces leafy stems, which scramble up a low Salix aurita (Eared Willow) bush, but most of the colony is on the heather and rushes at the edge of a wet depression (Figure 2). It seems not to flower every year.
As Calystegia spp. are self-sterile (Stace, 1961), repeat sightings with no others nearby would suggest that the colony arose from a single disseminule and it has probably been maintained vegetatively for at least several decades. During the period it has been known the linear extent of the colony has remained at about 30 m along a narrow strip at the margin of the shallow depression. The damp location should have aided survival of rhizomes during past heath fires.
Figure 1. Calystegia sepium subsp. roseata (pink-flowered subspecies of Hedge Bindweed), Penrhosfeilw, near Holyhead, Anglesey (v.c. 52). Ivor Rees
Reconsideration
Subsequent to the initial determination of the identity of the Penrhosfeilw colony, Brown et al. (2009) using molecular methods, showed that C. sepium subsp. roseata Brummitt probably arose as a hybrid between the white-flowered European native C. sepium subsp. sepium (L) R.Br and C. sepium subsp. americana (Sims) Brummitt. The latter is a pink flowered subspecies native to coastal locations on the eastern seaboard of North America (Spalding, 2013). Where or when hybridisation could have occurred is unknown. Both subspecies americana and roseata now occur on the Azores. Brown et al. (2009) drew attention to the records of C. sepium
subsp. roseata on south-western coasts in Britain and Ireland, where marine dispersal at regional scales or even transoceanic drift could have had a role in establishment. Nelson (2000) had observed that Calystegia seeds could remain afloat for one and a half years. The pattern of currents in the North Atlantic which could result in disseminules from the Americas washing up in Ireland and south-western coasts of Britain has been reviewed in detail by Minchin & Quigley (2024).
Having visited and photographed several of the pink flowered Calystegia colonies around the Cardigan Bay northern arc it became apparent that there were differences in leaf and bracteole morphology between those from the same coastal cell as the subsp. roseata holotype and those at the Penrhosfeilw site. To check on the possibility that the Penrhosfeilw plant might have American ancestry or even be C. sepium subsp. americana sensu stricto, online searches were made in a number of US and Canadian herbaria. In several of his papers Brummitt had pointed to leaf shape, particularly the sinus being useful in separating Calystegia taxa.
Calystegia leaves fold in several planes so in situ photos are difficult to interpret, but when suitably spread and pressed, they can be compared. Several sheets annotated by Brummitt as being subsp. americana were located during the online searches, but none of these closely matched the Penrhosfeilw plant, However, in Canadian archives there was one, not annotated by Brummitt, so probably not seen by him, that had a leaf shape virtually identical to the Penrhosfeilw colony (Figure 3). In particular, the way the V-shaped sinus curved outwards without an inner basal lobe point was the same. This plant had been collected from St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada and was labelled as C. sepium subsp. americana. Another herbarium sheet from Martha’s Vinyard, Massachusetts, USA, also labelled as subsp. americana was similar but not quite such a close match.
In summer 2022 samples of the Penrhosfeilw plant were sent to MC who succeeded Brummitt as referee for Calystegia spp. At about the same time another set of pink bindweed samples had been sent to him from Ireland by DM. These came from a site adjoining a beach at Rosscarbery, Co. Cork (v.c. H3).
Figure 2. Habitat of the Calystegia colony on the edge of a depression in coastal heath, August 2022. Ivor Rees
Status of an isolated colony of pink Calystegia sepium (L.) on a coastal heath in Anglesey
Figure 3. Leaves compared between (a) from the Penrhosfeilw, Anglesey, UK plant and (b) from St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada; screen photo of part of sheet in National Herbarium of Canada, Flora of New Brunswick, 338/29. Ivor Rees
Having supervised the molecular analyses of Brown et al. (2009), MC used the same methods, allowing direct comparison of ribotypes. These indicated:
• The ribotype of the Penrhosfeilw, Anglesey and Rosscarbery, Co Cork samples was identical. The same ribotype was found in a Calystegia from New Zealand. A pink flowered bindweed which occurs in coastal swamps in New Zealand has also been recorded as C. sepium subsp. roseata and considered to be native (Ogden, 1978). de Lange (2024) also cites evidence that it was native as it was collected in New Zealand by Banks & Solander in 1769.
• The ribotype found at Penrhosfeilw and Rosscarbery was NOT the same as in any of the British C. sepium subsp. roseata samples analysed in the Brown et al. (2009) study. These came from collections on the Cardigan Bay coast made during investigations of Calystegia hybrids in West Wales by Brummitt & Chater (2000).
• The ribotype was also NOT the same as any of the C. sepium subsp. americana samples that had been analysed in the Brown et al. (2009) study.
The origin of the Penrhosfeilw colony remains unknown. It seems unlikely to be a neonative, having got to the Irish Sea and ashore in Anglesey by entirely natural means. More likely, considering the location, is that human activity was involved in some way and at some time possibly through shipping. The possible route to an unusual site, a distance inland from a cliffed coast has similarities with the origins of several Lusitanian heathers in south-west Ireland. Rather than being survivors from ice age refugia, Sheehy Skeffington & Scott (2023) provided convincing evidence that these heathers were conveyed to south-west Ireland from Iberia when smugglers used heather to pack casks containing bottles of wine or spirits. In the Penrhosfeilw Calystegia case, at least two sailing ships en route from America to Liverpool in the mid 19th century with cotton as part of the cargo are recorded as having foundered on offshore rocks in the strong tides off the heath. Porth Rhuffydd, not far from the Calystegia site, is the obvious cove through which plundered or smuggled items might have been brought ashore and then hidden. In the east Irish Sea it is notable that there is a marked
Status of an isolated colony of pink Calystegia sepium (L.) on a coastal heath in Anglesey
cluster of tetrads with C. sepium subsp. roseata records extending from Livepool up the Mersey Estuary towards Manchester, supporting suggestions that trans-Atlantic trade in the 18th or 19th centuries might have been involved.
Conclusions
• The finding that the Penrhosfeilw and Rosscarbery plants had links with the Southern Hemisphere is but a small piece to add to the complex biogeographic jigsaw shown for Calystegia on a world scale by Mitchell et al. (2016). It is a further example of disjunctions being breached by human activity.
• In terms of taxonomic precedence the subspecific name roseata was applied by Brummitt to a bindweed plant from the Cardigan Bay coast of Wales. The name has also been used for pink flowered C. sepium in the Southern Hemisphere of different ribotypes. In Britain and Ireland plants with different leaf shapes have been included (Rees, 2019). The subspecies name ‘roseata’ as used in the BSBI database and mapped is likely to have included other ribotypes that may merit recognition as distinct taxa. Many British & Irish records of C. sepium subsp. roseata should be regarded as ‘sensu lato’ or part of an aggregate.
• The Penrhosfeilw pink bindweed differs from C. sepium subsp, roseata sensu stricto in both leaf and bracteole characters as well as being a different ribotype. This may warrant taxonomic recognition but currently lacks a formal subspecies or variety name. It is suggested that records of it should be qualified as ‘cf. subsp. roseata’.
• The taxonomy of C. sepium subsp. roseata both in Britain & Ireland as well as more widely merits further work integrating morphological and molecular data. The analyses of Brown et al. (2009) while insightful were based on a small gene region and limited sampling of individuals. The molecular techniques now available coupled with broader sampling would allow the hypotheses generated using ITS data to be used more rigorously.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Ian Bonner for helping with original data. Jane Rees, James Robertson and Nigel Brown all helped in the field over the 20+ years since it was found.
References
Brown, J.M., Brummitt, R.K., Spencer, M. & Carine, M.A. 2009. Disentangling the bindweeds: hybridization and taxonomic diversity in British Calystegia (Convolvulaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 180: 388–401. Brummitt, R.K. 1967. Calystegia sepium subsp. roseata Brummitt subsp. nov. Watsonia 6: 298. Brummitt, R.K. & Chater, A.O. 2000. Calystegia (Convolvulaceae) hybrids in West Wales. Watsonia 23, 161–165.
Minchin, D & Quigley, D.C.G. 2024. Evaluating records of trans-Atlantic dispersal to European shores of drifting disseminules. Frontiers of Biogeography 15(4). e59709, 17 pp. Mitchell, T.C., Williams, B.R.M., Wood, J.R.I., Harris, D.J., Scotland, R.W. & Carine, M.A. 2016. How the temperate world was colonised by bindweeds: biogeography of the Convulvulae (Convulvulaceae). BMC Evolutionary Biology 16: 1–12.
Nelson, E.C. 2000. Sea Beans and Nickar Nuts. BSBI Handbook No. 10. Botanical Society of the British Isles, London. Ogden, J. 1978. Variation in Calystegia R.Br. (Convolvulaceae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 16: 123–140. Rees, E.I.S. 2019. The saga of a pink bindweed (Calystegia) from Arthog, Merioneth (vc 48) with additional evidence. British & Irish Botany 1(4): 342–346.
Sheehy Skeffington, M. & Scott, N. 2023. Were the five rare heathers of the west of Ireland introduced through human activity? An ecological, genetic, biogeographical and historical assessment. British & Irish Botany 5(2), 221–251. Stace, C.A. 1961. Some studies on Calystegia compatibility and hybridisation in C. sepium and C. silvatica Watsonia, 5: 88–105.
E. Ivor S. Rees ivorerees@hotmail.com
Mark Carine
M.Carine@nhm.ac.uk
Dan Minchin moiireland@yahoo.ie
Arenaria serpyllifolia and A. leptoclados – a distinguishing character
Arenaria serpyllifolia (Thyme-leaved Sandwort) and A. leptoclados (Slender Sandwort) – a distinguishing character
MICHAEL WILCOX
The species A. serpyllifolia (Thyme-leaved Sandwort) (2n=40) (with its two subspecies, subsp. serpyllifolia and subsp. lloydii) and A. leptoclados (Slender Sandwort) (2n=20) can cause difficulties in identification. The differences between good A. leptoclados and A. serpyllifolia s.l. are usually straightforward as per Stace (2019). However, capsule shape varies, especially in A. leptoclados. Based on limited material I have found there is a clear difference in the cell structure of the capsule walls between the two species and a possible difference between A. serpyllifolia subsp. serpyllifolia and subsp. lloydii
For the study the capsules were split, the larger (central) pieces, were placed in weak bleach to clear the colour so that the cells of the walls could be seen, and then cleaned in fresh water and examined under a microscope. The cells of A. leptoclados are distinctly different from A. serpyllifolia s.l. in structure
(Figures 1 & 2). In addition, there appears to be a difference between the two subspecies of A. serpyllifolia. Moreover, based on the capsule wall cell character, there is some limited evidence that subsp. lloydii might not be restricted to coastal areas and requires further study.
The cell structure of A. serpyllifolia is quite different. In subsp. serpyllifolia it appears to have more open, mesh-like cells. The capsule walls are thicker than in A. leptoclados so appear to be hard (and also need pressing to break them). In A. leptoclados the capsule walls are relatively soft and thin (and can form a dimple if pressed lightly) but still weakly brittle by the time the seeds are developed.
When examining the cells it is not always easy to get the focus; the cells in A. serpyllifolia are mesh-like and have much space between and are more or less varied square-oblong shapes (spaces up to c. 7× the width of a wall). The cells in A. leptoclados are long
Figure 1. Comparison of the structure of capsule cells in A. leptoclados: (a) Long wavy cells (specimen from Wales, courtesy of Tim Rich); (b) a different focal length showing the surface appears to be papillate or glandular (from Lincolnshire, courtesy of Paul Kirby).
Arenaria serpyllifolia and A. leptoclados – a distinguishing character
cells with wavy margins (compare Figures 1 and 2). Both species appear to have papillae (or glands?) on the surface. In A. serpyllifolia these tend to look like they are in the middle of the cells and in A. leptoclados they appear to be at the ends of the long cells.
However, a plant from a coastal site (Figure 3) that was identified as A. serpyllifolia subsp. lloydii, (courtesy of Tim Rich, in cult.) has different cells, and it has slightly thicker walled capsules than subsp. serpyllifolia, but to an extent that is a subjective point of view. The seeds are similar to subsp. serpyllifolia,
both of which are different to A. leptoclados (in which they are consistently smaller), but the coastal(?) subspecies has slightly larger seeds though possibly some overlap.
There are two interesting aspects to A. serpyllifolia subsp. lloydii. Firstly, two other plants seen from inland sites appeared to have this same cell structure, suggesting that it may not be restricted to the coast (Figure 4). One from near Grassington, Mid-West Yorkshire (v.c. 64) and another from Lakenheath, West Suffolk (v.c. 26); but they need to be examined with better equipment (I was uncertain whether the process used gave a clear result all the time). However, A. leptoclados is distinct and has thin-walled capsules and in any case a completely different cell structure.
The thickened cell walls on these inland plants may be in part due to the difficulties encountered in clearing the surface to see the cells and they may just be forms of subsp. serpyllifolia. However, comparatively at least, those identified as subsp. lloydii had these thickened cells. This could be due to the environment but it does not appear to be a feature exclusive to coastal plants, and may just be within the variation of the species. If larger seeds can be confirmed in these then perhaps subsp. lloydii might be more widespread but still rare.
In France, subsp. lloydii is not recognised (it being lumped in with and said to be indistinguishable
Figure 2. Structure of capsule cells in A. serpyllifolia subsp. serpyllifolia: (a) from Uskmouth, Wales (courtesy of Tim Rich); (b) from Laughton Forest, Lincolnshire (courtesy of Paul Kirby).
Figure 3. The cells of A. serpyllifolia subsp. lloydii seem to have cells with much thicker walls, so that the space between is ≤3x the width of the surrounding wall (T. Rich, in cultivation, originally from the Welsh coast).
4. (a) capsule cell walls from a plant from Lakenheath, West Suffolk (v.c. 26) growing with more typical subsp. serpyllifolia (as in Figure 2) (collected by B.A. Tregale). (b) A plant from Thorpe, near Grassington, MidWest Yorkshire (v.c. 64) (collected by B. Brown). Both (especially b) show thickened cells of the surface (some papillae/glands can be seen on the right of the right hand image).
to subsp. serpyllifolia) (Tison & de Foucault, 2014); however, some apparent differences are shown here, so thickened cell walls and larger seeds might be the way to separate these two subspecies. Subsp. lloydii generally has very short pedicels so has a more dense inflorescence than subsp. serpyllifolia, but that was not really seen in the inland plants and so they are more likely to be a form of subsp. serpyllifolia
Another diploid, A. marschlinsii, is also recognised (in Tison & de Foucault, 2014). The description of the latter taxon sounds very similar to subsp. lloydii but is said to be mainly alpine (and extremely rare).
The French authors consider that A. serpyllifolia is an allopolyploid (tetraploid) derivative of A. leptoclados (diploid) and A. marschlinsii (diploid). Though, here it seems that subsp. serpyllifolia is somewhat in the middle ground between A. leptoclados (long cells) and the thick-walled cells of subsp. lloydii. Presumably subsp. lloydii is a tetraploid. Thus, subsp. lloydii might be an ecotype (mainly, or exclusively coastal) that has evolved from subsp. serpyllifolia (which may be derived from A. leptoclados and A. marschlinsii), or just one variant along a spectrum requiring further study. Therefore, at least in Britain, all A. leptoclados can be separated from A. serpyllifolia s.l. given the cell
structure of the capsule walls. It is less clear how variable A. serpyllifolia is, given some plants from a few inland sites appeared to have a similar cell structure to that of known samples of subsp. lloydii. Further work on these taxa using a better technique such as scanning electron microscopy to look at the cell structure, and perhaps molecular techniques, might help clarify the situation.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Tim Rich, Paul Kirby, Bruce Brown and B.A. Tregale for specimens and J-M Tison for information on Arenaria in France.
References
Stace, C.A. 2019. New Flora of the British Isles. C&M Floristics, Middlewich Green, Suffolk.
Tison, J.-M. & de Foucault, B. (eds) 2014. Flora Gallica: Flore de France. Biotope Éditions, Mèze.
The speedwells perhaps feel both familiar and unfamiliar; familiar, because their blue flowers brighten up many a garden or springtime walk through arable countryside, yet unfamiliar in so far as they present a potentially tricky identification challenge for budding botanists. Speedwells are in the genus Veronica, a mighty genus which, under current taxonomy, includes a total of 464 species worldwide! So how do we whittle this number down to a manageable size? Veronica is, in fact, a perfect genus for understanding how dichotomous keys (keys that give us a choice – typically of two options –at each stage) work and learning how to use this effective way of identifying plants.
Of course, we can start by reminding ourselves that there are far fewer Veronica species in the UK. Our trusty Stace Flora keys out 33 species, while Collins Wild Flower Guide keys 22 species and The Wild Flower Key gives us 20 species to work with. All of these key-based books use a rather similar approach to identification which can help us tackle
Common Field-speedwell (Veronica persica). Mike Crewe
these plants. Looking firstly at the arrangement of the flowers, we can separate out plants that have flowers in racemes (i.e. spikes of flowers with a common stem), removing both those that have the flowers arranged along the terminal part of the main stem and those that have the flowers in spikes arising from the leaf axils. These will be covered in two future articles but for this instalment we are left with a small and manageable group of speedwells that have flowers on relatively long pedicels (flower stalks) that arise singly from the leaf axils.
The five speedwells
Following the process of using a botanical key described above, we find ourselves with a small group of five species and it is these that we look more closely at here. This is an interesting group as it includes both native and introduced species as well
BEGINNER’S CORNER: Speedwells (Veronica) Part 1
as both annuals and perennials. As a general rule, the annual species tend to favour land that is disturbed at least annually, providing them with open ground into which their seeds can freely germinate. Perennials will be happier where their established root systems do not get such disturbance and are more likely to be found in more permanent grassland habitats. To sort out the members of this group, we need to look first at the leaves and then – for the field speedwells – at closer details of the seed capsules. In all species, the colour of the flowers can also be useful, though there is a little variation in some species. Almost all of the
speedwells covered here can be found throughout most of Britain and Ireland, though they become rare or absent at altitude and in western Ireland and similarly in northern and western Scotland. Grey Field-speedwell is rather scarce in Ireland, being mostly confined to the south-east. The field speedwells can be found in flower more or less throughout the year, depending on location.
Mike Crewe mikedcrewe@gmail.com
Ivy-leaved Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia). Easily recognised by its more deeply lobed leaves, which somewhat resemble ivy leaves but with more rounded lobes. It has the smallest flowers of the group, just 4–5 mm across, often with a rather weak, pale blue or lilac colour and with the petals shorter than the sepals. This species comes in two forms: subspecies hederifolia typically grows in regularly disturbed ground in gardens, arable land and the like. Subspecies lucorum favours less disturbed, often shady ground along hedge bottoms and woodland rides. The flower colour is subtly different between the two but can be difficult to judge (lilac or pale mauve in subsp. lucorum, bluer in subsp. hederifolia). The two can also be told apart by the shape of the end lobe of the leaf and the colour of the anthers, but there are intermediates that will leave you scratching your head, so the beginner is recommended to ignore them! Flowers March–May. Photos: subsp. hederifolia (top left), John Norton; subsp. lucorum (bottom left) John Norton, top and bottom centre Mike Crewe; typical leaves of subsp. lucorum (top and bottom right) Mike Crewe.
Slender Speedwell (Veronica filiformis). This is the one perennial species in the group, so the presence of wiry, older stems towards the base of the plant can help with identification. The stems are slender and creeping with rounded or kidney-shaped shallowly toothed leaves. Flowers are relatively large, 8–10 mm across and stand vertically proud of the creeping stems; all the aforementioned books describe the flowers as blue, but in fact they have a definite violet or deep lilac tint to them which is very distinctive once learned. As a perennial, Slender Speedwell favours established grassland and is most often encountered in churchyards and in damper, more mossy lawns, where its creeping stems can be hard to spot until the plant is in flower. Flowers April–June. Photos: Mike Crewe.
Common Field-speedwell (Veronica persica). This is by far the commonest and most easily noticed member of this group and probably the one most often called ‘Bird’s-eye Speedwell’, though that name is widely used for Germander Speedwell (V. chamaedrys) and sometimes other species, too. Despite its abundance, Common Field-speedwell was not recorded in the UK until 1825, since when it has become a familiar ‘weed’ of open ground in arable farmland, gardens and other cultivated places. The flowers are large, 8–12 mm across, rich blue, but with a clearly much paler, lower petal. The seed capsules, when viewed from the side, have two widely diverging halves, their tips often at 90° to each other, while the persistent sepals are narrow. Note that some forms occur with all blue flowers (left photo), so it is always good to check details of the seed capsules as well as the flowers on all-blue plants. Photos: Mike Crewe.
Green Field-speedwell (Veronica agrestis). Once more common, Green Field-speedwell has been declining in many areas and can now be difficult to find in parts of the UK. Once a frequent ‘weed’ of cultivated ground, in East Anglia for example, it seems to have largely disappeared from arable farmland and now mostly turns up in urban gardens and as a pavement weed. This species has rich green foliage and the small flowers, 4–8 mm across, are variable in colour, from pale bluish-lilac to almost white. The seed capsules have the same rounded look as those of Grey Fieldspeedwell but with a hand lens their surface can be seen to have just upright, gland-tipped hairs without the shorter downy hairs of the other species. Photos: Tristan Norton (left); Mike Crewe (top and bottom right).
Grey Field-speedwell (Veronica polita). In many ways, this species comes across as a generally smaller version of Common Field-speedwell. Found similarly in cultivated ground and other disturbed areas, the whole plant can often have a rather dull appearance and is less bright green than the other field speedwells. Flowers small, 4–8 mm across, typically with all petals rich blue (with purplish markings), including the smaller, lower petal. The seed capsules are more compact and more rounded (less angular) than those of Common Field-speedwell, having tips that diverge from each other at around 45°. Using a hand lens, the capsule can be seen to have a good covering of short, downy hairs, together with a scattering of longer, glandtipped hairs. Though variable, the persistent sepals are typically shorter and broader than those of the other field speedwells.
Photos: John Norton (bottom left); Mike Crewe (top left, top and bottom right).
Thank you to all those who contributed in any way to what follows. I say it every time but cannot say it enough. An especial thank you is due to Mike Crewe for his very helpful feedback concerning the Croyde Eryngium (see v.c. 4).
There is a clarification and a correction from Adventives & Aliens News 33. While the flowers of Myriophyllum rubricaule are pink and those of M. aquaticum are white, they are not arranged differently as I seemed but did not mean to imply – in both cases there are four to six in a whorl. The Kirkstall Coreopsis tinctoria record is not the first for v.c. 64, as it was recorded by Mike Wilcox in Otley a month or so earlier. I am thankful to Mike Wilcox for drawing my attention to both.
V.c. 4 (N. Devon)
Euphorbia × pasteurii T. Walker (Pasteur’s Spurge). Holcombe Rogus (ST05711863), 24/4/2024, R.I. Kirby (det T. Walker): two plants self-seeded into roadside face of a retaining wall, clearly derived from a cultivated plant in the retained bank and initially identified as E. mellifera (Canary Spurge). New to v.c. 4. A robust evergreen subshrub (Euphorbiaceae) to 1.5 m, the artificial cross of the Madeira (and Canary Islands) native E. mellifera and Euphorbia stygiana from the Azores, first described by Tim Walker in 2003. The leaves, which are glossier than those of pure E. mellifera, are what initially suggested to him that E. × pasteurii was the correct name for the Holcombe Rogus plant. It is a self-fertile hybrid that readily back crosses with both parent species to produce hybrid swarms. Thus it is very likely that commercial growers soon end up with individual plants of very complex heritage, presumably including some of
Euphorbia × pasteurii, Holcombe Rogus, North Devon (v.c. 4). Bob Kirby
hybrid stock effectively indistinguishable from one or other pure species. It seems that E. × pasteurii and E. stygiana are hardier than E. mellifera which is killed at −11°C, and that the hybrid is better able than both parent species to regrow from its woody base when the top of the plant has died (Tim Walker, pers. comm. to Bob Kirby).
Cornus sanguinea subsp. australis (Dogwood). Tiverton (SS96591238), 24/7/2023, R.I. Kirby & R. Hodgson (conf. J. Poland): this is the first v.c. 4 record; it was also subsequently recorded at Roadford Lake, Okehampton, Barnstaple and to the west of Barnstaple at Brynsworthy Park. The typical situation is one of an introduction as part of ‘native species’ landscaping and subsequent spread/ naturalisation, sometimes well beyond the probable site of introduction (Bob Kirby, pers. comm.). This is the central and eastern European subspecies which differs from native subsp. sanguinea in its lower leaf surfaces being covered in medifixed hairs with equal
appressed arms (vs unequal arms and/or one or both arms not appressed to leaf surface). Stace (2019): 541.
Pittosporum colensoi Hook. f. (Rautawhiri). Barnstaple (SS55833402), 4/4/2024, R.I. Kirby & S.H. Kirby (conf. C. Crook): a three to four year old seedling on abandoned land near Rotary Park, originating from a relic tree located outside park perimeter c. 30 m away. New to v.c. 4. Bob Kirby found a mention of it in Bean (1976), as being “cultivated and prized in many gardens in the south-west, Ireland, etc. …”. An evergreen shrub or small tree (Pittosporaceae), native to New Zealand. It is very like P. tenuifolium (Kohuhu) and sometimes treated as a subspecies of it. P. colensoi has larger darker leaves with less undulate margins and according to some references capsules with three valves (vs two valves). However, it is likely that both species have capsules with two to four valves and a better character might be the texture of the capsule valves, rather thin in P. tenuifolium vs thick and woody in P. colensoi
Pittosporum colensoi, Barnstaple, North Devon (v.c. 4). Bob Kirby
Eryngium paniculatum Cav. & Dombey ex F. Delaroche (Paniculate Sea-holly). Croyde (SS438391), 14/6/2024, P.F. Whitehead: some nine
Eryngium paniculatum, Croyde, North Devon (v.c. 4). Paul Whitehead
plants in a fenced pasture in an area of coastal dunes. New to v.c. 4. It is highly likely that these plants are in some way connected to the naturalised colony discovered independently by Bob and Stephanie Kirby on 19/10/2024, independently identified by Bob Kirby as E. paniculatum and confirmed by Brian Pike, co-holder of the UK National Collection of Eryngium. This colony lies somewhat to the north of Paul Whitehead’s site (SS436393) and Bob describes hundreds of flower spikes covering the dune slopes. An evergreen, S. American perennial herb (Apiaceae) to c. 2 m, and an ornamental garden plant in Britain and Ireland. At maturity there is a quite formidable clump of long, tough, linear leaves, the margins of which have numerous more or less forward-directed spines. Paul Whitehead measured the leaf width of the Croyde plants at 2.5–3 cm, which is typical. The inflorescence is a long, narrow panicle; the ball-like, whitish capitula have an involucre of up to ten bracts, c. 2 cm long. According to the
European Garden Flora, it can be distinguished from the very similar E. eburneum by examination of the bracts which are not leathery in the latter and are leathery but not spiny in E. paniculatum. This can be a difficult distinction to make and the character itself might not be as reliable as the key makes out. There might also be a difference in the overall appearance of the inflorescence - good branching seemingly throughout its length in E. eburneum and less branching below in E. paniculatum (Mike Crewe, pers. comm.). Adventives & Aliens News 23, v.c. 29.
V.c. 5 (S. Somerset) Persicaria virginiana (L.) Gaertn. (Virginia Knotweed). Wellington (ST13922036), 26/7/2024, K. Turney, L. Everton & S. Parker (conf. H.J. Crouch): two mature plants and one seedling growing in pavement at the base of a wall, the boundary of Wellington Community Hospital, Bulford Road. They were initially thought to be a ‘colour sport’ of Persicaria maculosa (Redshank) which was growing nearby (Stephen Parker, pers. comm.). The first record for Britain and Ireland. A clump-forming perennial herb (Polygonaceae), a native of the eastern half of N. America and Mexico and an introduction in eastern Asia. The large ovate leaves (5–17.5 × 2–10 cm)
have acute to acuminate tips and the inflorescence (c. 10–35 cm long) is of very spindly appearance, the small (2.5–3.5 mm) often solitary flowers widely spaced along the very slender axis. The brown, biconvex achenes (3.5–4 × 2–2.8 mm) can be thrown explosively some distance when the plant is knocked, a phenomenon which gives rise to an alternative English name for the plant of Jumpseed. The achenes also have persistent exserted styles which catch onto clothing and animal fur, thereby providing a second mechanism of dispersal. The interrupted spike-like inflorescence and persistent exserted styles of its mature achenes put P. virginiana in section Tovara, the only Persicaria species native to N. America to be so placed. In the wild the leaves are sometimes marked like those of P. maculosa. In cultivation, they have been selected to produce leaves with a wide variety of markings (varying in size, colour and completeness of chevron/variegation, etc.). Thread-like Virginia Knotweed, P. virginiana var. filiformis, with marked leaves and striking burgundy-red flowering stems, is also available as a garden plant. It might be better treated as a species in its own right, Persicaria filiformis (Thunb.) Nakai, and has an Asian origin. Ampelodesmos mauritanicus (Poir.) T. Durand & Schinz (Rope Grass). Dunster Beach (SS997454),
Persicaria virginiana, Wellington, South Somerset (v.c. 5). Stephen Parker
21/5/2023, S.J. Parker, S. Little & H. Jones (det. M.J. Crawley): naturalising by chalets at top of beach. New to v.c. 5. The second record for Britain and Ireland. David Leadbetter observed it doing well in 2024 and provided the accompanying photo. A clump-forming, evergreen perennial grass to c. 2 m, which is a native of the western and central Mediterranean region and northern Africa. Like Nasella tenuissima (Argentine Needle-grass), if on a much larger scale, it is employed as an ornamental ‘fountain-like’ feature in gardens. Adventives & Aliens News 27, v.c. 2.
Ampelodesmos mauritanicus, Dunster Beach, South Somerset (v.c. 5). David Leadbetter
V.c. 7 (N. Wilts)
Alchemilla glaucescens (Silky Lady’s-mantle). Holt (ST858620), 3/6/2021, D. Green (conf. M. Lynes): one plant on track of carboniferous limestone chippings. About 13 plants were seen in 2022. New to Wiltshire. Mark Lynes revealed there is a
Green
likely precedent for its introduction to a site with limestone chippings in an earlier record from near Harrogate (v.c. 64?), making the Holt record the more remarkable given the much greater distance from the nearest part of the species’ native range in the Pennines. A neat compact perennial herb (Rosaceae) that differs from relatively robust A. mollis (Soft Lady’s-mantle) in having epicalyx segments that are distinctly shorter than the sepals (vs about as long), and from A. filicaulis subsp. vestita (Hairy Lady’s-mantle) in its glaucous appearance, dense, soft, silky-hairiness and the absence of a wine-red colouration at the bases of the stems, petioles and stipules. Similar sightings outside the accepted native range should always be referred to rule out lookalikes, both native and alien (e.g. in the A. erythropoda agg.). Stace (2019): 282.
V.c. 9 (Dorset)
Nigella sativa L. (Black-cumin). Swanage (SZ02837900), 5/10/2024, D. Leadbetter: a few plants on south side of road between Gilbert Road and Cranborne Road. New to v.c. 9. A little-branched
Alchemilla glaucescens, Holt, North Wiltshire (v.c. 7). David
glabrous annual (Ranunculaceae) to c. 50 cm, with spirally arranged leaves finely divided into linear segments. It differs from N. damascena (Love-in-a-mist) in the absence of a leafy involucre and the follicles having tuberculate backs (vs smooth). N. arvensis, N. hispanica and N. gallica have follicles that are fused for half to two-thirds of their length (vs more or less fused for entire length). The flowers are white or pale blue. A native of south-west Asia and northern Africa, it is widely naturalised in southern Europe. It is classed as a bird-seed and grain casual in Clement & Foster (1994), and might be an occasional
constituent of wild flower mixes. The shiny black seeds are used to flavour cakes, curries and other delicacies. There are post-2000 records for v.cc. 11, 14, 63 (2020) and 83 (2023, introduced).
Primula pulverulenta (Red Cowslip). Creech (SY90578232), 7/5/2024, D. Leadbetter: c. 25 plants in woodland clearing. Adventives & Aliens News 19, v.c. 64; Adventives & Aliens News 32, v.c. 5.
V.c. 10 (Isle of Wight)
Saxifraga stolonifera (Strawberry Saxifrage). Osborne (SZ5195), 7/2024, J. Wilmott (comm. Pete Stroh): large naturalised population edge of block of woodland in middle of private golf course, clearly present for a number of years. New to v.c. 10. A stoloniferous Asian herb (Saxifragaceae) to 60 cm, occurring as a garden escape particularly on walls and particularly in more western vice-counties. The inflorescence is a bracteate panicle and the white flowers are about 2 cm across with the two lower petals much longer than the three upper petals. In the typical plant the orbicular-cordate, long-petiolate leaves have a lamina that is white-veined above and reddish below. In the cultivar ‘Tricolor’ the leaves have a broad, irregular white to pink margin. Stace (2019): 138.
Saxifraga stolonifera, Osborne, Isle of Wight (v.c. 10). John Wilmott
Primula pulverulenta, Creech, Dorset (v.c. 9). David Leadbetter
Nigella sativa, Swanage, Dorset (v.c. 9). David Leadbetter
V.c. 11 (S. Hants)
Fumaria capreolata subsp. capreolata, f. speciosa Pugsley (White Ramping-fumitory). Gosport (SZ62169993), 4/1/2024, D.R. Allan, E.J. Clement & J.A. Norton: in a walled planter by Mumby Road on north side of town centre, possibly introduced with bedding plants; found during a New Year Plant Hunt. The southern European subsp. capreolata is distinguished from the British and Irish endemic subsp. babingtonii by the fruiting pedicels being longer than the bracts (vs more or less equal), the generally shorter, broader, less oblong sepals, and the slightly smaller, more rounded fruits with smooth surfaces when dry (vs faintly and minutely wrinkled when dry); f. speciosa is further distinguished by the corollas rapidly turning bright crimson after fertilisation. The Gosport plants were only confirmed as f. speciosa (and indeed subsp babingtonii) when this change was observed to have happened on 30/5/2024 (John Norton, pers. comm.). There are records of forma speciosa in the DDb for v.cc. 1, 2, 15 (e.g. Lydd Ranges), 16, 22, 29 and 113. It has been recorded from both ends
of v.c. 14 in Brighton and Camber. Most of these records were made between 2010 and 2023.
V.c. 14 (E. Sussex)
Impatiens walleriana (Busy Lizzie). Eastbourne Town Centre (TV60639888), 27/10/2024, M. Berry: one plant self-sown at base of retaining wall of raised flower bed, Saffrons Road. New to v.c. 14 and to Sussex. A perennial herb (Balsaminaceae) native to eastern Africa, it is a half-hardy garden annual in our region, the familiar favourite of flower beds and hanging baskets. The zygomorphic, bisexual flowers are up to 5 cm wide and usually shades of pink and red, or sometimes white. There are five petals (one broader and more notched) and three sepals, two tiny and green, the other petaloid and long-spurred (spur c. 3 cm long). The glossy leaves (3–12 × 2–5 cm) are broadly elliptic, mostly more or less alternate and their toothed margins have prominent, pinkish hydathodes. Stace (2019): 543.
Mentha pulegium (Pennyroyal). North-west of St. Leonards (TQ77611102), 31/7/2024, M. Berry & J. Linsell: scattered plants on embankment, Queensway. A variably hairy, highly aromatic perennial herb (Lamiaceae) that is a rare native species of poached commons, damp heaths, pond margins and related habitats. In Sussex it is regarded both as a declining native species and a possibly increasing introduction (e.g. as a grass seed contaminant). There was a second v.c. 14 record in 2024, for a colony growing incongruously in a chalk grassland habitat at Waterhall (near Brighton) (Judith Linsell, pers. comm.). The Queensway plants were referable to the alien var. erecta, with upright stems not rooting at the nodes (vs var. decumbens), but in truth the two variants seem to grade into one another. At some of the introduced colonies in other vice-counties, the plants can number in the thousands. Stace (2019): 674.
Tolpis barbata (L.) Gaertn. (Bearded Tolpis). Hastings Old Town (TQ82800973), 12/8/2024, J. Rose (det. J. Clark): four plants in paving under a lamp-post, Tackleway. The first record for Sussex and seemingly the first for Britain and Ireland since the late 1960s. Further research by Judy Clark indicates
Fumaria capreolata subsp. capreolata f. speciosa, Gosport, South Hampshire (v.c. 11). John Norton
that it was available as a garden annual in the late 1950s, if not earlier, and might have occurred as a garden escape in that period too. It is certainly a garden plant again today with, for example, Chiltern Seeds offering the species in their catalogue. The source in this instance might well be plants grown by the head gardener at Great Dixter, who lives in a nearby street and has shared seed with friends (Judy Clark, pers. comm.). A widely branching, rather sparsely hairy, Mediterranean annual (Asteraceae) to c. 40 cm. It has solitary ligulate capitula, c. 2–3 cm across; the larger, outer ligules a creamy yellow, and the inner ones of a darker yellow; the very innermost often coloured dark brown or reddish-purple with only the toothed, apical portions left yellow. They are carried on terminal or axillary stalks, inflated below the involucres. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, toothed to subentire, the basal ones in a rosette, the stem leaves narrower and petiolate. The outer row of spreading, needle-like phyllaries gives the plant a most distinctive jizz. The achenes have a pappus of a few long bristles with short basal scales. It is
listed in Clement & Foster (1994) as a wool, birdseed and granite casual.
Zinnia elegans (Youth-and-age). Eastbourne Seaside (TV62139983), 21/9/2024, M. Berry: several plants in gutters on both sides of road, Addingham Road. New to Sussex. A colourful, herbaceous, garden annual (Asteraceae) from Mexico that has discoid capitula with vivid red or orange ligules. While it is possible the gutters were ‘seed-bombed’, it is never the less surprising that several seeds of this species of tropical central America germinated in a far from tropical Eastbourne street. Adventives & Aliens News 29, v.c. 4.
Panicum dichotomiflorum (Autumn Millet).
Eastbourne Town Centre (TV60959868), 31/10/2024, M. Berry (conf. E.J. Clement): one plant in ground around immature street tree, College Road. New to Sussex. An annual grass that is native to N. America. It differs from P. capillare (Witch-grass) in its glabrous leaf sheaths and blades and from P. schinzii (Transvaal Millet) in its acute-acuminate spikelets (vs more or less obtuse) with sterile lower
Tolpis barbata, Hastings Old Town, East Sussex (v.c. 14). Jacqueline Rose
florets (vs usually male). The Eastbourne plant had lower florets that were entirely lacking paleas (vs paleas present but much reduced), so would be treated by some authorities at species rank as Panicum chloroticum Nees ex Trin.; however, this difference is rather trivial and more usually both P. chloroticum and P. dichotomiflorum var. chloroticum (Nees ex Trin.) Bock are viewed as merely being part of the synonymy of P. dichotomiflorum subsp. dichotomiflorum The source of the Eastbourne plant is obscure but P. dichotomiflorum has been known from soyabean waste, wool, birdseed and in Belgium has been observed as a weed of maize crops. It might also be an under-the-radar garden plant. Stace (2019): 1108.
V.c. 15 (E. Kent)
Thladiantha dubia Bunge (Manchu Tubergourd). Lynsted (TQ94565954), 2/7/2024, D. Chesterman: growing prolifically in a wood around a former bonfire/rubbish heap, where it is assumed to have arisen from dumped tubers. The first record for v.c. 15 and Kent as a whole. A dioecious, tuberous, climbing herb (Cucurbitaceae), native to eastern Russia and east Asia, and a rare garden plant in Britain. It has also been reported from v.cc. 14, 17 and 54. Adventives & Aliens News 24, v.c. 17. Kent Botany 2021, p. 14.
V.c. 16 (W. Kent)
Hydrangea paniculata Siebold (Panicled Hydrangea). Knockholt (TQ46755884), 9/8/2021, G. Kitchener & S. Kitchener: seedlings in pavement cracks, Main Road. A cultivated garden specimen overtopping an adjacent wall was identified as the source. New to v.c. 16 and Kent as a whole and seemingly also the first record of a genuine escape for Britain and Ireland. A deciduous shrub or small tree (Hydrangeaceae) to c. 4 m, native to central and southern China. The panicle is broadly conical and typically the sterile flowers, with much enlarged sepals, are pinkish-white and the less conspicuous fertile flowers are creamy-white. The serrate, ovate-elliptic leaves (7–15 cm long) are in opposite pairs or groups of three. Numerous cultivars exist including ‘Big Ben’, ‘Silver Dollar’ and the earlier
flowering ‘Praecox’. In H. macrophylla (Hydrangea) and H. petiolaris (Climbing Hydrangea) the flowers are in terminal corymbs. Kent Botany 2021, p. 20.
V.c. 27 (E. Norfolk)
Phalaris minor (Lesser Canary-grass). Baconsthorpe (TG130380), 23/7/2024, S. Pryce (det. R. Leaney/ comm. S. Pryce): one plant in arable reversion, Castle Wild Camping Retreat. Suki Pryce subsequently found it in an adjacent reversion field at TG13103797. There were v.c. 27 records in 2016 and 2019 for the Felbrigg House Estate (TG1837, TG1937); pre-2016 the most recent record in the DDb is for 1950. The last v.c. 28 record in the DDb is for the 1987-1999 date class. An annual grass native to the Mediterranean region and south-west Asia, which in Britain and Ireland is known as a grain, bird-seed, wool and esparto alien of usually casual occurrence, more rarely as an established one, Ryves et al. (1996). It differs from P. canariensis (Canarygrass) in its usually narrower panicle, in some of its glumes having keels with toothed wings (vs entire wings) and in its smaller sterile florets (one-third or less as long as fertile floret vs half or more as long as fertile floret). Adventives & Aliens News 22, v.c. H32.
V.c. 28 (W. Norfolk)
Scrophularia vernalis (Yellow Figwort). Stonebridge (TL92679090), 24/2/2024, T. Doncaster (det. T. Doncaster/comm. S. Pryce): many plants scattered and apparently self-seeded within a garden and some escaped past wire fence onto lane-side verge. It seems to have been here (or at least in the tetrad) since the survey which produced A Flora of Norfolk (1999), quite in keeping with its reputation of being a persistent escape. A very hairy, late summer/ early autumn germinating biennial or perennial (Scrophulariaceae) to c. 60 cm, a native of central and southern Europe and an escape from gardens in Britain and Ireland. There is an overwintering leaf rosette in the first year followed by a square stem bearing axillary inflorescences in the second; the more or less globular yellowish corollas (6–9 mm long) have equal lobes and lack a staminode. The ovate-cordate leaves are deeply, irregularly toothed.
The prolific, relatively light seeds can be bird- and even wind-dispersed. It has been known in at least one of its British localities since the late eighteenth century. Adventives & Aliens News 25, v.c. 12; Adventives & Aliens News 31, v.c. 35.
V.c. 42 (Brecs)
Cardamine occulta Hornem. (Cryptic Bitter-cress).
Three Cocks (SO171375), 2024, A.G. Shaw: a weed of flower beds and paths at The Old Railway Line Garden Centre. Adventives & Aliens News 31, v.c. 35; Adventives & Aliens News 33, v.c. 83.
V.c. 56 (Notts)
Asclepias syriaca L. (Common Milkweed). Near Shirebrook (SK541680), 1/9/2024, C. Butler & R. Frost (det. M. Fishbein/comm. M. Lacey): one 70 cm tall plant in Brachypodium pinnatum grassland with scrub, on verge of dismantled railway c. 0.4 km from nearest habitation, Warsop Vale. Chris Butler and Roy Frost sent images to Mick Lacey who identified it to genus. His online inquiries led to Dr Mark Fishbein of Oklahoma State University, who determined the species as A. syriaca. A robust, unbranched, leafy N. American perennial (Apocynaceae, but formerly in Asclepiadaceae) to c. 2 m, hardly known to botanists
in Britain and Ireland, but an apparently naturalised garden escape in central and southern Europe, and perhaps elsewhere. Milkweed, the collective English name for the genus, refers to the copious amounts of milky latex contained in the vegetative parts. Other common characters include the usually opposite leaves and the highly distinctive flowers that have an outer corolla of five reflexed lobes and an inner ‘corona’ of five petaloid, hood-like projections, each armed with an incurving horn.
In A. syriaca the corolla is a pinkish-purple and the corona is paler. The flowers are c. 1.5 cm across and carried in many-flowered umbels, both terminal and
syriaca, near Shirebrook, Nottinghamshire
Scrophularia vernalis, Stonebridge, West Norfolk (v.c. 28). Marilyn Abdulla
Asclepias
(v.c. 56). Mick Lacey
axillary. The large (10–20 cm long), oblong-ovate leaves have pubescent lower surfaces and many conspicuous secondary veins. The fruit is a hairy, sparsely spiny, narrowly ovoid follicle, c. 9 × 4 cm. The wind-borne seeds have tufts of long hairs. It is a rare, impermanent casual in Belgium, where another Asclepias, A. incarnata, occurs even more rarely. It differs from A. syriaca in its narrowly lanceolate leaves in whorls of three to six (vs pairs of opposite leaves) and glabrous stems (vs densely hairy stems) (Manual of the Alien Plants of Belgium). Asclepias tuberosa L. is another potential garden plant. It has a hairy stem and oblong-lanceolate leaves but alternate or at least not strictly opposite. The corolla is orange, the corona is reddish and the follicle is spindle-shaped. Asclepias curassavica L., from tropical America, is a showy greenhouse plant with lanceolate leaves, scarlet corollas and yellow coronas. There is also an A. syriaca record in the DDb for v.c. 66 from 2022 (more recently removed), but no other records either for the species or indeed the genus.
V.c. 63 (S.W. Yorks)
Zantedeschia elliottiana (H. Knight) Engl. (Golden Calla-lily). Bradford (SE19413716), 7/8/2024, M.P. Wilcox: surviving garden throw-out growing through old brash, woodland edge on Carr Bottom Road; seems to be at least two plants with two to three flowering stems (Mike Wilcox, pers. comm.). There are no other records in the DDb, nor could I trace another. A rhizomatous perennial (Araceae) from S. Africa (Northern Provinces) to c. 90 cm and a garden ornamental elsewhere, being of particular utility as a summer bedding plant. It differs from Z. aethiopica (Altar-lily) in its white-spotted leaves and yellow spathe (vs white). Zantedeschia albomaculata (Hook.) Baill. with a wider distribution in southern and west-central Africa, also has leaves with white spots but is more tender and has white spathes. It could occur as a garden throw-out but is probably rarely grown.
V.c. 73 (Kirkcudbrights)
Cuscuta campestris (Yellow Dodder). Townhead of Greenlaw (NX74186481), 14/8/2024, T. Ewing
(comm. D. Hawker): growing on Fragaria moschata (Hautbois Strawberry) that were grown from seed in home-made compost, so source of Dodder uncertain. The only other v.c. 73 record of a Cuscuta species is of C. epithymum (Dodder), which was recorded from Mollance (NX76) as far back as 1789 (David Hawker, pers. comm.). A rootless, almost leafless, parasitic annual (or perennial?) (Convolvulaceae) from N. America, with yellowish stems, tiny fivelobed corollas and capitate stigmas. There are only six records for Scotland in the DDb, for v.cc. 75, 81, 85, 86, 95 and 96. Adventives & Aliens 3, v.c. 85; Adventives & Aliens News 28, v.c. 13.
V.c. 79 (Selkirks)
Frangula alnus (Alder Buckthorn). East of Howden (NT455272), 28/9/2024, R. Corner: planted over several tens of metres as a well-grown, fruiting hedge on north side of B7009, with fruiting Euonymus europaeus (Spindle). New to v.c. 79 and unknown elsewhere in the Scottish Borders (Rod Corner, pers. comm.). A deciduous shrub or small tree (Rhamnaceae) found as a native in England, Wales and Ireland, where it often favours wet peaty habitats. Rather similar to Rhamnus cathartica (Buckthorn) but spineless and the leaves entire.
Zantedeschia elliottiana, Bradford, South-West Yorkshire (v.c. 63). Mike Wilcox
Frangula alnus, East of Howden, Selkirkshire (v.c. 79). Rod Corner
Although an introduction in this case, it is of interest because of the extent of the planting, the fact of its being out of its normal range and the undoubted potential for dispersal by birds (the berries have a violently purgative effect on human consumers). Stace (2019): 298.
Saughton (NT21467112), 2/6/2024, S. Jury (det. T.C.G. Rich): two large clumps in damp grassland
Rorippa × armoracioides, Saughton, Midlothian (v.c. 83). Sue Jury
at H.M. Prison. A new site. It was also seen by Sue Jury growing abundantly on a grassy verge of Old Church Lane in Holyrood Park (NT27247248, 21/7/2024), more or less where it was recorded new to v.c. 83 by D.R. McKean in 1998. As well as nine records for v.c. 83, there are 19 other records for Scotland in the DDb, shared between v.cc. 76, 77, 80, 82, 84 and 98. The hybrid of the widespread weedy native R. sylvestris and the rare Eurasian alien R. austriaca (Austrian Yellow-cress), both perennials (Brassicaceae). In flower, fruit and leaf characters it is intermediate but in overall habit closer to R. sylvestris. One classic location for this hybrid was near Walthamstow Reservoirs (v.c. 21) where it formed large patches in the absence of R. austriaca Stace (2019): 422.
Senecio vernalis (Eastern Groundsel). Edinburgh Old Town (NT25387280), 12/6/2024, S. Jury (det. T.C.G. Rich/comm. Sue Jury): one plant at edge of path in longer grass, North Meadow Walk. The second v.c. 83 record (the first from 1974 for Leith Docks). A narrowly erect Eurasian annual (Asteraceae) to c. 50 cm; it has a cobwebby indumentum (but often glabrescent), yellow radiate capitula (c. 2–3 cm across) with 8–15 ligules (c. 10 mm long) and oblong, pinnately lobed leaves, the lower stalked and the upper sessile and clasping. The c. 2 mm long achenes are densely white-hairy and there is a pappus of simple hairs. An impurity of grass seed, perhaps occasional in wild flower mixes and in the past possibly also a wool casual. There are post-2000 records in the DDb for v.cc. 8, 11, 13 (introduced), 19, 29, 32, 46, 47, 48, 56, 57, 59, H12 (27 separate records, P.R. Green) and H20. Adventives & Aliens News 18, v.c. 19. Stace (2019): 804.
Beckmannia syzigachne (American Slough-grass). West Craigs (NT170736), 31/10/2024, S. Jury (det. M. P. Wilcox): one small clump with about two inflorescences in small shallow wet area where drainage system installed. The first record for Scotland. A tufted annual grass from N. America and Asia, the long narrow inflorescences actually racemes in which the numerous appressed spikes comprise distinctively flattened spikelets stacked one on top
of the other. It is a bird-seed and grain alien among other things. Adventives & Aliens News 23, v.c. 31.
V.c. 85 (Fife & Kinross)
Scabiosa ochroleuca L. (Yellow Scabious). Tentsmuir (NO5025), 4/10/2024, S. Edwards (det. H. Noltie): at pathside, Sand Dunes, in what is broadly heathland habitat. It is not known how it came to be at Tentsmuir (Sandy Edwards, pers. comm.). A perennial garden plant (Dipsacaceae) from central and south-eastern Europe that is very like S. columbaria (Small Scabious) but with yellow to whitish flowers. Sandy Edwards commented on the cream flowers of the Tentsmuir plant. There is no other record for Scotland in the DDb. Adventives & Aliens News 33, v.c. 14.
V.c. 86 (Stirlings)
Bupleurum subovatum (False Thorow-wax). Grangemouth Docks (NS92608219), 10/1/2024, M. Harding: on a street next to Junction Dock. New to v.c. 86. An erect, branched, glabrous annual (Apiaceae) to c. 30 cm with perfoliate stem leaves. It is a native of southern Europe, Asia and northern Africa, distinguishable from B. rotundifolium (Thorowwax) by its narrower less orbicular stem leaves, its
fewer rayed compound umbels (2–3 rays vs 4–8 rays) and its slightly longer, tuberculate fruits (vs smooth). Records of B. rotundifolium (Thorow-wax), extinct as a genuine arable weed, have been boosted in part by its cultivation for funeral wreaths/use as a cut flower, etc. This is the first record of B. subovatum I have received direct news of, however the DDb indicates post-2010 records for v.cc. 13, 17, 21, 29, 39, 47, 55, 57, 59, 60, 61, 67, 83 and 95. Bird-seed and chicken food have been implicated in British and Irish records of B. subovatum and Matt Harding suggested a bird-seed origin for the Grangemouth plant. Stace (2019): 852.
Chaerophyllum aureum (Golden Chervil). Near Stirling (NS7739995470), 28/6/2024, M. Harding: patch growing alongside old road, south side of River Forth, in what is broadly wooded habitat. The first v.c. 86 record. It is well naturalised around Callander and near Doune in v.c. 87, so its appearance in the neighbouring vice-county was predictable (Matt Harding, pers. comm.). A variably hairy perennial (Apiaceae) to 150 cm, a garden plant from central and southern Europe and south-west Asia. It has pale yellowish-green, three-pinnate leaves (the leaf segments acute) and white-flowered compound umbels of 12-15 rays. The fruits are more or less oblong, slightly broader at the base, c. 9 mm long, with divergent styles that are much longer than the stylopodium. It differs from Anthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley) in its solid, somewhat purple-spotted stems. In the biennial C. temulum (Rough Chervil)
Beckmannia syzigachne, West Craigs, Midlothian (v.c. 83). Sue Jury
the leaves are dark green (the leaf segments more or less obtuse), the fruits are 5–6 mm long and the styles are about equal in length to the stylopodium. Stace (2019): 857.
V.c. 97 (Westerness)
Senecio minimus (Toothed Fireweed). East of Traigh (NM66819015), 30/7/2024, I. Strachan: abundant in scrub on both sides of road (A830), extending for 280 m on east side, two miles north of Arisaig. There are no other records for Scotland in DDb. A recent large fire might well explain the large area covered by the colony, which is centred on a lay-by in an area popular with visitors (Ian Strachan pers. comm.). The combination of tall stature (to 100 cm), narrow finely toothed leaves and terminally clustered discoid capitula make it a rather distinctive Ragwort. Adventives & Aliens News 23, v.c. H21.
V.c.
104 (N. Ebudes)
Erica ciliaris (Dorset Heath). Skye (NG29024259), 12/8/2022, J. Walmisley (comm. S. Bungard): a garden escape forming a 1 m × 1 m patch in roadside
Senecio minimus, East of Traigh, Westerness (v.c. 97). Ian Strachan
ditch, Harlosh. New to Scotland. An evergreen shrub (Ericaceae) with leaves in whorls of three to four and more or less one-sided terminal racemes of bright reddish-pink, corollas (8–12 mm long and more tubular than in the other native Erica species), which as a native is restricted to Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. It is a rare garden escape/introduction elsewhere. Stace (2019): 561.
V.c. H32 (Co Monaghan)
Viburnum rhytidophyllum (Wrinkled Viburnum). Drumgurra (H78690919), 23/7/2024, A. FitzGerald: surviving garden throw-out or selfsown in scrub. New to v.c. H32. An evergreen shrub (Adoxaceae, now back to Viburnaceae in Stace (2019), third reprint (2024); see BSBI News 157, p. 61) to 6 m; a native of China, it is widely planted in parks and gardens and is even used in hedging. The large (8–25 × 4–7 cm), opposite, oblonglanceolate, rugose leaves, glabrous and shiny dark green above and densely stellate hairy below, make it very recognisable. It is only likely to be confused with its hybrid with V. lantana (Wayfaring-tree), V. × rhytidophylloides, but that is only semi-evergreen and the upper leaf surfaces have few to many stellate hairs. Adventives & Aliens News 24, v.c. 67.
References
Bean, W.J. 1976. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles. Vol. 3 (8th edn). John Murray, London.
Beckett, G., Bull, A. & Stevenson, R. 1999. A Flora of Norfolk Gillian Beckett.
Clement, E.J. & Foster, M.C. 1994. Alien Plants of the British Isles. Botanical Society of the British Isles, London. Murphy, R.J. 2009. Fumitories of Britain and Ireland. BSBI Handbook No. 12. Botanical Society of the Britain Isles, London.
Poland, J. & Clement, E.J. 2020. The Vegetative Key to the British Flora (2nd edn). John Poland, Southampton.
Rich, T.C.G. & Jermy, C. 1998. Plant Crib 1988. Botanical Society of the British Isles, London.
Reynolds, S.C.P. 2002. A Catalogue of Alien Plants in Ireland. National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin.
Ryves, T.B., Clement, E.J. & Foster, M.C. 1996. Alien Grasses of the British Isles. Botanical Society of the British Isles, London.
Stace, C.A. 2019. New Flora of the British Isles (4th edn). C & M Floristics, Middlewood Green, Suffolk.
Lindernia dubia arrives in Britain
MARK GURNEY, ANDREW SKINNER & JOSEPH HOBDEN
Whilstsurveying the ditch flora at RSPB Pulborough Brooks, West Sussex (v.c. 13, TQ0617) in August 2024, we noticed an unfamiliar plant in of one the scrapes in the grassland. It was growing among Lythrum portula (Water-purslane) and other species typical of seasonally flooded ground. It had a similar shape and stature to Veronica beccabunga (Brooklime), but its solitary toadflax-like flowers were completely different and we knew it was not a member of our native flora. The iNaturalist app suggested that it was Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell. Taking that as our starting point, we checked images of the species online and they matched the plant we had found, giving us confidence that we at least had the right family (Linderniaceae, the ‘False Pimpernel’ family, formerly within Scrophulariaceae). Our plant keyed out to this species in the online Flora of North America and Flora of Southeastern US, the main features distinguishing it from similar species being the long ovate, pointed leaves with remotely toothed margins, pedicels slightly shorter than the subtending leaf, and the deeply divided calyx that is shorter than the corolla tube.
There are no previous records of this species in the BSBI Distribution Database, and Kevin Walker (BSBI Head of Science) told us that this is the first report he is aware of in Britain or Ireland. Lindernia dubia is native to the Americas, but it is found as an introduced plant in much of Europe (POWO, 2024). It was detected in France as early as 1850, but in the last thirty years it has appeared for the first time in several countries in central Europe (Hrivnák et al., 2016). It was noted in Belgium in 1993 (Vannerom, 1994), and in the Netherlands in 2004, becoming naturalised there by 2014 (Simons & Jansen, 2018). With its spread north and east, it
Lindernia dubia, Pulborough Brooks, West Sussex (v.c. 13), August 2024. Mark Gurney
is not surprising that it has now made it to Britain. Simons & Jansen (2018) speculate that it is spread by birds, and this seems to us to be the most likely route for its arrival at Pulborough Brooks. The area where the plant appeared is used by many ducks of species that are known to move between south-east England and Belgium, France and the Netherlands (Spina et al., 2022).
On a later visit we found several hundred plants across a scrape complex of about 4 ha, so it is likely that it has been present and producing seed for more than one year. Lindernia dubia is invasive in wetlands in Romania (Neacşu et al., 2021) and considered a potential threat to wetland ecosystems in the Netherlands (Simons & Jansen, 2018). We are managing the area where it has been found to try to control it and eradicate it if feasible.
References
Hrivnák, R., Kochjarová, J., Šumberová, K. & Schmotzer, A. 2016. Alien wetland annual Lindernia dubia (Scrophulariaceae): the first recently mentioned localities
in Slovakia and their central European context. Biologia 71: 281–286.
Neacşu, A., Imbrea, I., Laţo, A. & Arsene, G.-G. 2021. Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell: a new invasive in the Romanian Banat. AgroLife Scientific Journal 10(2): 121–135. POWO 2024. Lindernia dubia, Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online at: powo.science.kew.org
Simons, E.L. & Jansen, M.G. 2018. Ecology of naturalized invasive species Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell in the Netherlands. Gorteria , 1–10. natuurtijdschriften.nl/ pub/643565/GOR2018040001001.pdf
Spina, F., Baille, S.R., Bairlein, F., Fielder, W. & Thorup, K. (eds) 2022. The Eurasian African Bird Migration Atlas Retrieved from migrationatlas.org
Vannerom, H. 1994. Omtrent de vondst van Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell (Scrophulariaceae), nieuw voor de Belgische Flora, en de evolutie van de Platweiers te Zonhoven (prov. Limburg). Dumortiera 55–57: 23–26.
Mark Gurney, Andrew Skinner & Joseph Hobden
RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy SG19 2DL mark.gurney@rspb.org.uk
Lindernia dubia (smaller plants in centre) in flood meadow at Pulborough Brooks, August 2024. Andy Skinner
An American cudweed in Southampton
TRISTAN NORTON
On23 September 2024 I decided to visit Southampton, Hampshire (v.c. 11) for some urban plant recording. Driving east to the borough of Woolston, I passed across a section of flyover and, glancing to my left at some vegetation growing along the kerb, my eye was drawn to several plants that looked like Heath Cudweed Omalotheca sylvestris, a species I’d seen plenty of in Aberdeenshire earlier in the summer. Finding my way back on foot, I was relieved to find that I hadn’t been hallucinating, and saw several spikes of what was clearly an American cudweed (Gamochaeta species) growing from a drain
Gamochaeta sp. Southampton, South Hampshire (v.c. 11), 23 September 2024. Tristan Norton ADVENTIVES & ALIENS: An American cudweed in Southampton
(at OS grid reference SU42661127). After collecting and examining specimens I made a tentative identification as Gamochaeta purpurea, the default ‘American cudweed’ thought to occur in Britain. This discovery has taken me well and truly down the proverbial rabbit hole of Gamochaeta taxonomy. That the taxonomic situation of American spicate cudweeds is complicated has been recognised for many decades. Drury (1971) states that they ‘are some of the most perplexing of Compositae to classify and name’ and ‘the nomenclature is very tangled’. Freire et al. (2024) describe the situation as ‘taxonomic chaos’. I would heartily agree, and one of the challenges of writing this article has been to provide a narrative that doesn’t lead the reader into a state of confusion as deep as mine. Thankfully, much work has been undertaken on this group in recent decades by botanists in the Americas and the spread of these species to all corners of the globe has attracted attention from botanists elsewhere.
Taxonomy and morphology of spicate cudweeds
Plants in the genus Gamochaeta are known as the spicate cudweeds on account of their often tall, often erect flowering spikes. They are separated from the similar Gnaphalium based on ‘capitula usually arranged in spikes or headlike clusters; pistillate florets outnumbering the bisexual florets; truncate style branches with apical sweeping trichomes; pappus bristles connate at the base into a ring that falls as a unit; and achenes with usually globose twin trichomes.’ (Freire et al., 2024). Note that many of these features, also critical for species discrimination, require detailed microscopy. Recent treatments of the genus (Freire et al., 2021; 2024) have used between 24 and 33 morphological characteristics. The latest taxonomic revision lands with 53 species (Freire et al., 2024), centred on South America and with some species in Central and
Gamochaeta sp. inflorescence (top), individual involucres (middle) and basal leaf rosettes of the colony found on 28 September 2024 (bottom).
Tristan Norton
North America. In their natural range they occupy various ecological zones, including high altitude rocks, lowland grasslands, woodland edges, deserts and wetlands. Where adventive, they tend to be associated with urban/suburban situations (Verloove et al., 2023; Lucardi et al., 2020).
The inflorescence comprises lots of small sessile clusters of individual flowering heads interspersed with a series of leaf-like bracts. This can be a dense continuous spike, an interrupted spike, terminal clusters, or dense clusters on panicles (Freire et al., 2016; Freire et al., 2024). The individual flowering parts comprise a campanulate involucre with layers of semi-translucent phyllaries.
The leaves of many species show an obvious contrast in the colour and texture of the upper and lower surfaces. The species discussed in this article – those within the broad definition of Gamochaeta purpurea – each have bicolorous leaves with a densely pannose (matted with dense long white hairs) abaxial surface and a more or less glabrous and plain green adaxial surface. Plants have a basal rosette which may persist during flowering, or may not.
The Southampton plants show a persistent basal rosette of broadly obovate leaves (reminiscent of a Centaurium species or Yellow-wort Blackstonia perfoliata) with distinctly bicoloured upper and lower surfaces, the latter being densely white-pannose. The midrib and main lateral veins are pale and contrast with the overall light green colouration of the leaf blade. The erect flowering spike on the largest plant was c. 30 cm and the stem is densely white-pannose. A sample of involucres measured between 3 and 4 mm. The inner and outer phyllaries exhibit acute apices.
Gamochaeta species in Britain and Ireland
American spicate cudweeds are very rare in Britain and have not yet been recorded in Ireland. There are 26 records of Gamochaeta species on the BSBI Distribution Database (DDb) between 1913 and 2023 and with records from as far north as Selkirkshire (v.c. 79) but tending to be concentrated in central and southern England. The British records are exclusively recorded as G. purpurea although
include the synonyms Gamochaeta pensylvanica and Gnaphalium pensylvanicum, all under the common name American Cudweed. There is a record of one other American cudweed species, Gnaphalium coarctatum, from Guernsey in 2016. This taxon is now placed within Gamochaeta as G. coarctata although its validity as a distinct taxon is questioned (see below).
Is it Gamochaeta purpurea?
Is the Southampton plant Gamochaeta purpurea ? Perhaps the question when faced with one of these plants should be: is a spicate cudweed found in Britain even most likely to be G. purpurea? Gamochaeta purpurea is a handy catch-all taxon within which British and Irish botanists could comfortably place any Gamochaeta species. This was my own fallback position: it must be purpurea because all the DDb records are of that species. The taxonomic situation is however much more complex, and I now acknowledge that it would be presumptuous to assume that purpurea is the most likely species to occur in Britain and Ireland, or that all the records attributed to purpurea on the BSBI database are even this taxon.
There is considerable evidence from work in the Americas that points to problems with assuming that British plants or those recorded elsewhere are purpurea (e.g. Alford, 2012), or even that many North American plants assumed to be purpurea are that species at all (or more accurately, that they are purpurea s.s.). Treatments of ‘purple cudweeds’ from the USA have always taken varying positions; some including the distinct G. pensylvanica within a broad definition of Gamochaeta purpurea/Gnaphalium purpureum, and others taking a narrower position (Nesom & Pruski, 2005). Indeed, Nesom & Pruski (2005) state that ‘names in Gamochaeta have often been misapplied, and the overall distribution of G. purpurea will be understood only after many identifications are reassessed’ and that usage of this name in places outside its native USA range ‘may not be consistent with the North American usage’ i.e. may refer to other taxa, known or as yet undescribed. There is nothing straightforward about Gamochaeta identification.
In the last couple of decades, new taxa previously recorded in their native range under purpurea s.l., have been described from the United States: G. argyrinea, G. chionesthes (Nesom, 2004a) and G. impatiens (Nesom, 2022) and there are other taxa which have also been consistently confused with purpurea e.g. G. stagnalis, G. ustulata, G. coarctata, G. sphacelata. Interestingly, Nesom (2004a; 2004b) states that in its native USA, his impression is that purpurea s.s. has become scarcer in recent decades and, at least in the eastern states, is ‘the least weedy’ species and more likely to be found in near-natural locations than other similar taxa. Do these observations infer that purpurea s.s. is less likely as a candidate adventive on British streets? Are ‘our’ plants something else masquerading as purpurea?
A recent genetic investigation carried out chiefly on material from North America (Alford et al., 2022) affirms the delineation of various North American species which had previously been identified using only morphometric analysis and which had often been included in purpurea s.l.: there are at least eight genetically distinct species in the USA, five of which group within the purpurea type. Freire et al. (2024) group four species in this purpurea complex and clearly state that the taxonomy is troubled by ‘high phenotypical variability of the individual species, coupled with their great similarity’. There are lots of things that look like G. purpurea
Plants in The Netherlands and Belgium which, as in Britain, may have been lumped as G. purpurea s.l. or even as another similar species, G. americana, are now described as G. coarctata (Verloove et al. 2023) which itself had previously been recorded as G. spicata (Pruski & Nesom, 2004). Are some or all of the British purpurea actually coarctata? Before we get too comfortable, recent morphological analysis by Freire et al. (2021) and confirmed (with a sense of surprise) by Nesom (2022) concludes that coarctata and americana are indistinguishable and should be considered as a single taxon, G americana Confusingly, americana is not native to the USA. In addition, Nesom (2022) found that some plants thought to be coarctata are in fact a novel species, G impatiens. Freire et al. (2024) place impatiens in americana and do not include coarctata at all.
& ALIENS: An American cudweed in Southampton
Conclusion
To try and summarise this situation: the taxon Gamochaeta purpurea has clearly been used, at different times and in different locations, as a catch-all to describe various similar spicate cudweeds, some of which have themselves since been shown to either be novel species or not valid as distinct entities. The taxonomic comfort blanket of purpurea s.l. looks very attractive. My experience with these plants has led me to the following conclusion: a spicate cudweed species found in Britain or Ireland is – potentially – just as likely to be any one of numerous other species than it is to be G. purpurea s.s. There has clearly been a tendency – here and elsewhere – to rely on the generic purpurea ‘American Cudweed’ as a handy umbrella category within which to place a specimen of Gamochaeta. The Southampton plants could well be purpurea (but we would need to be sure of our ground to conclude purpurea s.s.) or the taxon recorded as G. coarctata which should now be referred to as G. americana. They could also be any one of a number of other species exhibiting spicate inflorescences and strongly bicoloured leaves that have been placed, often mistakenly it seems, in the purpurea box.
What is the solution here? Perhaps the most honest yet unsatisfactory answer is to use Gamochaeta purpurea s.l. or even G. americana to describe any spicate cudweed found in Britain and Ireland, yet acknowledging that this could include any one of a number of North, Central and South American species. Or perhaps Gamochaeta cf. purpurea? It is a brave botanist who dares to make a definitive identification of a ‘purple cudweed’ on British and Irish streets without some serious microscopy work, and reference to the latest research. Specific identification in the genus Gamochaeta is – as I hope this article shows – extremely complex and even the most experienced botanists worldwide, intimately familiar with their collected material and plants in the field, repeatedly refer to the pitfalls of definitive identification. The regular and ongoing revisions of Gamochaeta taxonomy speak to the difficulties with this genus, and we can be sure that further revisions will follow as continuing attention is paid
to this fascinating group, including by British and Irish botanists.
Postscript
On 28 September 2024, five days after my initial discovery of those few plants, I decided to spend a few hours exploring the surrounding area. Approximately 150 metres south of the original find I stumbled quite by accident on the Gamochaeta motherlode. Here, growing from brick paving outside a modern industrial-type building housing an aviation museum, were hundreds of plants (SU42761112). I’ve subsequently found a few more examples on the other side of this building but none more widely. It seems that rather than a chance and fleeting single location, there is a persistent population of Gamochaeta in this particular area of Southampton. This plentiful availability of plants will hopefully allow further study to help determine the exact taxonomy and will allow other botanists to gain experience in this most tricky of plant genera. My own investigations continue, and I’m currently leaning towards these plants being either (ironically) G. purpurea s.s. or G. chionesthes
References
Alford, M.H. 2012. New records of Gamochaeta (Asteraceae) in the Hawaiian archipelago. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 113: 1–6.
Alford, M.H., Cameron, K. & Carter, R. 2022. The utility of DNA markers for delimiting and identifying species of Gamochaeta (Compositae) in the Eastern United States. Rhodora 124. 10.3119/22-06.
Drury D.G. 1971. The American spicate cudweeds adventive to New Zealand ( Gnaphalium Section Gamochaeta –Compositae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 9: 157 – 185.
Freire, S., Salomon, L., Bayón, N., Baeza, C., Muñoz Schick, M. & Migoya, M. 2016. Taxonomic revision of the genus Gamochaeta Wedd. (Gnaphalieae, Asteraceae) in Chile. Gayana Botánica 73: 292–345.
Freire, S., Grossi, M., Iharlegui, L., Abarca, C., Monti, C. & Bayón, N. 2021. Taxonomic identity of Gamochaeta americana and Gamochaeta coarctata (Gnaphalieae, Asteraceae). Phytotaxa 523: 273–283.
Freire, S.E., Grossi, M.A., Bayon, N.D., Monti, C., Iharlegui, L. & Migoya, M.A. 2024. Taxonomic revision and morphometric analysis of Gamochaeta (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Volume 109, 2024.
ADVENTIVES & ALIENS: The first confirmed record of Bowlesia incana Ruiz & Pav. for Britain and Ireland
Hoste I. & Verloove F. 2010. Mediterranean container plants and their stowaways: a potential source of invasive plant species. In: Segers, H. & Branquart, E. (eds), Science facing aliens, proceedings of a scientific meeting on invasive alien species held in Brussels, May 11th, 2009: 39 – 44. Scientific Biodiversity Platform, Brussels.
Hoste, I. 2013. Ornamentals and invasive plants: if you choose one you get the other as well. In: mini symposium on aliens and invasive species: 1–6. National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Bouchout Castle, December 2, 2011. Lucardi, R.D., Cunard, C.E., Hughes, S.C., Burgess, K.S., Reed, J.N., Whitehurst, L.E., Worthy, S.J. & Marsico, T.D. 2020. An initial industrial flora: a framework for botanical research in cooperation with industry for biodiversity conservation. Plos One doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0230729
Nesom, G.L. 2004a. New species of Gamochaeta (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) from the eastern United States and comments on similar species. Sida 21: 717 – 741.
Nesom, G.L. 2004b. New distribution records for Gamochaeta (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) in the United States. Sida 21: 1175 – 1185.
Nesom, G. & Pruski, J. 2005. (1704) Proposal to Conserve the Name Gnaphalium purpureum (Compositae: Gnaphalieae) with a Conserved Type. Taxon 54: 1103.
Nesom, G.L. 2022. Gamochaeta impatiens, sp. nov. (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae), the USA adventive previously identified as G. coarctata Phytoneuron 2022-35: 1–48.
Pruski, J.F. & Nesom, G.L. 2004. Gamochaeta coarctata , the correct name for Gamochaeta spicata (Compositae: Gnaphalieae). Sida 21: 711–715.
Verloove, F., Dirkse, G.M. & Meeus, S. 2023. American cudweeds (Gamochaeta; Gnaphalium s.l., Asteraceae) in Belgium and the Netherlands. Gorteria 45: 36–51.
Tristan Norton
Vice-county Recorder for South Hampshire (v.c. 11) tristan.norton@hantsplants.uk
The first confirmed record of Bowlesia incana Ruiz & Pav. (Hoary Bowlesia) for Britain and Ireland
MATTHEW BERRY
On3 April 2024 Bob Kirby, BSBI Vice-county
Recorder for North Devon (v.c. 4) found an unfamiliar plant growing in some abundance at the edge of a block paved section of a riverside path in Barnstaple. The plant was vaguely Geraniumlike in general appearance and a closer inspection revealed the presence of tiny flowers, trailing stems, and abundant stellate hairs on all parts. The plant proved to be a close match for detailed illustrations of Bowlesia incana (Apiaceae) that Bob later found in Kang et al. (2020). Dr Mark Watson, the BSBI referee for Apiaceae at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, confirmed Bob’s identification and stated that as far as the data indicated this is the first record of the species for Britain and Ireland. He also noted that the Barnstaple specimen was a perfect match for RBGE herbarium material collected from Asia and the Americas. A voucher specimen from the Barnstaple population has since been formally lodged with the RBGE herbarium (E).
Bowlesia incana is a low growing, mat-forming winter annual with trailing stems less than 60 cm long, long-petiolate, opposite leaves with reniform blades c. 3 cm wide and more or less palmately lobed. The inflorescences are few-flowered axillary umbels. The fruits are globose-ellipsoid, c. 2 mm × 1.5 mm and carried on short stalks. It is a native species in South America and parts of the United States and is naturalised elsewhere in North America, Europe, Asia and New Zealand. The Korean workers noted a resemblance to two native species, Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides and Centella asiatica (Apiaceae), but B. incana could be distinguished from both by the stellate pubescence on its stems, leaves, calyces, petals, fruits and seeds. In that country it is thought that seeds were initially introduced with building materials brought in vehicles to construction sites and thence spread by natural seed dispersal. In other countries it is believed to be spread by the nursery trade. It is not known how it was introduced to
& ALIENS: The first confirmed record of Bowlesia incana Ruiz & Pav. for Britain and Ireland
the Barnstaple site. For more detailed description, taxonomy, as well as photos and drawings, I recommend reading the paper by Kang et al. (2020). (NB in the taxonomic treatment followed by the authors, Hydrocotyle is in the Apiaceae, rather than Hydrocotylaceae or Araliaceae, in line with the Flora of Korea).
There were an estimated 200 plants scattered over several hundred square metres at the Barnstaple site, suggesting the species has been present there for some time and with the possibility of further spread in the future. There is no reason obvious to me why the plant might not be found elsewhere in other vice-counties, either as newly arrived or even established but perhaps passed over until now. One of the obvious motivations for writing this short note is the more accurate picture of its current status and distribution that might be gained as a result. Or will the Barnstaple occurrence turn out to be a one-off?
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Bob Kirby for sharing the information of his discovery with me, for reading a draft version of this note and making helpful comments on it.
Reference
Kang, E.S., Kim, Y.–Y., Nam, M.J., Kim, Y.K., Ji, S.-J. & Son, D.C. 2020. Bowlesia incana Ruiz & Pav. (Apiaceae), a new invasive alien plant in Korea. Korean Journal of Plant Resources 33 (3): 220–225. koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202022056744251.page
Matthew Berry
m.berry15100@btinternet.com
Bowlesia incana Ruiz & Pav. (Hoary Bowlesia), Barnstaple (N. Devon, v.c. 4), SS557233, 3 April 2024, R.I. Kirby (conf. M. Watson). Plant in block paving (left); part of a fresh specimen showing leaves and developing fruits (top right); underside of leaf lobe showing stellate hairs (bottom right). Bob Kirby
ADVENTIVES & ALIENS: Hieracium basifolium (Fr. ex Almq.) Lönnr. new to Britain
More leafy spotted hawkweeds have been spotted: Hieracium basifolium (Fr. ex Almq.) Lönnr. new to Britain and some unnamed taxa
TIM RICH
On1 June 2014 on a BSBI meeting, I found a heavily-spotted leafy hawkweed of Hieracium section Vulgata (Griseb.) Willk. & Lange with many simple hairs on the bracts by the path on the Cardiff Bay barrage (ST193773, v.c. 41; NMW). It was initially named as H. pollichiae, but after editing Shaw (2020)’s excellent hawkweeds of South-east England, I realised it was different. Images were circulated to various Hieracium experts in Europe, and Torbjörn Tyler suggested it might be H. basifolium (Fr. ex Almq.) Lönnr. (Tyler, 2000). This is a predominantly southern Scandinavian and Baltic species and the Cardiff plants fitted the description in Zahn (1921–1923; as H. caesium subsp. basifolium (Fr.) Almq., p. 455) reasonably well, fitted photographs of Swedish material sent by Tyler and matched the one specimen from Finland held in NMW, so it is accepted as this species. Sennikov (2003) treats H. basifolium as a variety of H. caesium (Fr.) Fr. There is little doubt H. basifolium is a neophyte, probably introduced through Cardiff docks, so it may have been present for many years unnoticed. Indeed, on checking the collections at NMW, it is evident that George Hutchinson had already collected it four times around the same areas (undetermined or named as H. spilophaeum): Penarth Docks, stony ground south of River Ely to west of, ST175727, 20 May 1990; Cardiff Barrage, on shingle base of brick-cliff at NE end, ST193733, 10 June 2001; Cogan, bank of River Ely immediately east of Anchor Way, ST176727, and west side of Anchor Way, ST175727, 14 June 2003. I have now also seen it at four sites (two of which approximate to George’s sites) so it is well established locally: Cardiff Bay Barrage ST193737, 13 plants over a 30 m stretch on a grass/scrub edge by path, 4 June
2023; Cogan, Marconi Avenue, top of retaining wall by roundabout ST17597254, 7 plants and one on mown verge of River View, 16 May 2024; Llandough, A4055 embankment, ST172725, c. 500 plants spread along embankment, 16 May 2024; Danescourt Railway station, ST144786, c. 150 plants on path down to station and 7 on southern bridge parapet, 15 May 2024.
Hieracium basifolium is characterised as being to 65 cm tall with rosette leaves and 2–5 stem leaves, the leaves grey-green, strongly blotched and laciniate to strongly toothed. The peduncles have frequent simple and glandular hairs. The involucral bracts are 11–12 × 0.8–1.0 mm, ± obtuse, porrect in bud, and have numerous simple hairs (pale with dark bases), numerous short glandular hairs and sparse stellate hairs (Figure 1). The styles are discoloured and the ligule tips are glabrous in bud. Plants in cultivation tend to grow bigger with more deeply cut lower leaves than those in the wild (Figure 2). It tends to flower quite early from mid May (the first spotted one to flower after H. scotostictum [section Hieracium] which has 0–1 stem leaves).
Figure 1. Capitulum of Hieracium basifolium with numerous simple hairs and numerous short glandular hairs. Tim Rich
ADVENTIVES & ALIENS: Hieracium basifolium (Fr. ex Almq.) Lönnr. new to Britain
Figure 2. Cultivated plant of Hieracium basiflorum showing laciniate (big plants) to strongly toothed (small plants) and heavily blotched leaves. Tim Rich
There are also two spotted section Vulgata plants with simple hairs on the bracts which are established but for which we don’t yet have names:
1. Brian Burrow has a hawkweed from Garsdale Station (v.c. 65; SD7891) which has lightly spotted, cuneate leaves with aquiline teeth, peduncles with frequent simple and glandular hairs, dark, obtuse bracts to 13 × 1.2 mm with numerous simple hairs, few to numerous glandular hairs and numerous stellate hairs on the margins and base, glabrous ligules tips, discoloured styles and ligules to 20 mm long.
2. Mark Lynes found a large hawkweed colony on Hatfield Moors (v.c. 63; SE6905) which is heavily spotted with cuneate, laciniate leaves, peduncles with sparse glandular hairs and occasional simple hairs, pale green, acute bracts to 13 × c. 1.0 mm with numerous simple hairs, few to numerous glandular hairs and numerous stellate hairs on the margins and base, glabrous ligules tips and discoloured styles and striking ligules to 30 mm long.
A key to these section Vulgata species with many simple hairs on the bracts is given below.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Brian Burrow, Mark Lynes, David McCosh and Torbjörn Tyler for their help.
References
Sell, P.D. & Murrell, G. 1996. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 5: Butomaceae–Orchidaceae. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Sennikov, A. N. 2005. A taxonomic and nomenclatural note on Hieracium caesium (Asteraceae). Nordic Journal of Botany 23: 305–314.
Shaw, M.M. 2020. Hawkweeds of South-east England. BSBI Handbook no. 20. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, Durham.
Tyler, T. 2000. Lectotypification of names of south Swedish Hieracium species (Asteraceae). Nordic Journal of Botany 20: 93–103.
Zahn, K.H. 1921–1923. Compositae – Hieracium, in Engler, A. Das Pflanzenreich 77 (IV, 280). Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig.
Tim Rich tim_rich@sky.com
Key to Hieracium section Vulgata species with spotted leaves and many simple hairs on the bracts
1 Involucral bracts with few stellate hairs 2
1 Involucral bracts with numerous stellate hairs, especially on the margins 3
2 Involucral bracts with few glandular hairs
2 Involucral bracts with numerous glandular hairs
H. pollichiae Sch. Bip. & G. Koch
H. basifolium (Fr. ex Almq.) Lönnr.
3 Median involucral bracts acute Hatfield Moors taxon
3 Median involucral bracts obtuse 4
4 Involucral bracts to 11 mm; leaves denticulate to dentate H. lintonense (Fr. ex Almq.) Lönnr.
4 Involucral bracts to 13 mm; leaves with aquiline teeth Garsdale Station taxon
ADVENTIVES & ALIENS: More self-seeded garden taxa in Norfolk
More self-seeded garden taxa in Norfolk
SUKI PRYCE
Following on from my April 2023 article (BSBI News 153, p. 57) on the topic of newly selfseeding garden plants, I have continued to keep tabs on unusual and/or possibly new examples found by the Norfolk Flora Group (NFG) group or individuals in Norfolk in ‘recordable’ locations.
By ‘unusual’, I mean that I or NFG colleagues haven’t seen them self-seeding outside gardens before, or only very occasionally; and by ‘newly’ self-seeding, I mean that at the time of writing only one or a few examples have been reported in Norfolk during the last ten years or so. This is hard to ascertain from the BSBI Distribution Database, as records frequently don’t show whether specimens found were seedlings or not. So there may be many records of a taxon, but these could all be of planted specimens. By ‘self-seeding’ I mean ‘assumed selfseeding’. I can’t guarantee that all the specimens listed were actually self-sown, even though I always tried to ascertain this as carefully as possible at the time of recording. However, as most of these plants were found while out with the NFG, there wasn’t usually much time to spend on checking their status. Where there were many plants that were clearly seedlings, and parents were nearby, self-seeding seemed obvious; but in the absence of parents, or where spread might have been by, say, bulbils, it was less clear. Also, many woody plants can send out suckers from quite distant ‘parents’, e.g. Ailanthus altissima (Tree-of-Heaven), Campsis agg. (Trumpet Vines), Phygelia agg. (Cape Figworts); or do the same from seemingly dead or dormant rootstocks – even many years after the original plant has been cut down, e.g. Wisteria agg. (Wisterias) (Mike Crewe, pers. comm.). Caution is therefore needed with relevant taxa to ensure that apparent seedlings aren’t in fact suckers.
These caveats having been stated, below is a list of unusual/new, apparently self-seeded, garden
plants found in recordable locations in Norfolk in 2023–2024 (listed in date order).
2023
Lonicera pileata (Box-leaved Honeysuckle). Hingham (TG0202), 14/1/2023: bed by pavement. Also in Downham Market (TF622032), 22/4/2023: pavement crack, parent in garden nearby.
Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary). Fakenham (TF927297), 21/1/2023: new housing pavement crack. Muehlenbeckia complexa (Wireplant). Salle (TG10472437), 29/4/2023: in lane-side garden wall and beds, no trace of parents – living or dead –nearby. (BSBI News 154, September 2023, Aliens and Adventives News 30, v.c. 27).
Lotus hirsutus (Hairy Canary-clover). Hellesdon, Norwich (TG21091078), 18/11/23: many seedlings in industrial estate wall-base pavement crack, parents in raised bed above.
Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William). Thursford Green (TF98383383), 23/12/23: parents in small container in front of Thursford church, seedlings in nearby ground.
Euphorbia myrsinites (Broad-leaved Glaucous Spurge). Sheringham (TG156428), 31/12/2023: pavement crack.
Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary). Sheringham (TG163432), 31/12/2023: the pendulous form, in wall and pavement cracks.
2024
Aurinia saxatilis (Golden Alison). Swanton Morley (TG012163), 20/1/2024: housing area, many seedlings in block-paving cracks near gardenbed parent.
Paulownia tomentosa (Foxglove-tree). Thetford (TL87248457), 27/1/2024: cut-back sapling regrowth of presumed self-seeded plant at wall/public open space grass intersection; no parent visible nearby.
Helianthemum cv (Rock Rose). Bradenham (TF917083), 10/2/2024: pavement crack in small housing estate, parent in adjacent bed.
Scilla forbesii (Glory-of-the-snow). Beetley (TF977170), 2/3/2024: naturalised in corner of park, spread presumed at least partly by seeding.
Puschkinia scilloides (Striped Squill). Beetley (TF97641704), 2/3/2024: naturalised in corner of park, spread presumed at least partly by seeding.
Paulownia tomentosa (Foxglove-tree). Norwich (TG23050848), 30/7/2024: youngish sapling in neglected hard-surfaced city-centre plot, no parent visible nearby.
Paulownia tomentosa (Foxglove-tree). Manor Farm, Shropham (TL987935), 3/8/2024: sapling in farmyard base-of-wall crack, no parent visible nearby.
Chaenostoma cordata (Bacopa). Thetford (TL87068291), 25/8/2024: three plants in cracks between brickweave paving, School Lane car park. Likely parents were Bacopa planted in hanging baskets on car park lamp-posts in 2024.
Lotus hirsutus (Hairy Canary-clover), Norwich, Norfolk, November 2023. Suki Pryce
Petunia × hybrida (Petunia). North Walsham (TG284302), 13/9/2024: crack in Hughes Elecrical forecourt.
Fuschia magellanica var. molinae (Fuchsia). Felbrigg (TG19533947), 18/9/2024: a small plant, presumed self-seeded as it is growing some 2.5 m up on an internal wall in the Felbrigg National Trust walled garden. (Not strictly a recordable location, but seems worthy of mention.)
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hydrangea). Aylmerton (TG18394059, 18404059), 26/9/2024: one larger and several smaller seedlings growing in block paving in the upper car park of Roman Camp Inn. Long-established Mophead parents, flowering profusely, are in adjacent beds round the Inn. The plants’ identity confirmed by Mark Duffell, BSBI garden shrubs referee; seedling status confirmed by pulling larger plant up and examining the root system. All seedlings were destroyed within a month (presumably by herbiciding).
Consolida ajacis (Larkspur). New Costessey, Norwich (TG182104, 186100), 09/11/2024): seedlings in bare soil on grassy bank/garden edge in housing area.
Cosmos bipinnatus (Mexican Aster). New Costessey, Norwich (TG182107), 09/11/2024: seedlings in pavement crack in housing area.
Discussion
The list above seems to show that self-seeding nonnatives plants are on the increase in Norfolk. Several ‘new to Norfolk’ taxa have appeared in the last two years; and some ‘recently new’ taxa seem to be on the increase (e.g. Paulownia tomentosa). What’s likely to be causing this?
Climate warming: this is almost certainly playing a major part, with warm, dry spells ripening parental seed, or warming substrates to temperatures required for germination. This factor is probably crucial to most of the plants listed here.
New parents: fashion probably plays a part, e.g. with taxa such as Chaenostoma which has only fairly recently become popular as a bedding plant; and possibly Lotus hirsutus
Seed-spreading vectors: most of the specimens listed above were found near obvious parents, but not all. Wind could readily have spread the seed
of many taxa – notably Asteraceae such as Cosmos, Coreopsis tinctoria and Tagetes patula, whose seeds are designed for wind dispersal (the first two also having seeds with bristles/barbs, so could be spread by people, pets, or other animals). Wind-spread applies to Paulownia too, whose seedlings are increasingly appearing in UK regions without obvious parents nearby (Matthew Berry, pers. comm.) Birds are likely to be vectors with edible-berried taxa such as Berberis spp. and Lonicera pileata. And in some cases, the everincreasing domestic car population must also play a part in carrying seeds of garden plants distally from parents.
Lack of damage/disturbance: an absence of weeding, herbiciding, etc. is obviously vital for seedlings to be able to germinate and grow on. There have been recent moves by many local authorities to carry out weed control measures on roads and pavements less often, and this must have helped some of this article’s taxa to survive in pavement cracks, etc. until we found and recorded them.
Chance: having stated the above, the appearance of some new self-seeders is probably down to sheer chance, or to factors so subtle that we can’t recognise them (for example, the rather inexplicable Muehlenbeckia complexa plants found well-established in a lane-side garden wall and adjacent beds). This seems to be demonstrated by the fact that many of the plants discussed in my 2023 article don’t appear on this new list, and vice versa – implying that their appearance was down to a very particular combination of unknown – and presumably rare or unlikely – circumstances.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to everyone who contributed content or comments to this article: Matthew Berry, Mike Crewe, Tim Doncaster, Mark Duffell, Bob Leaney, Alex Prendergast and Ian Woodward.
Suki Pryce
Norfolk Flora Group member sukipryce@hotmail.co.uk
What novel
Mentha (Lamiaceae) colonists should we expect to find establishing in the wild?
AMBROISE BAKER
While there is a real need to conserve native biota and ecosystems, novel biodiversity resulting from human introductions, modification of ecosystems and climate change in the Anthropocene will remain an integral part of field botany in the future. Interestingly, current evidence suggests that during the course of the 20th century, and to date, the distribution of mint (Mentha) species, hybrid and cultivars found in the wild decreased in Britain and Ireland (Preston et al., 2002; Stroh et al., 2023; Harley, 2015). One logical explanation put forward is a decrease in introductions from Mentha production on a commercial scale for aromatic oil, which has been mostly abandoned in Britain and Ireland, while it was an important crop during Victorian times. An additional explanation is a lesser interest for Mentha amongst field botanists, possibly accelerated by the decreasing source of introduction (Harley, 2015; Stace et al., 2023) and the decreasing interest for economic botany. Given that recording may have varied in time, there remains some uncertainty about the significance of the trends in time observed for many of our Mentha taxa. Leaney (2023) provided BSBI News readers with helpful illustrations and identification tips for the most common taxa, which will hopefully contribute to re-igniting interest in Mentha recording. However, there has not been a comprehensive review of the genus in Britain and Ireland for a few decades now. For this reason, I believe it to be timely to suggest some of the taxa whose occurrence in the wild may appear or increase in the coming years. This article aims to describe the sources of introduction to be expected and list some of the rarer taxa to watch out for when out botanising.
In the last decades there has been a wave of novel horticultural hybrids, taxa and cultivar coming into the market, delighting gardeners of all age.
These include the like of banana mint, strawberry mint, grapefruit mint, (and it goes on!), sometimes of obscure taxonomic origin. At the same time, some well-known clones and cultivars, such as Bowles’s Mint (a widespread variety of Apple-mint M. × villosa), have also remained ever popular in allotments and gardens. As we know, some of these clones, novel or old, will keep escaping or surviving in more natural settings, following abandonment, dumping of soil and garden waste. In addition, Mentha taxa being easily propagated by cuttings, vigorous commercial cultivars will inevitably find their ways from international corner shops and supermarket to outdoor locations and grow into mature plants. The popularity of Moroccan Mint (M. spicata var. crispa ‘Moroccan’; but belonging to M. suaveolens (Round-leaved Mint) according to Heylen et al. 2021), and its occasional naturalisation is a testimony of this pathway of introduction. One key novelty or culinary herbs to watch out for in the near future is M. canadensis (American Cornmint) either from North American wild populations or from the Far East, where the species is also native. Notably, M. canadensis appears to be the species used in traditional Japanese medicine (Masumoto & Ito, 2023). Japanese and Brazilian mints under the synonym M. arvensis var. piperascens belong to this taxa and are increasingly available from retailers.
Mint seeds are also being sold in garden centre and supermarkets along with other herb seeds. While it is hard to understand why one would want to grow mint from seeds, given the exceptional vegetative reproductive capacity of all taxa, this will inevitably contribute to the taxonomic diversity of naturalised population recorded by BSBI members in the future. Importantly, those taxa sold in seed packets are sexually fertile, unlike most commonly grown hybrids. As a result, these mints afford an additional
means of dispersal and importantly present high potential to form new hybrids. Examples of mints propagated by seeds as culinary herbs are likely to belong to M. spicata (Spear Mint); however, this may not be systematically the case. M. suaveolens and even M. × rotundifolia (False Apple-mint, sneakily passed as Apple-mint) are likely to be sold as seeds as well.
Mints can also be grown as ornamental plants, which widens even more the range of taxa that may escape. For example, M. cervina (Hart’s Pennyroyal), which is sold as a pond plant, is documented to appear and survive some time in wild ponds (Baker, 2020). In addition, many nurseries claim to sell M. longifolia (Horse Mint), including a ‘buddleja’ cultivar, however the botanical origin of these clones may require investigation. Also, wildlife ponds are regularly planted with aquatic emergent plants including M. aquatica (Water Mint), a valuable native plant. It can be expected that there will be a range of taxa or cultivars, other than M. aquatica wild types, introduced by mistake in this manner
Species
in gardens as well as in more natural settings such as nature reserves.
One final pathway of introduction to highlight here, is inadvertent dispersal, as is well-documented for M. pulegium (Pennyroyal). This species is regularly observed outside its native range in artificial grasslands and believe to be introduced as seed contaminant (Stroh, 2014).
Based on the above and providing that Mentha is given full attention by field botanists in the future, it could be expected that the distribution of some taxa will significantly change and that new taxa, initially tagged as very rare aliens, could be identified more regularly. In some cases, identification based on morphology alone will be a barrier in demonstrating the taxonomic origin of these aliens. For this reason, it is worth identifying and developing the tools and skills within the Society to document change in the distributional range of Mentha taxa.
Figure 1 is an infographic to help in remembering the origin of the taxa known from Britain and
Hybridogenous species
Hybrids
Figure 1. Infographic synthesising the species and hybrid combination mentioned in this article, or previously reported from Britain and Ireland. Other triple hybrid combinations have been described but they are not reported in the area and are not included. R = rarely reported from the wild; RR = very rarely reported from the wild; Ex = extinct in the wild; Abs = never reported in the area. Blue shading denotes the so-called spicata complex; yellow denotes the arvensis complex, with inflorescences typically terminating with leaf-like bracts.
M. x villosonervata
M. x dumertorum
M. suaveolens
M. arvensis M. aquatica
M. spicata
M. longifolia
M. x suavis
M. cervina
M. x verticilliata
M. x carinthiaca
M. x rotundifolia
M. x villosa
M. x gracilis
M. x wirtgeniana (=M. x smithiana)
M. x piperata
M. requienii
Ireland. Table 1 lists a selection of taxa to watch out for in the future.
References
Baker, A. 2020. Mentha cervina (Lamiaceae), an emergent aquatic alien species naturalising at South Gare, NorthEast Yorkshire. British & Irish Botany 2(1): 64–68.
Crouch, H.J. 2024. A cautionary tale of a Cochlearia–Mentha mix-up. BSBI News 154: 50–51.
Harley, R. 2015. Mentha. In Stace, C.A.; Preston, C.D.; Pearman, D.A. 2015, Hybrid Flora of the British Isles Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, Bristol.
Heylen, O.C.G., Debortoli, N., Marescaux, J. & Olofsson J.K. 2021. A revised phylogeny of the Mentha spicata clade reveals cryptic species. Plants 10(4): 819. doi.org/10.3390/ plants10040819
Leaney, B. 2023. Problems with identification in Mentha BSBI News 153: 9–16.
Masumoto, N. & Ito, M. 2023. Genetic identification of the original plant species for Mentha Herb listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia and analyses of their essential oil composition. Journal of Natural Medicines 77: 489–495. doi.org/10.1007/s11418-023-01690-1
Stroh, P.A. 2014. Mentha pulegium L. Pennyroyal. Species account (Version 1: 19 December 2014). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_ uploads/Mentha_pulegium_species_account.pdf
Webb, C.J., Sykes, W.R & Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand 4: 1–1365. R.E. Owen, Government Printer, Wellington.
Table 1. Speculative list of Mentha taxa to watch out for. Taxa never reported in the wild in Britain and Ireland to date are indicated with an asterisk (*).
Taxon
Introductions path
Direct introductions and subsequent dispersal
M. canadensis* (American Cornmint)
M. cervina (Hart’s Pennyroyal)
Comments
Novelty and culinary herbs May be available through the horticultural trade
Ornamental plant Widely available through the horticultural trade; see Baker (2020)
M. × gracilis (Bushy Mint) Novelty and culinary herbs Widely available through the horticultural trade
M. longifolia (Horse Mint) Ornamental plant May be available through the horticultural trade; only attested as naturalised in Britain with one 1912 specimen from Scotland (Harley, 2015)
M. pulegium (Pennyroyal) Seed contaminant See Stroh (2014)
M. requenii (Corsican Mint) Ornamental plant
M. × rotundifolia (False Applemint)
M. spicata subsp. condensata* (Hairy Mint)
Hybrids and cultivars of obscure origin and difficult to assign to a specific taxon (e.g. grapefruit mint)*
Available through the horticultural trade; see Crouch (2023)
Novelty and culinary herbs (seeds) May be available through the horticultural trade as seed
Ornamental plant?, novelty and culinary herbs? seed contaminant?
Ornamental plant?, novelty and culinary herbs? seed contaminant?
Formerly known as M. microphylla; established in New Zealand (Webb et al. 1988)
Widely available through the horticultural trade
Novel hybrids originating from existing diversity and direct introductions (as above)
As in Figure 1 and new hybrid combinations not described to date (*) Spontaneous
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YEARBOOK
You will notice the enclosed Yearbook has had its design revised and has been formatted to more closely align with BSBI News (although currently the content is the same as previous years). Over the coming year, we will be evaluating what we include in the Yearbook and what information is perhaps better suited to the website or other BSBI publications. If you have any feedback on the updated design or what should or should not be included in the Yearbook, please do let me know via publications@ bsbi.org
Sarah Woods
NEWS FROM THE BRITISH & IRISH BOTANICAL CONFERENCE 2024
On 23 November, botanists enjoyed the chance to meet up at the Natural History Museum, London, for the British & Irish Botanical Conference. The Flett Lecture Theatre and adjacent exhibition space were full; capacity at this venue is 200, which limits the number of spaces we can offer, but we are very grateful to our hosts at the Natural History Museum who allow us to use this prestigious venue free of charge.
The programme featured ten 15-minute talks from speakers including Dr Trevor Dines on our urban
flora; outgoing BSBI President, Dr Micheline Sheehy Skeffington, on Ireland’s turloughs; and incoming BSBI President, Prof Paul Ashton, on BSBI’s training offer. We also offered ten one-minute flash talks (a record number). Talks were recorded and videos can be viewed via the BSBI YouTube channel.
Attendees enjoyed behind-the-scenes tours of two of the world-famous NHM herbaria and two herbarium workshops. The first workshop was aimed at newcomers to herbarium techniques and included demonstrations on how to press specimens; the second workshop offered seasoned herbarium users a chance to view specimens of the Ghost Orchid, rare whitebeams and selected aquatics; there was also a demonstration on how to ‘float’ and press an aquatic plant.
The Conference also featured 42 exhibits –another record number – and, in keeping with the name of the conference, included exhibitors from Ireland and Wales as well as from across England. There were research-focused posters about mapping seagrass meadows in South Cumbria by drone; plant recovery projects in the east of England; Callitriche terrestris (Terrestrial Water-starwort), an increasing alien established in horticultural outlets; neophytes in London; looking at how Carex extensa (Longbracted Sedge) diversifies along the north-west coast of England; and using herbarium material to evaluate the UK distribution of Eleocharis palustris subsp. palustris (Common Spike-rush) There was steady traffic all day to stalls from the Field Studies Council, Wild Flower Society and Natural History Museum – and of course the BSBI stall which featured twelve posters on different aspects of the Society’s work – while John Poland’s Vegetative Plant ID Quiz and Brian Laney’s table of free wild flower seeds and plants both proved extremely popular. One notable feature of the day was how many students and early career botanists attended, with many of them also exhibiting and/or offering flash talks. This was largely due to the momentum built up by Botanical University Challenge (BUC) and BSBI’s engagement with BUC, which several staff attended last summer and we extended invitations to many of the student participants. We were delighted to see so many of them at the Conference, along with two of the BUC founders: Prof Jonathan Mitchley and incoming BSBI President Prof Paul Ashton. We are also delighted that several of those early career botanists have gone on to join BSBI committees.
At the end of the morning talks session, a special presentation was made to Dr Brenda Harold in recognition of her work creating Identiplant, the online plant identification course which is now administered by BSBI.
The Conference webpage provides links to the videos, electronic versions of many of the exhibits, and some photographs from the day: bsbi.org/ british-irish-botanical-conference-2024
Our thanks go to the Natural History Museum for hosting the Conference: a special shout-out to Dr Sandy Knapp MBE, who is both a BSBI trustee and a NHM botanist; to Esther Murphy, Assistant to the NHM’s Executive Director of Science, for all her help behind the scenes; and to Mark Carine, Chris Dixon and John Hunnex for leading the Herbarium Tours and workshops.
Thanks also to the Conference Organising Team, especially volunteers Billy, Joni, Lindsay-Anne and Nicola D. from BSBI Events & Communications Committee; to BSBI trustee Nicola Tainton who both rolled up her sleeves to help with the set-up and also chaired a talks session; and to my colleagues Julia Hanmer and Sarah Woods.
Louise Marsh
BSBI Communications Officer louise.marsh@bsbi.org
NEW YEAR PLANT HUNT
By the time you read this, BSBI’s fourteenth New Year Plant Hunt will be over, the results will be in and an analysis will have been carried out. You’ll be able to find out more in the April issue of BSBI News but if you can’t wait, please visit the New Year Plant Hunt webpage and follow the links for the Results map and the analysis. Many thanks to everyone who took part!
Find out more on the webpage: bsbi.org/newyear-plant-hunt
Louise Marsh
IRISH AUTUMN MEETING AND AGM 2024
For the first time in years, BSBI’s annual Irish Autumn Meeting and AGM was held in Northern Ireland, at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, Craigavon, Co Armagh, on Saturday 12 October 2024. Given the location and current plight of Lough Neagh, the theme was ‘Lough Neagh and the Northeast of Ireland’. Two keynote talks discussed Lough Neagh’s flora (presented by
Armagh VCR John Faulkner), and its current water quality issues, causing seasonally catastrophic levels of cyanobacteria (Dr Adam Mellor, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Northern Ireland). These were followed by talks on the Belfast Herbarium (Rhonda Ridley, NMNI Curator of Botany); the new County Flora for Monaghan (VCR Alexis Fitzgerald); the flora and habitats of Cooley peninsula, Co Louth (Dr Melinda Lyons and Ciarán Flynn, Louth VCR); Strangford Lough and its islands – surveyed by kayak (Jake Dalzell); and Rathlin Island (Ric Else and Hazel Watson, local wildlife experts and authors of the ‘Rathlin Stickybeak’ blog).
For the first time, the IAM included exhibit space: posters and displays were provided by several local organisations including Butterfly Conservation, Waterways Ireland, Buglife, Lough Neagh Partnership, British Trust for Ornithology, Ulster Wildlife Trust and True Harvest Seeds; as well as several of the speakers and, of course, BSBI. Conference attendees could browse exhibits during breaks, and exhibitors got a chance to enjoy the day’s events, chat with attendees and learn more about BSBI.
Botanical displays and self-led workshops were set up in an adjoining room, including common willows, aquatic plants, Dryopteris and ‘interesting finds’. Hand lenses, ID guides, keys and crib sheets were provided for those wishing to practise their ID skills. Attendees could also stroll around Oxford Island during breaks, as the weather was mostly fair, though with some fearsome hail showers! The AGM was held immediately before afternoon coffee, and finally attendees could choose from an aquatic plant ID workshop led by expert Nick Stewart, or a guided walk around Oxford Island, by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Biodiversity Manager Marcus Malley, to observe its various habitats and their conservation management (including grazing by beautiful Dexter and Irish Moiled cattle).
Huge thanks are due to CEDaR, who provided invaluable funding, and to LNDC staff, exhibitors, speakers, activity leaders, the CfI Committee, and everyone who attended and made it such an enjoyable day! If you’re wishing you’d been there, slides of the talks, some of the exhibits, and the (very entertaining) Rathlin talk can be found on the IAM webpage (bsbi.org/irish-autumn-meeting-agm).
Separate from the IAM, but building on skills taught at his workshop, Nick Stewart led an aquatic plant ID training session on the the following day at Lough Neagh, visiting Kinnego Marina, Oxford Island and Emerson’s Jetty. Botanical highlights included Stuckenia pectinata (Fennel Pondweed), Elatine
Autumn Meeting
presenting
of
speakers;
Targeted Aquatic Plants Project (TAPP), training and rare plant survey days, Ireland, 2024. Left: Nick Stewart with trainees at Royal Canal, Louisabridge, Co Kildare, 24 August 2024; right: Luronium natans (Floating Water-plantain), Invermore Lough, Connemara, 1 September 2024. Paul Green Luronium was refound at several locations in this its only Irish locality during the TAPP field events in 2024 (see next page and p. 72).
Irish
2024. Left: Ric Else and Hazel Watson of Rathlin, two
the
right: John Faulkner
‘The Flora of Lough Neagh’. Julia Hanmer
hydropiper (Eight-stamened Waterwort), Lemna gibba (Fat Duckweed), Spirodela polyrhiza (Greater Duckweed), Sagittaria sagittifolia (Arrowhead) and Nitella translucens (Translucent Stonewort), all uncommon in Ireland. Special thanks to Nick for sharing his expertise and enthusiasm, making this a very enjoyable day for everyone who attended.
Bridget Keehan
BSBI Ireland Officer bridget.keehan@bsbi.org
IRELAND’S TARGETED AQUATIC PLANTS PROJECT 2024
Eight successful field events were held during summer 2024 through the Aquatic Plants Project – or, to use its full title, the ‘Targeted Aquatic Plants Project’ (TAPP), which reflects its increasing focus on refinding long-unrecorded rare aquatic species, while generally promoting and increasing the recording of aquatic plants across Ireland, and providing training to help achieve this. In February 2024, two indoor workshops were also held at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, led by Nick Stewart, looking at herbarium specimens (by kind permission of NBG Herbarium staff).
All events are free for anyone to attend (although numbers are limited); the 2024 field days were attended by 72 different people. Training days in Co Limerick were held on 1 June and 2 June, at Curragh Chase and the River Maigue near Adare, led by Nick Stewart, Paul Green and Olly Lynch. The first site brought up a new hectad record for Callitriche brutia (Pedunculate Water-starwort), and recorded the floating liverwort, Ricciocarpos natans (very rare in Ireland); while on the second day, Groenlandia densa (Opposite-leaved Pondweed) was recorded, as well as Schoenoplectus triqueter (Triangular Clubrush) and Scirpus sylvaticus (Wood Club-rush) on the river bank. The third training day at Louisabridge, Co Kildare on 24 August, led by Nick and Paul, revealed Chara aculeolata (Hedgehog Stonewort) and C. subspinosa (Rugged Stonewort), neither recorded in the hectad since the early 1990s, while the event on 25 August at Edenderry, Co Offaly, led by Paul and Nick with VCR Fiona Devery, provided a new hectad record for Eleogiton fluitans (Floating Club-rush) and also revealed Lemna trisulca (Ivyleaved Duckweed), not recorded in the hectad since the ‘90s).
A further four specialised rare plant surveys were held during 2024 – these were also open for anyone to attend and provided ID training too. A visit to West Cork on 9 April recorded Ranunculus tripartitus (Three-lobed Crowfoot), long known from this its only Irish site, but not seen there since 2007. Our new underwater drone was successfully employed for several of these surveys, and all but one of the five targeted species were refound at their respective sites – read more about these exciting finds in the Country Roundups: Ireland’ section!
A pair of excellent webinars were released on 13 July, on small-leaved and large-leaved floating aquatics. These are available to view on the Aquatic Plants Project webpage, along with all of the previous aquatic plant ID webinars recorded as part of the project by Nick Stewart – seventeen in total! These are fantastic resources, and equally valuable whether you’re in Ireland or elsewhere, so if you haven’t already discovered them, do take a look.
The Targeted Aquatic Plants Project continues next year, with a greater emphasis on refinding rare species, so field days will be more focused, although they will still be open for anyone to attend, and will retain a training element. Once the programme is finalised it will be put up on the website – keep an eye on this, so you don’t miss out!
Bridget Keehan
WEBINARS FROM THE NORTHERN IRELAND BOTANICAL SKILLS PROJECT
Our DAERA-funded Northern Ireland Botanical Skills Project has organised a series of webinars over the autumn and winter on a variety of topics and appealing to a range of skill levels. Subject matter includes Dryopteris in Northern Ireland (and further afield), Equisetum in Ireland and the UK, Lepidoptera and Plants, Flower Anatomy, and Plant and Leaf Anatomy.
All of these webinars have been recorded and are available on the BSBI website: bsbi.org/botanicalskills-webinars and the BSBI YouTube channel.
James Harding-Morris
BSBI Countries Manager james.harding-morris@bsbi.org
COULD YOU GROW OR COLLECT PLANTS FOR BSBI’S FISC ASSESSMENTS IN 2025?
Field Identification Skills Certificate (FISC) assessments involve two lab tests and a field survey. Plants across the two lab tests need to come from a wide range of habitats throughout Britain and include national rarities and hybrids, as well as plants across a range of taxonomic groups. One of the main tasks of the FISC Assessor running the assessments is to source plants for these tests, and BSBI would like to give them as much support as possible. So we are hoping to expand our network of native plant growers and collectors who may be willing to help supply the plants for the two lab tests associated with the assessment. If you grow native plants yourself or are willing to collect some plants for assessments from habitats in your local area, we would love to hear from you. Please contact me at the email address below.
Chantal Helm
BSBI Training Coordinator (FISC and Identiplant) chantal.helm@bsbi.org
RECORDING GRASSES AND RUSHES
As the new contact for general grasses (and general rushes) I would like to encourage members to check some of the taxa they are recording. Specimens can be sent fresh or pressed. Duplicates are preferred but important ones can be returned. For putative hybrid grasses, it would be useful to collect some with rooting parts to grow on to look at features that may not be apparent when collected. I would be happy to look at any herbarium material you have, especially Festuca and Agrostis as well as hybrids, but please send with appropriate return postage. Some grasses were two species at one time, such as Bromus commutatus/racemosus and some need further confirmation of characters and differences, e.g. Anisantha diandra/rigida. Bear in mind for non-native (alien) grass taxa (and some rushes) there are more specific referees listed in the Yearbook, but as there is some crossover I would always be interested in a duplicate, especially if named. Good hunting…
For the first time since I started writing this note, there are no changes to report for VCRs in Britain or Ireland. An up-to-date list of VCRs is available in the 2025 Yearbook, which is included with this issue. There are vacancies for the following vicecounties: Surrey (v.c. 17), Essex (v.cc. 18 & 19), Buckinghamshire (v.c. 24). Three vice-counties also require a joint Recorder to assist the incumbent: Dorset (v.c. 9), Breconshire (v.c. 42), Main Argyll (v.c. 98). If you are interested in applying for the role and would like to know more about what is involved, please contact the relevant Country Officer: Sam Thomas sam.thomas@bsbi.org (England), Matt Harding matt.harding@bsbi.org (Scotland), Alastair Hotchkiss alastair.hotchkiss@bsbi.org (Wales).
Pete Stroh
BSBI Scientific Officer peter.stroh@bsbi.org
LONG-STANDING MEMBERS
BSBI thanks every member for your ongoing support – your contribution helps to make the Society the success that it is. And particular thanks go to the following who have reached the brilliant landmark of 60 years of membership.
Joined in 1964: Prof H.J.B. Birks, Mr C. Breen, Dr D. Briggs, Mr G. Kay, Dr D. Kelly, Dr J. Mason, Dr D. Shimwell, Dr J. White.
Sarah Woods
BSBI PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
Congratulations to Thomas Garner, the winner of the ‘Intrepid: Finding plants in wild places’ category in last year’s Photographic Competition. His entry, an underwater shot of Bog Pondweed, is shown on the front cover of this issue. The other two winners were Mary Breeds in the ‘Inclusive: Sharing plants with others’ category and Liz Downey in the ‘Inquisitive: Up close with diagnostic features’ category. The runners up were Alistair Whyte (Intrepid), Liz Downey (Inclusive) and Kieran Heggs (Inquisitive). Winning entries are shown on p. 87
Details of the 2025 competition are on the BSBI website: bsbi.org/photographic-competition, including the rules and links to see winning entries from previous years.
Louise Marsh
BRITISH & IRISH BOTANY
6:2
The second issue of the 2024 volume of British & Irish Botany, our Open Access, online scientific journal, was published in December. You can view or download all the papers in issue 6.2 and previous issues free of charge from the journal website: britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bib
If you are interested in submitting a manuscript, then you can view the guidelines for submissions here: britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bib/about/ submissions. You can also contact us to discuss a proposal; either by email (address below) or phone us on 07725 862957.
Louise Marsh
B&IB Editorial Assistant bib@bsbi.org
British & Irish Botany Vol. 6 No. 2 (2024)
Sambucus canadensis × S. nigra (Sambucaceae): a hybrid Elder in northern Scotland – Andy Amphlett Emily Margaret Wood: Botany, illustration, nature writing and teaching in Liverpool at the end of the long nineteenth century – David M. Wilkinson, Janet O’Regan
Ipomoea tiliacea (Convolvulaceae) seeds stranded on the south-west coast of Ireland – Dan Minchin, Claire Griffin, Mark Carine Clematis vitalba (Traveller’s-joy) (Ranunculaceae) is invasive on the Sefton Coast sand-dunes, north Merseyside, UK – Philip H. Smith, Joyce Jarvis, David Jarvis
Conservation of Britain’s biodiversity: Status of the rare English endemic Hieracium mammidens (Breast-toothed Hawkweed; Asteraceae) – Timothy C.G. Rich Bellflowers as bellwethers: how many unappreciated early records are there in herbarium collections? – Christopher J. Dixon
DEADLINES FOR BSBI PERIODICALS 2025
Correction: A new species of Aria (Rosaceae) from the Wye Valley, Wales – D. Green Copy
Mid-January Spring Contributions for Spring issue
Welsh Bulletin
Early February April/ Spring Contributions Scottish Newsletter
Late February Late April/ early May Contributions for Spring issue BSBI News
Early April May Contributions
English Botanical News
Early May Autumn Contributions for Autumn issue Welsh Bulletin
Late July Late September/early October Contributions for Autumn issue BSBI News
Early December January
Field Meeting reports for 2025 Yearbook
Early December January Field Meetings for 2026 (full details) Yearbook
Late December Late January/early February Contributions for Winter issue BSBI News
End December Spring Contributions Irish Botanical News
Note about field meetings
Details of future field meetings that need not be included in the Yearbook can be posted on the Field Meetings & Indoor events webpage at any time.
Details for published field meetings can be updated as necessary.
Brief details (date and location) should be sent to the Field Meetings Secretary (details below) in early November for promotion at the British & Irish Botanical Conference.
Online newsletters
Recorder eNewsletter – normally four days before the last Friday of the month.
BSBI eNewsletter – normally four days before the middle Friday of the month. Louise Marsh louise.marsh@bsbi.org
Jonathan Shanklin Hon. Field Meetings Secretary fieldmeetings@bsbi.org
BOTANICAL CROSSWORD NO. 33
by Cruciada
3 Cynara painting I gag on (9)
8 Hand in tree (4)
9 1 down doesn’t end confusion of daisy heads (8)
10
13
14
Cosy up with me like forget-me-nots, say (6)
Fifty-one – fifty on account – for shrub (5)
Bishop’s staff see young fern start (7)
15 Doctors strike A&E from 4 down (1,1,1)
16 Rotund rascals encompass icy deserts (7)
17 Flax neutralises Peanuts philosopher (5)
21 Tire (in US) of regular flower (6)
22 Marilyn loses right to meet spies with bisexuality (8)
23 Heard to run away from sedge (4)
24 Past President’s greater celandine one found in excavation (9)
1
There’s a distinct point at which image you said was dead is assembled (9)
2 Prunus takes most direct route, we hear, for checking verticality (9)
4 Informal subspecies priced at One Thousand Guineas, Two Thousand Guineas, etc. (5)
5 How opposite leaves come in French capital slightly differently (2,5)
6 Detest what eelgrass conceals (4)
7 Assist to change first seaweed (4)
11 With good French slain on return, they have a two-year period (9)
12 Pineapple, say, is formidable when not starting to get mashed (9)
14
Solution on p. 86
Carbon capture and storage measured in small metric volume (1,2)
15 Root 100 in 21 across is revolutionary (7)
18 I’m embraced by older relative with corn (5)
19 Change gender identity in desert? (4)
20 See kids on Lomond, for example (4)
COUNTRY ROUNDUPS: England
COUNTRY ROUNDUPS
Compiled by Pete Stroh peter.stroh@bsbi.org
ENGLAND
It is always nice to hear about good botanical finds, particularly when they are not far from my home, as I can actually go out to see them, so I was more than pleased to hear from Steve Woodward as summer came to an end, who reported an excellent find in the arable expanses of Leicestershire (v.c. 55). Steve had discovered a very nice population of the striking Lysimachia foemina (Blue Pimpernel), a nationally scarce species and the first record for v.c. 55 since 1994. It was growing in some quantity (I estimated more than 200 plants on my visit) in a fallow field near Clipsham in the east of the county, close to the Northamptonshire border. Steve examined the petals microscopically before reporting the find to check for the minute, 4-celled glandular-tipped hairs that are present on the margins of the petals, separating this species from the blue-flowered form of Scarlet Pimpernel, Lysimachia arvensis f. azurea, which has 3-celled hairs. It was keeping good company, growing amongst a sea of Anthemis cotula (Stinking Chamomile) and other uncommon archaeophytes such as Euphorbia exigua (Dwarf Spurge), Chaenorhinum minus (Small Toadflax), and both Kickxia (Fluellen) species.
Staying in Leicestershire, a visit to the grounds of Glenfield Hospital as part of the Leicester Botany Group’s city-wide flora surveys revealed a remarkable discovery. Lurking at the bottom of a dry drainage ditch which surrounds a car park, they spotted an unusual sedge. Slightly puzzled, Russell Parry (joint VCR for the vice-county) sent a specimen to Mike Porter (BSBI sedges referee), who responded that it was undoubtedly Carex punctata (Dotted Sedge). Mike also checked with Robin Walls (fellow sedges referee) who agreed with the determination, noting that it is very occasionally found a little inland in the far south of England. However, with Leicester about as far away from the coast as it is possible to be, the find amply demonstrates how you might find just about anything when you cover an area comprehensively. And when it comes to Leicester car parks, the list seems to range from unusual sedges through to long-lost monarchs.
Moving north to Mike Porter’s home county of Cumbria, and a serendipitous find by Tom Charman.
Tom had parked at Cow Green in Upper Teesdale and was making his way west along the track. Seeing the Force Burn gully across the Tees, and wearing wellies, he decided on the spur of the moment to have a quick look. After crossing the Tees (always a gamble) and scrambling up the gully to the waterfall, to his surprise he found a nice patch of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Bearberry) growing on the crag. He was even more surprised when he got home and checked the record to discover that, in this heavily botanised area, it had not been recorded from that spot before. The site is in Westmorland (v.c. 69) and is only the fourth known location for this species in Cumbria.
Moving east, and then up a bit to South Northumberland (v.c. 67), the most significant find to report was the discovery of Dryopteris lacunosa (Alpine Male-fern). This was recently detected in County Durham (v.c. 66) by John Durkin, and John Richards then found it in Blaydon Dene, also in v.c. 66 but close to the Northumberland border. Having established its very exacting niche (banks or bunds in old growth mixed deciduous woods not more than 30 m from a stream), John then started to look for it in v.c. 67 and found it on the second attempt in Letah woods, south of Hexham. This fern is a D. borreri
Lysimachia foemina (Blue Pimpernel), Clipsham (v.c. 55). Pete Stroh
lookalike (indeed, D. borreri, or to be more exact D. affinis subsp. borreri as it is in Stace 4, is a synonym – isn’t Dryopteris taxonomy confusing!), and the first character to look for is whether the black spot at the pinna base bleeds into the pinna. There are other characters, but space is short here. John notes that it seems to always accompany D. cambrensis (D. affinis subsp. cambrensis in Stace 4) in his vice-county, but not D borreri (although that won’t surprise botanists who treat D. lacunosa and D. borreri as synonymous!). Also in South Northumberland, three plants of a considerably less confusing species, Galeopsis speciosa (Large-flowered Hemp-nettle), were found by Nick Brodin at the side of a country lane while he was recording local road verges. This is a very rare plant in Northumberland, with no records in the North (v.c. 68) since 1984, and only one other this century in the South.
Kay McDowell, VCR for South-west Yorkshire (v.c. 63), was justifiably excited to receive information about only the second record of Dryopteris aemula (Hay-scented Buckler-fern) for the vice-county, found by local botanist David Pennington at a disused quarry between Holmfirth and Greenfield. The site is c. 3 km from the first vice-county record for this fern, discovered in 2020. Later in the year, when David went back to the quarry with a botany friend to show them D. aemula, he spotted Diphasiastrum alpinum
COUNTRY ROUNDUPS: England
(Alpine Clubmoss) growing with Lycopodium clavatum (Stag’s-horn Clubmoss) and Huperzia selago (Fir Clubmoss). Fir and Stag’s-horn clubmoss are on the v.c. 63 provisional red data list, and Hayscented Buckler-fern and Alpine Clubmoss were presumed to be extinct in the vice-county until recently.
Moving down and across to Worcestershire (v.c. 37), Tom Ward has been attempting to relocate some county rarities to update knowledge of their current distribution, including a population of the nationally scarce Vicia bithynica (Bithynian Vetch), still flourishing along Hockham’s Lane near Martley, Ervum gracile (Slender Tare) along a disturbed farm track at Sheriffs Lench, Hipton Hill, and Oenanthe silaifolia (Narrow-leaved Water-dropwort) on the banks of a fishing lake, the latter species not recorded from the monad since 1992, when it was present at Uckinghall Ham Meadow just to the north of the lake.
In South Hampshire (v.c. 11), Tristan Norton has let me know about the targeted recording of potential Priority Habitat by Bob Wardell, who uses historic mapping to locate potential search areas. Particularly gratifying was Bob and John Norton’s recording at Purbrook Heath near Havant, a former heathland landscape long lost to development (in this case a cricket ground). Bob and John recorded a range of acid grassland species including Chamaemelum nobile (Chamomile), Trifolium fragiferum (Strawberry Clover), T. subterraneum (Subterranean Clover) and Moenchia erecta (Upright Chickweed) that clearly
Dryopteris aemula (Hay-scented Buckler-fern), near Holmfirth (v.c. 63). Kay McDowell
Ervum gracile (Slender Tare), Hipton Hill (v.c. 37). Tom Ward
indicates the persistence of quality old grassland around the cricket green. This type of targeted recording is hugely helpful for decision-makers, helping to justify designation at the local level. It is hoped that other botanists in Hampshire will use this approach to add additional value to plant recording.
Hopping over to Jersey (v.c. 113), Anne Haden had a nice find at the sole locality for Myosotis sicula (Jersey Forget-me-not). Unfortunately, no naturally occurring plants of this annual were seen last year, but Myriophyllum alterniflorum (Alternate Water-milfoil) was found growing in an artificial pond constructed principally for the Agile Frog (Rana dalmatina). The last record from this site was made by Jean Picquet in 1900. Anne also reports that during a visit to Jersey by BSBI members, Galium constrictum (Slender Marsh-bedstraw) was found by St. Ouen’s Pond; the last record in Jersey was by made by G.C. Druce in 1906.
Back to the mainland, in East Sussex (v.c. 14) Graeme Lyons found what he thought was Juncus compressus (Round-fruited Rush) during a survey of Lewes Brooks; Frances Abraham later confirmed Graeme’s identification. The only other record for this species for v.c. 14 is from 1955, further up the Ouse valley just south of Lewes. Further south near Newhaven, Tracey Young found an impressive stand of Rumex maritimus (Golden Dock), and when a small group went to admire them, Nevil Hutchinson (joint VCR for West and East Sussex) noticed an ungainly, less attractive dock which on closer inspection seemed to be a hybrid. The plant was later keyed out by Nevil as Rumex × knafii (R conglomeratus × R maritimus), and subsequently confirmed by Geoffrey Kitchener (BSBI referee for the genus); this is a new vice-county record for a taxon that has very few records in the south of England. And there was great excitement in West Sussex (v.c. 13) following the discovery of a healthy population of Carex filiformis (Downy-fruited Sedge) at Whithurst Park during a Sussex Botanical Recording Society field meeting led by Frances Abraham. There is an unlocalised record from 1840 in the University of Oxford herbarium (collected by Rev. Frederick Amadeus Malleson), but the sedge was believed to be long-extinct in Sussex. The find was confirmed by Mike Porter and Robin Walls.
Finally, to Surrey (v.c. 17), where a first Rare Plant Register (RPR) for the vice-county has been published following over a decade of preparation by Ann Sankey, Susan Medcalf and many other members of the Surrey Botanical Society. The RPR, which can be purchased from Summerfield Books and Surrey Wildlife Trust, includes accounts for over
400 taxa and plates with colour photographs of species in Surrey locations. It is a valuable and very welcome update about the flora of the vice-county, following Alan Leslie’s Supplement and Checklist in 1987 and J.E. Lousley’s Flora of Surrey in 1976.
One of the species on the RPR that can now be said to be present again in the vice-county is Silene gallica (Small-flowered Catchfly). In May last year, permission was gained to investigate grassland near Puttenham in western Surrey. During the survey, a small-flowered, white campion was found that was not immediately recognised by the recorders, who included Ann Sankey and Bill Stanworth. The flowers were too small for Silene latifolia (White Campion) and the fruiting calyx, which was glandular-pubescent, wasn’t strongly inflated and the open flowers were less than 15 mm across. Their excitement grew as other descriptors were ticked off for Silene gallica (Small-flowered Catchfly). The plants were mostly growing by the edge of sandy, bare ground that had either been created by grazing animals and or a tractor moving along the edge of the field. A total of 16 plants were counted over a 9 m interval. This location was much like an arable field margin; indeed Anchusa arvensis (Bugloss), an increasingly uncommon weed of arable fields, was also present. Lousley, in 1976, mentioned that the plant was very rare in Surrey and this archaeophyte was last recorded in v.c. 17 as a relic of arable cultivation at RHS Wisley in the late 20th century.
Pete Stroh BSBI Scientific Officer
Silene gallica (Small-flowered Catchfly), near Puttenham (v.c. 17). Bill Stanworth
COUNTRY ROUNDUPS: Wales
WALES
Firstly, a word of thanks to Steph Tyler for compiling the Wales Roundups in previous issues of BSBI News, and thanks to all those who’ve provided stories for this Roundup. Starting in the north and working our way south, here are some of the reported finds from Wales over the second half of 2024.
In the north-east of Wales, the most outstanding record for Denbighshire (v.c. 50) is that of Ophioglossum azoricum (Small Adder’s-tongue) from July 2024. A first for v.c. 50 and very much a first this far inland, with the few other Welsh sites all coastal. It was recorded by Gwyn Williams on Esclusham Mountain near Wrexham, confirmed by Fred Rumsey.
Ophioglossum azoricum (Small Adder’s-tongue), near Wrexham (v.c. 50). Gwyn Williams
Delyth Williams reports some welcome refinds last summer on the north Wales coast at Kinmel Bay in Denbighshire including Ononis spinosa (Spiny Restharrow). Also on the North Wales coast, Tony Cumberlidge found a large stretch of Orobanche minor subsp. minor (Common Broomrape) behind the sea wall at Towyn. Whilst not new to the vicecounty, it is a new area and certainly not common. Was it a good year for this plant? We saw thousands at the Wales AGM on the brownfield site at Baglan, near Swansea.
Moving southwards to Montgomeryshire (v.c. 47), autumn 2024 also saw good numbers of Gentianella amarella (Autumn Gentian) and Spiranthes spiralis
(Autumn Lady’s-tresses) recorded by Claire Backshall and Ruth Dawes at Llanymynech Hill SSSI. A new species to Montgomeryshire from earlier in the year was Nonea lutea (Yellow Nonea), recorded by Fiona Gomersall in Berriew on a roadside verge. Then in November, Alastair Hotchkiss found Erigeron floribundus (Bilbao fleabane) new to v.c. 47 by a bus stop in Guilsfield.
Efforts to refind Hypericum montanum (Pale St. John’s-wort) in the Montgomeryshire part of the Oswestry Hills have drawn blanks, but Alan Dawes did find plants on a verge by an old limestone quarry near Trefonen, on the Shropshire (v.c. 40) side of the border – so an honorary entry to the Wales roundup for a place with a Welsh name (‘Trefonen’ meaning ‘settlement with ash trees’ – ‘onnen’ being Ash Fraxinus excelsior in Welsh).
Across to Merioneth (v.c. 48) in the west, where several refinds were made as part of the BSBIs Priority Plants on SSSIs project. These included two Salix herbacea (Dwarf Willow) sites refound after 20+ year breaks. Tom Harrison refound a small patch on Y Llethyr on Rhinog SSSI, and Alastair Hotchkiss recorded several patches on Arenig Fawr (see article on p. 3).
Heading southwards along the coast into Cardiganshire (v.c. 46), where the most significant and puzzling discovery last summer was John Warren’s find of Matthiola sinuata (Sea Stock), growing by the seawall in Borth. This is the first time this nationally scarce coastal plant had been seen in Cardiganshire. There are historic hectad records around the Northwest and North Wales coast, including for Merioneth (pre-1930). Steve Chambers’ speculation about
Matthiola sinuata (Sea Stock), Borth (v.c. 46). Steve Chambers
COUNTRY ROUNDUPS: Wales
possible vectors includes his favoured hypothesis of the ‘sandy surfer’. Plants are centred close to public facilities used as a major hub for beach activities like surfing. Surfers are sandy people who travel around visiting different beaches and they may have inadvertently brought in seed from S. Wales on sandy gear. Or could drift seeds have dispersed up the coast from South Wales?
Moving away from the coast to the hills of Breconshire (v.c. 42), where John Crellin reports a successful day where members of the Brecon Beacons Climbing & Mountaineering Club joined Brecknock Botany Group. They reached tricky crags below Fan Nedd and were able to make new records of plants that grow on them – last recorded in many cases in the 1970s. Finds included Hieracium breconicola (Beacon’s Hawkweed), Hieracium inspissatum (Crass-leaved Hawkweed), Asplenium viride (Green Spleenwort) and Hymenophyllum wilsonii (Wilson’s Filmy-fern).
Hymenophyllum wilsonii (Wilson’s Filmy-fern), Fan Nedd (v.c. 42). John Crellin
A new site for Erigeron acris (Blue Fleabane), found by Anne Griffiths at 560 m at Cwar yr Ystrad, was a new altitude record for the plant in Breconshire, and indeed for all of Britain and Ireland it would seem. A word of correction for something reported in the previous roundup for Breconshire. Somehow the English name for Circaea alpina was accidentally reported as Alpine Sow-thistle, although of course this should have been Alpine Enchanter’snightshade.
As we venture further south again, into Monmouthshire (v.c. 35), it is time to mention a new endemic whitebeam described from the lower Wye Valley in Monmouthshire – Sorbus wyensis – on cliffs at Wyndcliff in the lower Wye Valley. Dave Green first found this group of trees in 2012 and has studied them since, describing them as a new species in 2024 (see his paper in British & Irish Botany 6(1): 1–6; note that in the article it is named as Aria wyensis, following the recent split of Sorbus s.l. in Europe).
Other Monmouthshire happenings include Elsa Wood, Steph Tyler and Tim Oliver surveying a number of lakes and reservoirs in western Monmouthshire last autumn. Chara contraria (Opposite Stonewort) was a significant find in a pond at Cwmtillery. Monmouthshire also paid particular attention to mints, with finds including the triple hybrid Mentha × smithiana (Tall Mint) found at Bryn Bach lake, and Anthony O’Leary’s report of Mentha pulegium (Pennyroyal) at Lamby, the only recent record of this rarity.
A joint meeting between the Glamorgan Botany Group and Monmouthshire Botany Group revealed many ‘new’ tetrad species in the Rhymney valley, among them Wahlenbergia hederacea (Ivy-leaved Bellflower), and a second vice-county record for Oxalis incarnata (Pale Pink-sorrel), naturalised at Magor churchyard.
Which segues nicely into Glamorgan (v.c. 41), where David Barden reports a number of notable finds in the second half of 2024, including David’s mapping of the extent of a Rumex pulcher (Fiddle Dock) population at Lock’s Common, Porthcawl in July, where it was first seen by Greg Nuttgens in 2020 at its only Glamorgan site. David also recorded Carex divisa (Divided Sedge) at Cadoxton Ponds, Barry, which is the first record for Glamorgan since 1998, and the 4th extant site for Wales this century. Dactylorhiza praetermissa × Gymnadenia densiflora = X Dactylodenia ettlingeriana was reported by Paul van Maaren at Kenfig NNR in July. There is a previous 2009 record from this site, but this is a welcome update of this very rare hybrid.
Finally, we move across to Carmarthenshire (v.c. 44) in the south-west, where Laphangium luteoalbum (Jersey Cudweed) continues its westward expansion. A single plant was discovered by Ian Morgan in a Llanelli backstreet in the summer, between a house wall and the pavement. The first v.c. 44 record for this species was made by Sam Thomas when he found a plant growing in gravel outside the propagation glasshouses at the National Botanic Garden. However, Ian’s Llanelli record is the first ‘unassisted’ plant to be recorded this far west in Wales – a record
that would not have been possible were council cut-backs not to have resulted in the cessation of street-herbiciding! And just as ‘Roundup’ marks the end of plants on Welsh streets, this marks the end of the Welsh roundup.
Alastair Hotchkiss
BSBI Wales
Officer
SCOTLAND
November’s Scottish Botanists’ Conference saw a record 220 botanists come together at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) to enjoy a great variety of talks and workshops. From RBGE, Aline Finger and Jenny Baker presented a fascinating summary of their work, joining science and conservation horticulture to help preserve the threatened Melampyrum sylvaticum (Small Cowwheat) in Scotland, and Connie Simon-Nutbrown provided an exciting insight into her work on genetic barcoding to identify complex species groups such as willows and pondweeds. Sam Jones of Plantlife Scotland described how conservation translocations are being used to support Moneses uniflora (One-flowered Wintergreen) and Linnaea borealis (Twinflower) populations in the Cairngorms, and Callum Sinclair of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative introduced us to a secret weapon in the efforts to control Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant Hogweed) – the humble sheep, which appear to be able to browse the foliage with no negative repercussions! Richard Milne gave us an insight into the curious tale of Rhododendron ponticum (Rhododendron), including how hybridisation and introgression may have boosted its ability to handle the Scottish climate, and Lewis Donaghy of the National Trust for Scotland shared highlights of his year as a mountain botanist.
Amongst the special montane plants covered in Lewis’s talk was a significant new coastal discovery he made during 2024: a fifth British site for Carex salina (Saltmarsh Sedge), on the coastline south of Arisaig in Westerness (v.c. 97). This species was only discovered in Scotland in 2004, being a shy flowerer and hence easily overlooked. It seems likely that more populations exist along the west coast, waiting for sharp-eyed botanists to discover.
Elsewhere in Westerness, Jim McIntosh and Ian Strachan had a very productive season surveying the high-altitude ground above Glen Nevis for montane scrub, as part of the Nevis Landscape Partnership project ‘Nevis Nature Networks’. Many new sites for Salix lapponum (Downy Willow), S. phylicifolia (Tea-
COUNTRY ROUNDUPS: Wales / Scotland
leaved Willow) and Juniperus communis subsp. nana (Dwarf Juniper) were identified, but they also found new sites for other scarce arctic-alpines such as Dryas octopetala (Mountain Avens), Juncus castaneus (Chestnut Rush), Micranthes nivalis (Alpine Saxifrage) and Veronica alpina (Alpine Speedwell). Examples of Arabidopsis petraea (Northern Rock-cress) with curiously undivided leaves were also spotted, which I was pleased to learn of as I have come across (and been thrown by) this form on crags in West Perthshire!
Arabidopsis petraea (Northern Rock-cress), Glen Nevis (v.c. 97). Jim McIntosh
The nationally rare Omalotheca norvegica (Highland Cudweed) was found for the first time in the Nevis area in 2023, just below the Carn Mor Dearg Arête, and last year Jim and Ian managed to survey the population in detail, finding 33 plants scattered over a band of sloping rocky ledges at 940 m above sea level. Just across the border in Argyllshire (v.c. 98), Gus Routledge found a new population of another nationally rare plant, Scheuchzeria palustris (Rannoch-rush) totalling around 135 spikes, whilst doing surveys for peat restoration works on the Corrour estate. The pool complex it was present in supported Sphagnum majus (Olive Bog-moss), and Gus also found S. affine (Imbricate Bog-moss) and S. pulchrum (Golden Bog-
moss) during his surveys, all new to Corrour and all three nationally scarce species.
Moving west to Mid-Ebudes (v.c. 103), the highlight of 2024 was the discovery of Ajuga pyramidalis (Pyramidal Bugle) on the Ross of Mull in April by Calum Urquhart, with two separate flowering populations found. These are the first definite records for Mull, although a possible hybrid A. pyramidalis × repens was found in 2010. Also last year, Gus Routledge reported a first site for Knoydart, beside a burn in upper Glen Barrisdale, and it was refound at its only known site in southern Scotland after a hiatus of 17 years, by Jeff Waddell, Matt Parratt and Chris Gray in the Moffat Hills (Dumfriesshire, v.c. 72), where 24 flowering spikes and 12 non-flowering plants were counted subsequently by Chris Miles; encouraging news for this nationally scarce and vulnerable species.
In North Ebudes (v.c. 104) a new aquatic for the vice-county, Nitella confervacea (Least Stonewort) has been found at Loch Lonachan, Skye. The species was first recorded by Ben Goldsmith in 2023, and again in 2024. It is possible that Skye also had a second first vice-county record for an aquatic species in 2024, following the discovery by Joanna and Julian Walmisley of a curious pondweed growing in Loch Mòr, Waterstein. This has been tentatively identified as Potamogeton cf. rutilus (Shetland Pondweed), with the referee Chris Preston noting that it fits P. rutilus in every way except for the leaf tips, although plants with similar leaf tips sometimes occur in Nordic populations. A specimen has gone to Connie Simon-Nutbrown for inclusion in her molecular studies.
Back on the mainland, a July recording week organised by Wester Ross (v.c. 105) recorder Duncan Donald and based at the Woodland Trust’s Couldoran Lodge near Applecross made a host of interesting records, including Sorbus rupicola (Rock Whitebeam) and Orthilia secunda (Serrated Wintergreen) on the Trust’s Gleann Shildeag Estate, and refinds of arctic-alpine species including Sagina saginoides (Alpine Pearlwort) and Luzula arcuata (Curved Wood-rush) on Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin in Torridon.
On Orkney (v.c. 111), an unusual pavement plant was spotted growing from cracks in paving at North Ronaldsay lighthouse by John Crossley: Carex maritima (Curved Sedge). This nationally scarce and endangered species appears to be carving out a new niche for itself, with ruderal halophyte populations also being reported along roadsides on Lewis (v.c. 110) by Paul Smith. On Hoy, visiting experts Alison Evans and Roger Golding (with John) identified Cystopteris pseudoregia, a fern species very recently confirmed in Britain (see the note by David Tennant in BSBI News 157: Autumn 2024) and now known from several confirmed sites in northwest Scotland and Orkney. Heading further north to Fair Isle, two species were recorded on the island for the first time by Jeff Waddell: Draba incana (Hoary Whitlowgrass) and Veronica officinalis (Heath Speedwell), at Millens Houllan in the north of the isle – a reminder that new botanical discoveries in Scotland can involve very familiar species.
Carex maritima (Curved Sedge). North Ronaldsay lighthouse (v.c. 111). John Crossley
Moving back southwards, in North Aberdeenshire (v.c. 93) David Elston added three new native species to the county list: Ulex gallii (Western Gorse), Omalotheca supina (Dwarf Cudweed) and Hieracium dipteroides (Aberfeldy Hawkweed), during three intensive recording days in and adjacent to the parish of Cabrach. This area includes some of the highest and most remote land in North Aberdeenshire, and these discoveries were the direct result of focusing attention away from known sites of local and national rarities which have been regularly visited and well recorded in recent years.
In the Angus Glens (v.c. 90), fieldwork in Glen Prosen by Dan Watson, the Mountain Woodland Action Group and others produced new records for a range of interesting species, including Athyrium distentifolium (Alpine Lady-fern), Carex vaginata (Sheathed Sedge), Polystichum lonchitis (Holly-fern), Salix lapponum, S. myrsinifolia (Dark-leaved Willow) and its hybrid with S. phylicifolia, S. × tetrapla. On Mayar, Theo Loizou, Julie Smith and others from Caledonian Conservation rediscovered a good population of Carex rariflora (Mountain Bog-sedge) not recorded since 1996, whilst on Meikle Kilrannoch, Dan Watson and I were delighted to refind another large population of C. rariflora, not seen in the monad since 1875. Our exploration of an underrecorded section of Craig Maud in Glen Doll also revealed new sites for Carex atrata (Black Alpinesedge) and Micranthes nivalis. At lower altitudes, as part of survey work for Angus Council Theo visited Elliot Links SSSI, where Scabiosa columbaria (Small Scabious) is locally frequent at what may be its most northerly extant population in Britain, and counted over a hundred Rumex hydrolapathum (Water Dock) plants, perhaps the largest population in Angus. Several plants of Scrophularia umbrosa (Green Figwort) were found in a woodland ride at Monikie Country Park, and this Angus RPR species may be spreading in the vice-county.
In Fifeshire (v.c. 85), Sandy Edwards reports a new site for the beautiful Gagea lutea (Yellow Star-ofBethlehem) near Dalgety Bay. This species has not been recorded in the vice-county since 1984, making this a particularly special find. In St Andrews, the population of Saxifraga tridactylites (Rue-leaved Saxifrage) has expanded rapidly from a few plants in a wall to several hundred growing down to the harbour, an increase mirrored elsewhere in central Scotland.
In Mid-Perthshire (v.c. 88), surveys of proposed Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) revealed many previously unrecorded populations
of nationally scarce plants, with Dan Watson and Jim McIntosh adding Alchemilla wichurae (Rock Lady’smantle), Draba norvegica (Rock Whitlowgrass) and Micranthes nivalis to the already rich alpine flora of Creag Gharbh, on the south side of Loch Tay. Juncus alpinoarticulatus (Alpine Rush) and Salix myrsinites (Whortle-leaved Willow) were also newly discovered at Meall Ban near Trinafour.
In Stirlingshire (v.c. 86), Lyn Jones made the first vice-county record of Rorippa islandica (Northern Yellow-cress) during the Campsies BSBI field meeting, growing in a flowerbed on his daughter’s farm near Queenzieburn. Discoveries elsewhere on waste ground and refuse tips suggest that this annual is taking greater advantage of such anthropogenic habitats. Other highlights from the meeting included 20-year refinds of Sedum villosum (Hairy Stonecrop) and Cryptogramma crispa (Parsley Fern) on Laird’s Hill.
In Midlothian (v.c. 83) a second vice-county site was discovered for Ophrys apifera (Bee Orchid) by B. Lynch in Liberton, where it was discovered as a rosette on the grassy area covering enclosed watertanks and moved to a safer location to protect from mowing. The plant was later visited by Sue Jury, who
Carex rariflora (Mountain Bog-sedge), Meikle Kilrannoch (v.c. 90). Matt Harding
notes that the first Midlothian site found last year in Granton is now under redevelopment. Two new sites for Botrychium lunaria (Moonwort) were identified at Longmuir Moss and on Arniston playing fields, by Sue and S. Maxwell and I.D. Edwards respectively. This species was also refound at Bonaly Reservoir, updating an old record from 1984 with 24 plants counted. Another RPR species, Filago germanica (Common Cudweed), was discovered growing in profusion on waste ground at Wallyford, covering an area of about 90 m2!
In south-west Scotland, Ayrshire (v.c. 75) botanists had a very productive year in 2024 with new finds for Ervilia sylvatica (Wood-vetch) at Slockenray and Neottia nidus-avis (Bird’s-nest Orchid) in Cloncaird, both in South Ayrshire. Utricularia intermedia s.s. (Intermediate Bladderwort) was discovered in a pond on Cornish Hill in the Carrick Forest, and a new site was found for Ophrys apifera at Auchinleck – the fifth new Ayrshire site since the first one was discovered in 2003. Two new records of Crassula tillaea (Mossy Stonecrop) were made in the Ardrossan-Saltcoats area to add to the vice-county’s first location found there in 2022, and on the last local botany group outing of the year in September, Saxifraga hypnoides (Mossy Saxifrage) was found at Allan’s Glen by Muirhead Reservoir. Although known from this hectad previously, this is thought to be a new location for this nationally vulnerable species in Ayrshire.
In East Ayrshire, some excellent upland refinds were made on Blackcraig Hill, which was botanised for the first time since the 1980s: Salix herbacea (Dwarf Willow), Carex bigelowii (Stiff Sedge), Cryptogramma crispa and Diphasiastrum alpinum (Alpine Clubmoss). Other notable refinds included Trifolium striatum (Knotted Clover) at Dunure, and Lysimachia europaea (Chickweedwintergreen) at Mochrum Hill, Ayrshire’s only site, both seen for the first time since the 1990s. Anacamptis pyramidalis (Pyramidal Orchid) was present for the second consecutive year at Seafield Dunes, one of only three Ayrshire locations ever recorded, and Sabulina verna (Spring Sandwort) was refound at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Grey Hill Reserve.
In neighbouring Kirkcudbrightshire (v.c. 73), a large mature plant of Viscum album (Mistletoe) was discovered by Heather Edgar, growing on an Acer species. The only previous vice-county occurrence was from nearby Rockcliffe in 1973, with the host tree felled in 1980. Following this latest record, two more sites where plants were growing on Malus (Apple) from seed introduced from Herefordshire as
Christmas decoration have come to light, near New Galloway and Newton Stewart.
To the east, in Dumfriesshire (v.c. 72) a second site for Hierochloe odorata (Holy-grass) was found at Caerlaverock on the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust reserve by manager Dave Pickett, whilst digging pools for Natterjack Toads. This new population consists of hundreds of spikes growing amongst Ulex europaeus (Gorse) on an old spit that lies above the main Merse (saltmarsh). Other highlights included a second vice-county site for Platanthera chlorantha (Greater Butterfly-orchid), on the Springkell Estate, and a refind of an old Derek Ratcliffe record of Hymenophyllum wilsonii (Wilson’s Filmy-fern) from 1952 on the Tarras Valley Reserve.
A special thanks must go to Angus Hannah for his incredible work as Scottish Rubus referee – last year he determined or confirmed the identity of over 800 photos of brambles from Dumfriesshire, not to mention hundreds of photos from Stirlingshire and elsewhere across Scotland. Angus also spent time in the field with various recorders, helping to update their vice-county Rubus records, and we are very grateful for his time and expertise!
Finally, 2024 saw the publication of The Special Plants of East Perthshire, the fourth edition of the RPR for East Perthshire, by Martin Robinson (see review, p. 81). Drawing on nine fieldwork seasons since the third edition, and illustrated with photos of many of the rare and threatened species that make up the wonderful flora of this vice-county, this is a fantastic work and a must have for any botanist with an interest in the area. My thanks go as well to all the vice-county recorders who have produced new, updated or draft RPRs in 2024: David Elston and
Sabulina verna (Spring Sandwort), Grey Hill (v.c. 75).
D. Lang
COUNTRY ROUNDUPS: Scotland / Ireland
the late David Welch (Kincardineshire, v.c. 91), Robin Cowe (Berwickshire, v.c. 81), Sarah Cowan (Arran, v.c 100) and Jim McIntosh (Mid Perthshire, v.c. 88).
Matt Harding BSBI Scotland Officer
IRELAND
Plant stories rarely reach the national news in Ireland – but one that did in 2024 was Mary Sheehan’s discovery of Hypopitys monotropa (Yellow Bird’s-nest) in Killarney National Park, which hadn’t been seen in Co Kerry (v.cc. H1 & H2) since 1896. This really caught the public imagination, maybe because of its unusual appearance and somewhat vampiric qualities. Mary is a BSBI member and conservation ranger at Killarney, and the find was confirmed by VCR Rory Hodd.
In Wexford (v.c. H12), in mid-November, Paul Green found two plants of Verbena officinalis (Vervain) growing along a forest road on Carrigroe Hill. This species, much referenced in folklore, is rarely recorded in Wexford, and had not been seen in this hectad since G.E.J. Greene found it at Ferns in 1896. Another exciting find was Euphrasia × pratiuscula (Euphrasia arctica × E tetraquetra) –the first county record of this hybrid – found by Paul in July in cliff-top grassland on Baginbun Head, and confirmed by Euphrasia referee Chris Metherell.
Lisa Dowling reports a new species for Co Carlow (v.c. H13), found by Brian Dunne in late July during commonage surveys for the ACRES CP project – a locally-adapted, results-based initiative within Ireland’s national agri-environment scheme. This was Ceratocapnos claviculata (Climbing Corydalis) on the slopes of Ballycrinnigan, in dry heath habitat in a particularly rocky area with dense bracken and gorse, within the transition zone between gorse scrub along the lower part of the mountain, and heather on the higher slopes – this seems to be typical Irish habitat for this species. Climbing Corydalis, endemic to Europe, is an oceanic species occurring mainly on the Atlantic fringe, and is present throughout Britain, so it’s quite odd that it is so rare in Ireland. Here, it has been recorded mainly in the south-east, with just a few scattered records elsewhere.
Linking history, beer and botany: while doing field work for a community group in the Burren National Park, a local farmer showed Co Clare (v.c. H9) co-VCR Phoebe O’Brien a Hop (Humulus lupulus) plant growing in his hedgerow. Located quite close to a castle, two churches and a 16th century mansion,
Angus Hannah examining brambles in Stirlingshire, 2024. Matt Harding
Euphrasia × pratiuscula (Euphrasia arctica × E. tetraquetra), Baginbun Head (v.c. H12). Paul Green
it’s probable that this is a relic of historic cultivation, perhaps for brewing in the area? Samples were collected by brewer and researcher Maurice Deasy for DNA testing and propagation, as part of a collaborative pilot project between Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) and Canvas brewery, ‘The Search for Landrace Irish Hops’, which aims to establish a collection of wild Irish hops.
Although Hop is uncommon in Ireland, interestingly, male Hop is named on the Irish Noxious Weed Act, so at one time it must have been more prolific and considered a threat to the production of hops from female plants grown for brewing. The first record for Co Clare was on the Arran Islands in 1869, while the second recorded occurrence, near to Lough Derg, was known between 1970 and 1986: neither population now exists. In 2021, Donncha Ó Catháin, co-VCR for Clare, found Hop near Ennis at Killone Lough.
In mid-May, a population of Heath Violet (Viola lactea) was found by John Conaghan and Cian Ó Ceallaigh, growing in a small area of grazed, rocky heath just south-west of Roundstone village in West Galway (v.c. H16). This rare species is well known from the Gorumna/Carraroe and Slyne Head areas; however, there have been very few recent records
from the intervening section of the Connemara coast. This appears to be the first record of V. lactea from the Roundstone area since 1962, when D.A. Webb recorded it near the base of Errisbeg Hill.
In 2024, BSBI’s Aquatic Plant Project (‘TAPP’), run in Ireland since 2019 thanks to generous funding from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, was particularly focused on refinding rare species. Using our new underwater drone, the extremely rare Hydrilla verticillata (Esthwaite Waterweed) was refound in Rusheenduff Lough in Connemara. This species, long known from this site but not recorded there since 2007, is known from only one other lake in Ireland (also in West Galway), and only a smattering of sites in Britain, being first discovered in Esthwaite Water, Westmorland (v.c. 69), in 1914, but not seen there since 1941. The drone also helped locate Najas flexilis (Slender Naiad) at the same Connemara Lake, not seen at the site since 2006. Another rarity, Luronium natans (Floating waterplantain) was refound at several locations around Invermore in Connemara during TAPP surveys (see report, p. 58). In this its only Irish locality, it occurs in several neighbouring lakes and the Invermore River, but had not been recorded in Connemara since 2012, and not at these particular locations since 2007.
In 2023, Robert and Hannah Northridge found a mysterious Sorbus growing at Carrickreagh by Lower Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh (v.c. H33), which could not be determined from their leaf samples. In 2024, they managed to collect both leaves and fruits and sent these, with photos, to Tim Rich who, in agreement with David Cann, another Sorbus expert, identified the tree as Sorbus devoniensis (Devon Whitebeam). This represents only its second Fermanagh site, the first being at Corrard on Upper Lough Erne, where the whitebeams have self-seeded in some hedges and on the lake shore. Corrard is part of a plantation estate and the current owner thinks that the Devon Whitebeam may have been introduced to Fermanagh, sometime prior to 1759, by the King family who originated in Devon and introduced some exotic trees to the estate. Could the Lower Lough Erne tree have grown from seed transported there from Corrard by birds – about 15 miles – or perhaps a fruit floated down the Erne in a flood and established itself at Carrickreagh? To test this theory, Robert placed a dozen fruits in a bowl of water: five floated, while the other seven sank!
In Co Sligo (v.c. H28), recorder Eamon Gaughan had a very productive year, collecting over 20,000 records in 2024 including many new sightings and refinds of uncommon species. A trip to Mullaghmore
Humulus lupulus (Hop), The Burren (v.c. H9).
Phoebe O’Brien
with West Mayo (v.c. H27) recorders Eoin McGreal and Sinead McGarry turned up three new records for the already well-recorded hectad G75; Eleocharis uniglumis (Slender Spike-rush), Hypericum humifusum (Trailing St John’s Wort), and H. maculatum (Imperforate St John’s-wort). In the same hectad in August, lots of Pimpinella saxifraga (Burnet Saxifrage) was found in dunes east of Mullaghmore by Robert and Hannah Northridge. This species is very thinly scattered in north and west Ireland, and was last recorded in G75 in 1897!
In September, Robert Northridge found a good quantity of the hybrid Horsetail Equisetum font-queri (Equisetum telmateia × palustre) along a roadside near Benwisken Mountain, Co Sligo. First recorded at this site in 1999 by Jesse Tregale, when it was a new Irish record; it had not been recorded there since 2004. All but one of the Irish records for this species are from this area. Eamon also recorded several naturalised alien species for the first time in Sligo: Euphorbia dulcis (Sweet Spurge), Cotoneaster rehderi (Bullate Cotoneaster), Reseda lutea (Wild Mignonette), Senecio inaequidens (Narrow leaved Ragwort), Thymus pulegioides (Large Thyme) and Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle). In March, Drabella muralis (Wall Whitlow-grass), a neophyte in Ireland first recorded in Sligo in 2013, was seen for the first time south of Sligo town; this species seems to be increasing its range in the vice county.
Finally, huge congratulations are due to Alexis FitzGerald, VCR for Co Monaghan (v.c. H32), who has recently published the first-ever Flora of County Monaghan, after almost ten years of recording and research work: the culmination of multiple decades of botanical research and recording work in the county by dozens of botanists. Described as ‘an extended love letter to the Monaghan landscape’, Alexis’s beautiful Flora contains chapters on Monaghan’s geology, climate, and history of its vegetation and land use, as well its botanical recording history, habitats and the best botanical sites in the county. There are over 1200 comprehensive species accounts, covering all the species that have been recorded in the county to date, with rare species given particular detail. Copies are available to purchase from the publisher’s website (wordwellbooks.com) or via Amazon.
This seems to be a good opportunity to sincerely thank all of the Ireland VCRs and committee members for giving their time and energy so generously, and to all of our amazing recorders across the country for the valuable records you have contributed over the last year. Here’s hoping for a sunny spring to start off a brand new field season, and some great new Irish records in 2025!
Bridget Keehan BSBI Ireland Officer
Sorbus devoniensis (Devon Whitebeam), Carrickreagh (v.c. H33). Robert Northridge
OBITUARIES
Compiled by Chris D. Preston, Obituaries Editor 19 Green’s Road, Cambridge, CB4 3EF cdpr@ceh.ac.uk OBITUARIES
DAVID JOHN MCCOSH (1930–2024)
David John McCosh was born on 15 September 1930 at Rochsoles House near Airdrie, Lanarkshire, the fifth child of Andrew Kirkwood McCosh, a prominent Scottish industrialist, and Elizabeth Marshall. He was educated at Cargilfield and Rugby before doing his national service with the Royal Engineers in East Africa. He then read Engineering at Clare College, Cambridge.
David’s childhood holidays were spent with cousins near Biggar and it was here that his interest in botany began. His mother and three aunts were keen amateur botanists who were ‘colouring their Bentham’s’ (i.e. painting in the pictures in Fitch’s Illustrations of the British Flora, the companion volume to Bentham’s Handbook of British Flora) from flowers found in the rural countryside around Biggar which was a complete contrast to the industrial Airdrie landscape.
On leaving Cambridge, David worked for various engineering firms (Rolls Royce, Bairds) but he was never interested in senior management and in the 1960s he moved to London where he spent the rest of his working life with PE, a firm of management consultants in Egham. It was in London that he first met [Mary] Tessa Marris, whisking her off to the opera in Palma the following week. They were married in May 1967 and lived in Kensington, within walking distance of the National History Museum (BM). He retired around 1990 and moved to Baconsthorpe, Norfolk, an area with which Tessa had family links.
David joined the BSBI in 1958 and contributed records to the first Atlas of the British Flora He was appointed Vice-county Recorder for Peeblesshire (v.c. 78) in 1961 (the Lanarkshire Vice-county recordership already being held by
Robert Mackecknie). In 1975 he bought Culter Shaw farmhouse near Biggar which served as a holiday base from which he would disappear on botanical expeditions all over Peeblesshire and the Southern Uplands, once returning home late minus a wellington boot which he had lost in a bog on the hill. He systematically worked the Peeblesshire flora, especially in the hills, contributing over 15,000 individual and many more generic records to the
David McCosh at The Colonel’s Bed, Braemar, looking for Hieracium lanceolatum, July 2010.
Tim Rich
BSBI Distribution Database. He led many BSBI field meetings and attended many in adjacent counties. His expertise culminated in the first Flora of the county, Plants of Peeblesshire, in 2012. He retired as Vice-county Recorder in 2012 after 51 years, a truly remarkable stint.
David’s work on hawkweeds Hieracium arose from his desire to get a proper list of hawkweeds for Peeblesshire, and his London base and some private income afforded him time to visit BM on a regular basis. Initially his hawkweed specimens were identified by Peter Sell, but he was helped by the acquisition of H.W. Pugsley’s (1948) Prodromus of the British Hieracia. He joined the BSBI Hieracium Study Group when it was set up in 1982. He began revising the Hieracium collections at BM, and then visited other herbaria, starting his database of voucher specimens in 1992. This proved invaluable to Peter Sell for the Hieracium monograph in the Flora of Great Britain and Ireland (2006), for which David provided the distribution summaries. The database eventually resulted in over 23,000 records from over 50 herbaria, from which we compiled the two editions of Atlas of British and Irish Hawkweeds (2011, 2018). The database remains the only authoritative set of hawkweed records to this day. David named 20 hawkweeds new to science and published 18 major botanical publications (5 books, 13 papers) and numerous brief notes.
David played a significant role in the BSBI over many years. He was Secretary of the BSBI Records Committee for 30 years – some of the meetings even being held in his Kensington home when the Natural History Museum was unavailable. This involved much unseen work coordinating with Vice-county Recorders, overseeing the BSBI Monitoring Scheme (he was on the interview panel that appointed me to the Organiser job in 1986!), helping to compile the 2003 Vice-county Census Catalogue and planning recording for various atlases and other projects. He was a BSBI Vice-President 1999–2003 and was made an Honorary Member in 2006. He was awarded the Marsh Botany Award in 2022 jointly with Prof. John Richards for their contribution to the taxonomy and knowledge of apomictic species.
David was a gentleman, gentle, tactful and a pleasure to know and work with. He was very understated about his own authoritative knowledge, and was a continuous source of advice, help and inspiration to many others. He was inspirational with my Hieracium work and I spent many happy hours in the field with him on numerous field trips in Scotland and Ireland. His excellent Hieracium herbarium, which incorporates that of John Raven, of over 750 specimens will be deposited at Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (E) following his wishes. Hieracium maccoshiana is named after him in recognition of his outstanding contributions.
David passed away peacefully at home on 10 September 2024. He is survived by his wife Tessa and sons Andrew, James and Mungo.
Publications by David McCosh
McCosh, D. 1968. Peeblesshire. 29th July 1967. Proceedings of the Botanical Society of the British Isles 7: 301.
McCosh, D.J. 1978. The Upper Tweed, Peebles. June 12th–19th [1976]. Watsonia 12: 69–71.
McCosh, D.J. 1987. Rhinns of Kells, Kirkcudbrightshire. 26th–28th July [1986]. BSBI News 46: 44.
McCosh, D.J. 1988. Local Floras – a progress report. Watsonia 17: 81–89.
McCosh, D.J. 1999. Roses in the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. BSBI Scottish Newsletter 21: 18–19.
Stace, C.A., Ellis, R.G., Kent, D.H. & McCosh, D.J. (eds) 2003. Vice-county Census Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Great Britain. Botanical Society of the British Isles. London.
Rich, T.C.G. & McCosh, D.J. 2008. The status of Hieracium arranense and H. sannoxense (Asteraceae), two endemic hawkweeds from the Isle of Arran, Scotland. Watsonia 27: 119–125.
Rich, T.C.G., Hodd, R.L.I.B., McCosh, D.J., Mhic Daeid, E.C., McVeigh, A., Sawtschuk, J. & Wyse Jackson, M.B.
OBITUARIES
2008. Conservation of Ireland’s biodiversity: a survey and assessment of the current status of three Irish endemic hawkweeds from Kerry, Hieracium argentatum, H. scullyi and H. sparsifrons (Asteraceae). Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 108B: 143–155.
McCosh, D. & Rich, T.C.G. 2009. Hieracium proximum Caithness Hawkweed in Ireland. Irish Naturalists’ Journal 30: 54–55.
Rich, T.C.G., Cotton, D.C.F., Hodd, R L.I.B., Houston, L., McCosh, D.J. & Wyse Jackson, M.B. 2009. Conservation of Ireland’s biodiversity: status of the Irish endemic Hieracium basalticola Pugsley (Basalt Hawkweed) (Asteraceae). Irish Naturalists’ Journal 30: 79–89.
Rich, T.C.G., McCosh, D.J., Sawtschuk, J. & Wyse Jackson, M.B. 2010. Conservation of Ireland’s biodiversity: the status of two Irish endemic hawkweeds Hieracium hartii and H. hibernicum (Asteraceae). Watsonia 28: 1–10.
Rich, T.C.G. & McCosh, D.J. 2010. Conservation status of two British members of Hieracium section Alpestria: Hieracium mirandum and H. solum (Asteraceae). Watsonia 28: 141–144.
Rich, T.C.G. & McCosh, D.J. 2010. Taxonomy and conservation status of Hieracium vinifolium (including H. kintyricum), Claret-leaved Hawkweed (Asteraceae). Watsonia 28: 151–156.
Rich, T.C.G., McCosh, D.J. & Teesdale, I. 2010. Conservation of Britain’s biodiversity: status of Hieracium thalassinum (Asteraceae), Hairy-bracted Hawkweed. Watsonia 28: 160–161.
McCosh, D.J. & Rich, T.C.G. 2011. Atlas of British and Irish Hawkweeds (Pilosella L. and Hieracium L.). Botanical Society of the British Isles. London. Adams, K. & McCosh, D.J. 2011. A historical account of the hawkweeds recorded for Essex and their progressive extermination by flailing of verges and heathland. Essex Naturalist 28: 190–212.
McCosh, D. J. 2012. Plants of Peeblesshire. Privately published, Holt.
Rich, T.C.G., Jannink, M., McCosh, D.J. & Wyse Jackson, M. B. 2013. What is the taxonomic status of Hieracium hesperium P.D. Sell, Donegal Hawkweed (Asteraceae)? Irish Naturalists’ Journal 33: 3–7.
McCosh, D.J. 2013. Six new species of British Hieracium (Asteraceae). New Journal of Botany 3: 178–182.
McCosh, D.J. 2015. Two new Scottish species of Hieracium (Asteraceae). New Journal of Botany 5: 32–33.
McCosh, D.J. 2015. New names for some British Hieracia (Asteraceae). New Journal of Botany 5: 119–127.
McCosh, D.J. 2017. A new naturalised Alpine hawkweed, Hieracium villosum Jacq. BSBI News 136: 52.
McCosh, D.J. & Rich, T.C.G. 2018. Atlas of British and Irish Hawkweeds (Pilosella Hill and Hieracium L.) (2nd edn). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Harpenden. Rich, T. & McCosh, D. 2019. Hieracium reticulatiforme new to Wales. BSBI Welsh Bulletin 104: 9.
McCosh, D.J., Barlow, D., Burrow, B. & Rich, T.C.G. 2020. Three new species of Hieracium (Asteraceae) from northern England. British & Irish Botany 2: 56–63.
Rich, T.C.G. & McCosh, D. 2021. Monograph of British and Irish Hieracium section Foliosa and section Prenanthoidea. BSBI Handbook No. 21. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, Durham.
Hawkweeds named and new combinations by David McCosh
New Journal of Botany 3(3): 180–182 (2013): Hieracium jonesianum, H. kinkellense, H. kinrossense, H. ronayense, H. subduriceps, H. tottoense
New Journal of Botany 5(1): 32 (2015): Hieracium dolorosum, H. kintrawense
New Journal of Botany 5(2): 119–127 (2015): Hieracium arnsidense, H. benhopense, H. breviglandulosum, H. cambrense, H. grisedalense, H. lepiduloides, H. lintonense, H. pseudacroleucum, H. pseudintegratum, H. pseudosevericeps, H. rhombicum, H. subcrinellum, H. triviale forma pseudosubramosum (Pugsley) McCosh, H. triviale forma sejunctum (W.R.Linton) McCosh, H. triviale forma subfasciculare (W.R.Linton) McCosh, H. triviale forma subravusculum (W.R.Linton) McCosh.
Tim Rich
ERNEST CHARLES NELSON (1951–2024)
This obituary is based on a more detailed account by Shaughnessy (2024), by kind permission of the Society for the History of Natural History.
CharlesNelson was a botanist, author and plant historian of international renown. As a taxonomist, he specialised in the Ericaceae, particularly in the genus Erica, but his interests were wide-ranging and his published legacy includes over 40 books and more than 160 research papers on botany, horticulture, floristics, natural history and the history of botany. His contribution to the history of Irish plants (native, introduced and cultivated), Irish gardens and to the people associated with them is unsurpassed. Charles’s acute eye for detail and his concern for accuracy made him a meticulous researcher, ensuring that all his work was of the highest standard. It also made him a formidable editor. This obituary covers only those interests of Charles which are particularly relevant to BSBI.
Charles was born in Belfast in 1951, the eldest son of Robert and Heather Nelson. The family lived in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, where he was educated at Portora Royal School. In his book The Burren, he wrote ‘For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by flowers and was determined to make my career botany’ (Nelson & Walsh, 1997). Charles went on to study at the University of Aberystwyth, where he obtained a BSc in botany (1971), and at the Australian National University, Canberra, where he obtained his PhD (1976) on the ecology and taxonomy of the genus Adenanthos (Proteaceae).
Charles returned to Ireland in 1975 and in 1976 he became horticultural taxonomist at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin. Charles wrote, ‘there another new world opened; the wonderful flora of Irish gardens, a patchwork of plants from every continent, far more numerous that this island’s truly native flora, enriched by the craft of gardeners’ (Nelson & Walsh, 1997). Charles remained at Glasnevin for the next 20 years, until he met his future wife Sue Robinson on the slopes
Charles Nelson in 2023. Gina Douglas
of Mount Etna. Sue, a practising GP, lived in the fenland village of Outwell, Norfolk and in 1996, after their marriage, Charles moved to start a new life with Sue and her two daughters, Emily and Lucy, working as a freelance botanist, author and editor. Sue died in 2020 after a long struggle with melanoma, through which Charles cared for her lovingly.
Glasnevin proved a suitable base from which Charles could pursue his passion for heathers. His interest in the genus had been stimulated by the presence of a unique Irish population of Erica vagans growing on a limestone hillside in Fermanagh, the subject of one of his early papers (Nelson & Coker, 1974). He contributed to a study of Erica erigena in the wild in Ireland (Foss et al., 1987), published nomenclatural notes on the British and Irish taxa and collected, described and named many cultivars. His interest culminated in the publication of Hardy Heathers from the Northern Hemisphere:
OBITUARIES
Calluna, Daboecia, Erica (Nelson, 2011), which was named reference book of the year in 2012 by the Garden Media Guild. Charles acted as The Heather Society’s official registrar of heather names, maintaining a meticulously curated database. He collaborated with colleagues at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the University of Bergen and the South African National Biodiversity Institute to ensure that this unique resource, documenting the often obscure origins of thousands of heather names, is now openly accessible through its incorporation into World Flora Online (Elliott et al., 2024). In the course of this work, Charles identified and solved several nomenclatural problems (Nelson et al., 2023).
Another of Charles’ major interests was in drift seeds. He wrote three major papers on drift seeds in Britain and Ireland (Nelson, 1978; 1983; 1990) and numerous shorter publications. The results of more than 20 years’ study were brought together in a unique BSBI Handbook, Sea Beans and Nickar Nuts (Nelson, 2000). It is not surprising that the subject of shamrock proved irresistible to someone with such a strong interest in Irish plants, and Charles’ book Shamrock (1991) provided a detailed account of the subject, with many illustrations of all manner of objects decorated with shamrock designs, from coins to decanters.
One of Charles’s longest and most productive collaborations was with the botanical artist Wendy Walsh. Where she provided the exquisite illustrations, drawn from nature, Charles contributed the scholarly and erudite text. When the two volumes of the classic An Irish Florilegium: Wild and Garden Flowers of Ireland (Walsh & Nelson, 1983; 1987) were published, there was nothing else of its kind celebrating Irish garden plants and flowers. Other publications dealing with Ireland’s wild plants included The Burren: A Companion to the Wildflowers of Ireland’s Limestone Wilderness (Nelson & Walsh, 1991; 1997), Trees of Ireland: Native and Naturalized (Nelson & Walsh, 1993) and Flowers of Mayo: Dr Patrick Browne’s Fasciculus plantarum Hiberniae (1788) (Nelson & Walsh, 1995).
The work on Patrick Browne provides a link to another of Charles’s passions, the history of botany
and the lives of Irish botanists and plant explorers. He made a fundamental contribution to Dublin’s botanical history through his work on the herbalist and botanist Caleb Threlkeld (1676–1728), who lived in Dublin from 1713 until his death. Threlkeld’s plant records were known to only a few local botanists and little attention had been paid to his published work, Synopsis Stirpium Hibernicarum (1726). Charles brought his analytical skills to bear on issues such as the date of publication, Threlkeld’s earlier fieldwork in Cumbria and his seminal contribution to botanical studies in Ireland. The result of this painstaking research was a beautifully reproduced facsimile of Threlkeld’s original work (Nelson & Synnott, 1988). Subsequent researchers have built on this authoritative foundation, establishing Threlkeld’s significant place in the study of seventeenth and eighteenth-century botany in Ireland. Another figure of interest to Charles was the first curator of the herbarium in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Thomas Coulter (1793–1843), whose life he explored in A Man Who Can Speak of Plants (Nelson & Probert, 1994). Once Charles moved to Outwell he became involved as a volunteer at the nearby Wisbech Museum, publishing accounts of the Wisbech botanist William Skrimshire (Crompton & Nelson, 2000) and the Museum’s collections (Nelson, 2003).
Charles was a valued member of several societies specialising in his fields of interest. For BSBI he acted as referee for Calluna, Daboecia and Erica, an editor of the journal Watsonia from 1991 until 1996 and a member of the Publications Committee from 1993 to 2000. He was a founding member and first chairman of the Irish Garden Plant Society and instrumental in the establishment of the Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Trust. He made a major contribution to the Society for the History of Natural History (SHNH) as editor of Archives of Natural History between 1999 and 2012 and again in 2020 to 2022 pro tem as well as for other publications of the Society. His awards included the Founders’ Medal from SHNH, the Award of Merit from the Heather Society (whose yearbook he edited), The Veitch Memorial Medal of the Royal Horticultural
Society and the Medal of Honour of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland.
After his wife’s death, Chares moved to a new home in Sutton St Edmond, Lincolnshire, the third of his homes called ‘Tippitiwitchet Cottage’. He died suddenly while on holiday in Greece on 20 May 2024, aged 72.
References
Crompton, G. & Nelson, E.C. 2000. The herbarium of William Skrimshire (1766–1829) of Wisbech. Watsonia 23: 23–38.
Elliott A.C., Bester, S.P., Klopper, R.R. et al. 2024. Curating an online checklist for Erica L. (Ericaceae): contributing to and supporting global conservation through the World Flora Online. PhytoKeys 243: 121–135.
Foss, P.J., Doyle, G.J. & Nelson, E.C. 1987. The distribution of Erica erigena R. Ross in Ireland. Watsonia 16: 311–327.
Nelson, E.C. 1978. Tropical drift fruits and seeds on coasts in the British Isles and western Europe, 1. Irish beaches. Watsonia 12: 103–112.
Nelson, E.C. 1983. Tropical drift fruits and seeds on coasts in the British Isles and western Europe II. History (1560–c. 1860) and folk-lore. Scottish Naturalist 95: 11–63.
Nelson, E.C. 1990 [‘1988’]. Exotic drift fruits and seeds from the coasts of Britain and adjacent islands. Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall 10: 147–177.
Nelson, E.C. 1991. Shamrock: Botany and History of an Irish Myth Boethius Press, Aberystwyth.
Nelson, E.C. 2000. Sea Beans and Nickar Nuts. BSBI Handbook No. 10. Botanical Society of the British Isles, London.
Nelson, E.C. 2003. Wisbech and Fenland Museum herbarium (WBCH): a history with a list of collectors. Watsonia 24: 489–498.
OBITUARY NOTES
Sincewe compiled the last Obituary Notes, news has reached us of the death of the following members, some of very long standing. We send our sympathy to their families and friends.
Dr T.P. Bartlett of Richmond, Surrey, a member for 40 years. Mrs A.R.M. Berrie of Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, a member for 19 years. Mr R.A. Carr of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, a member for 21 years. Mrs P. Condry of Eglwysfach, Powys, a member for 60 years. Ms F.M. MacFarlane of Inverness, a member for 27 years. Mr A.D. Marshall of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, a
Nelson, E.C. 2011. Hardy Heathers from the Northern Hemisphere: Calluna, Daboecia, Erica. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Nelson, E.C. & Coker, P.D. 1974. Ecology and status of Erica vagans in County Fermanagh, Ireland. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 69: 153–195.
Nelson, E.C. & Probert, A. 1994. A Man who Can Speak of Plants: Dr Thomas Coulter (1793–1843) of Dundalk in Ireland, Mexico and Alta California. Privately published, Dublin.
Nelson, E.C. & Synnott, D.M. 1988. Synopsis Stirpium Hibernicarum: The First Irish Flora. Boethius Press, Kilkenny.
Nelson, E.C. & Walsh, W.F. 1991. The Burren: A Companion to the Wildflowers of an Irish Limestone Wilderness. Boethius Press and The Conservancy of the Burren, Aberystwyth & Ennis.
Nelson, E.C. & Walsh, W.F. 1993. Trees of Ireland: Native and Naturalized. Lilliput Press, Dublin.
Nelson, E.C. & Walsh, W.F. 1995. Flowers of Mayo: Dr Patrick Browne’s Fasciculus Plantarum Hiberniae (1788). Edmund Burke Publisher, Dublin.
Nelson, E.C. & Walsh, W.F. 1997. The Burren: A Companion to the Wildflowers of an Irish Limestone Wilderness. Reprint with amendments. Samton, Dublin.
Nelson, E.C., Oliver, E.G.H. & Pirie, M.D. 2023. Erica L. (Ericaceae): homonyms amongst published names for African species and proposed replacement names. PhytoKeys 236: 157–178.
Shaughnessy, E. 2024. E. Charles Nelson FLS, VMM (15 September 1951–20 May 2024). Archives of Natural History 51 (2): 426–448.
Walsh, W.F. & Nelson, E.C. 1983. An Irish Florilegium: The Wild and Garden Plants of Ireland. Thames & Hudson, London. Walsh, W.F. & Nelson, E.C. 1987 [1988]. An Irish Florilegium II: The Wild and Gardens Plants of Ireland. Thames & Hudson, London.
Elaine Shaughnessy & Chris D. Preston
member for 53 years. Mr R. Maycock of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, a member for 71 years. Mr D.J. McCosh of Holt, Norfolk, a member for 66 years (obituary in this issue, p. 74). Dr T.J. Webb of Totnes, Devon, a member for 12 years. Mr M. Wildish of Andover, Hampshire, a member for 27 years.
Chris D. Preston, Obituaries Editor
cdpr@ceh.ac.uk assisted by the Membership Secretary, Gwynn Ellis Date of compilation 9 December 2024.
REVIEWS
Compiled by Clive Stace, Book Reviews Editor Appletree House, Larters Lane, Middlewood Green, Stowmarket,
cstace@btinternet.com
Oaklore
Jules Acton
Greystone Books, London, 2024. Pp. viii + 260, with c. 10 B&W photos; hbk £18.99. ISBN 9781771649667
Surprisingly few books focus on our oak trees, despite their place in history and culture and the multitude of biodiversity within their structures. Jules Acton started writing Oaklore as a lockdown project, aiming ‘to inspire readers to get out and about and enjoy their own nearby oaks’. With a background of working for The Woodland Trust, she takes readers on her journey of discovery of the wonders of oak trees and the life around them. In the process, rather touchingly, she discovers the ‘Ac’ in her surname derives from Anglo-Saxon for acorn. Acton introduces the animals, plants and fungi that depend on oaks, some of the famous individual oaks and myths with which they are associated, threats to their
IP14 5HB
survival, and how people can act to protect them. Acton describes herself as an enthusiast and much of the content comes from experts in the field or quotes from organisations’ reports or online accounts. Each chapter includes a practical section of ‘how to’ tips within the text.
Acton writes in a chatty style which makes this book accessible to people who might be put off by a more academic or literary approach. When she extends this to repeating words to make her point, so we have ‘big, big oak’ or ‘wavy, wavy’, or adding -ie and -y to words, such as ‘hedgie highways’, ‘oaky trees’. I found this irritating. She also tells us that aspects are ‘astonishing’, ‘amazing’, ‘gorgeous’, which I find frustrating: I want her to describe them so that I can come to that judgement for myself. While the frequent sections with quotes of conversations and reports can be turgid, Oaklore shines when Acton conveys information in her own words. Her descriptions of a nuthatch moving down a tree, or of green oak tortrix caterpillars dropping from their leaf by a silk thread if danger presents, give personal insights. I wish there had been more of this. Her ‘practical tips’ sections provide useful and interesting ways into the new worlds she has described.
Acton acknowledges her journey takes her off at tangents: the result is a scattergun approach. We are taken from galls to named oaks to tree roots within a few pages. This is distracting and leads to duplication; we
are told twice about Queen Elizabeth I agreeing to the planting of one acre of oak trees. Acton uses anthropomorphism to get readers to relate to what she is describing. While opinion may differ on the value of this, her comparisons are not always accurate: for example Nuthatches with their rich colouring are not the Goths of the bird world.
Illustrations are atmospheric, though simple line drawings to illustrate the difference between Quercus petraea and Q. robur would have saved wordy explanation. The book cover is attractive, though rather old fashioned given the readers to whom the book is aimed. Quotes at the start of each chapter encourage reflection. Unfortunately they are in capitals and centred, which make them difficult to read, particularly for those with dyslexia or low vision. Acton clearly acknowledges her sources, which are well referenced, with a useful bibliography.
Oaklore provides a starter for people who do not know much about oaks and the worlds linked with them. Given the experts whom Acton quotes, if you can cope with the chatty style, there is something for almost everyone to learn or see anew. While reading this book I found myself looking for oaks whenever I was out and making my own discoveries and sharing them excitedly with those who I was with.
Jo Jones
Great British Elms
Mark Seddon & David Shreeve, photography by Sam Ford Kew Publishing, Richmond, 2024. Pp. 224, with numerous colour photos; hbk £30. ISBN 9781842468180
Great British Elms presents itself as an update or a riposte to Gerald Wilkinson’s classic but pessimistically titled Epitaph for the Elm (1978) – a hard act to follow, both in terms of the beauty of its photography and design, and its lyrical yet authoritative prose. Seddon, Shreeve and their guest contributors have plenty of new ground to cover, reassuring readers how many mature elms still survive in Britain and how many clones can now be purchased which will reliably resist Elm Disease, and they do this clearly if in a rather workaday, journalistic fashion. For anyone who knows nothing about Ulmus, this book therefore serves a useful purpose.
Elms are seldom showy trees; indeed they have a reputation for being particularly difficult to identify, an issue that Great British Elms skirts. (It could be argued that Tom Housley’s treatment of Ulmus in Wikipedia is so magisterial than nothing needs adding.) Few of this book’s contributors are botanists, and the project’s photographer, Sam Ford,
also fails to draw out his subjects’ individuality; most of the elms are photographed in summer leaf and from too far away, reducing them to dark green blobs in the landscape. It would have taken years to catch each tree in just the right light and the right time of year; there are just a few lucky and captivating images, such as Green Park’s perfectly-formed Ulmus americana ‘Princeton’ in autumn colour on p. 164, which due to sloppy editing gets miscaptioned as U. minor
Readers who already know their elms will spot plenty of slips like this. I found a dozen pictured elms that are clearly misidentified – something that should surely embarrass a publishing house with the academic credentials of Kew Publishing, and which is only just branching out into populist offerings of this sort.
It might seem petty to judge a book by its errors, but, as for most lifeforms, biodiversity is the key: an elm is not just a Great or a British elm, but a part of an exhilaratingly varied genus whose variety is the key to its survival. At least 170 Ulmus species and cultivars survive in Britain, leaving aside the innumerable suckering clones that still grow wild. It is perhaps telling that Great British Elms devotes an entire chapter to the sorry story of the 1970s campaign ‘Elms Across Europe’, which out of the dozens of disease-resistant forms already available to replace our lost elms selected just one clone, ‘Sapporo Autumn Gold’ – a pretty tree, but one that turned out to be genetically programmed to fall expensively to bits after four decades.
The continued survival of Britain’s elms is a rousing subject, and one which surely deserves more inspiring treatment.
Owen Johnson
The Special Plants of East Perthshire, 4th edition
Martin Robinson
Self-published, available from Summerfield Books, Unit 12, Skirgill Business Park, Penrith, CA11 0FD, 2024. Pp. vi +172, with numerous colour photos; pbk £15. ISBN 9781068529009
The Flora of Perthshire by Frances Buchanan White was published in 1898. In 1992 a Checklist of the Plants of Perthshire was produced by R.A.H. Smith et al. The local recorders are working together towards a new Flora of Perthshire and the current publication is a contribution towards that goal.
A Rare Plant Register for the Watsonian Vice-county of East Perthshire (v.c. 89) (M.C. Robinson) was first published in 2011 and provided a focus for future field work. The current updated and re-titled version includes useful information on the location, topography, geology and habitats of the vice-county, followed by notes on recording and an explanation of the categories used in deciding which species to include. It contains post-1970 records of 293 taxa including one stonewort, all of the species being classed as natives or archaeophytes. Some groups are poorly understood or
inconsistently recorded, such as roses (Rosa species), in which only one species, Rosa spinosissima (Burnet Rose), is included. However, willows (Salix species) have received more attention recently and seven species are now included, but no hybrids. In fact hybrids in general are mostly excluded as the author considers the recording incomplete. This could be addressed in future especially as there has been some recent recording. Overall, seven new species appear, whilst four have been removed having exceeded the limit of 15 records, now classifying them as only ‘Locally Scarce’. The species listed and their categories are clearly tabled before the main part of the volume, which provides current information on the 293 taxa, listed in alphabetical order of Latin names.
Photographs illustrating both the habitats and the species enhance the text. These are mainly by the author but the quality of printing is variable, so some are much clearer than others. Unfortunately, the ring binding is not firm and, whilst it enables easy manipulation, it may come apart quickly. References, acknowledgements and a list of recorders complete the text, with the last being useful in valuing the contributions made by dedicated botanists over the years, although one person’s name, Ron Youngman, is incorrectly printed.
This updated volume is a welcome addition to the increasing number of Rare Plant Registers produced by the BSBI and is easily accessible being in both printed and online versions. For each taxon there is a summary paragraph, followed by a table setting out the site name, grid reference, recorder’s name, latest date, a short comment on habitat location and, if available, a population
count. All of this enables interested parties to access the data and to visit and appreciate the rare plants of East Perthshire. It should stimulate botanists to provide more records as well as being useful for organisations when assessing developments, planning applications and site management issues.
Lynne Farrell
Flower Finders in Cornwall
Selina Bates Scryfa, Linkinhorne, Cornwall, 2024. Pp. viii + 162, with numerous colour and B&W photos; pbk £20.
ISBN 9781838471873
Acommon feature of regional Floras is an introductory section headed with words like ‘History of recording’. Traditionally this summarises the contributions of botanists of the past, including publications and first records. Examples range from the terse –for example, Colin French’s 2020 Flora of Cornwall – to the lavish, which include Arthur Chater’s 2010 Flora of Cardiganshire and Alan Leslie’s 2019 Flora of Cambridgeshire
The latter two break with tradition by including the contributions of the living as well as the dead: that is also a feature of this book, which aims to clothe the bare bones of botanical achievement with a broader narrative and a social and personal context. It presents pen portraits of fifty people in an attractively designed and
illustrated large-format paperback aimed at the general reader rather than the specialist. Scientific names are generally avoided. Each human subject is given a few pages comprising a portrait, a brief life history often unfolding into incidental anecdotes and comments, pictures of plants they recorded and various other illustrations. Scattered through the accounts are pages of verse on floral themes from authors of the past and present.
It is a gratifying quality of the book that it deals not merely with the record-makers and Florawriters (who get their fair share of attention) but with people having all sorts of engagement with wild plants. Here are artists, illustrators, photographers, journalists and broadcasters, teachers and conservationists; even one itinerant Victorian wildflower seller who had the misfortune to die in a notorious blizzard. Many of the living persons will be well-known at least by repute to most of the readers of this review; some, living or dead, will surely not. Touchingly, the fiftieth portrait is of the sixyear-old daughter of the author, reminding us how the botanists of the future are grown. The accounts of the botanically famous are not limited to the plants but often take in their family and social lives and their achievements in other fields. Digressions occur, in the manner of a good dinner-table conversation that heads off into regions remote from the original topic. An account of Richard Carew lands in a discussion of Oliver Rackham’s sandwich preferences; W.H. Hudson gets his two pages purely on the basis of observing the uselessness of Gorse as domestic firewood. I find this part of the book’s appeal, but others may differ. In any case, as far as I am competent to tell, life histories are well researched and
accurate, and they are presented in a lively style.
I am not sure where this book will find its market; in Cornwall it deserves to do well, certainly, and to reach an audience who take an interest in the life of their county, whether or not they have any prior interest in plants. They may well gain one in the course of reading. Botanists and general lovers of nature elsewhere would certainly find things to engage their interest and perhaps a useful model for similar publications elsewhere. Above all, it humanises a subject that to the unconverted can seem dry, challenging and rather nerdy. Martin Rand
Roots and Branches.
Botanical Exploration of the Lake District 1775–1900
Ian D. Hodkinson Bookcase, Carlisle, 2024. Pp. 171, with numerous B&W photos; pbk £18. ISBN 9781912181674
Ian Hodkinson’s three previous publications, The Three-Legged Society, Natural Awakenings (reviewed in BSBI News 144), and The Dark Path to Knowledge, focused on the lives of those deemed to be among the main players, active and/or publishing in all branches of natural history in Cumbria during the 17th to 19th centuries.’ This latest in the sequence ‘… explores more closely some of the lesser
known historical interstices and connections within this matrix of historical botanical activity within Cumbria’.
Here is a remarkable dive into the archives, in pursuit of the nineteenth century locals, visitors, collectors, diarists and writers who discovered, wrote on, collected, collated or published much of what we now know about Cumbria’s flora. The sheer width and depth of historical and biographical detail on so many figures (no fewer than 195) has meant that accounts of any actual outings, events, discoveries, etc., are pruned to a minimum. So a compendium of who found what, where, and when this work is not, and very few actual plants receive a nod. Indeed, just four are listed in the index. One is ‘Alpine Campion, Silene suecica’ – most readers will recognise that as Lakeland speciality Alpine Catchfly, no longer nestling in the late-lamented genus Lychnis Whorled Caraway, Deadly Nightshade and Hemp are the other three index entries, and a few other plants mentioned in passing are not indexed.
After the preface, introduction, and discussion of historical and scientific context, there are two main sections. Eighty pages are given over to the ‘main players’ in the story, distributed in ten chapters by virtue of how they come to contribute to the developing story. Chapters include the roles of local societies; museums, tourist guide books, local and visiting botanists, and so on. Societal structures at the time being well-defined and defended, these chapters work well to give a sense of the communications and working relationships within, and to some extent between, the different layers. The second section of twenty-nine pages, covering additional Lakeland
botanists, has abbreviated biographies of 111 more figures. These years saw the founding of much our present knowledge of the flora of Cumbria, from the quite casual jottings of odd finds of interest, through to the full-scale published Floras in the later years. Of the latter, Baker’s Flora of the English Lake District (1885) and Hodgson’s Flora of Cumberland (1898) were the go-to publications and held sway until Wilson’s Flora of Westmorland in 1938, and Halliday’s masterly compilation A Flora of Cumbria in 1997, which remains the Flora of the county to the present day. (An online atlas, incorporating distribution mapping using BSBI data, is in development.)
Some names in these two sections will be familiar, such as the Backhouses (father and son), the latter evidently indefatigable and the originator of many first records, especially of upland and mountain plants, and there are three worthies commemorated in familiar genera: Woodsia for Joseph Woods (1776–1864) – Woodsia ilvensis is another Lakeland speciality; Gagea (for Thomas Gage, 1781–1820); and Nowellia (for John Nowell, 1802–1867). Other luminaries include Hewett Cottrell Watson (1804–1881), whose system of vice-counties still thrives. Much is made of the boom in tourism in the Lake District on the arrival of railways, with the wildly popular tourist guides, some of which detailed the floral specialities of the area. William Wordsworth contributed to this genre with his A Complete Guide to the Lakes (1810), mentioning commoner plants, and from 1846 under a different editor there were formal lists of plants.
A particularly appealing colour painting of J.G. Baker adorns the front cover. Sixty-eight
monochrome depictions and early photographs show – in the main –stiffly posed Victorian gentlemen impressively bewhiskered (or in the earlier decades under review if not bewhiskered then bewigged).
As the author remarks, the evidence of female activity in this sphere is largely absent in the earlier years of the period, but ‘moving into the nineteenth century we begin to see greater involvement of the ladies in botanical studies’ (page 89). Maria Wright in 1850s Kendal ‘earned her living as a professional botanical guide’ and from the sale of locally-collected specimens. One likes to picture Maria setting off up the dripping hills (suitably water-proofed) with a party of puffing males in her wake, in overly formal attire much as pictured on page 90 on a later meeting of the British Pteridological Society in Kendal.
For readers whose interest in the subject has been piqued by this impressive exposition, the thirty-two pages of 376 references will be certain to provide a significant resource!
Jeremy Roberts
Seeds. Time Capsules of Life, 4th edition
Rob Kesseler & Wolfgang Stuppy Papadakis, Winterbourne, Berks, 2024. Pp. 264, with numerous colour photos; hbk £40. ISBN 9781906506759
As botanists, it’s sometimes necessary to examine seeds using a hand lens or low-powered microscope to check for salient characters determining the identification of a species. But very few will have viewed these fascinating, fundamental ‘capsules of life’ in the extraordinary way they are presented in this book, now in its fourth edition.
Undoubtedly, the main selling point is the beautiful presentation of numerous hand-coloured Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of seeds on black backgrounds, liberally dispersed throughout 264 pages. The captivating images reveal in astonishing detail the structural complexity hidden within such tiny objects, and they often take on an otherworldly appearance; Nicandra physalodes (Appleof-Peru; p. 247), to take just one example, resembles more a mysterious sea creature than seeds in their casing. This is in part due to a blend of science and art – whilst Stuppy is a seed biologist, Kesseler is a visual artist specialising in modifying images by layering colours. The artificial application of colour might grate with some, but the image remains a true representation of form, and colour certainly adds a ‘wow’ factor. Silene flos-cuculi (Ragged-Robin; pp. 208–209) seeds have an intricate surface pattern and are a charcoal-black colour in nature, but are shown here as the familiar popping-pink of the plant’s petals. Contrast this with the image of Krameria erecta (Littleleaf Rhatany; p. 164), with a fruit covered in magnificent burgundy barbed spines (an accurate portrayal of colour in this example, albeit the fruit casing’s fuzzy apple-green appearance has been modified), demonstrating a very clear adaptation for epizoochorous dispersal. All
images have an accompanying caption detailing the species name, where it was collected and/or its native range, and the size of the seed. There is often information about its dispersal potential, and sometimes other relevant features are mentioned relating to the seed, the parent plant, or the genus. Some of the nomenclature might be unfamiliar but, whether you call it Rabelera holostea or Stellaria holostea, it’s the same plant and its seeds, coloured sage-green here, are stunning (pp. 198–199).
Although the SEM images will be the catalyst for sales and also justify the book’s size, nudging it firmly into the ‘coffee table’ category, the accompanying text is well written and informative. There are illustrated chapters detailing the evolution of seeds (and spores), with separate sections on gymnosperms and angiosperms, followed by an extensive section on the multitude of ways by which fruits and seeds disperse, including explanations of their differing structures and how they have become adapted to their specific mode of dispersal. Two brief sections then cover the establishment and purpose of the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew, and the potential impacts of climate change on seeds, although the latter is quite flimsy and could, perhaps should, provide much greater detail. The text ends with a chapter titled ‘Phytopia’, detailing the methods used to produce Kesseler’s sophisticated application of colour. I would have preferred an explanation of the techniques used to produce such astonishing images at the start, rather than at the end, but that is a minor grumble for a book that vividly illustrates why plants remain so endlessly fascinating. Pete Stroh
LETTERS
MORE GENETIC RESEARCH NEEDED FOR ARCHAEOPHYTES AND NEOPHYTES
With regard to the article by Hodgson et al. in BSBI News 157 (Autumn 2024, p. 19) I think the issue regarding conservation of archaeophytes and neophytes can also be guided by a better understanding of the genetics of the species in question.
Recent genetic testing of Fritillaria meleagris (Fritillary) showed what were thought to possibly be native populations were closely related to and probably directly collected from a northern European population (Tatarenko et al., 2022). That investigation coupled with a more extensive review of the literature and its distribution (Walker, 2021) changed the conservation status of Fritillaria meleagris from a rare native of ancient floodplain meadow habitats to an invasive garden escape changing the composition of some of our rarest native plant communities. A native designation meant a lot of conservation resources were applied to increasing its population in the UK and also it was thought appropriate to introduce into other floodplain meadows.
A not unreasonable definition of the purpose behind UK plant conservation would be ‘to conserve as much within-species genetic diversity of native species in situ as possible’, with archaeophytes also being of conservation interest. Where the plant is designated a neophyte then there may be merit in conserving the population where it was initially introduced if it contributes towards conservation of the world population of the genetic diversity of the species. However, with Fritillaria meleagris many of the recent introductions may well be of horticultural origin (Stroh et al., 2023) and of a narrow genetic base, and so of little practical use in conservation of the species. On the other hand, conservation of the species at particular floodplain meadow sites can be a cultural issue of local importance in much the same way as we treat the equally prettily-flowered
Aesculus hippocastanum (Horse-chestnut) on village greens. The important thing is to be clear of the reasons for conservation.
Genetic investigation may also be able to help us discover whether species with unusual distributions are actually archaeophytes and not native. Is the reason why Allium scorodoprasum’s (Sand Leek) core distribution (Stroh et al., 2023) can be closely correlated with Viking settlements because it is a culinary Viking introduction, and perhaps the reason why part of the distribution of Pimpinella major (Greater Burnet-saxifrage) (Stroh et al., 2023) fits so closely to the main Danelaw area is that it too was an introduction from European cultures?
One issue that arises with many archaeophytes of arable habitats, for example Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower), is it is possible that populations may be derived from the original time of introduction, but the majority of current records are most likely to be recent introductions from seed packet mixes of unknown genetic origin and unknown withinspecies diversity. The BSBI Atlas 2020 (Stroh et al., 2023) maps all records as non-native and the species as an archaeophyte, but a more accurate representation would be to designate the species both an archaeophyte and a neophyte (although the ongoing introduction of the species is mentioned in the text). Genetic testing would help us better allocate conservation resources to archaeophyte populations, if appropriate, rather than treating all specimens of a species as of equal conservation value.
The issue of native/archaeophyte/neophyte designation is both complex and complicated, but for conservation purposes genetic testing would give us more information to help in making decisions as to which populations of a species we try to conserve and which we don’t.
References
Stroh, P.A., Walker, K.J., Humphrey, T.A., Pescott, O.L. & Burkmar, R.J. (eds) 2023. Plant Atlas 2020: Mapping Changes in the Distribution of the British and Irish Flora. Princeton University Press. plantatlas2020.org
Tatarenko, I., Walker, K. & Dyson, M. 2022. Biological Flora of Britain and Ireland: Fritillaria meleagris. Journal of Ecology 110: 1704–1726.
Walker, K. 2021. Snake’s-head Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris (Liliaceae) in Britain: its distribution, habitats and status. British & Irish Botany 3(3): 263–278.
Martin Allen
martin.allen@care4free.net
BEWARE THE PRE-PUBLICATION REVIEW
Inrecent years there has been a trend to include prepublication reviews as part of the advertisement for new books, ranging from a few words to several paragraphs. In my opinion this is not a welcome development. I have read a great many such notices, especially in the five years since I have edited the Book Reviews column in BSBI News, and think that readers should be warned that most of these are not book reviews of the normal or traditional kind, but are (usually highly biased) snippets commissioned by the authors or publishers of the book.
I shall deliberately not mention any specific cases, but many are now easily accessible in the websites of booksellers, who (it must be stressed) are generally not themselves responsible for the texts. The aim of the advertiser is of course to obtain a ‘review’ from as well-known a personality as possible, but in so doing they have sometimes used individuals who are by no means experts in the subject matter in question. In fact in some cases it is clear that
Solution to Botanical Crossword No. 33
they know rather little about the topic, or they are not in a position to judge what a purchaser would require of the book. In other cases I have seen it seems that, despite having a good knowledge of the subject, the ‘reviewer’ has not spent sufficient time and effort in assessing the book, so the result is misleading. ‘Misleading’ is a word I would apply to several blurbs that I have read.
I would recommend that would-be purchasers take very little notice of pre-publication reviews. Realistic, objective opinions, by unbiased, knowledgeable reviewers (such as those in BSBI News), unfortunately usually appear well after the availability of the book, and are of little use to anyone anxious to obtain it soon after publication. I recommend that the factual description of the book, and if necessary the consultation of others who might be better placed to make a useful judgement, be used as the means of judging whether a book should be purchased.
I should add that the reviews in BSBI News are commissioned only after I am assured that they will be objective, honest and informed, and people who are friends with, or have known differences of views from, book authors are never used. Nor is anyone suggested or recommended by the book author! Sometimes I become assured only after some weeks of protracted correspondence.
Clive Stace cstace@btinternet.com
ACROSS: 3 Artichoke 8 Palm 9 Capitula 10 Cymose 13 Lilac 14 Crozier 15 R C S 16 Tundra 17 Linum 21 Radial 22 Monoecia 23 Flea 24 Micheline.
DOWN: 1 Apiculate 2 Plumbline 4 Races 5 In pairs 6 Hate 7 Kelp 11 Biennials 12 Bromeliad 14 C CS 15 Radical 18 Grain 19 Gobi 20 Loch.
DOWN: 1 A/PIC/you/LATE 2 PLUM/bee-line 4 dd (Classic horse races) 5 IN + anag PARIS 6 wHAT Eelgrass 7 H(K)ELP 11 BIEN/reverse SLAIN 12 anag (F)ORMIDABLE 14 both abbreviations 15 RADI<C>AL (2 definitions for the price of 1!) 18 GRA<I>N 19 GO/BI 20 LO/CH.
BSBI PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 2024
Winning entries from last year’s Photographic Competition (see p. 59). Above: ‘Inclusive: Sharing plants with others’ – Mary Breeds; left: ‘Inquisitive: Up close with diagnostic features’ – Liz Downey; below: Intrepid: Finding plants in wild places: Thomas Garner (also shown on front cover).
Arum maculatum (Lords-and-Ladies), Blackdown Hills, Somerset. Liz Downey
Potamogeton polygonifolius (Bog Pondweed), Bowscale Tarn, Cumberland. Thomas Garner
Sharing meadow flora, Brownsham, Devon. Mary Breeds
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Lynne Farrell, Member and past BSBI President Alpine Forget-me-not Ben Lawers by Amy Moscrop (Myosotis alpestris),
