2022 County Report for VC110 Outer Hebrides Paul Smith

A spring house party was based at Arivruaich, Lewis for two weeks, filling in some early species records (particularly Taraxacum) but also covering some unrecorded territory. Hypericum elodes turned up unexpectedly in Glen Uirn, about 15km from the nearest known locality. Permission from the Pairc estate led to some long walks along estate tracks, gaining a first record for Saxifragastellaris east of Loch Seaforth, on Beinn Mhor. Another walk produced a second native location for Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, (Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage) the first since 1941, at Creag na Beirighe –common on the mainland, but a very rare native in the Outer Hebrides (also introduced in Stornoway Castle grounds).

A further roadside Carex maritima was discovered in central Lewis, considerably extending the ruderal halophyte populations. Several populations were visited in spring and summer as part of data gathering for a project on C. maritima.

A summer visit to Benbecula was productive, following up a report of Mertensia maritima (see below) and with records of Spiranthesromanzoffiana, Baldellia ranunculoides and Charahispida in new localities. The main summer push was however on Great Bernera, which has not been recently recorded. There were several interesting aliens, including Levisticum officinale, Buddlejadavidii, and Escallonia ×langleyensis (in 2 places). Interesting natives included Bolboschoenus maritimus, previously recorded here, but far from the next nearest locality, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi and Teucrium scorodonia. In an old road quarry with many weedy species on the nearby part of Lewis was a third vc locality for Juncus filiformis.

4000 records were added in 2022.

Steve Duff with Mertensia maritima (Oysterplant) reported in 2021, but only with details in 2022. Not seen in the vice-county since 1987, but also refound in a second site on Vatersay later in 2022, where there was a previous old record with no details.

John Crossley

Again this year the focus has been on projects and re-finding uncommon species rather than area recording. Dryasoctopetala (Mountain Avens) is a rare plant here, with probably just five sites ever recorded, all in precipitous places on Hoy, so it was Also on Hoy, several plants of were found at a new site slope.

Pseudorchis (Small White Orchid), which reappeared at several sites where previously recorded but not for some (Hemp north and hitherto known in Orkney from just one site, so a new site on Scapa Flow cliffs was a good find by naturalist

Efforts continue to get to grips with (Hawkweed) species, which have not been seriously tackled for ars. Assistance from the helpful Brian Burrow, were found thriving and what may be a new

I participated in a bio-blitz, gave a talk on plants and their habitats on the island of Egilsay, ran an outdoor workshop on grasses on Hoy and was involved in a short film about grasses with a poet and an artist/photographer, made for the 2022 Orkney Science Festival. The film can still be seen at https://oisf.org/fest-event/film-when-thegrass-dances/