Recorders' Conference

Last weekend was the BSBI's Recorders'  Conference, held in Shrewsbury. The Welsh recorders were particularly well represented, although it was good for me to meet some of the recorders from the other countries, who I haven't yet met. There were some very interesting and useful workshops including one on conifers, focusing on the scaly-leaved species (Cupressus, Thuja, Chaemocyparis), one on Erophila Whitlowgrass, which is a good group to record at present, along with other early annuals. Erophila verna,  E. majuscula and E. glabrescens are all found in Britain, widespread although not necessarily common. There is a good drawing in the BSBI Crucifer handbook, and information in the Plant Crib, although some of the characters are subtle and determination by a referee may be preferable if you are not confident. Other workshops were on Betula and on vegetative ID, as well as on the BSBI's Distributional Database (DDb) and Herbaria at Home.

As expected, it was a good chance to hear what other botanists are doing; there was a fascinating talk by Paul Smith on his work in the Outer Hebrides - a truly challenging county, let any one else dare to complain about theirs. Paul seems to have a very organised approach to recording, but is also adding extra challenges, such as snorkelling in lakes for macrophytes.

For those who might be disappointed to have missed out, its probably time to make sure you have booked some of the other BSBI events - the national AGM in Reading on 12-13th May; the Welsh AGM near Llangollen on 20-22nd May, and a very exciting conference coming up in Edinburgh on 20-21st September.

Sibthorpia in South Wales

At the end of March I spent a few days in Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan trying to refind historical sites for Sibthorpia europaea Cornish Moneywort. We began around the Brechfa Forest, where Sam Bosanquet was able to show us a population he had visited fairly recently, so we were able to fix a search image in our minds. We then visited a few more old sites, with some success and some failure in refinding Sibthorpia. However, by the end of the day we had also found a couple of new sites. The habitat requirements of Sibthorpia seemed very specific, requiring steep, almost vertical bare mud with seeping water. Almost always associated with Chrysosplenium oppositifolium Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage Sibthorpia is so small and prostrate it could almost be mistaken for a bryophyte. Towards the end of the day we found ourselves driving around lanes, and discovered one new population simply by stopping in a suitable pull-in on a corner, where a small seepage of water comes down the bank. Unfortunately, Sibthorpia is not found every time these conditions occur. 

The bank where the largest population of Sibthorpia was found. Small patches were scattered throughout the area between the two surveyors. Photo: Alison Heath. 

A large dense patch of Sibthorpia. Note that the leaves are generally about 0.5-1cm and so much smaller than any similar species. Photograph: Alison Heath.

A roadside site where Sibthorpia is found on the bank beneath the hedge, especially adjacent to a pistyll or water spout. Photograph: Alison Heath. 

The following day I spent a few hours wading down a river slightly to the south, where Sibthorpia had previously been recorded along the bank. However, no sight of it on this occasion, although as well as the ever-present C. oppositifolium  there were occasional plants of C. alternifolium Alternate-leaved golden saxifrage and a lot of Saxifraga granulata meadow saxifrage. 

The third day was spent in Glamorgan, where Julian Woodman first took us to an open, reclaimed colliery site, where in a complete contrast to the Brechfa sites Sibthorpia could be found in small streams/ ditches running through Molinia purple moor-grass covered open land. Sadly, although we spent a lot of time searching along streams and banks, additional historical sites did not yield any up-to-date findings. 

As we searched, there was much speculation about why Sibthorpia should be so scarce and not found where apparently suitable conditions exist. It seems that it may form a meta-population and so individual populations may become extinct or re-established from time to time. The distribution mechanism is a matter for speculation, with one suggestion being that it is spread on the feet of woodcock, which like to forage in damp woods. However, we thought it unlikely that woodcock would be so frequent in some of the roadside sites. 

Small stream/ ditch through Molinia grassland where Sibthorpia was found in Glamorgan. 

Yellow star-of-Bethlehem - a hidden gem?

Yellow star-of-Bethlehem Gagea lutea is not a scarce plant in England, but is Endangered in the Welsh Red Data List - with one known native population. This population (in Denbighshire, near Llanarmon-yn-Ial) has been known for some decades. Delyth Williams (VCR for Denbighshire) and I were able to visit last week, and saw a number of flowering plants - although many appeared to have had the flowers bitten off (perhaps by pheasants?) Flowering is known to vary from year to year, but Delyth was disappointed to see fewer plants and none in some outlying patches compared to a visit she had made in 2009. 

The following day Delyth phoned me again to say she had heard from her predecessor, Jean Green, of another population of Gagea lutea, not far away, near Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd. I spoke to Jean, and today I was able to visit the site with the owner, who has known about it for some 20 years, although she may not have seen flowers every year. Only one flower, partly gone over, was visible today, but also large numbers of small narrow leaves. I think these were Gagea leaves, as where there were wider leaves present these had the characteristic ribs on the underside. However, when not flowering it is hard to be confident that the juvenile leaves are not those of Galanthus, Hyacinthoides or Narcissus, which were all present. 

Interestingly, this small patch of limestone woodland has been used by a young boy who rides a toy quad bike around, and it now appears that the disturbance of creating a small track may have stimulated or exposed some seeds or bulbils, which have grown up in dense patches - and are now being protected! It appears that one of the threats may be competition from ransoms, Allium ursinum, which has been suppressed by the clearance. The owner is now talking about carrying out a little limited clearance of the Allium in places where Gagea has not been seen for several years, to see if the same process can be stimulated. 

I also saw one of the most beautiful woods I have seen for a while - dominated by ash Fraxinus excelsior but with a beautiful ground flora of bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta, anemones Anemone nemorosa, white violets Viola odorata and wild daffodils Narcissus pseudonarcissus. It is almost impossible to be certain of the purity of the daffodils, as cultivated types have been planted around nearby houses, but it is certainly a beautiful sight. No Gagea here, although we did find some similarly narrow bright green leaves, but it seemed more likely that they belonged to the bluebells or wild daffodils. 

Meanwhile, Gagea lutea remains a small mystery. This brings the known populations in Denbighshire from one to two. There is an unverified record in Cardiff, and several in Radnorshire. However, it is not thought to be native in Radnorshire. There is still time in the next few weeks to visit potential sites so I would encourage anyone to go and have a look. What better place to be on a sunny March day than in a limestone woodland! 

A walk in the gorge

Last week saw a small expedition in Radnorshire with the main aim to find and monitor the rare wood fescue Festuca altissima. This is a grass that prefers steep shaded crags and slopes in wet western valleys. Interesting, but also challenging to reach! There are several possible routes to the site, involving a choice between bashing through brambles, wading over rocks in the river (perilously just over wellie-depth in places) or balancing up and down steep and loose earthy banks. Apparently Kilvert favoured being lowered down on bell-ropes, but this would only be recommended to those with the knowledge and confidence to attempt abseiling. 

The gorge to give scale (Photo: JR Crellin)

Having attempted a visit in the summer, we decided a repeat would be useful in winter as F. altissima is wintergreen, and more easily counted in the absence of other green leaves. However, it remained a challenge - including an identification challenge when we questioned whether our plant was really F. altissima or the less exciting   wood millet Milium effusum. Eventually confident (subject to a final determination) we estimated over 50-100 clumps, with most scattered over one steep slope, and others scattered on ledges.

Wood fescue Festuca altissima (Photo: JR Crellin)

Festuca altissima  - the largest site (Photo: JR Crellin)

Examining F. altissima on ledges below the waterfall (Photo: JR Crellin)

Eventually we were stopped by a deep pool and waterfall - I wonder if there could be more F. altissima on the really inaccessible slopes beyond. A major challenge for someone? 

We also found alternate-leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium alternifolium growing on a dead and moss-covered tree trunk. (Photo: JR Crellin)

February 2012

It feels like we are already gearing up for spring and serious recording can begin before long. Having said that, there is plenty out there that can be recorded now – especially if you heard Dr Tim Rich of the National Museum of Wales, talking about how many plants were flowering early in January on the BBC. And while the trees are still bare, it would be a great time to try to track down mistletoe (Viscum album) in your area, or to survey snowdrops and other early flowers. We are thinking about how to record plant status, so recording snowdrops and whether you consider them to be planted, naturalised or native could be an interesting exercise.

At the same time, though, I am planning which of the BSBI’s field meetings I may be able to attend this year – an exciting time of anticipation. Many of the vice-county recorders are sending out programmes for local field meetings, so if you are not on your local recorder’s mailing list why not contact them and ask if they are organising anything this year?

I am just back from a monitoring workshop organised by CCW where I gave a presentation about the potential for volunteers to contribute to rare plant monitoring – as the BSBI has been doing for many years. In these tightened financial times there was considerable talk about how volunteers can be best used, and I think we should welcome the chance to cooperate closely with agencies such as CCW. It adds value to the work that we do if we consider how it can be best used in conservation.

Another theme was remote sensing, and although it is fascinating to see what can be done with satellite images, one of the take-home messages was that field botanists/ ecologists will still be needed when it comes to surveying individual species, and even with habitats there will always be a need for extensive field work to provide “ground  truths”.
For your diaries, there is an International Fascination of Plants Day on 18th May, with events in Cardiff (the University in conjunction with the Museum). For more information see the website at:
http://www.plantday12.eu/uk.htm

November 2011

It’s now five months into the job and I’m still enjoying it. I have now visited the vice county recorders in nine of the thirteen Welsh vice-counties and I am amazed at the work they do. Some carry out their recording in addition to full-time jobs, although most of these work in some ecological capacity and will collect some records in the course of their work. Others have been in position for several decades and have collated an astounding body of detailed records. 

Having recently visited Arthur Chater, I was given an electronic copy of his Flora of Cardiganshire. Whether or not you have a hard copy of the book, I can recommend the electronic version. It is searchable so you can quickly find the species you are interested in (no need for the index) and also includes high resolution versions of many of the photographs, which you can enlarge on screen. Unfortunately the file is too large to be easily downloaded, but you can get a copy via Alex Lockton, as detailed on the main website.