Can you help ID this Dianthus

This Dianthus was found on the Pembrokeshire coast at Manorbier, SS059973 on the 24 June by Ian Carle. I am not sure what it is, but was wondering if it could be D. barbatus (Sweet-William).

Yellow-flowered Strawberry at St Hilary

I popped out to St Hilary, Glamorgan today for a walk. There were many garden escapes established about the village including Potentilla indica (Yellow-flowered Strawberry). There were two large patches, most had finished flowering, plenty of red strawberries around. A very disappointing fruit as they are tasteless.

 

Out with the Brecknock Botany Group at Cae Bryntywarch

Our aim for the day yesterday was to find Small-white Orchid, but like Polly we had no luck. We had hoped to find Globeflower also, again no luck. Heath-spotted Orchids (above) were very common on the reserve. There were many other good species on the site including Carex montana which for some reason seemed to be one of the few species on the reserve that is doing well.

Mike Porter gave us lessons on how to ID Rosa caesia subsp. vosagiaca (Glaucous Dog-rose) a species I have not recorded myself before. Hopefully I can now go out in the field and find it for myself.

Vicia orobus (Wood Bitter-vetch) was doing very well on the reserve, there were a few plants still flowering (above), most clumps were full of pods (below).

 

More orchid hunting - in Merionethshire and Denbighshire

Gymnadenia conopsea - chalk fragrant-orchid

The hunt for Pseudorchis albida (the small-white orchid) continued this week. On Tuesday Jay and I joined Sarah and Annie in a lovely site west of Bala, where Pseudorchis had been seen and photographed in only 2009. We spent a lot of time trying to line up the photograph and find the same spot, but no success on this hot day.

Pure white Dactylorhiza fuchsii - common spotted-orchid

So on Wednesday I went to another site in Denbighshire where there was an old record (no photographs) and with a large group of Denbighshire volunteers we split up and had a good search of the site. Once again, no Pseudorchis. However, on this occasion the orchid count was good (and I remembered my camera) so we had Gymnadenia conopsea (chalk fragrant orchid); Coeloglossum viride (frog orchid); Dactylorhiza fuchsii (common-spotted orchid); Dactylorhiza purpurella (northern marsh-orchid) and Neottia ovata (common twayblade). As well as the typical small plants of Coeloglossum there were some huge and leafy ones in the shade -has anyone else seen it this large? From a distance it looked like  an  Epipactis (helleborine) but close-up it was clearly still Coeloglossum.

Typical small Coeloglossum viride - frog orchid

Large and leafy Coeloglossum growing in shade

AGM in Tintern - extra! (BSBI - the next generation)

Paul has been quicker than I at getting some pictures up. I thought I would add one from last Thursday showing what we hope is the next generation of the BSBI - two much younger than average members on the Newport Wetlands field meeting.

Young participants in a BSBI field meeting

Lemna valdiviana

Lemna valdiviana - photo taken by John Crellin at the BSBI Welsh AGM walk at Newport Wetlands on Thursday last week. We saw this rare duckweed at two places on the reserve. There has been some debate whether it is really established in Wales, this proved it. There at least two other known sites in Wales. Normally it has four leaves together in the shape of a butterfly, the above picture does not show this. As you can see from the photo the leaves are almost transparent. We also saw Lemna minuta at Newport Wetlands, but this has a much darker green leaf and normally only two leaves together. 

Orange Mullein in Cardiff

I was walking around some waste ground in Cardiff today and came across this rather tall showy Orange Mullein ( Verbascum phlomoides). It is like Common Mullein (V. thapsi) but taller and larger in all parts. Orange Mullein is a rare garden escape in Wales.