BSBINEWS April1996
Editedby R. GwynnEllis No.72
41 MarlboroughRoad, Roath
CardiffCF2 sBU Administration
ADMINIS'IRATION
PRESIDENT Mr David Pearman The Old Rectory,Frome St Quinton, DORCHESTER,Dorset DT2 0HF Tel & Fax01935-83702 HON. Gf NERAL SECRETARY (GeneralEnquiries) Mr R. Gwynn Ellis 4l Marlborough Road,Roath, CARDIFF CF2 5BU (nominatedby Counciland subject to AGM approvalon I l/5/96) Tel 01222496012
HON. TREASTIRER(Payment of Subscriptionsand change of address) Mr Michael Walpole 68 OutwoodsRoad. LOUGHBOROI"IGH.Leics. LEI I 3LY (Pleasequote membership number on correspondenceconcerning membership or subscriptions) Tel 0l509-215598 IION. FIELD SECRETARY (Enauirieson FieldMeetinss) Mn M. Lindop 36 WoodlandHill. Whitkirk Lf,EDS LSl5 7DG Tel 0l Il-2646513 BSBI CO-ORDINATOR Mr CameronS. Crook 8, WoodstockClose, Lostock Hall, PR-ESTON,Lancs. PRs 5YY Tel & Fax 01772-316717 BSBI ATLAS 2000ORGANISER (Enquirieson Atlas 2000\ Dr Trevor Dines Curig,9l Farrar Roed,Bangor, G*ynedd LL57 zDU Tel 0l248143539
Contributionsintended for RSBINEWS 73 shouldreach the Editor beforeJULY 2Eth 1996
IMPORTANTNOTICES
VISITSTO THE KEW HERBARIUMON THE DAY OF THE AGM - II MAY It will be possiblefor a limited numberof peopleto consultspecimens in the Kew Herbariumon Satur- day I I May. Pleaselet me know in advance,stating which family(ies)you wish to work on. Passeswill be allocatedon a first comefirst servedbasis. For thosewho iustwish to seethe Herbarium.a tour will be arrangedon the day. DAVIDSTMPS.N, H;.rbanum:*"t:l*:"1:,,,f'aldens,Kew'.}*:".r.'"':":.t*n '* ,,:;:;:i::i:,::::i:,: THE PRESIDENTS'AWARD The Presidentof the Wild FlowerSociety, David Bellamy, and mysel| have discussed the award,which is now to be madeyearly, for the mostuseful contribution to the understandingofflowering plants and fernsofthe BritishIsles. We had no hesitationin agreeingthat this yearsaward shall go to ChrisPreston for his handbook Pondv,eeds ATLAS2OOO I am very pleasedindeed to be able to oflicially launch this new Scheme,which now is at last a reality. after so much discussionand preparation. It is funded and supported by the Department of the Environmenl in Great Britain by a contract to I.T E. at Monks Wood. We also expect support from DoE (NI). ITE's representatirefor the durarjon of the proiect is Chris Preston, assistedby Jane Croft, and we look forwald to working with them again. We feel excited to have appointed Trevor Dines, who was chosen fiom a very strong field of BSBI members,to whom we offer our thanks for applying and the hope that they will enthusiastically work with us on the project. The key to the successofthe project is the body ofvice-county recorders, who give so much time and effort. We sincerelyhope that they will be supported by the members (and vice versa) and that the whole schemebrings the BSBI to a wider public, resulting in more support and more members. We have produced a new Membership leaflet to coincide with this launch, and this is availablefiom any of the officers. 'l987 The thrust ofthe recording rvill be to accumulaterecords for 1987 and afier I'nr sure sounds an unlikely date to many of you, but it was the start of the excellent Monitoring Scheme,and it seemed sensibleto use that date. For upland areasespecially we are happy to accept records for 1970 and after. but I would be very disappointed indeed iflowiand areaswere not able to provide records from 1987. After all, the dramatic post-war changesto the landscapedid not easeuntil the 1980s,and by the end of the scheme 1970 will be 30 years ago. Another main aim of the Atlas will be to record (and map) as many aliens and introductions as possible. No other body has this expertise, and with the Atlas list containing about 3000 species,of which only halfare native, there is plenty ofscope! Of course this will not be the only project for lhe next four years. Our meetings,conferences and journals will be full of other interests, so for those members who find it anathema to record l0 knr 'hectads' squares(or must I call thenr I Yes! You must! Ed.l) there will be much else to be involved in But we do have a contractual obligation over the Atlas, and, categorically,it must be worth doing well. Thanks to the Red Data Book and Scarce projects we know a lot about those plants but far too little about many olhers. We really are the strongest player in the field of botanical recording. With the decline of botany in our universities, our members, rvith their taxonomic skills, and expertise in the fields of distribution, aliensand varieties,are in a unique position to keep our society in the forefront ofbotany. DAVID PEARMAN. President ATLAS 2OOO THEOFFICIAT, I,AUNCH In 4 years'time, we will be celebrating the year 2000, the millennium, and the be-einningof the 2lst century. A host of projects will mark this auspiciousevent. from small community enterprisesto a na- tional festival recalling the spirit of the Great Exhibition The BSBI will be marking this point in hisrory with the publication of the Atlets 2()00 - a complete revision of our knowledge of the distribution of vascularplants in the British Isles.The idea ofa new Atlas hasbeen around for some time. but now that funding has been securedand an Atlas Organiser has been appointed (i.e. mel). it gives us great pleas- ure to launch this extremely exciting project officially. The Atlas 2000 will undoubtedly be perceived as a landmark in British botanv, covering both Brit- ain and lreland and encompassingmany, many years ofplant recording. It is perhapsbest viewed as a vrgorous hybrid, combining data from a variety of sources.These include the oriqinal 1962 Ath5. the Atlas 2lXX) ScarcePlants Project, the MonitoringScheme, and specially organised field meetings.All theserecords will be compiledinto a VascularPlant Database, located at the Instituteof TerrestrialEcology, Monks Wood. Evenafter the projectis finisbed,this databasewill be continuallyupdated and available to any- one requiringit, includingBSBI members.This work is thereforejust the beginningand a hugenumber ofpeopleand organisations stand to benefitfrom it. In recentyears, we haveheard much about endan- geredspecies, biodiversity and the threatofglobal warming.Studies in Britainand Ireland examining theseissues are ofien basedon reliable,systematic recording and thereforerely on the manyrecords from our members.The needfor an up to date,accurate distribution atlas is immense,as it will be indis- pensableto recorders,conservationists, ecologists, county planners and country agencies alike. 'square Pleasedo not think,however, that we will be callingon you to bash'every hectad (10 km square)in Britainand lreland, as this wouldbe both pointlessand too time consuming.In recentyears, magnificentefforts have been made by membersof the BSBI to completerecording schemes voluntar- ily. This enthusiasm,dedication and expertiseis the strongestasset ofthe BSBI, so I hopewe can all cometogether once more to successfullycomplete this unparalleled project. We very muchhope that everymember will be ableto get involved.Remember, it is'1rorrrAtlas. Whetheryou area recognisedexpert on a criticalgroup, a competentfield botanist, or havenever been recordingbefore, please join in andbe partofthe fun! Thereare many ways in whichyou canget involved. o Corneto one of the organisedfield meetings.A list of thesefor the I 996 seasonis providedas a loose insert. Whether or not these are specificallyorganised for the Atlas 2000. they are always enjoyableand very rewarding.Please contact me lor more detailsor the originallist. t Cometo an Atlas 21100Workshop on difficultand criticalspecies. These will comprisea seriesof 'hands-on' shorttalks followed by sessions(remember to takeany materialyou havefor identilica- tion). Two have been organisedfor this season(see field meeting insert) and n// membersare warmly invited.What betterway to improveyour identificationabilities? a Contactyour Vice-CountyRecorder to help in local recording.These people are responsiblefor co-ordinatingrecord collecting at a locallevel and have intimate experience oftheir own areas.They will be aware of the stateof recordingand can thereforeadvise you on how to help. Many will or- ganiselocal field meetingsover the courseofthe projectand will, ofcourse, welcomeeveryone. I Help in compilingrecords. Many VC Recorderswill haveold recordsthat needchecking, new re- cordsthat need compiling, or recordsthat need to be enteredonto computer disk. A largenumber of old recordsalso exist in county Floras, herbariaand various Journals,all of which needto be ex- tractedfor the Atlos. Ifyou think you can help in one ofthese vital'non-fieldwork'areas,please contactyour localrecorder. t Contactme if your localVC Recorderneeds no extrahelp (if you live in a verywell recordedVice- County, suchas Kent, for example).Remember that neighbouringVC Recordersmay needhelp and will welcomeyour support! lf you areunsure ofhow to get involvedor whatyou cando to help,please contact me. Included with this issueof News is the Atlas 2000 Instuction lJooklct. This is intendedas your field companionwhile recording for the Atlas and includesan updatedlist of VC Recordersand Area Co-ordinatorsfor your use. During the project, fieldwork will be targetedat under-recorde In order to keep you up-to-date with the project, each issue of Nex'.r will hencefbrth include an Atlas 2000 section (immediately identifiable by its distinctive logol) This will cover reports of field meetings,requests fbr help, answersto recurring questions,advice on recording, dates offield meetings and workshops for your diaries,and the occasionalT-shirt offer to add variety. Finally, I also hope this project will help improve the profile of the BSBI Although our major strength lies in the experienceand expertise of our members (making us the most important botanical society in Britain), new and exciting groups, such as Plantlife, appeal to a younger generation. Since we rely on the next generation for future members, perhaps it's time we tried to inspire them as well. The Aths 2000 is a bold and ambitious project. Let's use it to capture the imagination of our fi:ture botanists. TREVOR DINES, Atlas 2000 PrincipleOrganiser Curig, 9l Farrar Rd, BANGOR. Gwlnedd LL57 2DU Tel:01248 353539, e-mail: 101667.23 [email protected] ATLAS 2OO' PRINCIPAL ORGANISER - TTIE POST IS FILLED The BSBI has once more illustratedits efficiencyby appointingits' Atlus 2000 PrincipalOrganiset a monthearly. Given the taskahead over the next5 years,this hasbeen a valuableextra month! Actually. a hugeamount of backgroundwork for theAtlas hasbeen done already and I'm simplytaking over from here.In this respect,I would particularlylike to thankDavid Green, who actedas projectorgan- iserbefore my appointmentand from whom I will inheritmany late nights and logistical nightmares! So,who am I? Well,a highlymotivated and very keenbotanist for onething (at leastthat's what I said on my application).I come from an agriculturalbackground, having spent my childhoodon f'arms in Wihshireand Hampshire.Here I would botanisefor hourson end, especiallyon the local chalk downland.By the time Universitycame around. a changeof scenewas required.So I movedto Ban- gor, fell in love with North Wales,it's mountainsand beaches,and havebeen here ever since.It's a fantasticarea for a botanistand I was soonhelping our Vice-CountyRecorder, Nigel Brorvn.taking field-tripsand maintaining plant collections at the UniversityBotanic Garden, Treborth. Academically, I supposeI'm a plantanatomist and morphologist. I specialisedin thesesubjects and, in 1994,completed mv PhD on the branchingarchitecture of the Solanaceae(and, Iet's face it, therearen't manyplant architecturalistsaroundl). After an extendedperiod oftravel in S.E. Asiacollecting seed fbr Treborth BotanicGarden, I returnedto N. Walesand was thrilledto be appointedPrincipal Organiser a ferv monthslater. The rest, as they say,will be history. So, what, exactly,are the tasksahead? Basically, I'm hereto co-ordinatework for Atlos 2000. Thereare I 53 vice countiesin Britainand lreland,and the stateof recordingin eachvaries considera- bly. The Vice-CountyRecorders and I will assessthis variation,enabling a recordingand datainput strategyto be developedfor eachone. I rvill arrangespecial field meetingsto target particularlyunder- recordedareas and, where records are held by other organisations(such as the CountryAgencies or WildlifeGroups), help to extractthese. I will alsoassist Cameron Crook (the BSBI Co-ordinator)in the computerisationofrecords and in the transferofrecords to the BiologicalRecords Centre, Monks Wood. Finally(and most importantly),I'm in chargeof publicisingthe Atlas, recruiting volunteers for recording,and enthusingeveryone enough to maintainthe momentumofthe projectfor its duration. Thereis an awful lot of work to be done,but it is suchan excitingproject that I am surewe canall cometogether and complete it withoutdifficulty. As I mentionedearlier, much work for the;1lhr,shas beendone already.The official launch,however, comes with this issueof iJ.5r9/Ncu's - a copy of the Atlos 2000 InstructionBor.rf is includedwith this mailing. As if this werenot alreadyenough, I will continuetraining as a computerprogrammer at Adit Ltd of Anglesey,a softwarecompany that produces(amongst other things) the A.litsite wildlife recording and mappingpackage. This is one of severalsuch programmes that havebeen approved by the BSBI ComputerUser Group as suitable for recordingfor Atlo.s2000. Atlas2000 Finally,I would like to reiteratethe point that this is yorrr Atlas.Without your help,support and feedback,nothing will be achieved.So, ifyou havean axeto grind or a usefulpiece ofadvice, a pro- ductiveidea or an offer ofhelp, a problemwith recordingor a problemwith your Silyhum,please don't hesitateto drop me a lineand I'll do all I canto help.That is, afterall, what I'm hereforl N{eholding a Birdwingbutterfly in MalaysiaPhoto O T Dines TREVORDINES Curig, 91 , FarrarRd, BANGOR. Gwynedd. LL57 2DIJ MINOR CHANGESTO BSBI RECORDINGCARDS BSBI regional recording cards were revised and reprinted in 1994 in anticipation ofthe Atlus 2000 project. Stocks ofthese cards are now very low, so we have reprinted the British cards in time for the start ofthe field season.(Irish cards will be reprinted shortly.) The new cards are easily separatedfiom the I 994 printing as they bear the A tlas 2000 logo in a prominent position in one corner of the card. The specieslists on the new cards are very similar to those on the 1994 version. These lists were drawn up by David McCosh using the results of the BSBI Monitoring Scheme. However, a few changeshave been made in the light of comments which we have receivedfrom users of the cards. [t may be useful to list the main changeshere. The cards are referred to here by their numbers;a complete list equating the numbers to the regions covered is provided in the Atlas 2000 Instructiott llooklet in- cluded with this issueof R\R1Nenr. Allas 20(X)/ Dian The following speciesor aggregateshave been added to the cards listed in squarebrackets. *can 35 Agros [all cards except RP30] *agg I 3 I Aphan [all cards except RP30] 115 Artem vul [RP30] 2641 Campa pos [RP26] *vir 7111 Carex [all cardsexcept RP30] 833 Filip ulm [RP30] *tet 868 Galeo [all cards except RP30] *pal 882 Galiu [all cards except RP30] xbuf 1057 Juncu [all cards except RP30] 1095 Lactu vir [RP26] 124'7 Medic ara [RP26] *agg 4144 Oenot [all cards except RP25] +pra 2247 Phleu [all cards] *cae 7533 Rosa [all cards except RP29 and 30] 1879 Sedum for [RP26] 1958 Sorbu ari [RP29] 2100 Trifo suf [RP26] *ser 2180 Veron [RP30] *sat 2516 Vicia [all cards] The following alterationshave been made to replace segregatesby aggregates. *ham 303 Calli replaces 303.1 Calli ham [all cards except RP]01 *ovi 82 I Festu replace.s 822 1 Festu ovi ovi [all cards] We have altered the abbreviationfor one name. 2383 Bromu x pse heconres2383 Bromu x p'th [all cards except RP30] 'Consent We have also added a paragraphto the cards headed to releaseofrecords'. 7he records collecled hy the Atlas 2000 projet't v,ill he sent to IJR(' ut the unclerstcrntlin!:thut Iha information provitletl by /he recorder conpiler deterntiner v'ill he entered ottlo Lr conputerisetl dulu- base and v,ill he u.sed.fttr puhlicotitn in an updoted otlas, antl suh.sequently.ftr nutura L(ilNerruti(rt, research and educalion ntd will he availoble for puhlic itrfttrmotiort. The infitrmalion remains lhe inlelle.lilol properl)' oJ the reunler contpiler deterntiner ut oll Itmes. This has been done to ensure that all recorders are aware of the basis on rvhich the records are being compiled. I would like to thank all those who commented on the cards, and Alison Stewart for updating the cards for the printer. C.D PRESTON, lTE, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambs PElT 2LS DIAR} N.B. Thesedates are supplementary to thosein the 1996Calendar in RSIIIYeu"Rtxtk 1996. 1996 May l8 A memorialfor C.C. Druce,Oxford (see page 47) 3l Deadlinefor pre-publicationoffer for Alien (hr.r:ses(order form with thismailing) Dian'/ Edilorial September t7-20 Europeanlowland wet grasslands,International Conference, Czech Republic (see.B.5R1 y'y'curs 7l . 52) 1997 June2l-July 6 AzoresField Meeting (see page 49) Seealso pages 5l-52 for datesofother 1996Conferences and Symposia and the leafletdistributed with thismailing for extraAtlas 2000 field meetings and workshops. EDITOR EDITORIAL This seemsto be a good time to congratulatesome people for milestonesreached. Mike Walpolehas just writtenhis 25th TreasurersReport, Mary Briggshas put the finishingtouches to her 24th Annual Report,and the Perringshave completed 20 yearsof BSBI Books.As well as congratulatingthem we shouldalso add our thankslor the enormousamount ofwork they carryout on our behalf Mary also mentionsseveral long-standing members of the Societyin herHGS Notes on page9. It cannothave escaped your noticethat there is a majorchange to the list ofOfficerson page2. A certainname is notableby its absenceand its placetaken by a markedlyinferior one. It is oftenthat a 'will person be a hardact to follow' but for onceit is true.Mary hasbeen the BSBI to so manypeople for so manyyears that her retirementfrom the role ofHGS was unthinkable,and now that it has hap- penedit is a greatloss to us all. The only consolationis that,as shewrites in her lastHGS Notes,she will be aroundlor sometime to comeand I know that I will makefrequent calls on her wise counsel andunrivalled experience. More newsat the AGM! My thanksto Keilh Hyatt for pointing out the following error in BSBI Nev,s70. On page12, in the 'Gdd 'measurement antepenultimateline of squarenomenclature' is of 100acres, a muchsmaller unit'. '100 Thisshould be ares',hence hectare, 100 ares. f ns€rts:There should be l3 itemsincluded in thismailing l) RSRINev,s 72, 2\ AnnualReport for 1995;3) Atlas 2000 lnstructionBooklet;4) Fieldworkfor Atlas2000, Notes on identificationworks and somedifficult and under-recordedtaxa Booklet;5) Pteridophyesupplement to last booklet;6) Atlas2000 Field and Workshopmeetings leaflet; 7) BSBI DataTransfer Standards leaflet; 8) Habitats & Vegetationof Sussexpre-pub. ofler; 9) Floraof Cumbriapre-pub offer; l0) WelshFernspre-pub. offer; I I ) & I 2) BotanicalSociety of ScotlandSymposium leaflet and separatebooking form; I 3) Alien Grassespre-pub. offer. Followinga recentsavage (butjustitied) mauling from ArthurChater over a note I put in thelatest IltelshBulletin on Welshvice-county boundary square allocations for Atlas 2000, I wish to makea full retraction.I foolishly suggestedthat recordsfrom squareswith more than one vice-countyshould be senl directlyto the vice-countyrecorder who hasbeen allocated that square.As Arthur, with flared nostrilsand jabbing finger lorcefully reminded me, membersshould send all their recordsfrom a par- ticular vice-countyto the recorderfor that vice-countywho will then be responsiblefor forwarding recordsfrom boundarysquares to the appropriaterecorder. I am still havingnightmares over the inci- dent;a rousedChater is a rarebut terrifuingsight Finally,for onlythe secondtime sinceI becameEditor ofNeu,s there is no alienon thefront cover and only one pageof Alien News inside.I was persuadedthat for the launchof Atlas 2000, The Logo shouldtake prideofplace andthere was a dearthofalien notes.Alien lovers may rest assured that all will returnto normalnext issue with, hopefully,a bumpercrop. EDITOR Hon. General Secrctan's Notcs HON.GENERAL SECRETARY'S NOTES Congratulationsto all thosewho havebeen members ofBSBI for ntorethan 50 years EdgarMilne-Redhead, 1929; Mr J.N Frankland,1930, David McClintock. i935, Nlr R Lervis. 1942,MrR.H. Hall.1943; DuggieKent and FrancisRose, 1944, PeterGreen and Donald Pigott. 1945. ProfessorSir John Burnett,Dr A.G. Lyon, PeterTaylor, Chris l'ownsendand PrimroseWarburg, 1946. Someofthe longeslmemberships are botanical libraries and Societies: CarlisleMuseum & Art Galleryand Conserv'atoireet JardinBotanique Bibliotheque, Geneva, Switzerland,1946; New York BotanicalGarden Library, 19.35;The Library, Botany SchoolCam- bndge, l93l; London Natural History Society, 1930,Botanical Carden & Nfuseum.Osio. 1926. LeicesterMuseums, 1924; Darlington and Teesdale Naturalists' Field Club andthe SouthLondon Bo- tanicalInstitute, 1923; Birmingham Natural History Society. and Nottingham Natural History l\{useum- 'oldest' l9l9; and the memberof all is the BotanyLibrary BIU (Nat. Hist.).Cronrrvell Road. London sw7 5BD,rel4 . . . to Edgar Milne-Redheadawarded the M.B.E. for his servicesto consenation 'NI-R' rvas involvedin this field long beforeit becamea widelyacknowledged and popularconcern. and with the 'Battle 'his BSBI he pioneeredthe for Teesdale'through Parliament. Although Edgar refers to this as failure',and we did indeedlose the battle,it hassince been acknowledged as a turningpoint - whena needto fight for our nativewild plantswas first highlighted.Through the yearssince, researchers, many from overseas,have contactedus for detailsof procedures,the Parliamentar_vdebates and the part playedby the BSBL Edgarwas Chairman of the BSBI ConservationCommittee for manyyears, and in 1967he convened the ('ypripedium Committee, against opposition at thetime but whichnow, 29 years later,has achieved the originalplan to safeguard,and to secureby cultivationour raresrorchid. (See 'retirement' MargaretLindop's report on page45 ) Now in his home,M-R hashis deskand files and hecontinues to collatethe recordsfor his BlackPoplar Project. . . . to David McClintockawarded the VictoriaMedal of Honourof the RoyalHorticultural Soci- ety This highestRHS awardis well-deservedby David.Both Edgarand David are past-Presidents of the BSBI, and David's lastinglegacy to this Societyis RSRINey,s - which he initiatedduring his Presidency. . . . to GrenLucas on his appointmentas Head ofthe new InformationServices Department at the Royal Botanic CardensKew, on his retirementas Keeperof the Herbarium.Gren tells me how pleased he is to acceptthis new challenge, and we sendour goodwishes for thesuccess ofthe project. . . . to JoyceStewart, appointed as Directorof Horticulture,RHS Garden,Wisley, and to Simon Thornton-Wood,appointed as botanist there. Simon is now the contactname for horticulturalqueries at Wisley(see Bir91 YearBook 1996. 40) Annual Report Fromtime to tinremembers of the Society,including some who havebeen members lor manyyears, say that they do not know how the BSBI is organised- I do hopethat thesemembers will maketime to read the Annual Report, sentwith this mailing,which summarisesthe managementby Council and the work of all the Committees,in thepast year. Tailpiece- My last Hon. Gen. Sec.'sNotes! The first were in B.\'81Neu,,s I No. 2 (July 1972)with noteson difficultiescaused by a British Rail Go Slow, which preventedsome members from joining the AGM Excursionto WarleyPlace, Essex that year.Also a commenton the closingof the PiccadillyKardomah, frequented then by Committeemem- bersbefore meetings, and'a good dealofunofficial BSBI businessmust have been soned out in the Kardomahthroueh the vears!' t0 Hon. General Sccrelads Notcs / Recordcrs and Recording The very first'Notes from the Secretary'in Volume I No. I (January 1972) were written by my 'The predecessorKeith Ferguson. He comments: Code ofConduct has been my major task in the past six monlhs . . .' Keith had supen,isedthis edition revised for general distribution, and I 10,000 had 'innumerable been sent to bodies and individuals including County Trusts, Natural History Societies, Field Centres, Women's Institutes, Schoolteachers,to mention but a f'ew!' Guess what is waiting on my desk as the next task when B.\iJ1Ners and Annuul lleporl copy is safely offto Gwynn . . ? The 1996 revision ofthe Code ofConduct for the Consewation ofPlants! P.S. I shall still be around, assistingwith generalinformation, etc. Same address(and tel. no.) . . . N4ARY BRIGGS, llon General Secretary RECORDERSAND RECORDING AMENDMENTNo. I to BSBL'EARBOOK 1996 VC Recorders Correctionsand amendments to /J^\81Yecn' lJook 1996, and changes since December 1995. CHANNELISLANDS I l3 Guernsey Mrs B.J.Ozanne, Les Mouettes, Pont Vaillant, Vale, Guernsey C.l. ZZl IGB Alderney Mr B. Bonnard,The Twins, Le PetitVal, AlderneyC I GYg 3UU Sark Dr R.M. Veall,I PlantsClose, East Wellow, Romsey, Hants SO5l 6AW 25 & E. & W. Suffolk Mr M.N. Sanford,78 MurrayRoad" Suffolk IP3 9AG 26 andMr F W. Simpson,40 RuskinRoad, lpswich, Suffolk IP4 IPT (all correspondenceto M.N. Sanford) I I Hunts Mr T C E. Wells,94 High Street,Upwood, Huntingdon, Cambs PE 17 IQE 37 Worcs. Mr J J. Day,26 BrickhouseLane, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcs. 860 4LX 40 Salop Mr I C Trueman,School of AppliedScience, Univ of Wolverhampton WolverhamptonWV I ISB 4l Glam.(East) Dr P S. Jones,Llwyn On, HeolBroom, Mawdlam, Bridgend, Mid- GlamorganCF3l 4PN 49 Caerns. Mr G.Il. Battershall,l5 Rhodfa'rGrug, Upper Colwyn Bay, Conwy, LL29 6DJ 52 Anglesey Mr N.t{. Brown,Trebo(h BotanicGarden. University College of North Wales,Treborth, Bangor, Gwynedd 55 Leics.& Rutland I\{r M.B. Jeeves,239 Long Furrow,East Goscote, Leics. LE7 3ST 65 N.W. Yorks. N4rsD.J. Millward, Manor l'louse, Thorton Rust, Leyburn, N. Yorks. DL8 3AN fl995) '12 Dumfriess Dr C Myles,Braeside, Lockerbie DGI I 2LL 87 W Perth Mr N.W. Taylor,Glenfender Cottage, by Amulree,Dunkeld, Perthshire PH8OBY 92 S. Aberdeen Mrs K.M. Fallowfield,Ben A'an, KindrochitDrive, Braemar AB35 5YW 95 Moray N'[rLP. Green,Farewells, Wayford, Crewkerne, Somerset TAl8 8QG l0l Mid Ebudes N{issL. Farrell.R A.S.D, S.N.H.,2 AndersonPlace, Edinburgh EH6 5NP Rccorders and Recording ll 105 W Ross Prof.D.M. llenderson,Larachan, 54 Lonemore,Gairloch, Ross-shire f\'21 2DB 107 E Sutherland Mrs M.E Murray,Davoch, Rogart, Sutherland IV28 3XD 109 Caithness Mr J.K.Butler, Seaside Cottage, Thurso East, Caithness KWl4 8IIN H l4 Laois To be appointed l l20 Co Wicklow& Dr T.G F. Curtis"35 Ryecroft,Church Road. Bray, Co. Wicklow.lreland & ll35 W. Donegal A welcometo sevennew VCIRecorders. Bridget Ozanne,Guernsey, Brian Bonnard,Alderney; Roger Veall. Sark. Geoff Battershallto VC 49 Caerns.;Chris Myles to VC 72 Dumfriess.;Lynne Farrell to VC l0l Mid Ebudes(Nfull. Coll & Tiree),Mrs MorvenE. Murrayto VC I07 E. Sutherland. and a new appointment.Ian Greento VC 95 Moray: Ian also remainsas Recorderfor VC 6 N. Somerset. Sincerethanks fbr goodwork overmany years to four retiringRecorders: Dick Roberts,VC 52 Angleseysince 1965; Dr Marianllughes, VC 72 Dumfiiesssince 1993 (and earlierfor VC l0l Kintyre);Neil Batchelor,VC 109Caithness since 1989, and Peter Foss. l{14 Laois since1985. A specialthank you to Dick Robertsfor beingthe custodianofthe recordslor Angleseyfbr thirty years. Nigel Brown leavesVC 49 Caerns.and takes over as Recorder for VC 52 Anglesey.John Edelsten leavesVC 95 Moray, but remainsas Recorderfor VC 94Banffs. Ken Butler lear,esVC I07 E. Sutherlandand is now Recorderfor VC 109Caithness. My apologiesto the Recorderswhose addresses were publishedincorrectly in the )'errr-Rtnk, andto DeborahMillward, VC Recorderfor 65 N.W. Yorks. sincespring 1995, but inadvertentlynot in )'c,.r' Rook 199(tList David Pearman,as Chairmanof the New Atlas Subcommitteehas oflered to keepthis list of VC Recordersupdated and he will takethis on from now - publishingamendments in R.\R1Ncu'.s 73 and inthe YeorRctctk 1997 'flag' The Treasurerplans to the VC Recordersin his List ofl\{embersso that changesofaddress will be passedon when he is notifiedfor his computerisedmembership list. Davidtoo is regularll,in touchwith the Recorders,so that the future of the List of VC Recorderswill be in safehands. Panel of Referees Mrs Schillinghas resigned from refereeingconiferous and broad-leaved trees. This changehas already beenmade to the 1996Year Book, but we would like to thankMrs Schillingfor all her helpwith these overthe lastfew years.Cameron Crook haskindly undertaken to coverthese groups. The following alterationsshould be madeto the addresseson pages24-26 ofthe YeurRrxtk (which are the onesto be usedfor sendingmaterial to referees they are not alwaysthe sameas the ad- dressesin thefull members'list). Nelson.Dr E.C , TippitiwitchetCottage, tlall Road,Outwell, Wisbech, Cambs. PE l4 8PE Nethercott,Mr P J M the postcodeshould be BS9 I PU andnot BS8 IUP MARY CLARE SHEAHAN,6l WestmorelandRoad, Barnes. London SWl3 gRZ l2 Rccordcrs and Rccordine PLANT RECORDS Unfortunately,the 1995Plant Records will not appearin l4/atsonio2l(2). I havebeen unable to finish the typescriptby the copy datebecause ofthe pressureofother work (notablyAtla.s 20001) All being rvell.the 1995records should be in ll'crtsortiu2l(3\ Apologiesto eagerPlant Records readers for thedelay. C D PRESTON,ITE MonksWood, Abbots Ripton, HUNTINGDON, Cambs. PElT 2LS. VICE.COTINTYABBREVIATIONS In responseto the editorialin R^\81Ncv,s 7l askingfor viewson abbreviatingvice-county, I wouldonly use capitalsfor a specificvice-county, e.g. Vice-County17, Surrey;or V.C. 17, Surrey.or VC 17. Surrey Whenreferring to vice-countiesin the genericsense, then lower caseevery time. Oxford Uni- versityPress doesn't use hyphens in abbreviationsfor vice-chairman.vice-chancellor, or vice-consul,so therefore,the samelor vice-county,which the ('oncise Oxford l)ictionary doesn't list. Similarly,ranks 'John andtitles have lower caseas in Smithwas promotedto sergeant',but in addressinghim by title, 'Sergeant JohnSmith'. As with my notein an earlierRSIII News,consistency throughout the particular paperor issueis themost important rnaxim. As to plurals,in full I would usevice-counties. but Vice-Countiesl6 and 17,or VCs l6 and 17,or V.Cs. 16 and 17. I personallydon't like VCC and wouldn't needto use vcc, as in the lattercase I would spellit out in full, as vice-counties.Finally, as is normalnowadays, the full stopsare omitted from uppercase abbreviations, e g. NAAFI, RAf, NATO, BBC, BSBI,and so on, so,VC, KEITH H. HYATT, I Tremcelynog,Rhandirmwyn. Llandovery, Carmarthenshire SA20 ONU ABBREVIATIONSFOR THE PREFIXVICE-COUNTY Havingnoticed the diversityin the useof abbreviationsfor the term vice-countyI did someresearch into thoseused in BSBI publications,minutes and handbooks and in a randomselection offloras pub- lishedby members. v.c was by far the most common abbreviationfound. This form is used in ll/atsonia,Rslll Ah- stracts,RSBI Net.s.ll/el.sh Bulletin, YearJJook and in the minutesof the Executiveand Con- servationCommittees and the DatabaseAdvisory Subcommittee.It is also to be found in Dock,sand Knotn-eeds(Lousley and Kent 198t ) as well as in the .Srr.s,tyxPlant Aths Slpple- ment (Briggs 1990), Fktwering I'lanls and l;erns of Selkirkshire ond Roxhurghshrie (Corner (1985), llov,ering l)lanrs of Weiles(Ellis 1983),Checklist of the Plants o;fPerthshire (Smith eI al 1992), l'lrra of North AherdeeLshire(Welch 1993) and l.'bra oJ l"lintshire (Wynne I 993). v.-c is to be found in the Atlas of the Rritish lilora (Perring and Walters 1962) and in llosesof (ireal Rrituin and lreland (Grahamand Primavesi1993). vc is usedin somerecent Council Minutes. V C. is to be found in I he Roranistin Skye(Murray 1973) [as well as in the (]lusgw Naturali.stf VC is that utilisedin theB,\RI ScottishNeu'sletter and alsoin somerecent Council Minutes. VC immediatelyfollowed by the numberwithout an interveninggap (e.g.VC77) hasbeen used in that sectionof the MeetingsCommittee Minutes dealing with Field MeetingReports. The vice-countynumber is simply given in bold without prefix in rhe [;lora of Northumherland (Swan1993) Rccorders and Rccording l1 The customin manyspheres is to write out the title in full on the first occasionfollowed by the abbreviationin brackets.Capital letters are usedfor the initialsand in recent-vears there has been a moveto dispensewith hyphensand periods. I considerthat the most visuallyobvious method ofindi- catinga vice-countyis by usingthe uppercase letters. VC, lollowedby one space,then the nunrber. e.g. VC 77. As indicatedabove I usethis in the Scotti.shNeu,.;lelter and havebeen inlerested to note that this form hasappeared in recentCouncil Minutes. The abbreviationsVC andBSBI areof course so well knownin the BotanicalSociety of the Britishlsles that in our own publicationsthere is no real needto havethe term in full plusabbreviation in bracketson the first occasionthat eitherof themis used.In I 994 the Editorof B.lB/ Ner,.sstopped using periods between the initial letters of the title However,all versionsare perlectlyunderstandable and althoughBSBI might considerhaving a recommendedfbrm I thinkit wouldbe a mistaketo seekunitbrmity. In orderto reducethe lengh ofthis paperfull referencesare not given This articlewas actuallyin an advancedstale of preparationbelore the invitation10 comment on the subjectappeared in thelast BSIII Neu'.s(Ellis 1996) PETERMACPT{ERSON, Ben Alder, l5 LubnaigRoad. Clasgow G,ll 2RY TISINGRECORDER FOR TETRAD RECORDS It seemsthat severalcounty recorders have bought, or areconsidering buying, Recorder as their data- base.We havebeen using it with somesuccess in Shropshirefor severalyears, but it doeshave its drawbackswhen it comesto producingan atlas.The mainstumbling block for thosewlro wanl to pro- duce,say, an atlaswith tetraddistribution maps is that it canbe very slowto analyseyour dataifyou havemore than about 100,000 records. This canbe largelyoffset ifyou setup your systemto manage the problemfrom the very beginning.One way ofdoing that is to makeyour hectads(10 km squares) 'sites'. into Thismakes the mostuse of thefacilities in the program- for example,it will automatically checkyour grid references.Most importantly,it will automalicallyindex all your records.making it quickand easy to producea specieslist (thedifference on our systemis about5 minutesfor an indexed analysisagainst an hour or two for an unindexedone). We would suggest,therefore, that anv countv recorderstarting out with a new copy ofRecordershould first 'create'sites lor all the hectadsin their vice-county,and then carefully make sure that all the recordsthey input are within one ofthose hectad sites.Honestly, it will saveyou hours! Recorder- an environmentalrecording package for localrecord centres - is availablefrom the Joint NatureConservation Committee, Monkstone House, City Road,Peterborough, PEI lJY at a cost of !75 to countyrecorders. ALEX LOCKTON, ShropshireFlora Group, ln associationwith the ShropshireWildlife Trust, 66 North Street,Castlefields, Shrewsbury SYI 2JL PLANT STATT]SNOMENCLATTJRE We aregrateful to the memberswho wrote,giving their opinions with regard10 various categories and offeringsuggestions, in responseto the invitationto do so publishedin IISRIAier:r (Macpherson 1995 ) All submissionshave been considered by theWorking Party. We havemodified our definitionsin the light of someof the submissionsbut, in the interestof producinga conciseset ofdefinitions, we havenot beenable to acceptthem all. As mightbe expected. somesubmissions were at variancewith others Recorders and Rccording As well as giving the recommendeddefinitions, we consider it appropriateto provide also explana- tory details and these are given after our recommendations. Plant Status Nomenclaturc Definitions Nativc l] Presentin the study area, without intervention by man, whether intentional or unintentional,having come from an area in which it is native, or 2] Arisen de novo in the study area. Endemic A taxon found native, only in the study area. Alien (A) l] Brought to the study areaby man, intentionally or unintentionally,even ifnative in the source area; or 2] Conre to the area without man's intervention,but from an area in which it is alien Categoriesof alien al Established(E) A taxonwhich has been present in thewild for (say)> five yearsand is spreading vegetativelyor is effectivelyreproducing from seed. bl Surviving (S) A taxonwhich has been present in thewild for (say)> fiveyears and is neither spreadingvegetatively nor reproducingeffectively from seed. cl Casual (C) A taxonwhich is briefly(say < fir.eyears) or intermittentlypresent. dl Planted (P) A taxonwhich has been deliberately planted in a wild situationand is not established. Method of arrival of an alien in the study area a] By naturaldispersal migrant bl By unintentionalactivity ofman accidental c] By intentionalactivity ofman hortal Acceptableadditional terms could include such entities as gardenescape, garden throw- out / fly tipping,pet food,wool alien Explanatory Details We wish to make it clear that study area may be anlthing from (say) the British Isles to a small site within a vice-county. We consider that for recording purposes it would be helpful to have acceptedsymbols which could be included on the card and computer records for the alien categories.Where no other information is available'A'would representAlien but in generalone would simply use'E'for Established,'S'for 'C' 'P' Surviving, for Casual and for Planted. There would ofcourse be no necessityto include these symbols rvherethe status was clearly that describedby Stace( I 99 I ). Rccordcrs and Rccording t5 There will be many inslancesin which the recorder cannot be sure which category should apply. rrith regard to. il whether or not the plant is native iil whether it is established,surviving or casual iiil the method ofarrival in the study area iul whence it came 'apparently' In thesecases it will be appropriateto use or'probably' Further, when a plant in the study area can be allocated to more than one status category. each should be stated We have decided against having a cut-offdate after which a speciescannot be consideredto be natrve. believing that over the centuriesnatural spreadhas been an ongoing process in other rvords a Natire is of natural occurrence. A definition ofEndemic is not strictly relevant in the contert ofour renrit but rve considerit appropriate as other prof-essions(e.g. nredicine)define the term differently fiom that used in a nalural history sen\c Established/ Naturalised These ternls have sometimesbeen regarded as synonymsand on other occa- sions as distinct entities, though frequently defined dif}brently by difl'erentauthors. As there rt'as a dif- ference of opinion as to whether Establishedor Naturalised should be recommendedit r.rasoriginally thought that either might be used depending on the preference of the author. llowever. there was a strong feeling that only one of these terms should be adopted. We hal'e therelbre reconrmendedtlral 'N' Establishedshould be the term used as the symbol for Naturalisedmight be confused with Native. With regard to the length of time which should have elapsedbefore a taxon may be regardedas Estab- lished or Surviving, we think that approximately five years is a reasonablecomprorlise. We have not been dognratic on this point leaving it to the discretion ofthe author who should be in the best position to assessthe status, by taking into consideration a combination of the age (or estinratedage) of the population or plant and the local factors. A migrant plant has arrived in the study area by natural dispersal but, from an area in which it is an alien. An accidental introduction inrplies not deliberatelybrought to the study area (e.g. conlaminanl, such as wool-alien) or ifbrought intentionally to the area, not lor the purpose ofgrowing (e g. birdseed). A hortal introduction is that in which the taxon was deliberatelybrought to the study area for the pur- pose ofcultivation, even ifit subsequentlyspreads within the study area by natural means. 'fhe term introduction should not be used without qualification. An alien comes into two subgroups depending on its category and method of arrival. The ternr that justifies the taxon's inclusion should always come Iirst -- e.g. naturalised,migrant naturalised.hortal Iintroduction] casual,accidental Iintroductionl With regard to accidentaland hortal, the appropriate additional term inay be used, e.g pet food, etc., as above. (A more complete list is given by Clement and Foster ( 1994). Complete categorisationofan accidentalor hortal introduction could then be - e.g casual,(accidental)wool-alien naturalised,(hortal) garden escape We do not ofcourse, consider it necessaryto use all terms in an individual case. We have been asked to consider giving synonyms,e.g lor Nalive Indigenous,AJien Exotic, Adven- tive. the reasonsuggested, being that when one is reading literature publishedprior to the acceptanceof l6 Rccordcrs and Recording / Notcs and Aniclcs our recommendations,that a pointof referencewould be available.However, the synonymsquoted and otherpreviously used terms have been defined differently by variousauthors. The BSBI Councilset up the Plant StatusNomenclature Working Group with the remit to produce definitionsof the variouscategories of statusof plantsgrowing wild in the BritishIsles in the anticipa- tion thatthe nomenclaturewill be adoptedbv membersin theirbotanical publications. References Clement.E.J & Foster.M.C. (1994).Alien I'lontsof the BritishLsle.s, Botanical Society of the British Isles. Macpherson,P. (1995) PlantStatus Nomenclature. B.\B/Nev's 68: 8-9 Stace,C A (l99l). Ncu,Fktra of rheRritish Isles CambridgeUniversity Press P. MACPHERSON,J.H DICKSON,R.G ELLIS,D H, KENT,C.A. STACE NOTESAND ARTICLES .BOTANISTLIVED HERE' PLAQUES Two letterscame in responseto my requestin IISRI Nev's59 (April 1995)for intbrmationon com- memorativeplaques to botanists,and photos of 25 WiltonPlace, London from JohnTopp. Dr Alan Woodswrote describingthis plaqueto GeorgeBentham (1800-1884) who livedat Wilton Place1864-1884. Alan saysthat he walkspast this mostdays on his way to work, andhe wondersif thereis a plaquesomewhere to commemorateSir J.D.Hooker also? Mr J.K. Jacksonsent notes from the book Behind the Blue Plaquesof London, 1967-1991:7'he ('otnplele()uide,by Alan Symms.Mr Jacksonhas somemisgivings on the accuracyof someof the descriptions,but he hasextracted for us a list ofthe botanists. 'BANKS, Sir Joseph l'743-1820.32,Soho Square, Soho, Wl. BENTHAM, George I800-188425. Wilton Place,Belgravia, SWI BLIGH, William. 1754-c.1817.100,Lambeth Road, Lambeth. SEI 'Bounty'fame. Of Howeverhe hasclaims to be a botanist,and lists of plantshe collected are in the Museumof GardenHistory in Lambeth,near where is his tomb. The Latin nameof the Akeeapple, Rlighrusapidu, is in hishonour. BROWN, Charles. 1809-1882 Biological SciencesBuilding, UniversityCollege Buildings. GowerStreet, WC L Darwin'swork as a botanistlends to be ratheroverlooked, however in suchworks as lhe l'.ffects of ('ross and Se(' I'errilisation i,t the l,'egetahleKingdom and The I'.ertilis.ttion qf ( )rchidshe wasa pioneerin scientificexperimentation with plants. DON, David 1800-1841(on same plaque as Banks) LO[IDON, Jane.1807-1858. 3, PorchesterTerrace, Bayswater, W2. Collaboratedwith her husband(see below) in writing T-heLad1"s C.ompanion to the l;lower (iarden. LOUDON, John Claudius I 783-I 843 3, PorchesterTerrace, Bayswater, W2. Author of 116oretumet l.'ruticetnmBrittdnicum anrongmany other works. SLOANE,Sir Hans 1660-1753Kings Mead, King's Road, Chelsea, SW3 Author of the Natural Historl' of .lamaicaand founder of the ChelseaPhysic Garden. WALLACE, Alfred Russell1823-1913 44, St Peter'sRoad, Croydon. In additionto his betterknown works. authorof I'ulm Treesof the Amaxtn.' Notcs and Articlcs t'7 Mr Jackson also mentions some travellers who have plants named after them, naturalists and a ' landscapegarden. Ofthese David Allen suggeststhat Sir John Lubbock (Lord Avebury) counts' as a botanist as his experimentingis well-known to have extended to plants - as well as ants. I do not yet have the details of his plaque My thanks to these correspondents - Are there more plaque recorders in the Society? t; im I GeorgeBentham's old homein Wilton Place,photo O J. Topp 1995 NIARY BRIGGS, Hon GeneralSecretary O E ltiOTH E RA SUBG ENIIS O E NOTH E RA: THE TAXONOM Y INTRODUCTION Oenothero(Evening-primroses) are not like otherflowers. In manyrespects these New World biennials 'any do not conform to Mendel'sLaw of Heredity: as Ravenputs it in l-'loretI')ropaea (1968), new combinationofchromosomes produces, in effect,a new "species"'.Individual plants are therefore able to breedtrue and perpetuatetheir exactgenetic composition indefinitely. In Europe,Oenolheru is'a criticalgenus where species limits are a matterofopinion'(Stace l99l' p.531),notably in subgenus ()enotherawhich 'has long presented diliculties to the systematist'(Cleland 1972 p.227). Thereis pressureto revisethe Europeantaxonomy. In view ofpromiscuoushybridisation in British sub-genusOenolhera, this paper examines some ofthe problems OINOTHERA IN BRITAIN There are five recognisedspecies: non-hybridising O. slriclct Ledeb. ex Link (FragrantEvening- primrose) and, from subgenusOeruilhero, 0. glazioviano Micheli ex C. Martius (Large-flowered Evening-primrose),O. hiennis L. (Common Evening-primrose).(). camhrlczr Rostanski (Small- floweredEvening-primrose), and the rare0. ./allcaRenner (lntermediate Evening-primrose) described asthe stablederivative of femaleO. glaziovianaand male O. hicttnis(Stace l99l: p.532),in my opin- ion a first generationcross best treated as a hybrid. Notcs and Articles Theearliest British record of O. bienni,sdates lrom c.1650 and the earliestwild-collected specimen of (). gfuzirn'iannfrom I 866 (RostanskiI 982) Both werecultivated in gardens;the formerwould have beenmostly superseded by the latter.O. cumbricaprobably came to SouthWales from Canadain the lSth century(Rostanski 1982) in ships'ballast(Cleland 1972 p 303)where it foundideal habitats The mainlycoastal subgenus ()etnrhera population has for manl,yearsbeen dominated by hybrid swarmsbut only rarelydoes one ofthe abundantannual crop ofpotentialnew strainssucceed in estab- lishinga homogeneouscolony. I know only one: a form of ( ). bicnni.s' ( ). cunthricain a cornerof a disusedgravel pit nearTem- ple Balsallin WestWarwickshire. Since 1985, twelve taxonomically identical specimens from an annual populationof lessthan a hundredhave among other similaritiesthe same-shapedupswept and twisted lear,'es,and hairsof the sametypes in the sarneplaces and, as tlr as I cantell, in the samequantities. Theyalso have identical slightly pinched ovaries not noticedelsewhere. 'species' This strain,ifwidespread, would be asgood a as eitherprogenitor. Conversely, our rec- 'species' 'Obvi- ognised are no more than successfulstrains. Cleland (1972 p.316)is quite definite: ously,the individual true-breeding lines . . . arenot worthyofbeing called species'. The TempleBalsall colony is almostcertainly derived from SouthWales where most plantsare fbrmsof this hybrid(which include the green-stemmedO. camhricavar. impunctatct Rostanski (Bowra 1992)) O. bietnishasnever been recorded in SouthWales (Rostanski & Ellis 1979)but wasprobably grown in gardensand escaped(even before the arrival of 0. t'amhrica) to be, as at Emscote(Bowra I 992).rapidly hybridised out ofexistence Distribution supportsthis view. The first record of 0. cttmbricain the Islandof Jerseydates lrom 1867.Theonlyrecord of O.biennisisinahybrid withO.glaziovianafrom1871,a 1957plantwas very close(Le Sueur198.1); (but apparentlynot recordedas a hybrid).It is very likely,therefore, that the presentsubstantial Jersey population of 0. canhrico is as hybridisedas that of SouthWales. In contrast,out of O. cambrica's rangein North Walesand England,mostly in smallpockets, O. biennis persists. 'acting (). comhricctis a good exampleof a species as a "museum",so to speak.preserving the remainsof a species'(Stace 1975. p 52). l'he SouthWales mixture has been spread mostly by railway overmuch of England:in Warwickshire,for example.there are at leastfour well-separatedrailway sites with apparently'pure'(). t:amhrictramong the hybridsbut no 'pure' (). hiennis. Many of these colonies(in Wales and elsewhere)have been invadedby the more recent O. glu:ttn'iana and triple-hybridsare not uncommon.Elsewhere, O. glaziot'ianohybridises with (). hienni.s.from the descriptions(Stace 1975. p.265), most if not all the manyplants on the dunesof Cheshireand Lancashire are such hvbrids. COMPARISONWITH NORTII AMERICA In his I972 monographwhich includesa chapteronthe OenotheraFloraof Europe,Cleland does not mention hybrid swarms.ln his Chapteron North American subgenusOenothera, he agreesthat the 'presents group an almostendless array of phenotypicvariations' but deniesthat it is "a hopelessly confusedand freely hybridising group" as described in the NorthAmerican 8th edition(1950) of Cray's Mannal of Borutt.t'(p227) He stressesthat plantsmostly self-pollinate and rarelyhybridise (p228), 'there andthat is liltle doubtthat the enormousnumber of isolatedlines in natureis to a considerable extentthe resultofoccasional or rareoutcrossing between pre-existing lines' over very long periodsof time(Cleland p 230). ln contrast,most BritishO. hiennishave been hybridised out of existenceand, as a directresult, the great majority of our subgenusOenothero, perhaps 90Vo, are in swarmsof two and quite often threespecies. Transformation can be rapid.the Emscote'mainarea' colony ofmore thantwo thousand plantson the site of a power stationdismantled about five yearsbefore, mostly a largegroup of O. hiennis flanked by small groups of O. glaziot,ianaand the South Wales()- cumbrica r O. biennis mixture,became a hybridsrvarm ofthree speciesin lessthan eight years (Bowra 1992).The only indi- 's cationof self-pollinationis O. cumhricu abilityto survivein hybridswarnrs: up to 2Qo/oapparently Notes and Articlcs l9 'pure' plants have been found but often much less. O. hienni:; and (). gltrziot'idnu are seldom if ever found in establishedswarms. In Europe, the position is unclear. Rostanski says that hybrid swarms may be found in numerous 'American places where newcomers' come in contact with European (). biennis and that in a colony near Katowice in Poland, (). hienni.shas disappeared(pers. comm. September 1992). Dietrich does not mention hybrid swarms but cites'20 strains of European bicnrtis from various countries (Switzerland. Russia, Hungary, Germany, France), . maintained by self-pollination for many generations' (pers. comm. June 1995). .COLLECTIVE' SPECIES In North America, strains of Oerrothero are grouped into'collective' specieseach'comprised of a few to numerous true-breeding phenotypesthat share common genetic and certain related phenotypic char- acteristics'(Dietrich l99l); fbr example, North American 0. biemtis consists of hundreds if not thou- sandsof strains (Cleland p.304). There is pressurefor Europe to adopt the North American taxonomy but Rostanski strongly opposed it and still does (pers. comm. September 1992). Europe, he wrote in Wqtsonio ( 1982), follows the concept ofLinnaeus and specieshave constantphenotypes. A new list of'collective' specieswas expectedin l99l (Dietrich l99l) but has been delayed. O. biennis (to include (). camhricct) and O. glaziottiano are likely to be designated species, all crosses would be hybrids. But it is a measureof the differencesin the populations thal in Britain, this taxonomy would not reduce hybrids to any'wherenear the low levels ofNorth American accounts. halfthe popu- lation, perhaps,would still be forms oY 11.,. .fallm. COMPARISON WITH RO^S1 /lo.rcrhas also long presented difticulties to the systematist (Graham & Primavesi 1993. pp. 9-14 ). .Ilr.r.raSection ('anintte and Oenothera subgenus Oenotheru have several unusual similarities. both are genetically exceptional with peculiar (but different) methods of reproduction, plants can cross- or self'- pollinate; and reciprocal hybrids have different forms. And, like 1lo^rzronly a few years ago, promiscu- ous hybridisation in subgenus Oenothera in Britain is only now being accepted by professional botanists. For British roses, a pragmatic taxonomic solution permits'some degree' of introgression,consid- 'essential ered . . . ifwe are to be able to record speciesat all' (Graham & Primavesi 1993. p. ll). But 'introgression according to Stace (1975: p.49), can be looked upon as taking place when conditions are not conducive to the establishmentofhybrid swarms'. This, and the fact that significant numbers of 'pure' subgenusOenolheru exist and are likely to continue to do so for many years, would seem to preclude as an option any degree ofintrogression. OTHER OPTIONS 'there Despite genetic dillbrences,Cleland consideredthat can be little doubt' that European (). hietnri.s is a strain of modern North American O. biennis (p.316). I have found no records of cl.togenetic re- search on British material, but if, as I suspect, O. camhrictt is a true strain of North American O. biennis (with chromosomes in a ring of l4) come across the Atlantic, and British (). hiennis isthe European plant (with rings of six and eight), possibly a much older strain with different characteristics, come the other way round the globe (Harte 1994; Bowra 1995), there is a reasonablecase ficr giving it separate'collective' status, especiallyif it could be shown that the Far East Asian O. hiannis -qenetically resemblesit. A unified taxonomy would have distinct advantages,especially for determining occasional British 'collective' casualsat present virtually unidentifiable. A European O. hiennis might also remove some European objections. lnevitably, unless all three speciesare put into one'collective', abundant British hybrids will remain. But we would at least be able to record well into the future the true-bred remnants of threehistorical'soecies'. Notes and Articles References Bcrwra,J.C. (1992).Hybridization of ()errothcraL. subgenusOenotharo in Britain.BSBI New,s6l l9-33 Bowra,J.C.(1995)TheOrigtnofOenolheruhiennis L.sensustricto.aNewHypothesis.BSBINews. 69:l8-19;70 11 Cleland,R.E. ( 1972) Oenothera,c)togenetics otd etolutiort. London andNew York Dietrich,W. (1991).The statusof (.)enotheraconrbrita Rostanski and O. novae-sco1ldeGates (Ono- graceae) ll/at:*tniu I8. 407-408. Graham, G.G. & Primavesi,A.L. (1993). Rose.sof ()reat fJrituin and lreland. London. Cray, A. (1950) Matmal of llotut.t , 8th ed., p. 1064 New York. Harte, C. (1994). Mtnographs on [heoretical arul Applied (]enelics, Yol.20 . Oenolhera. Berlin Le Sueur,F ( I 984) Iilora of.lersel', p. I 02 Jersey. Raven,P.H. (1968). Oenothera L. in Tutin,T.G. et al.,eds., l"loro l)tropaea2: 306.Cambridge. Rostanski,K. (1982).The speciesof ()emttheruL. in Britain.llatsonia 14. l-34. RostanskiK. & Ellis,R.G. (1979) EveningPrimroses (Oenolhero L.) in Wales.Ndture in Wtles 16. 238-249 Stace,C A (1975) Hybridizationqnd the l,.lora ofthe British Isles.London. Stace,C.A. ( l99l ) 1/ewl.lora of rheRritish Isles, pp 53I -534.Cambridge KINCARDINESHIRE (VC 9I) RECORDS IN SCARCE PLANTS IN BRITAIN Kincardineshire,Renfrew and Stirlingshireare black-listedas vice-countiesfrom which 'no records were received'in the introductionto Scarcel'lants in Britain (Stewan, Pearman& Preston(1994) and in subsequentreviews, e.g. by McKean( 1995). This is true for Kincardineshirein the sensethat my predecessoras recorderdid not return the print-outsand draft distributionmaps circulated by BRC during 1991-1992.However, records for Kincardineshirehave been senl to BRC at varioustimes since 1970,and in particularduring the 1987-1988Monitoring Scheme. For example,sea kale (('rombe maritinra) was found near Stonehaven in 1988,and duly received a dot for NO88in its distributionmap. In my opinionthe mapspublished are not seriouslyinadequate although having some deficiencies. For the speciesdealt with in Scarcel)lant,s in Britain, I give in the tablebelow their current status in Kincardineshire.Like my predecessor,I have not been able to obtain or seethe individual species cardsheld by the recorderactive in the I 960s and I 970s,hence losses of speciescould be slightly exaggerated. 'scarce' In total 52 specieshave at sometime beenrecorded in Kincardineshire,and 24 ofthem have 1970+records, although for 7 ofthese the 1970+records are not shownin ScarcePlants in Rril- 'scarce' alr. Discountingintroduced plants, Kincardineshire has 45 species,l9 with 1970+occur- rences,equivalent to 42%oof the total. Further discountingspecies not now classedas scarce, Kincardineshirehas 33 scarcespecies, 14 with 1970+records, also equivalent to 42%oofthe total.But Table 3 in Scart'el'lnts in Rritain gives32oh for VC 9l as the percentageof native scarcespecies recordedsince 1970, and 28 asthe total ofthesespecies at sometime recorded. Many speciesin the list with no 1970+records have declined generally in Britain,being arable weedsor plants of open water. Their disappearancein Kincardineshireis real, e.g., I.,latinehexandra (six-stamenedwater-wort), Pilulario globulifera (pillwort) andSubulqria aquaticd (awlwort) grew in theLoch ofPark whichlong ago was drained. With thoroughsearching, I would expectperhaps 4 of the lost speciesto be refound,the most likely being Hquisetumpratense (shade horsetail\. (ioodyera repens(creeping lady's-tresses) and J't- dum villo.qtm(hairy stonecrop). Even taking this possiblenumber into account,the percentagedecline Notcs and Articlcs for the vice-county would still be about 50% which is somewhat higher than the average for lowland vice-counties given in Scarce I)lturt.s in Rritain. it is my belief that Kincardineshire has suffered serious lossesto its flora becauseofthe preponderanceofarable land in its relatively small area. and the recenl deficienciesin recording should not be allowed to mask this. References McKean, D R (1995) Book Reviews - Scurce Plutts irrBrituirt, ed. A. Stewart, D.A. Pearman& C. Preston. Botanicql Journal of Sutrlarul 47. 286-288. Stewart, A., Pearman,D.A. & Preston, C (1994) Scarce I'lants itt lJrituirt. Peterborough, Joint Nalure Conservation Commlttee. 6scarce' Status of speciesin Kincardineshire, giving in brackets l0 km squaresfor which there are 1970+records (all are NO unlessshown NJ). Speciisseen in VC 9l after1969, and with 1970+records in ScarcePlants atlas $ Aconitumnapel.lus (69,76\ Lothvrus.pponcas(NJ 90) Brassica oleracea var. oleraceo (76\ Ll,utpodiunr onnotinum (58- 68) Callitrichehermaphroditica (66) $ lvleconop.siscamhrica (66, 67+. 69. 79+. 88+. NJ80+.99) S ('ardomine hulbilera (78) Meum dthonanticum (69\ (.larexmarinma (llE) Pl,rola nedia (69) (-rambemaririmo (88\ $ Ribesolpinm (66+.69. 79) l)ionthusdeltoides (69.76) Salixm1'r,sint/itlio (66) Hpilobiumal.sinifulium (77\ Silenenutctns (76'1 l''esnrcaarenario (76\ Species seen in VC 9l after 1969, but with no 1970+ records in the atlas ('ochlearia scoticfl (8tl+) S Hytscyomus niger (76+) (loro Ilorrhtza lnfda (69+, 99+) Isoete.sechinospord (6'7 +, ( t 988 recordis on BRCprint-outs!) Fhmaria denstfloro (76+'l .luncus.lili.fttmrs (NJ 9()+) Gnaphalium sylvottcltm (6lt+, 87+) Species formerly present in VC 91, but with nol970+ records in atlas or known to the author 9+ Allium olereceum Juncus bolticus Allrum scorodoprasum Linosella aquafico Briza minot (likclvenor lor old retordin Atlas) Linnaea borealis (lentaurea t),anus Ll,copoditlla tnundttta Crepis mollis Melompl,rum svlvctticum l)eschampsia.\etdcea lVlertenia m.1fitimd Iilatine hexandra Orthilia secuncla Iiquisetum pralense I)apwtr argennnt ll,quisetumvariegatum Piluloria globulifero h)qhrasia restkovfuna $ ,ltandir peut'n-veneri.l l.bstucaalttssima Sedumvillosunt + (ioodyera repen.e Suhularta o(luatica 'l'eesdalia Hammarbya paludosa + nudiccnlis Hl,pochaen.s glahra L'dccinium mtcr $ Consideredan introduction in the calculations. * Has a 1970+ record in a I 0 km squareshared by VC 9 l, but outside. + Record for l0 km square is not given in Scart.e Plnis Atlas. DAVID WELCH, East Fernbank,Woodside Road, Banchory, Kincards ABJ 3XL 22 Notes and Articlcs FROTIIY SAP Following the recent very cold weather, with temperaturesbelow zero even during the day, we visited the wood rvhich we are currently surveying Here we lbund three ash trees, which were apparently exuding streamersof white lroth about 2 cm wide and up to I 2 cm long, between half and one metre above the ground. It was not possibleto see any crack or wound. The lroth was like that produced by frog-hoppers. but with larger bubbles.It was about the sameviscosity. lf anyone can suggest an explanation for this phenomenon we should be most interested.Tenta- tively we wondered ifthe sap had been frozen, and cracked the bark or pushed into a lenticel, and then on thawing dissolvedgases had forced out the sticky sap,blowing bubblesin it. 'Farthings', U A BROI,TGHTON. Layer Breton, Colchester,Essex CO2 OPP B.E. WRIGT{T. 33 Estuary Court, Hunts Farm Close, Tollesbury, Maldon, Essex CM9 8QZ POSSIBI,E LEMNA : PROTOZOA SYMBIOSIS Localpopulations of Lentnamintr. the small-frondvariant of CommonDuckweed (Rich & Rich 1988) havebeen healthy and persistent. staying continuously on the surfacefor 4t/zyearsdespite freezing into the ice in somesevere winter flrosts. However in June1995 infection (presumed bacterial or fungal)was spreadingacross a pondcolony. The frondswere going pale brown and dying. Under rl0 or '--10mag- nificationit was seenthal parenchymaand epidermal cells were losing chlorophyll and coalescing. The top surlacesofthe thallithen split away from the under-surfacesalong the margins,like thegrim smiles olold drying-outBritish Rail sandwiches (before Cling-film). Someof thesemoribund lronds had structureswhich to the nakedeye lookedlike floweringor fruitingbodies, hence the microscopy(see fig.). In lhe basaland sub-frond pockets, now mostlybrown, were smallconcentrations of largeprotozoa, like I'aramecium,but0.07mm long or more,and much more obviousthan the multitudinoustiny andmore freelycirculating protozoa. The big Paramecium- like protozoanshad three red spots,but thesemight havejust been food vacuoleswith redcontents as a consequenceof digestion. All the big frondssuccumbed and were about to be thrownout. A lastlook througha microscope to try to re-findand draw thegiant protozoans in the sub-thallicpockets (the dotted lines on the figure) revealeda surprise.In somefrond groups,tiny greenhealthy buds, surgically cleaned, had survivedin somepockets Thesehave persisted to lorm a new dividingsurlace colony, with no brown or sticky fronds! 'surgeon' Tentativesuggestions are as flollows. The big protozoans,and perhaps the smallerproto- zoatoo,shouldbe seenasl.emn.t allies, notaspathogens, justbecausetheyareconcomitantsofdying surfacecolonies. The protozoanL1flicello, which can concentrateon the roots of Lemna mimtta (LeastDuckweed) where this hasformed dense rather anoxic sub-surface layers (Oliver 1993)seemed to be moppingup noxiousbacleria. It couldbe anotherprotozoal symbionl ofthe Lemnaceae.Landolt 'Special (1986)ref'erred to the atlinities'notedbetween L. minor andthe ciliateprotozoans I'trticella cttnt'ttlluria-l'. ntitrostomu. l'.t'xidiuminvaginatun and('htlodonellu uttcinulcr. The secondtentative hypothesis is that hereis a processto helpexplain the sequencesofinvasive- ness,followed by decline,and subsequentsporadic recurrences ofalien aquaticssuch as Azolla.filicu- loides (Water Fern), lilrxlea t'anadensis(Canadian Pondweed), 1,,. nuttullii (Nuttall's Pondweed)and Lcmtn mtnulo The alienaquatic conquers, reigns lor a few years,is eventuallystruck down by a pri- mary pathogen(bacterial, lungal or other),but survivesto recurwith the help of a protozoalally or svmbiont.Nfany (nrost?) lerrestrial plant species. especially trees, need a friendlymycorrhiza to thrive, otherwisethey sickenor fail in competition.Lemnaceae may likewise need friendly protozoa to renew their coloniesafter the rigoursof a primarypathogenic attack, or to overcomesecondary pathogenic invasionsfbllowing frost, poisoning,or the depredationsof herbivoressuch as sometypes of water snail. Notcs and Articlcs \i'..,\rYr':I\- ol JL MM Dyingfronds of Lenrnaminor (smallfrond variant) with the pseudo-fruitingbody Largestprotozoans onlyin thepockets shown by dotsor dashedlines. Del J. Olir"er References 'l'he Landolt, E (1986). lhnily of Lenrtuceue(Monograph, p. 199) \'erofll Geobot Inst ETtl StiftungRuebel. Zurich [In English]. Oliver,J E. (1993).Lenna minutolY GreenRoots R.\R1Neu's 64 30 Rich,T.C G. & Rich,M.D B. (1988).I'ltmt ('rih BSBILondon JACK OLIVER, View- Rhvlst-ane,rockelldge,.Nr MarfborouSh,Wi ts SN8 4ED fieh DANISH SCURVYGRASS - A RATHER EARLIER INLAND RECORD MichaelD'Oyly's note on earlyrecords of ('ochlaqriudtutico (Danish Scurvygrass) inland in Britain (BSBI News71) shouldbe seenin the light of one lrom over two centuriesearlier, which I wrote up in Nuturein Wales14.210-271 (1975) On 25 May 1726the Rev LitlletonBrown recordedit on the walls of Tregaronchurch in Cardiganshire(see G.C. Druce& S H Vines, 7heI)rllenitur Herhurio. Oxford, 1907,p. lxxiii) under the polynomial('trhlectriu marin..fttlio urguktstt puto lt is still there, chieflyon the l4th centurytower. Did it get therewith sandused fbr the mortar?And how doesan annualwith no specialseed dispersal mechanism persist so successfullyhigh up on a ver-ticalwall? In 1973the churchyardwas clearedand reseeded,and the followingspring many thousands ofplants of the Scurvygrassappeared amongst the grass,obviously from dormantseed lallen from the tower over manyyears or decades.They all disappearedonce the new turfhad developed.The tower is currently beingrestored, but we are hopingthat the Scunygrassrvill surviveto continueto delightthe inhabi- tantsofTregaron and to puzzlefuture botanists. ARTHUR CHATER,Windover, Penyrangor, Aberystwyh, Dyfed SY23 IBJ Notes and Arlicles TIIE EARLIEST RECORDS OF DANISH SCTIRVYGRASS,COCHLEARIA DANICA. ON INLAND RAILWAY TRACKS As ('trhleorio dutritzt was the first of the several maritime species to be discovered in quantity on inland sites in Britain since the Second World War, the dates of the original finds on railway tracks may help in resolving the long-standingmystery of how it came to colonise these. Michael D'Oyly's note in R,\31 Ncv's 7l had already prompted me 10 start searchingthe back literature to this end when a letter arrived from him enclosing photocopies of some correspondenceI had on this subject with Ted Wallace almost fifty years ago! This had been fbund by David Porter tipped into a second-hand copy of the ('ompnter-mopped l;loro of llarv'ickshire (1971), which had presumably once been owned by Wallace. This timely windfall has made it possible to reconstruct events with significantlygreater exactness.- May 1946 a train on which E.C Wallace is travelling is halted by signals outside Rugby station, VC 38. on looking out to see lhe cause ofthe hold-up, he is startled to seewhat he recognisesal once as this speciesgrowing besidethe track (bare detailspublished in 1948. B.E.('. Report.fbr 1916-17 13 284) June 1946: P. Falk and a group from Rugby School N.H.S. find an unknown crucifbr in abundance along the Rugby-Coventry line west of Brandon station. later identified by hinr as this species(re- cord publishedin 1948. Ilughy School N.H.S. Report for 1947: 18). 1947. lurther finds by members of Rugby School N.H S. on the Leamington line south-west of Rugby station and on the London line at Hillnrorton (published in 1949: Ilngh'St:hool n".H.S.Report for le48 r7) 1947 JohnDony lindsit on railwayballast at EastHyde, VC 30 (publishedin 1949:Ilutsonia 1 38). By I953 (l'loru rf lledft>r"d.shire,215) he knew it in three placesin that vice-county:two miles southof Luton stationand at Willingtonand Flitwick. 1948.Victor Jacobs.a Birminghambotanist who soonafter emigrated to Australia,finds it on a track at l{amstead,near West Bromwich,VC 39 (publishedin l95l . Walsoniu2.37) The next find in that vice-countywas not till 1957(E S. Edees,F lora of Stffitrtkhire) The irregularsequence in whichthese records were published had the effectofobscuring the bunching ofthe discoveries,That Midlandsbotanists had not altogetherneglected their local railway tracks in the decadesprevious 1o the SecondWorld War is shownby recordsfor thatother coloniser of thathabitat, SmallToadflax, ('hoenorhinunt minus.lt thus seemslikely that it wasthe suspensionduring the War years,because ofshortage oflabour, ofthe previousregular spraying olthe trackswith weedkillerthat provided('. dmricuwith the chanceto becomeestablished. But how did it arrive in the first place?The explanationfavoured by the Rugbybotanists was that seedsof it haddropped in sandlrom violentlyshunted wagons filled with that broughtfrom the coast (bearingin mind the enonnousquantities required inland early in the War for filling protectivesand- bags).John Dony laterargued for a much simplerorigin. colonization naturally, directly and moreor lesscontinuously from the coast- on the assumptionthat the specieshad merelybeen overlooked. Althoughhe dismissedit from the very slart, a third possibilitywould neverthelessseem to desewe considerationas well. namelyintroduction with materiallrom the seashoreused for repairingthe tracks. The best evidencelor this is the fleeting Wartime appearanceon the track at PeelRoad stationin the IsleofNlan, VC 7 l, of Smallfoadflax, a speciesunknown in the islandbefore or since.Though trans- porlingmaterial lor repairinga railwaylrack acrossthe Irish Seato an islandnaturally well-supplied with slonessounds like carryingcoals to Newcastle,I am contentto leaveit to expertson trackdesign andupkeep to probethe feasibility ofthis lurtherpossible alternative. DAVID ALLEN. LesneyCottage, Middle Road, Winchester, llampshire, SO22 5EJ Notcs and Articles 25 DANISHSCUR\ryGRASS ON A WORCESTERSHIREROAD I refer to notesin BSRI New.s69. 17 & 71. 25, on lhe spreadof DanishScurvygrass (('ot'hleurrtt darticu\ by inlandroadsides. In the springof 1995I noticedfor thefirst time a lengthof some2 km of roadsidebright with the flowersof this plant.Being in a tralficjam I had opponunityto take specirnensfor positiveidentifica- tion. The roadwas the ,4450near Hagley in northWorcestershire, and I reportedthe occurrenceto the WorcestershireWildlife Trust. I understandthat therehave been other similar reports fbr roadsaround Birmingham. It seemsto me that the spreadofthis plantalong inland roads is simplydue to the useofsalt and gravel(incidentally carrying seeds) from seasidesources, on icy roads;and that thereis no necessary connectionwith the natureor numberof carriageways(the 4,450has one) nor with the road drainsor the absenceof hypotheticalpredatory organisms. The grassedge is sprayedby the wheelsof passing vehicles,and finding a suitablehabitat and weatherconditions, the seedsgerminate and the plants flower,for the incidentalenjoyment ofpassing botanists. LESLIE Il. PINKESS,17 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham Bl6 ORZ TILIA CORDATA IN LEAF IN DECEMBER We wereout in the cool drizzleof a Decemberday, walking up a trackwell knownto us,near Chalk- neyWood, Essex,when we werebrought up shortby the sightof a Small-leavedLime, I'iliu tordota, in full young leafl We brought a shoot home to examine,and althoughthe leaveswere slightly chlorotic,it was in all other respectslike a late springtree. The newlyextended leaf-bearing shoots weresoft and green. However, the terminal buds remained closed, and so did oneor two of the laterals. Thesebuds were green rather than the moreusual red. There were other small-leaved limes in the area, none of which showedthis extraordinaryprecocity. In nearbyWitch Wood, the Aspen,I'oltulus tremula,buds were showingthe soft catkin betweenthe bud scales,and the Goat Willow, Salixc'upreu, hadvery largeyellow buds, but the sightof a treein full leafwas still astonishing. This tall, coppiced,hedgerow tree did not leaf at this time lastyear. lt hasnot beenrecently cut, andis not in a markedlysheltered position. What possibleexplanation can there be? 'Farthings', U.A BROUGHTON, LayerBreton, Colchester, Essex CO2 OPP B-E.wRlGHl33EstuarCourt:Hux:sF',1mClose.To|lesbu PROGRESS WITH THE STUDY OF RUBUS FRT]TICOSUS IN THE SHIRE COUNTIESOF NORTHWEST ENGLAND Sincethe lastarticle onthis subjectinBSBI News66 the objectivesof visitingeach 5 ' 5 km squarein South Lancashireand in excessof 900 tetrads in the Liverpool and Manchesterenvirons have been achieved.The LiverpoolManchesterdata, amounting to almostI1,000 I knt recordshas been entered onto Dbaseat LIV. Provisionalmaps were kindly produced by AnguC.Gun$for the AnnualExhibition Meetingat Leicesterbut unfortunatelya seriesofcomplications prevented attendance. Not surprisinglyall the continuedsurvey work was mostproductiw. No nervvice-county records for Cheshire,but severaldiscoveries of new populationsof speciess'rlch as |ilrhns nev'butldii, R. rufescen.s& Il. intensitn'onthe Wirral. for example. Nolcs and Aniclcs Major new records were however made in Lancashire.Within a few kilometres of ManchesterCity Centre, R. atl.sper.susand Il. uccrescel.s were found, whilst a major surprise was that of R. segonlii (a recently described Welsh species). Matching species from Urmston. Leyland and l-ytham St Annes were lound to be il. cis.shurierr.ti.s.This species was tlrst observed at Maghull, near Liverpool by A. Newton. At Hale, (not too far lronr t,iverpool) R. sciocharis was discovered. Irurther north, I?. mucrormlutu.s was found at Padiham Heights and along the VC border at Foul- ridge (A. Turner may well have collected this speciesfrom Foulridge but his specinrenhas yet to be traced) and R. atlenoilhoide.r was lound to be locally common in woodlands between Preston and Blackburn. From a small area ofVC 63 to the east ofOldhanr, ileld records for R. errahundus, ll. t'riniger and ll. rtttensutr were made, whilst further north at Kelbrook, near Earby, a line population of ll. .stt h tarcq ne ns was discovered. A-rr August foray in the Parbold district with A. Newton confirnred the presence of Il. paitteri in South Lancs. (this specieshaving been collected earlier from this area by Vera Gordon). Records indi- cate that this speciescould well be a common member of the bramble l'lora of the West PennineMoors. At nearby Harrock Hill a specimenwas determinedas Il. lunuticaulis. l\{y thanks to A. NeMon for the determination and confirmation of specimens,to Angus Gunn at LIV lbr map production and to Pat Francis at Bolton for specimenpresentation. DAVE EARL, 4 Meadow Way, Brooklyn Park, Gravel Lane, Banks, Nr Southport PRg 8UB SAND LEEK- AND SLUGS I readwith interestAlan Newton'saccount of Allium scorcdoprasunt(Sand Leek) in RSBIly'ev'.s 71. Lastsummer this plantappeared in profusionin a neighbour'sgarden in WestSussex. There had appar- ently beenno sign of it prior to 1995and accordingto the Atlas oJ the British I'knu it has not previ- ouslybeen recorded south ofthe Wash.I understandthat in spiteoidetermined efforts by thegardener the plantis growingin evengreater numbers this year! One more theory about ('oc'hletu'iudanica (Danish Scurvygrass)on centralreservations, (Simon Leach,R,\illl Ne,ils7l). Perhapsthe centralreservation gets more salt spraydue to the faster-moving traffic Slugsdo not like salt,('ochlearia danica does. . . SYLVIA SIMKIN, 2 MapleRoad, Billingshurst, West Sussex RHl4 9TS BERKSHIRECTIURCHYARDS AND CEMETERIESPROJECT Recordshave been received from 72 burialgrounds The recordingform usedlisted 207 taxa which wereexpected to be found-- somein lots of churchyards,some in a few. Someof theplants on thelist havenot beenrecorded, but some268 othershavel There are also over 50 instanceswhere plants have beenidentified to genusonly. It is thus very obviousthat, betweenthem, the churchyardswhere re- cordshave been made have a highnumber oftaxa. 25 volunteershave sent in recordsfrom one or more sltes. ,|7, The numberof recordsreceived showed great variation. the leastwith the mostwith 137,but therewere 20 with over 100.lt is alsopleasing that one recorderjust sentin mossand liverwort re- cordsflrom his sites 'natu- Churchyardsare strangein that the plantsfound therewill includenative species growing rally', but alsomany others that havegot thereby the handofman. This may,or may not, be obvious assome plants naturalise and produce viable seed and so maintaintheir populations. Virtually all ofthe Notcs and Articlcs 21 trees and shrubs will have been planted but few will have produced offspring. Management of the site can also be extreme and so affect the speciespresent. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire are the three counties of the local Wildlile Trust (BBONT) and all ofthe churchyardsin Buckinghamshireand Orfordshire have alreadybeen visited and their vascular plants recorded, so it is interestingto see how those in Berkshire difibr fiom those in the other two counties. Its heathy soils probably influence the main ditlerences.For example, ('urex o'trrli.s (Oval Sedge), I)anthottia dectmben.s (Heath-grass), Iiricu cinerea (Bell Heather). lllperitum huni- fusum (Tralling St John's-wort).l,oth.r'nrs littifoliu.s (Bitter-vetch), l)luntugo L()r()il()pu.t(Buck's-horn Plantain), Polygala serpyllifolia (Heath Milkwor:t), liltmex uceto.sellLr(Sheep's Sorrel) and Sienecio .syhtaticus(Heath Groundsel) were not recorded (or only extremely rarely) in Buckinghanrshireor Or- fordshire. Saxifraga granuldto (Meadow Saxifrage),too, is much commoner in Berkshire, as is ('r;rrr- nopu,stlidl'm u.s(Lesser Swine-cress). On the alkaline soils, species like Atn4xr helladonnu (Deadly Nightshade), l)ruchrprilirrtrr pin- natum (Tor-grass), (-arcx divul,stt (.Grey Sedge), ('ampunula glomeruta (Clustered Bellflower) and Helittnthemum nummulurium (Common Rock-rose) have been recorded, bu1rnuch lesslrecluentll. Agt'imoniu eupaku|u (Common Agrimony) lor some reason(s)is very rare in churchyardsand, so flar,Berkshire confirms this, with only one sighting. Aphanes arvensis (Parsley-piert)has two records. It would be interestingif recorderscould search for Aphture.sinexspectetLr (Slender Parsley-piert)on the heathy soils. Other segregateswhich could be sought are the two subspeciesof Arenurict serpyllifitlio (Sandwort) and llortutrt'trlu.s.fiturio (Lesser Celandine). Species of Snowdrop (other than (]almilhus rtivulis) are probably overlooked, ( iulturthus elwesii. for example, turned up much more frequently than was originally expected in Orfbrdshire. Sinrilarly,Hyat'inthoides hispcuricu(Spanish Bluebell) is lrequently planted and readily hybridiseswith native H. non-scripla and these are to be sought when further recording is carried out in siles where other woodland speciesare present. Apart from the planted species,of particular interest are. Allitrm llrezrlc (Wild Onion 7 sites), Arclium lappn (Greater Burdock l), Ilrizu meditt (Quaking-grass'- l). ('ir.sium pulusrrc (Marsh Thistle 3). ('ltrylonictperfoliala (Spring Beauty l). ('liru4xxlium ascendens(Common Calamint (-yno,ntru,s l), cri.ttalus (Crested Dog's+ail l). I)ucry'lorhiza.fuc'hsii (Common Spotted-orchid -- l), lirrpotorium cntrohinum (Hemp-agrimony - l), ()alegu officintrlls (Goat's-rue l), (irtu- lthcrliunt uliginosum (Marsh Cudweed l), Lttcluca llro.ra (Great Lettuce 2), Luthyus rrt.s.soliu (GrassVetchling l), Linuriurepens(Pale Toadflax 1),Ontbunche rriror(CommonBroomrape 2). Oxali.s e,rllLs (Least Yellow-sorrel l), Papaver duhiun (L,ong-headed Poppy l), Rl6e.r ut,a-cri:;lttr (Gooseberry 4). Scrophularia venrulis (Yellow Figwort l), Senecio rl,sc'o.rrs(Sticky Groundsel - l). Sherardia arvensis (Field Madder 1), Symphl'tum oriuttule (White Comliey l) and L'iola reichenbacltiana (Early Dog-violet 3). It will be interesting to see what turns up in the sites visited this year. There are still about hall'ol' the churchyardsto be visited as well as most ofthe other burial grounds. ROY MAYCOCK, l7 Osborne Street, Bletchley. Milton Kevnes MK2 2LU PLANTS AND CALCAREOUSSOILS I read with interest Richard Toft's piece about the possiblepreference ofrnistletoe lbr calcareoussoils (RSRI Neu's 70. 26) and Phyl Abbott's comments about Thistle Broomrape (Orobanthe reticulutLt) growing on limestone and chalk in East Yorkshire (RSRI Neu's 70. l3). Many orchids also show a preferencefor calcareoussoils in the British Isles, e.g., Orchis milituris (Military Orchid) and Orr'irls .slzrla (Monkey Orchid), although this is not true on the continent of Europe, where the speciesare more abundant. I wonder whether the apparent preferencefor calcareoussoils in these speciesis really because calcareous soils are free draining and warm up quickly in the spring, and so the sorl Notes and Articles temperaturesarejust a little higher,making it possiblefor specieson the northernlimit oftheir rangeto survivein thesepockets, whereas they cannot in the surroundingcolder soils. Thismay be why the link betweenmistletoe and calcareous soils breaks down in centraland south- ernEngland, where the climateis a littlewarmer than in thenorth. PAMELA TAYLOR, Heathlands.74 StompRoad, Burnham, Bucks SLI 7LT THE FOURAPOSTLES OF NATURE L Spring, a spectrumofawakening greens. receptiveverdancies, offering choice to diverseincipient waves of light. The subtlecolours of unfoldingleaf-forms, escapetheir containmentby Winter remorse, andpose against blue, but hesitant,skies. 2. Summer, in easyand willing acceptance- of rich endowmentsof light andwarmth, respondswith its surfeitof vigour andgrowth. Hoodedtree canopies,cast their deepshade, "'J:1[:,:",.:;,',ff".:ill;H,,n:i:: 3. The flaring fanfareof gratefulAutumn- rs an ode to Naturefor bountyjust gone, in lea! rainbowsfrom headto foot. An orangeand chestnut leafofbeech, partsas a kiss,and floatsto the ground, to plaquelike ruston weatheringiron 4. In a colourlessscene of restingWinter snow etchesbranches and blackened clay- by a tarry river; washedby grey skies. Breathingbut slowly,the skeletalboughs, icedby the windswhich still their live buds, in patientretreat await their rebirth. RAYMOND W. GRO\€S, 2A The Uplands,St Leonards-on-Sea,East Sussex TN38 OHL THE ROADSIDEVERGES SCHEME IN ESSEX (An Exercisein CorporateConsenation) The RoadsideVerges Schemein Essexhas openedup opportunitiesfor useful exchangesand local co-operationon conservationmatters with engineers,farmers, contractors, and local councils. When we first set up the schemein the early seventiesthese people were all involvedin roadside vergesin one way or anotherand sb far from havingany needto considerthe valueofnative specieson the sitesthey had conflictingpriorities. Curiously enough, on consultationit was not difticult to redirect potentialdamage from their activitiesinto protectivemeasures. Notes and Articlcs For example,when excavationof a SpecialVerge for the pipelinesand cablesof publicservices was unavoidablethe HighwayEngineer arranged early consultation with the contractorsro examrne possibleprotective measures Now, basedon the adviceofthe contractors,thev have become a mutu- ally acceptableroutine, usually quickly agreed for eachsite well beforework beeins A greaterthreat was the factthat ifa farmerwas unaware ofthe presenceola SpecialVerge on his boundary,there was nothingto stop him unnecessarilydestroying it in minutes.Once informed, how- ever, farmershave been the sourceofessential information about past managementand firture stability They alsohelped solve what was an apparentlyintractable management probiem in the earlyeighries. From the beginningEssex County Council were not ableto undertakeany specially timedmanage- ment. In 1980furtherlimitations of manpower,machinery and financemade effective monitorins and controlledmanagement of anypart of the vergesimpossible. Verge cutting became the lowestpriirity. reducedto one full width cut in the summeras far as the moneyallowed and startingin a differentar;a eachyear. More thanhalf the eightyor so SpecialVerges were in the north west(Uttlesford Division) olthe countyand here local farmers agreed to managethe moreimportant sites to sucheffect that the Couniy Councileventually agreed to use it as a pilot areaand agreedlo the smallincrease of cash neededfor our recommendedroutine. This is basedon an all-overautumn cut alternateyears ln oppo- sitehalves ofthe area.The farmers then undertook the altemate years' management and by the timethe planning Departmenthad made an annualgrant off600 availableto pay for this from the Landscape Improvement Fund, the future of the SpeciaiVerges tregan to look nruchbrighter. Especially,as boih publicand professional complaints ceased almost overnight. The arrangementsfor extra managementand use of the grant are the responsibilityof the eight VolunteerVerge Representatives. Originally recruited from the CountyWildlile Trust Local Groupsin 1980'they are also responsible for co-ordinatinglocal liaison connected with theverges including proc- essingdetails ofnew sitesand sending an annualreport to thecounty council. Theyhave access to adviserson statusof species,farming and parish matters (including the diffi- cult to trace namesofadjacent farmersand parishclerks). At first reportswent through Uttlesfordand the West EssexArea Highway Manager,but it is a good sign that the three Managersnow ask for closerlocal co-operation and direct communication with theRepresentatives in their areas. TheseRepresenlatives meel once a year at the end of the summerto look into remediesfor any problems for top level considerationby the fuea Managersand a representativeof the County planning Departmentat a SpecialVerges meeting early in November.These four officials are responsiblefoi controlling and directing the schemeand their decisionsare madeknown befbre the start of the new season'sactivities. The rest ofus come from diversebackground interests and so have to concentrate our evidence,adapting our recommendationsto the needsofothers where we can,and relying on their goodwillto do the same. On askingfor adviceon managementof the sitesin the early 1980s,farmers were advisedby the N.C.C.(Derek Wells)and the I.T.E. (Dr Terry Parr who followedDr Way's originalwork on verge management)to baseit on on{he-spot observationand aim at habitatrather tha; individualspecie"s. Generalisationsand researchreports were not enough.It was excellentadvice which has obviously beenfollowed and as a resultwe candraw on over ten yearsexperience ofsome ofthe sitesincluding thoseof Melampyrumcristalun (CrestedCow-wheat) andof Trifttlium ochrolettcon(Sulphur Clover). On one of the M. cristqlum sites the farmer has had consistentlyimpressive resuits, giving up boundary territoryinside the hedge.Next summer,under his guidance, ih.r"-^r. plansto restoreone or ghost two sites.These are short lengthsofverge with only one or two plantsand differencesin shading. The adjacentfarmers have been told ofthe opportunity,making it quite clearthat therewilt be no hard feelingsif they do not take it up. Wherea farmeris not availablea well-informed'conservatron,con- tractor is employed, About 'f. half a dozenstabilised sites for ochroleuconare due for specialmonitonns this vear.lt appears to be ableto establishcolonies at thejunction between the summermarginal cJtting and the rest of the site on wide verges.If this is confirmed,so long as the margin is regulartycut it could do away with the expenseof any extrafull width cuttingin the summeron the ri&er grassverges. The newlyprivatised Councilcontraclors are co-operative and we hopethe operators will be ableto leavea :l( ) Notes and Articles messageat the HighwayDepot or the localmuseum.whenever they cut the marginsof thesesites in the summer.Local monitors can then record any effbcts'on next year's crop. For all thoseinvolved, verge matters are still a low priorityand having attracted their interest and co-operationwe try to retainit by reducingcommilments to the minimum.Recording for the Council need only refer to increase1+;, stability(=) or dererioration(-), with a simplelinear assessment (adaptedfrom OliverRackham's woodland methods) fior the moreimportant sites. The Departmentofthe EnvironmentSurvey lor 1990classed verges with streamsand hedges as 'linear habitats'and noted their increasing inrponance as seed banks and as attracting species which are now disappearingltorn broaderhabitats. In Essexthe roadsidesmostly harbour species dependent for survivalon theirposition on the fringesofhuman occupation. As linearsites they are particularly sensi- tive to changesin their boundaryterritory and have already survived the impactofthe machineand the CommonAgricultural Policy. Now, with on-the-spottreatment supplied by one neighbourlinked con- venientlyto the regularroutine of the other we can hopeto carrythem forward into the twenty-first century,not as relics,but as relativelyuncontroversial. economically managed. active fellow travellers: a locuslor corporateconservation and open to publicaccess at all times. UPDATEON THE RESEEDINGOF NEW ROADSIDEVERGES IN VC 73 In the ScottishNewsletter | 995 I wrotean articleon the localCouncil's policy in YC 72 andVC 73 of reseedingnew roadsideverges. This they had done for 50 yardsalong the ,A.7l I just northofDalbeattie in 1994.I had nolicedit as therewas a displayofPoppies (l'apaver rhoeas) a flower that is only seen in the countyas a rarecasual. I surveyedthe area,got in touchwith the roadengineers and eventually the Local Council.I found out that the councilgives a standardspecification of the seedmix that '849lo shouldbe used. Low GrassCultivars BritishSeed Houses r\4 mixture,2%o Fred Campion (Silene dioico). 2oh Knapweed((lentaureo nigra). 2a/oMeadow Buttercup (Ranunculusacris), 2o/o Oxeye Daisy (l.eucanthemumvulgare), 2'/" Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), 20%Meadow Vetchling (l.ttthynrspraten,sis),2o/o Yellow RatIle (.Rhinanlhusminor) and zyo Sheep's-sorrel(Rumex aceto- sella)'. I had found in my roadsidesurvey that besidesthe flowers from the seedmix, therewere Corn- flowers ((icrtlaureac1'wrus) which have never been recordedin VC 73 beflore,Corn Marigolds (('hrysanlhemumsegetun ), Corncockle(Agrostenma githago), a plantof Downingio elegans(Califor- nianLobelia) and Intil.s cttniurlotus var.sativt.\ (Bird's-foot+refoil). In 1995I resun'eyedthe samestretch ofroadside verge. There was not a signofa Poppy,which did not surpriseme, as Poppies in VC 73 arealways casuals, and have disappeared within a yearor two at the most.Neither were there Cornflowers or any otherfield weed.There were still OxeyeDaisies, but the plantthat wasfairly dominant was the alien form of Bird's-foot-trefoil,which obviously came in the previousyear's seedmixture, though shouldnot havebeen present. Another plant I've seenon roadsideverges where roadworks have taken placeis Polygonumboreale (Northern Knotgrass).The first timesit wasrecorded in VC 73 was in 1990in my vegetablepatch at New Abbeyand in a turnip field southof LochinvarLoch. It hascontinued to appearevery year sincethen, I havetried to work out how it cameto grow there.and the two suppositionswere, that the seedarrived with the manure front my neighbour'sfarm or as a contaminantin amongrny vegetableseed. I havelooked for it all roundthe farm withoutsuccess. so it musthave come in with the seed.This. I think-has been corrobo- ratedby its appearancerecently on roadsideswhere roadworks have taken place in two places,one nearLauriston and the other near Ken Bridge.Next yearI will seeif it is stillpresent in thoseplaces. At Southernessby the golf courseis anothersite, Here it hasbeen weedkilled for the pasttwo summers, but seemsto survive.I havealso found it on a disusedrailway in closeproximity to a fieldwith a new crop, Maize.There also. the surroundsof the field were coveredwith Black Nightshade(Solanum nigrun), a newcounty record. Notes and Articlcs Besides the local Council having had a policy of reseedingverges, the Forestry Commission har,'e also done so. In 1993 I had an exhibit showing the plants that had appearedon the banks surrounding a newly made carpark. These included l)ltutlttgo urenorio (Branched Plantain), SLurguisorhumurt' (Salad Burnet) and a dainty form of I)atrcus corote (Wild Carrot), which I learnt was a seed mirture 'heary for loam and clay' from a Cheltenhamfirm. That same summer the banks were weedkilled and covered with grass turf. The l)lanlogo orenuria has disappeared but one can still find a plant or two of the Sorrguisorba minor. ln 1995 | stopped off at a lay-by near Clatteringshaws resen'oir on A7l2 within Forestry Commission Property. They had made this carpark a ferv vears previouslv. and there I found several plants of Leucanthemrm vtlgttre and seven plants of ,\ungrri,*trho minor. nor plants of heathy hill country, obviously introduced with seed. It seems that the contaminants often last a lot longer than the original seed, which are usually grass seed mixtures, where the Forestry Commission are concernedand not Wild Flower mixtures. I have written to the Dumfries and Galloway Council and requestedthat ifthev are going to reseed again that they use seed merchants who are in the BSBI and JNCC approved list for sale of Wild Flower seedfrom the British Isles. OLGA STEWART.30/5 Colinton Road. EdinburghEHl0 5DG CHANGES IN THE FLORA OF INDUSTRIAL TEESSIDE 'the In his notes on the Flora of North Yorkshire (1863), J.G. Baker gives a substantiallist of rarer plants ofthe salt-water ditches, sandhillsand saltmarshesofthis part ofthe coast'. He also mentions 'the thriving town of Middlesbro' with its docks and blast-furnaces,[which] standsupon the Yorkshire shorejust where the river begins to open out into an estuary. A list ofthe introduced plants ofthe bal- last hills in the neighbourhood ofthe town will be given hereafter'. 'intro- Looking at his list there are only a very few which could fit into the category ofballast hill ductions'. These are Sinapis tenuifttlia (now I)iplotaxis) (Perennial Wall-rocket), Sulviu verhanuctt (Wifd Clary) and Oarlina wlgaris (Carline Thistle) The other sixty specieswould be ascribedto the coastal habitatsmentioned. It would be interestingto imagine the lerrain in the days when Baker carried out his suneys in the area, possibly in the late 1850s. The town of Middlesbrough was founded in l8l0 as a coal port. Nine years later the first ironworks were established.These works, and those establishedduring the remain- der of the nineteenth century, used ore from local ironstone deposits. The waste products from the manufacturingprocesses provided the raw material for the construction ofbreakwaters on either side of the mouth of the Tees in order to create a safe harbour lor the increasing number of ships using the river. That on the Yorkshire side became known as the South Gare. Work on its construction did not beginuntil l86l and it was not officiallyopened until 1881. The waste slag from the first works at Middlesbrough was used to infill the Tees marshland stretching east towards Redcar where further blast firrnaceswere subsequentlybuilt on lhe reclaimed land. At what stage ofindustrial development Baker visited the area is not clear but seeminglythe three limeJoving plants mentioned had already become establishedon the increasingareas ofslag wasle. I have not found &rhtr verbenaceron the Yorkshire (VC 62) side of the estuary since I started recording the plants in the early fifties. In fact, there are only a few plants to be found in the Hartlepool area to the north (VC 66). These have survived the passageof time at the side of a long-established track at the edge ofHartlepool's industrial area. Because limestone is used in the production of iron the waste slag is rich in calcium and magne- sium carbonatesand where the industrial terrain is left relatively undisturbed,and this is especiallyso in the vicinity ofthe South Gare breakwater, a flora rich in calcicoleshas developed. l2 Notesand Articles Whenthe retainingwalls of the breakwaterwere built, a dunesystem gradually became established on the seawardside, and, in places,saltmarshes were formedinside these walled areas giving rise to the developmentof an interestingsaltmarsh vegetation. So despitethe fact that this areais man-made,a uniqueflora hasbuilt up over the years.An S.S.SI. hasnow beenestablished on a largeproportion ofthe Gareand associated dunes in an attemDt to protectthe flora and nestingbirds. Unfortunately,the dunesystem is underthreat by expanding Ieisureactivities. Industrialwaste areas, therefore, surround this uniquearea and this gives rise to a wealthofplants from the TeesBridge at Middlesbroughextending eastwards towards ReJcar. SinceBaker recordedDipkttaxis tenuifolia on the so-calledballast hills, this plant is now perhaps the commonestspecies in the industrialTeesside area along with Seneciosqualidtis (Oxford nagwort;, whichhas invaded the dunesalong with the Marram-grass. 'lunar' Otherspecies which are now a featureof these landscapesare Rlack.tlonia (Yellow-wort), Erigeron acrls (BIue Fleabane), Ile'sedn htea (Mignonette), ,\edum acre (Biting Stonecrop),silene ilgaris (Bladder campioni, Melilorus altissima (Tall Melilot), Hieracium vrlgatum (Hawkweed),H. iug,m (Leafy Hawkweedi, ('hamerion angusrrloliun (Rosebaywillowherb) and(.'ortium mqculotum (t{emlock) 'taken Since the 1960s,I'etctuctt vintsa (Grear Lettuce) has literally off and is now spreading rapidly giving the landscapean evenmore bizarreappearance. Sisymhrium orientale (EasternRocketJ is Iikewise on the increaseand seems to rikethe depositsof hot ashwhich are dumped outside the Red- carsleelworks. Two interestingrecentlv established plants are Hirschfeldia incana (Hoary Mustard) and Rapis_ trum peretme (SteppeCabbage) The former first appearedon the MiddlesbroughRiverside Industrial Estatein 1984and is now abundantthere and spreadingeastwards as well as into the northernpart of Middlesbrough itsell The latter establisheditself in one or two placesalong the railway network. It doesnot appearto be spreadingon a large scale.The rail systemhas alsobrought in Conyzacanaden- sls (Canadian Fleabane)and, in two places.Linaria repens(Pale Toadflax), one ofthe very few south- western speciesto becomeestablished here, most ofthem beingofa moresouth-eastern distribution in this country. It is thoughtthat someof thesemay well havecome with ore shipsfrom northemSpain. Quite remarkablein theselast ten yearsor so is the appearanceof Ophry^sapifera (Bee Orchid) on the industrialscene, and in largenumbers. This orchidfirst appearedaround'the-edges ofrhe Cleveland Golf Course near Redcarin 1985 Sincethen it has turnedup in the railwayiarshalling yardsat Thornaby(around 100 plants in 1994)and on industrialwaste sites in at leastiwo other placis in the area.(iymnadenia conopseasubsp. densflora (FragrantOrchid) has beenknown here for sometime but in years recent coloniesofup to onethousand spikes have been seen on I.C.L andBritish Steel sites along. with Dac't1'lorhizapurpurella (Northern Marsh-orchid)in similar numbersin both wet and dry situationsand occurring uith D. fuchsii (Common Spotted-orchid)with the resulranthvbnd (D. x vanzsta). These are some of the plants which have found their way into an ever-changingindustrial scene here at Teesside Constantmonitoring is requiredespecially regarding the more 1iigile relict saltmarsh specieswhich are very much relianton humanactivities in this presentday climate. The forthcomingtwo daymeeting based at Redcarshould help in thisrespect. Fortunately, the major industriesare very much awareof the delicatebaiance of the existingwild- life and are anxiousto play their part in its preservation. References: Lawrence, (1994) I A Guide to the ll/ild F-lon-ersof Cletelancl Publishedby ClevelandCounty Council Graham,G G (1988) Thel;kra arul L'eguationof county Durfutn Durhamwildlife.l-rust. Various Authors (1993) An ecologicttl reptn of the South Gsre Area (includrnga comprehensiye plant list). ClevelandNeiluralists F-ield Chth l,roceetlingsS(3). IAN LAWRENCE, I I AskernDrive, Acklam, Middlesbrough, Cleveland TS5 7HZ 'i3 Notes and Articles FORGETTINGTO DIE In a garden where I work one day a week at Chedglow, near Malmesbury, I have corne across exanl- ples of Foxglove (l)igitalis pnrpurea) and Woad (/.rnll.r tiil(tori.t) which have sun'ived flowering and setting seed.They have gone on a further two seasons,flowering and setting seed.Other biennialssuch as Hemlock ((' MARTIN CRAGG-BARBER, I Station Cottages, Hulla',.ington,Chippenham. Wilts SN l4 6ET BOTANISTSAND BOTANYIN LITERATLIRE- 2 B E. Smythiesof Redhill points out that Dickens, in Nicholas Nickleby, gives a useful definition of Botanythrough the lipsof Mr Squeers; 'Where's the secondboy?' 'Please, sir.he's weeding the garden' replied a smallvoice. 'To besure,' said Squeers. by no meansdisconcerted. 'So heis. B-o-t, bot. t-i-n, tin. bottin. n-e-y, ney,bottinney, noun substantive, a knowledge ofplants. When he has learned that bottinney means a knowledgeof plants,he goesand knows 'em. That'sour system,Nickleby, what do you thinkof it?' 'h's a veryuseful one, at anyrate,' answered Nicholas. Mr Smythiesalso draws attention to the botanicalcontent in Kipling'sstory'Fairy-Kist', fiorr 'I-inrits and Renewals'.His own researchesinto certainreferences to fbur well-knownbotanists in the storv deservefuller treatment than there is snacefor here Now for somemore less than laudatory references to thoseof us who botanise.Wordsworth appears to equatebotanising with cold-heartedness: 'A fingeringslave, Onethat wouldpeep and botanise lJponhis mother's grave:)' (A l)oet'slipittrlthl G.K. Chestertonfelt that attendingto wild plants had a detrimentaleffect on Thomas Hardy's character: 'Hardy went down to botanisein the swamp,while Meredithclimbed toward$ the sun . . . Hardy becamea sort of villageatheist brooding and blasphemingover the villageidiot.' (I'he I'ictoriurt Age in Literature) Dr Johnsonhad little time or patiencefor the subject. 'Are yotra botanist,Dr Johnson?' 'No, Sir, I am not a botanist;and (alluding no doubtto his nearsightedness) should I wish to be- comea botanist,I mustfirst turn myselfinto a reptile.' And I wonderwhy W.H. Audencast the botanist as arch-villain, in the epiloguetol'trs Look, Strnrgtr' 'For the wickedcard is dealt.and The sinistertall-hatted botanist stoops at the spring With hisinsignificant phial, and looses Theplague on the ignoranttown ' - Clearly,one should look out for one'scompanions'head-gear when botanising near a reservon'. Notes and Articlcs Many thanks for suggestionsfronr a number ofmembers; but to keep the subjectwithin bounds I think fhat quotationsshould be linritedto thosementionimg'botany'or'botanising'or'botanist'by name,or at least dealing with our subject as such, and not with plants in general. I look forward to receiving further material! JACK SMITH,48 Dean Road.Handforth. Cheshire. SK9 SAIi (Te1.01625-528160) ASPERG E R'S SYNDRONI E AND CH I"JRCI{I'ARD LICII ENS I arnafraid I haveno readyliterary botanists to handbut ifJack Smithis preparedto widenhis brieffor botanicalreferences.therewasaletterto'l'heT'imesinthewinterof l992whichdescribedararemedi- 'newly cal conditionknown as Asperger'ssyndrome diagnosedsufl'erers tend to be lonersand to devotethemseives to suchesoleric pursuits as l6th centurySpanish wars or churchyardlichens'. I slrouldadd that it wasan amusedlichenologist to whom I am indebtedforthis insight. For the flippancysection (llotarricul .ktke.r) may I submit. o What did the old pondweed say to the newcomer? A Elodea. FRANCESCAGREENOAK. 5 Wood Row, Wigginton.l'ring. HertfordshireHP23 6HS. TREESIN 1995IV Calculated editorial cunning separatedthe three articleson the unseasonablebehaviour oftrees in 1995 in fir'e English counties (Leics , Warks , Gloucs . Oron & Wilts., B.\/JI NavrsTl Jan. 1996) on pp. 16, l5 & 78. The authors, Martin Cragg-Barber. Tony Primavesiand myself posed similar questions and gave partial answersto each othcr. An abbreviated summary (omitting erotics) ol'the three articles would be as follows. Ash (^Fiax- inu.s excel.sior). Elder (Samhtrcus rtigra) and Beech (littgus sylvatica) restarted leafing in June when devastatedby late frosts Ash. Elder, Beech, EuropeanLarch (Lurix dectduo), Common Lime (7ilia x vilgori.s), Hawthorn (()rataegu.s monog,,na) and Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia\ had often been defoliated during the summer drought and restarted leafing in autumn. The two Rosaceae members, Hawthom and Rowan, sometimesrestarted flowering again in October and November. I can add to this list some young Silver Limes ofthree species,which did not even start their initial annual leafing until Sept 1995. The buds of Oliver's Lime {7'ilitt oliveri), European Silver Lime (f. tomarrtosa) and European Silr.'erPendant Lime (l pettoloris) began to expand during the light warm Septemberrains in this part of Wiltshire (N'tarlboroughDowns and Upper Kennet Valley) to put on a spectacularleafing display lastingfrom 20th Septemberto mid-December 1995. Last year ( 1995) was climatically a very odd year according to the trees. JACK OLIVER, High Vievv'.Rhyls Lane, Lockeridge. Nr Marlborough, Wilts SN8 4ED Notes and Articlcs t5 A CHLORO'TICEPIPACTIS IIELLEBORINE IN AN EDINBTIRGHHOTISING ESTATE. The three stems attached to a single rhizome',vere approrirnately l1 cm high and were growing on a closely mown grass verge in the Craignrount area of Edinburgh. They lailed to flower but as shown by the photograph (below) managed to reach the budding stage with obvious llower bracts Nfajor '\n- thony Jack informed the Royal Botanic Garderrofthis find and carefully parked his car over the orchid so that they could not be mown before we managed to examine thenr. fuchard Bateman. one of our orchid specialistswho has seen similar such plants onlv twice before in the south ofEngland. confirnied the plants identity Epipoctis helleborine ((Broad-leaved Helleborine) had not been recorded in this area before but the species rvas known from the adjacent Barnton area since last century. Ilence the chlorotic plant was likely to have been growing in this area in a suitablehabitat before the housesu'ere built about thirty years ago. We could seeno reasonwhy chlorosis should be causedunless the mowing had weakened the plants suffrcientlyto allow some other agent to causethe sickness AII other plant:;in the area seemed perfectlv healthy. Sadly the orchid stems withered away before flowers were tully developed. DOUGLAS R McKEAN, (British Section) Royal Botanic Garden, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR Chloritic Lt,ipa This is probably the worst botanicaldisaster in Britain sinceTeesdale was flooded.We will keepyou intbrmedof the developmentsand the casualtylist. TIM RICH, LIBBY HOUSTON& MIK,EMARTIN, The Annex,Newgale Farm, Priory Road, Foresl Row. EastSussex RHl8 5JD LEVEL OF REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITT'IN FERNS In this areaofGloucestershire, on the Cotswoldscarp, an arearich in ferns.I haverecently (February 1996)observed PolTyxtdium vulgorc (Common Polypodv) with plentifulimmature sori. This suggests that reproductionwas prevented last summer by the dry wealherand the lern is now makingup lbr lost trme. I'hyllitis scolopendrium(Hart's{ongue) shorvs normal production of mature sori. l)r.rrqtteris f lix-mas (Male Fern) showsno fertile fronds at present. RACHEL FIE- SouthWoodchester, Stroud,Glouceser;hire GJ-5 5EL l:1,I,,,)..|,,tn",*"nolur", DEWPONDSIN VC 6I - VEGETATION,SUCCESSION AND NIAPPING One does not expect to find much in the way of aquatic vegetation on chalk wolds. Village ponds might have their share, but finding Schoenoplectus lacuslris (Common Club-rush) growing apparently in the middle of chalk grasslandat 200 m was surprising until seen closer to be in a semi-derelictdewpond. Dewponds are man-made structures providing water for cattle and sheep in areas devoid of surface water. There have been varying designs,but all depend on the formation ofa protected layer ofinrper- vious puddled clay. The diagram is based on those given by Hayfield and Brough ( l) The quicklime deters worms which would burrow through the clay, the straw cushionsthe stones which in turn pro- tect the structure from the hooves of the animals.Most dewponds were made during the l9th and early years of the 20th centuries and now are superfluous when piped water is available. Where land usage has changed from pasture to arable, many have been filled in. They are shown on the L 25 000 O.S. maps and comparison of a block of land 5 x 6 km (NE of SE85) showed 68 der,vpondsin the 1953 edition had declined to I 3 in the I 986 edition. Dewponds were often constructed at thejunction oftwo, three or four fields. How they are replen- ished with water appearsto be controversial, some thinking the dew does play an important role. others not. Since the majority are well away from rights of way, the writer thought it was likely that their vegetation was under-recorded in previous surveys. Consequently a small survey was started in the late summer of 1995 of those ponds found on parts of the Yorkshire Wolds, VC 61. Due to the drought during the early part ofthe sun'ey, many had no standing water, but this enabledthe vegetation to be checked more easily.The results are given in the tables. Points to note are the following. Where water was normally present.the most frequent speciesof aquatic plant was Lemnct minor (Common Duckweed) in l5 ponds (4396) and the next most prevalent was Potamogelon rwtans (Broad-leaved Pondweed) in 6 ponds (17%). lmmediately surrounding the water, often forming complete rings were Sparganiun erectum srsbsp.neglectun (Branched Bur-reed) in l5 ponds (3%) and Eleocharis lnhrstrLs subsp. vtlgaris (Common Spike-rush), I4 ponds (40%), followedbyavarietyofspecieseachinonlyafewsites, e.g..luncusttrticulatus(JointedRush)and1rl.r' pseudaconts (Yellow lris), though in the case ofthe last, the plants lormed a complete ring alnrost to the exclusion of other species. This also raises the question as to whelher the Iris, N,r'mphuaaulhtr (White Water-lily), (-altha palu.stris (Marsh-marigold) and the variegated grass popularly known as Gardener's Garters have been deliberatelyintroduced. The last of these has been listed in the table as Phalaris ttruntlinoceavar. picltt, but it could have been Glyceria muximuvar. variegata - the plants were not accessible.None of these plants was close to a farmhouse and there seemsto be no obvious Notcs and Articlcs reasonfor deliberateintroduction. Also, two ofthe pondsare less than 8 km asthe crow fliesfrom the watergardens at Burnbynear Pocklington Plantsprominent on wet mud were ('henopodiumruhrum (Red Goosefoot),Rantnculus scelera- rns (Celery-leavedButtercup) and Il. trichophyllus(Thread-leaved Water-crowfoot) at 9 ponds(26%). On slightly drier ground, often to the exclusionof other specieswas Agyostisstoknifera (Creeping Bent) ar 12 ponds(34%) As might be expected,l1 ponds(31%)had one or more speciesof Epilr> 6rzrn(Willowherb) present. The dry rim of the dewpondsand those Iong derelict had a varietyof arable and waysideplants and they haveonly beenlisted when eitherprominent or dominant,with no attempt to recordevery species present. Becauseofthe differentdates ofconstruction and subsequentusage and neglect, the pondsgive a 'silted pictureof the successionof vegetationas they gradually up' or driedout. So one could seea sequence.- L A pondstill in usewith only a scatteringofplants around, mainly f)oe annuo (Annual Poa). 2. Pondsstill functioning but not in use,with varyingaquatic and marginal plants present. 3. Pondsdried out anddiffering little from the suroundingpasture (No.33), or ifsurroundedby arable. thenwith arableand wayside plants (No 28). 4. Pondscompletely dried out with scruband trees,e.g. hawthorn,from neighbouringhedges and syca- moredeliberately planted. Recordswere not kept ofdewpondsnot foundand presumed filled in to makeextra arable land. The recordsobtained were comparedwith mapsinthe Atlas qf rhe Rritish Flora (2) and the new' l'loraof theI'aslRidingof York.shire(3) Theresultwas2lrecordsnotshownforhectadsquaresin '72 the Atlas and tetrad recordsnot shown in the East Yorkshire Flora. Of course,it does not follow that all theseare new records,but manymust be. In additionthe Stonewort,('hara virgata(det. N.F. Stewart)was found in one dewpondand is thoughtto be a lst VC record.These results, it is felt, jus- tify the initial suppositionthat the vegetationof dewpondswas under-recordedand shouldbe brought to the attentionof thosehelping with'Atlas 2000'. thoughit may involvea lot of footwork and the seekingofpermission for access. My thanksgo to all landowners,agents, and tenantfarmers who gave permissionsand showedan interest,including the Lord Hotham (agent S N. Fairbank),Sir Tatton Sykes(agent Col. A. Wilson) andMessrs P. Burton,K Clark,G.T Conner,A Dale,E R. Megginson,S.G. Potts, S Stubbings,and H.W.Watson. References 'Dewponds L Hayfield,C andBrough, M (1986-87) andPondmakers of the YorkshireWolds'. Fblt Life 25 74-91. 2 Perring.F.H andWalters, S.M. (Eds)(1962).Atlas of theBritish l.'lora, B.S.B.t., London L Crackles,F.E. ( 1990) I,'loru o.fthe lia.stRiding N4 chatt tloct. ffi fl_--l Straw r./ .1 Lray Structureof a Dewpond.Based on diagramsgiven by C. Hayfieldand M. Brough Notes and Articles l9 Pond No. Date Location Grid Ref. Alt. m. Water Land usage I 22.7 Fimber 886607 94 + (P) 2 267 Towthorpe 888638 195 + 3 26.7 Towthorpe 893633 145 (P) 4 2.8 Fridaythorpe 864605 105 P 5 2.8 Thixendale 853608 195 + 6 14.8 Huggate 849 572 2t5 m A 7 16.8 Huggate 863541 192 nl 8 18.8 Huggate 858552 t90 lI 9 18.8 Warter 855529 180 i l0 31.8 Thixendale 864 6t4 150 + ll 8.9 Sledmere 926637 110 f (P) l2 8.9 Sledmere 925 645 t2'7 f (P) IJ 8.9 Sledmere 92'./64'1 135 (P) l4 8.9 Sledmere 928657 117 m l5 8.9 Sledmere 932 652 lt3 m (P) t0 8.9 Sledmere 948 649 l5s + 1'7 8.9 Sledmere 947 648 145 m l8 8.9 Sledmere 943 649 130 + A l9 8.9 Cowlam 955662 175 m 20 8.9 Cowlam 959 657 165 m 21 12.9 DaltonHolme 933447 166 22 15.9 Sledmere 92t 663 lr5 P ZJ 15.9 Kirby Grindalyhe 909 668 145 2.10 Sledmere 942 648 120 + 25 2.10 Sledmere 938648 lls f (P) ztt 2.10 Sledmere 959613 t21 + A 27 2.10 Sledmere 9376-s3 t20 28 2.10 DugglebyWeld 874 694 192 A 29 9.l0 Towhorpe 88t637 205 a 30 6.10 Swaythorpe 039 694 120 + -rl 9 l0 Thixendale 814609 225 - 16.l0 HolmeWeld 932467 69 -) -t 16.l0 DaltonHolme 939 464 57 P 34 16.10 DaltonHolme 934 460 84 A l5 16.l0 DaltonHolme 923 461 102 A + - water present; - water absent, m - wet mud present Locatedin A-arable, P pasture, (P) fencedoffin pasture ERIC CHICKEN,Corner House, Scarborough Road, Drifield, E. YorkshireYO25 TEtl Notes and Articles .lgru.rttr.\lolon4eru l6 Fplohrum pultstre 11 Pericaiu Sparyailiilot eredilm subsp rreglecrum I irlica thoice Notcs and Articlcs l5 I6 l7 l8 lg 20 21 21 25 26 23 29 l0 ll t1 31 35 Total Ponds 2 z t2 I 4 1 t(, il t2 l: l,l t5 l8 20 2l 22 Zl 26 z1 2lt 29 30 tl J) -16 11 l! +(J +t 12 44 45 46 -t8 ,19 ){l 5l ).2 MistlctoeSurycy ]\{ISTLETOESt]RVEY NTISTLETOESTIRVE}' L}PDATE Enquiriesabout mistleloe continue to keepme busyand I offer the usualapologies for any delayin replyingto letters.This updatedoubles as a lastcall lor data- analysiswill needto beginin earnest this summerif resultsare to be availablethis year. Many correspondents,not to mentionthe media,are hopingfor (and sometimesdemanding!) a full and exhaustiveaccount well beforethis Christmas- perhapsI shouldgive up the dayjob! For thosecurious about analysis so 1brI offer the tetraddot map below.This is very provisional but doesseem to be in broadagreement with the distributionmap generated by the 1969/70survey. A fuller accountof the provisionalresults is givenin my articleon mistletoein the Decemberissue of Ilritish Wildlife magazine.This includesnotes on insectassociations and reproductivebiology as well as host preferenceand distribution.Al accompanyingarticle by John Box on Christmasuses of ever- greensincludes traditions associated with mistletoe. One aspectof mistletoenot widelyappreciated in Britainis its potentialin medicine.I havejust returnedfrom a conferencein southernGermany dedicated to mistletoeand its uses.This was hosted by Helixor, one of severalGerman and Swiss firms specialisingin mistletoeextracts used in cancer therapy.The themewas the backgroundto mistletoeand mistletoe families rather than the medicines thentselvesand I am still investigatingthese. The variousproducts, such as Iscador,Helixor and Ab- nobaseem to be widely acceptedover therethough I am unclearabout proofoftheir clinicalefficacy. I am awarethat somework on mistletoeextracts in Britain hassuggested a real valuein cancertreatment but medicalenthusiasm seems rather more guardedhere. I would be interestedto hear from anyone who could help with informationon this. The issueofharvesting cameup in severaldiscussions at the conference.It seemsthat the mistle- toe extracts are made from all the subspeciesof l'iscum album, includingsubsp. album, our native subspeciesbut also subsp.austriacum and subsp.abielles, the two that grow on Pines, Firs and Larchesin mainlandEurope. Sustainable harvesting was hardly mentioned (unless I missedit in oneof the Germansessions) except for a commentthat I'. album subsp.album harvestsfrom Oaks in France are carefullymonitored. Usual SAE pleasefor last minuterecord cards and/or information about theBritish Wildlife article. JONATHAN BzuGGS,BSBI MistletoeProject, 2 Ledgemoor,Watledge, Nailsworth, Glos GL6 OAU MISTLETOE IN OXFORDSHIRE Havingtried to correlatethe distributionof manyspecies in Oxfordshire(VC 23) with geologyand otherfeatures, I welcomefuchard Tofts' articleon l'iscumin BSRI Nev's70 (Sept.1995). L'iscumin VC 23 grows on ('ralaegu.s,Malus, Populus.Iktbinia and Tilia, which betweenthem abundantlyoccupy all 596 ofour tetrads,but exploitsonly a tiny fractionofthis resource,and in only 30 tetrads. Our data superficiallysuggest that l:iscumis favouredby 3 factors: I chalk, of our 100 tetradswith chalkit grows in 16. Howeverthe dots are arrangedaround the edges,not at all in thechalk heartland. 2 Thereis a better correlationwith towns; the urbanareas ofOxford, Goring, Cavershamand Henley extendto 29 tetradsof whichMistletoe is in l2t but mostother towns lack it Mistletoe Sune\ 3 The Thames.This runsthrough 48 tetradsfrom NW Oxford(Wolvercote) downwards and l:iscunr is in 15. But Mistletoeis not a riversideplant, and hardlygrows nearthe Thamesabove Wolver- cote,or otherrivers. The behaviour of (-u.sculaeuropoeu (Dodder) is similar. The placescited are lowland areas with low rainfalland milder and less snowy winters than other parls ofthe county,but againare only a smallfraction ofsuch areas. Thusa countoftetrads can suggestsome possible theories but Mistletoehas a puzzlingdistribu- tion andsome quite different factor must be severelyrestricting it JOHN KILLICK, StruanCottage, l78 ParkCrescent, Abingdon, Oxon OXl0 IDF ,! "#1""1U" .YFr i 'la,l .li \: Tetradmap of Mistletoein the BritishIsles ConservationNews CONSERVATIONNEWS CONSERVATIONIN THE BSBI The Conservation Committee has a new plan; the'Strategy and Action Plan for the Conservation of Vascular Plants' which has recently been adopted by Council. In preparing the plan, we have been cognisant ofthe strengthsofthe BSBI and how these can best be used to conserveour flora. Elsewhere the better strategy is to co-operate with other organisationstowards the common goal Data gathering has always been a primary function of the BSBI and it is a fundamentalfirst stagein conservation. We are alreadv committed to the Atlas 2000 project to update our general knowledge. Fortuitously it will also cover the period of the first repeat Monitoring Scheme survey. due in'199718. The rare and scarce speciesare nrore vulnerable.The Plan recognisesthis and proposesa more detailed study of their populations and ecology. The objective being to assessthe risks of a decline and to be prepared with effective remedialactions. We hope many memberswill find such studiesrewarding. Botanists tend to regard aggressive,alien speciesand genotypes as bad news, and not to be re- corded with lists of rnore desirable species.As a result we have patchy or unreliable data, making it difficult to decide if and where aliens pose a threat to our native flora. We hope to accumulatebetter data and we have made a start by asking the vice-county recorders what information they have. Monitoring is the natural companion to recording. One area that is poorly monitored at present is the translocation ofspecies and increasingly,ofhabitats. This is a contentiousactivity and we have little knowledge of the successof most projects after the first lew years. We will assessthe feasibility of maintaininga register, rnonitoring effects and offering sound advice. We consider how threats to endangeredspecies and habitatscan be mitigated. Our participation at local and national level is valued. We can both alert people to problems and monitor threatenedsites. Collectively we have an impressivebody ofknowledge on which to basethe case lor conservationand we should use it in the most effective way. This is an area where liaison with other bodies will be an effective way forward, and our role in developing this collective expertise as members of Plunt Life Lir* andother nationalbodies is imporlanl. Finally, education is seen as the way to promote conservation. We will be exploring better means ofreaching the generalpublic and in the longer term, appointing an education officer. COUNTY RARE PLANT REGISTERS Wemust take issue with one item in thatotherwise excellent summary inIISRI News'll 10concerning CountyRed Data Books. That lor Dorsetis neither glossy nor ior thepurposes of publicisingthe Trust. It wasproduced by theDorset Environmental Records Centre, an independent and separate body. Nor 'for was it promoting the cause ofprotecting the rare species';indeed it would be againstthe ethos of DERC to make such value judgements. Our primary ainr was to produce for each taxonomic group, a straight-forward factual list ofwhat is rare, according to standardcriteria and what is known about the status of the speciesat a fixed point in time. We also wished to produce a readily availableand readable account of Dorset's rarer wildlife. Hopefully all of the 2l bodies that have approached us will copy (and improve on) the format, and not be put offby such dismissivecomments. Conscrvation Ncws For eachgroup we took advicefiom specialistson the mostappropriate way to describe'rarity'. We agreethat the Red Data Book for birds is rather different in having categoriesfor breedingand wintering,and alsofor passagemigrants. For this reasonmany ofthe county'sbirds are listedin one way or another.But the interpretationis validand informative; the bird chapteris only oneofeighteen. As for the otherseventeen, we loundthe lessmobile groups could be classifiedin a comparablemanner to our familiarbotanical categories. We look forwardto manyCounty Rare Plant Registers, and also to manyCounty Red Data Books - theyboth havetheir place. Copiesare still available from DERC- or from F. andM. Perring. DAVID PEARMAN & ROBIN WALLS, DorsetEnvironmental Records Centre, Colliton House An- nexe,Glyde Path Road, Dorchester, Dorset DTI lXT. CYPRIPEDIUMCONSERVATION REPORT I995 The native plant of ()ypripediumcalceohts again flowered well in 1995despite the hot, dry summer. The elevenyear old seedlingwhich first flowered in 1993has againproduced a flower. Thereare now sixty shootsat the siteas a resultofboth seedlingplanting and the scatteringofhand pollinatedseed. The site is not accessibleto visitors- it is on privateland and, in addition,the habitatis very fragile andseedlings would bedamaged by visitors.Wardening is continuousand strict The Committeeis pleasedto report that numbersof would-bevisitors continue to fall and we thankyou for stayingaway. Plans are going aheadfor the provisionof a vieu'ingsite and I shallbe pleasedto report on this as soonas it is available. MARGARET LINDOP, E.N. ('ypripedizn Committee PLEASEKEEP AWAY EnglishNature as part of its fen orchid SpeciesRecovery Programme together with NorflolkWildlife Trust are requestingphotographers not to visit the last sitesfor Fen Orchid (Lipari:r kteselii) in Norfolk during the summer. The wardenof KenfigNNR in Glamorgan,Wales, Peter Jones (01656 7 43186)would be happyto receivephotographers who wishto photographthe southWales populations offen orchidsas an alter- native.Please contact Peter. It is hopedthat asthe populationoffen orchidsin Norfolk increaseswe candevelop flacilities that enablephotographers to visit Norfolk sites. REG LAND, ConservationManager, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, 72 CathedralClose, Norwich, Norfblk NRI 4DF 16 Aliens ;::.::ii ALIENS MENTHA PULEGIUMIN GRASSSEED I was somewhatsurprised when I995 produceda wholecrop of recordsin Cheshirefor lvlenlfutpule- gium (Pennyroyal)which, although mentioned in De Tabley'sFlora (1899)as a nativein a smallarea of southCheshire, has, to my knowledge,not beenreported since. As this plantseems to be currently occurringelsewhere in the country,it seemsworth alertingpeople to possiblenon-native sources. Somerecent records I haveheard ofare asfollows: VC l4 East Sussex.Ardingly Reservoir, Sept. 1979.Mary Briggstells me it wastraced to grassseed originatingin N. Americaand tailoredto suit areasperiodically inundated. l)tn'ningicr elegons (CaliforniaLobelia) was also present. (IISRI Nen's23) VC 32 Northampton.A reservoirsite (also with l)ouningio) sownwith CreepingRed-fescue seed from Canadaand supplied by BritishSeed Houses of Warrington,Cheshire! (pers. comm. Gill Gent) VC5SCheshire.(1)EasthamFerry,WirralGrassedareabehindnewlyrenovatedseawall (KeithWat- son).(2) Anderton,Northwich Seededareas of reclaimedindustrial site (C.M. Kay). Associated wtth 7'rifitlium Jiagiferun (Strawberry Clover), Loltts corniculatus var. .ralluu,s(Bird's-foot- trefoil)and the odd pansy.(3) Nantwich.Grassland in old halltaken over by RSPCA(Shirley Bur- ton). This is not known to havebeen seeded and is in the right areaofCheshire to be potentially native,but the presenceof Sunguisorhuminor (SaladBurnet), which doesnot occurnaturally in Cheshire,suggests an introduction. VC 59 Southl,ancs. Penwortham, Preston (pers. comm. Peter Jepson). Here the Menthtt was associ- ated with shrubsplanted round pondsin an areaof ancientmeadow now part of Hirst Grange Park Thiscould be a nativesite. VC 64 Mid-west York. Guisburn.One plant on seededroad-verge with Barfutrea vena (American Winter-cress)and L'entnicapolitu (Grey Field-speedwell)(pers. comm. Phyll Abbott). So do not get overexcitedifyou find Pennyroyalin a new site,but first considerthe handofman, not nature.I havealso heard of somerecords in Waleswhich might fit into the aliencategory. The plants are apparentlysomewhat more robustand erectthan the nativeform andjoins an expandinglist of speciesbeing inlroduced al randorninto our countrysideto polluteour nativestock. It is a shamethat MetttfutTntlegitrzr is so scarcethese days, but this is not the solution.I don't know if the Wanington firm is the only source,but their commonname should be BritishSeed-houses and never British-seed Houses. GRAEME M KAY, 4 (ienevaRoad, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 3HT TINTERN SPURGEIN KENT The main floras refer to l',uphorbiu.serrnluta as a plant of W. England and S.E. Wales, but it is also establishedin the east ofthe country. A colony found by Alan Leslie in 1986 by the edge ofthe woods at Wisley Common, VC 17 (Surrey) was still thriving in July 1995 And on lSth June 1995 I found some hundreds of this ineradicable weed to be extensive on sandy waste ground near Crockenhill, W Kent (VC 16), TQ/5.6 , (conf E J. Clement) The speciesis happy in sun or shadeand I do wonder if it may be overlooked before fruits develop (particularly for Ii. x pseildovirgato). [N.B. re Dick Barrett's article on L. ohlongara in RSR] News 7l page 48, can I just say that the speciesis mentioned in the RHS suppl. to Dictionary of Gardening 1969]. JOHN R. PAIMER, lg Water Mill Way, South Darenth. Kent DA4 9BB Druce and the BSBI DRTJCEAND THE BSBI MAKING LIGHT OF A GR{VE OCCASION A Memorialfor GeorgeClaridge Druce FRS 1850-1932 In preparationtbr the AGM in Oxfordin 1994a leafleton Druce'sOxlord was produced bv the Botanic Garden and the Department of Plant Scienceswith sponsorshipfronr the BSBI II provides a map of a walk round Oxford to see seven places connected with one of Britain's most honoured field botanists George Claridge Druce, 1850-1932 One of the sevenwas his grave in Holywell ('emeten but, sadly, no headstonebearing an inscription can now be lbund there. One of Britain's most distinguishedand much-loved field botanists rests in an unmarked grave in Holywell Cemetery. The BSBI has agreed to purchase a new headstone,simple and restrained, and made of JurassicLimestone from his native No(hamptonshire. This will be unveiled bv the Presidentof the Society on Saturday May l8th the Weekend befloreDruce's birthday on 23rd N{ay To lurther rnark the occasion the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire has arranged a lecture and half-day programme of events with the Oxford University Plant Sciences Department and Botanic Garden. The 150 fee for the faculty to erect the stone, and the cost ofputting it up, will be raisedby dona- tions at the meeting and local subscription. Programme for Saturday lEth May 1996 Department of Planl Sciences 12.30 Display olDruceana in the Fielding Druce Helbarium 1.00 Lunch in the Common Roonr 2.00 Serena Marner l)ruce und the Ashntoleart Nuturul History Societlt of Oxfiu.tl.thrrc 2.10 Dr D.E. Allen - I)ruce orl the biodiversitv of the Rritish flortr Holywell Cemelery 3.30 Unveiling the headstoneby Presidentofthe BSBI. David Pearnran 4.00 Walk to Botanic Garden through Magdalen College where Druce was an Honorary Fellow Botanic Garden 4.30-6.00 Tea and viewing of (ieranium > onniutum'Claridge Druce'. Prints of a painting of this plant by Rosemary Wise will be on sale at t25 in aid of the Friendsof the Bolanic Garden lfyou wish lo be present for all or part ofthis programme pleasesend a stamped,self-addressed enve- lope to Dr Camilla Huxley-Lambrick by llth May at Picketts Heath. Ridgervay, Boars Hill Orlbrd OXI sEZ. Tel 01865 735161 lf you wor.rldlike lunch,enclose a chequelor f3 payableto ANHSO 'Druce's You will be sent a copy of the Oxfbrd' leaflet, which shows the venues,a ticket and details of parking l'acilities and travel arrangements. For security reasons entr!- to Pktnt Sciences will he hy ticket only It is hoped that David Allen's lecture will be regardedas the first of a seriesof Druce lectures.to which we would hope to invite the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire and other interested botanists. The BSBI Meetings Committee will be considering further topics and venues for future years. CAMILLA HUXLEY-LAMBRICK, FRANKLYN PERRING & STEPHEN JURY. Nleelinqs Committee Druceand the BSBI OUR RARESTPLANT Dr David Allen has sentme a photocopyof a newspapercutting found by Tim Rich tipped into a Flora. It is from the l)aily ('hronicle of 24 li4ay 1930(the day after Druce's lamous80th birthdayparty) and it seemsofsuffrcient interest to reoroducehere. OT}RRAREST PLANT ITS HOME AN'DNAME A CLOSESECRET BIRTHDAY GIFT 'Somewhere in the North of Englandis a smallpatch of wild countrysideon whichgrows the rar- estplant in this country. All told, there are only twelve examples,but they are to be given to the nation,with the land on which they grow, to mark the 8fth birthdayof Dr ClaridgeDruce, the greatestliving British botanist. The gift hasbeen made possible largely by membersofthe BotanicalSociety and Exchange Club of GreatBritain, of which Dr. Druce was the founder. Only a privilegedfew know wherethis secretbit of Englandlies, and they are swornnot to di- wlge the spot, so that the plantswill be safeuntil they are properlyprotected. Eventhe nameofthe flowerwas withheld at the presentationgathering yesterday. A LEARNED MAN In presentingthe chequeto buy the title deeds,Viscount Grey of Fallodonspoke of Dr. Druce's greatwork for Botany. Dr. Druce is a memberof nearly every botanicalsociety in the world, and has discoveredmore than | 00 speciesofnew plants. "We are living in a very interestingage" saidLord Grey, "not merelybecause scientific discovery has progressedso enormouslyin our time, but becausethings are quite differentfrom what they were 60 yearsago." "To-day eachdiscovery seems 10 bring us nearer,not to the end ofknowledge,but to a largerand longervista of the unknown." Sir MauriceAbbott Anderson,president of the Flora League,explained how the presentationcame about,and Dr. Druce saidthat when he had boughtthe "mystery"ground he would handthe deeds overto the Societyfor the PreservationofNature Reserves. If that could not be anangedit shouldgo to the NationalTrust. WOMEN'S GIFTS Women showeredbouquets and congratulationsupon the happylittle doctor at the receptionheld in the afternoon. Although 80, he is extremelyactive, and still works as hardas manymen at 40. A hostofsavants and titled people brought birthday congratulations. "l havenot finishedyet," he saidwith a chuckleto a "Daily Chronicle"representative. "Only re- centlyI lound l4 new speciesoftaraxacum whatyou wouldcall dandelions."' 'the Doesany member know what smallpatch of wild countryside'or 'our rarestflower' was? EDITOR Noticcs(BSBI) / Noticcs(Non BSBI) 1,,.a','.lt1, :,:..' NOTICES(BSBI) PRE-PUBLICATIONOFFERS The BSBI is usuallyanxious to helpmembers who areauthors of localFloras by sendingout lor them pre-publicationoffer notices. However,the considerabledelays in publicationof bookson somerecent offers have resulted in trouble(and expense) to BSBI officersdealing with enquiries,as well asto authorsand publishers. We realisethe manydifficulties in estimatingthe time that the manuscriptwill be with publishers. Pleasemake a realisticassessment ofprobable date ofpublication and aim to sendout thenotice within 3 monthsofactual publication; stating the anticipatedpnblication date. Whenyou havedecided this, apply to the Hon. Gen.Sec. for mailingdates, numbers ofcopies and deliveryaddress for inserts,with a note of anticipatedsize and numberofpages. Leaflets should nor- mally be 45 or if A4 folded to A5 beforedelivery, and on lightweightpaper to reducepostage costs Clearlymark the noticepre-publication offer (unless it is an undatedoffer for BSBI members).It is essentialto givethe addressfirr enquirieson the portionofthe noticeretained by the applicant(as well ason the applicationfbrm) in caseofunexpected delays. The Societynormally charges for insertsand advertisementsfor publicationsof a more commercial nature. MARY BRIC'GS,Hon. GeneralSecretary AZORESFIELD MEETING- ADVANCENOTICE A FieldMeeting in the Azoresis proposedfrom 2lst Juneto 6th July 1997,Leader A. Copping.Fur- therdetails will be givenin the September1996 issue of IISBI News. ARTHIIR COPPING,The Nook, BrewersGreen, Roydon, Diss, Norfolk lP22 3SD NOTTCES(NON BSBI) T]NITOF VEGETATIONSCIENCE LANCASTER UNIVERSITY 1996Training Programme The missionof the Unit of VegetationScience Training Programme is to put in placethe skillsand confidenceneeded to understandand sustainBritain's semi-naturalvegetation resources. With supportfrom LancasterUniversity's Continuing Vocational Education and Trainingbudget, this visionhas become the basisofa flourishingeducational enterprise. We arenow a leadingprovider oftrainingfor professionalsthrough programmes ofshort coursesand workshops. Standardtraining in the NationalVegetation Classification (NVC) remainsa centralelement in our portfolio but more specialisedapplications ofthe approachare increasinglydemanded. In 1996,for example,courses and workshopswill look at HabitatQuality and Value.Understanding the Habitats i(l Noticcs(Non BStsl) Directive, Pasturesand Meadows, Creating New Native Woodlands, and Ecological Options in Land- scape Planning. Each year, we also provide custornised training for organisations and groups of professionals. Training with the Unit of Vegetation Scienceoffers you first-hand experiencewith leading practi- tioners. Our team is headedby the Unit director, Dr John Rodwell, co-ordinator of the NVC and editor of Rritish l'lurtt ('ontntunilie.s, \4'ho heads all courses and workshops. We draw on expertise from both l.ancasterUniversity and respectedpartner organisations. Building a senseof co-operative working - in pairs, groups and as a single team is an impor- tant part of the erperience of these courses. But there is always ample opportunity for participantsto contribute their own perspectiveand to relate what is learnedto their particular needs.We also ensure sufficient training staffto provide individual attention throughout. For fi.rrtherdetails and a booking form pleasecontact. JULIA MILTON, Short-CoursesOlicer, Unit of Vegetation Science,Lancaster University, Lancaster LAI .+YQ Tel 01524 594503,Fax: 01524 843854,E-mailj c milton@lancasterac uk THE FRIENDSOF'THE WAKES In 1991,the bicentenaryof GilbertWhite's death, a groupof his admirersjoined together to tbrm 'The Friendsof the Wakes'.named after the housein Selbornewhich was his house lbr mostof his life.The Wakesis now a museumin his memoryand the gardenis beingrestored to White'soriginal design and plantings.The purposeof the Friendsis to keepalive the spiritof White'swriting and observations, and lo supportthe museumin the work that is beingdone. The Friendsnow numberabout 100 and it is hopedto expandby reachingin particularthe many lovers of I.hc Naturul History of Selhorne Ment- bershipcosts t5 (18 per family)for whichmembers receive a quarterlynewsletter, details ot'talks and eventsand free entry to the Wakes. Detailsof nrembershipcan be obtainedfrom. The MembershipSecretary, The Wakes Museum, Selborne, Alton, Hants.. GUi4 3JH. .GARDEN FIRST' Inverleith House,Royal BotanicGarden Edinburgh ll May - 2 June Scotland'sGarden Schemehas invited some of Scotland'sbest-known artists to draw and paintin oneofthe gardenswhich open under the Scheme.Fifty artistshave selected a favouritegarden to work in andthe resultswill be exhibitedat InverleithHouse. All the workswill be lbr saleand a percentage ofthe proceedsdonated to Scotland'sGarden Scheme For furtherinformation contact. ANGELA KILDAY (RBGE Press Officer), 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR Tel.0l3l 5527171ext 42'7.Fax:0131 5520282 Fulure Confcrcncesand S\mDosia FT]TTIRECONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA FIRSTEUROPEAN TINION CONFERENCE ON NATIvE & REGIONALPLANTS Plantsin their places 20-21November 199(r at the LinneanSociety, Burlington House. Piccadilly. London W I V OLQ To be openedby TFIEEARL OF SELBORNE, Chairmanof theJoint Nature Conservation Comntittee with anelening presentation on 20 Novemberat The Houseof Lords As well as convevinga senseof placefbr eachregion. and oftenbeing a sourceof communalpride, local planrsin manycountries provide medicine and staplesfor local people-- and are the basrsof plant/animalassociations. There have been conferences on wildflowersand ethnobotany, but this is the first internationalconference on nativeand regionalplants The deleteriouseffects ofintroducing non- nativewildflower seed has been recognised by the UK BiodiversitySteering Group and this conference. with talksby leadingexponents in this area,will contributeto the debate.Scientific research on main- tainingbiodiversity needs dissemination; community action needs support. plants nearing ertinction. especiallygrasses. shrubs and trees,in naturalhabitats in situ. needcultivating ex sittt - as do the plantsin thefood websofthreatened animal species. Advancesin Palaeobotanyand Palynologvrneans that botanistscan now distinguishbetween natu- ralisedand native flora with greatprecision. The useof indigenousplants is stressedin Agenda2 I , and tits with the IJK GovernrnentBiodiversity Action Plan.Scientific research, checklists of regionalflora andthe Pan-EuropeanBiodiversity and Landscape Strategy will be highlighted Paperswill be givenby Sir SimonHornby, President of the RHS' ProlessorRoger Short FRS; I)r ChristopherHumphries, Botanical Secretary, Linnean Society; Dr Miriam RothschildFRS; Dr Franklvn PerringOBE, Past-Presidentof the BSBI, Dr RogerSmith, Ilead of the SeedConservation Programnte at RBG, Kew; Dr RichardPankhurst, RBG, Edinburgh;John Brookes,garden designer, Dr Peler Bridgewater,Australian Nature Conservation Agency; John Wrigley A.M., formerCurator of National BotanicGardens. Canberra. Convenors:The Duchess ofHamilton FLS; Penny Hart FLS;David Pescod FLS Registration:!40 includesthe receptionat the Houseof Lords Contact:Linnean Society Tel 0171434 4119Fax 017| 2879364 NATURAL HISTORI'COLLECTIONS: A Resource for the Future SecondWorld Congresson the Preservationand Conservationof Natural History Colleclions 20th- 24thAugust 1996 Hosledby the Departmentof Earth Sciences,University of Cambridge For furtherdetails and registration forms please contact -fhe Administrator.2nd World Congress,Department of Earth Sciences.Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 iEQ. Tel 01223334421 Far 012213i3450 52 Futurc Conferencesand Symposia JAPANESEKNOI'WEED - A STRATEGYFOR EFFECTIVECONTROL WednesdayOctober l6th 1996 l,oughboroughUniversity of Technology Furtherdetails ofthis one-dayworkshop for thoseinterested in the managementand control ofJapa- neseknotweed are available from. GILL GILES, ICOLE, Dept of Geography,Loughborough University of Technology,Loughborough GLOBAL BIODIVERSITYRESEARCH IN EUROPE INTERNATIONAL SENCKENBf,RG-CONFERf, NCE December9-13,1996 Frankfurta. M., Germany Subjectsto be covered.Systematics and taxonomyof all groupsof organismson a world-wideor a Europeanscale; Phylogenetic analysis and problems;Tools and techniquesfor systematicresearch, Biogeographyas one ofthe mainapplications oftaxonomy. Dependingon participation,discussion groups w'ill be put togetherin orderto addresssubjects of commoninterest We hopeto receivesuggestions from prospectiveparticipants. A smallfund will be availablein orderto contributeto the travelexpenses of peoplebeing other- wiseunable to participate. If you are interestedin participating,please contact us at the addressbelow. Your preliminary inquiryshould contain the followingitems. Name, Address, Phone and Fax-numbers.e-mail address; Are you planningto presenta contribution(poster or oral)?,If title (evenif preliminary)is known, pleaseadd; Any further suggestions(e.g. for discussiongroups), Application for travel fund. Secretaryof the International SenckenbergConference on Biodiversity Senckenberganlage25, D 60325 Frankfurta. M , Germany.Fax 004969746238; E-mail: [email protected] CONTOURSOF'ECOLOGY REI-IGIOT'SFAITH AND ISSUESIN ECOLOGY TODAY Monday9th to WednesdayI tth September1996 High Leigh ConferenceCentre, Hoddesdon, Herts For further details of this interestingand unusualconference, jointly organisedby the Scienceand ReligionForum and the BritishEcological Society please contact: The Rev'd UrsulaShone, Diocesan Science Advisor. 25 PinfoldLane, Ainsdale, Southport, PR8 3QH Tel 0t704 576098 PLANTSFOR FOOD AND MEDICINE l-6 July 1996,London A joint meetingof the Societyfor EconomicBotany and the InternationalSociety for Ethnopharmacol- ogy is beingsponsored by the LinneanSociety, The NaturalHistory Museum in London,the Royal Futurc Conferences and S\mposia / Rcqucsts 53 Botanic Gardens, Kew and Scotia PharmaceuticalsLtd. The programme includes symposia on ltood, Meditine and Health. (-ns.s.s-('ulturerlI'lan! Exchonge and a satellite symposium on Botany - Llhot's in il.for l)rylturd.s l)evelopmenl2 as well as contributed papers. For more details. contact: The Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly.LONDON WIV OLQ Tel 0lTl 13444'79, Fax:017128'l 9364,E-mail. [email protected] ::.::i:i:::':] j::]:.i::]::l:::]ii:i;:']:]]j,: REQTTESTS MEADOW-RTIES I am currently revisingthe Thqlictrumspecies of Europe,N. Africa and W. Asia and would be pleased if BSBI memberscould collect rhizomes,seeds and/or herbarium material especially of Ihtrlitlrunr foelidum, T.flavtm, 1'.mimrs and T.sinrplex(all sensulato). Material of thesetaxa ftom outsidethe studyarea is welcometoo. Rhizomesofall speciesare transportable in plasticbags for at leaslthree or four weekswithout any problems if a few dropsof water,moist earth or mossare added. Pleasenote the exactlocality and if possibleinformation about ecology and morphologyof the population.All contributorswill be informedabout the resultsat theend ofthe study. RALF HAND. BotanischerGarten und BotanischesMuseum Berlin-Dahlem Konigin-Luise-Str. 6-8, D lllql aerlln PERSICA RIA AM PHIB IA (AMPHIBIOTJSBISTORT) This familiarwater-plant, perhaps better known asltolygonum omphihium, varies in the arrangementof its stamensand styles,pollen fertility, indumentumand also in its readinessto flower and lruit. Terres- trial plantsare less fenile. it seems. My researchproject at LeicesterUniversity is investigatingthis andI wouldbe gratefulif readers couldsend me freshflowering or fruitingmaterial, preferably with a rootedpiece. About 35 cm (t0 in.) ofstem is enough.Any gatherings,either in Britainor abroad,would help but specimensfrom isolated or remote placesare particularlyuseful (where even vegetativematerial is of use). Pleasesend your contributionto my homeaddress, wrapped in dampnewspaper and tightly sealed in a plasticbag, with detailsoflocation, habitat, vice-county, date and your nameand address. I will refundyour postageand acknowledgeyour helpin anypublication. JAMESPARTRIDGE, 85 WillesRoad, LEAMINGTON SPA,Warwickshire CV3 I IBS WILL YOU BE IN THE PELOPONNISOSTHIS STIMMER? 'filia 'ls Dr DonaldPigott, who is researchingthe taxonomyof Lime trees, sp.worldwide, asks - any memberplanning to visit the Peloponnisosin Augustor Seplemberlhis year?'Dr Pigotturgently re- quires ripe fruit from Lime trees there. He needsto grow thesefor researchinto an as yet unnamed 'l'ilia subspeciesof possibly plary,ph1'llo.swhich occursin that area.Collection from treesin the wild is preferable,but the naturalhabitats of gorgesand steeprocky slopesmay be a bit daunting.The same Rcqucsls lime is also grorvn in churchyards'rvherethey fruit lreely and collection u,ould be easy for any traveller there at the right time; thesefruits lrom churchyardswould be acceptable. The puzzling subspeciesoccurs through Albania and Macedonia, and may cross the European boundary into-Iurkey; ripe fruils with a good herbarium specinrenfrom Turkey would also be welcome 'About See Panel of Relerees IISRI Yeur l'Jutk l()96.20 and additionally 20-25 fruits are required fron a tree, dried gently for a few days, then packeted in small polythenebags or tubes and sent to him as soon as possibleafter returning to Englandl' (Note address below). If you do plan to be in the Peloponnisosin August/September,Donald can give you preciselocality directions for the required llllrr fnrits. Please contact him at: Dr C.D. Pigott, Greenbank, Cartmel, Grange-over-SandsI-Al 1 7SQ. WANTED - BRITISH AND IRISH HERBARIA D.tl.Kent & D.E.Allen, 1984. 2nd Edition Ifany BSBI member has a spareor unwanted copy ofthe above, I would be pleasedto hear from them. I would, ofcourse, be willing to pay your asking price and refund postal costs - as long as its not too exorbitant! PHILIP HARMES, 37 Farm Road, Buckley. Flintshire CH7 2PU CHURCHYARD WILDLIFE I havebeen asked by the publishersHarper Collins to write a New Naturalistvolume on churchyard wildlife and conservationso I am once more researchingthe plants,birds animals and invertebrates whichinhabit churchyards. I have kept my researchessimmering in my own areaover the past ten years andhave seen many changes somegood others retrograde (widespread use ofweedkiller around the baseof graves,for example).lvlany BSBI membersand vice-countyrecorders were kind enoughto write to me abouttheir observationsand survey results during my earlierperiod of research.May I ask you to makecontact again, to let me know how your Churchyardsare developing,whether they still havethe samespecies in them,or whetherthings have improved or not. I shouldalso be very gladto hear from any new correspondentsabout Churchyardsthey are particularlyacquainted with or where they haveseen items ol note - this includeshuman use. All contributionsused in the book will of course,be fully acknowledged. FRANCESCAGREENOAK, 4 Wood Row, Wigginton,Tring, Herts FIP236HS Tel 01442891 156 Fax 01442 9890730 INFORMATION ON ORCHIS SIMIA IN OXFORDSHIRE We are currentlycollating information on the perfbrmanceof Orchissimia (MonkeyOrchid) in Ox- fordshire.Good informationis availablefi'om 1986to date,however any observations(number of plants,flowering/vegetative & date ofvisit) wouldbe much appreciated Sincethe installationofa rabbitprooffence in 1992the colonyhas thrived. 1995 was a recordyear with 123plants recorded. including 72 floweringand 47 new,previously unrecorded, plants. IIBONT Wardens.Rod d'Ayata,Chris Raper& Fred Rayner,c/o WarburgResen'e, Bix Bottom, Henlev-on-Thames-Oxon. RG9 6BL BookNotes BOOK NOTES I don't know whetherall Book Revieweditors have the same recurrent mghtrnare that I do. no reviews to publish! A monthbefore the deadlineone looksat the meagrepile ofscriptsand wonderswhether therewill be enoughcopy. However, the reviewsarrived and the follorvingwill appearln ly(ttsoni(l 2l(2). dueout in August.Thanks in advanceto all the revrewers. Jnsacrs,plqilr.\ artd .ser It isn't very long sincethe last Book Noteswas prepared,so the list of booksreceived recently isn't quiteso massiveas lasttime. Those which will not be reviewedin Walsorriuare marked with an aster- isk. Thecommenls in squarebrackets are mine unless otherwise stated. A natunil history tf ()uernse.t',Aldente.v'. Surk atil Herm. B. & J. Bonnard.Pp. xii + 160.Guernsey PressCo, Guernsey1995 Price t9 95.ISBN 0902550-60-8. Thefloru of Hamp.shire.A. Brewis,P. Bowman& F. Rose.Pp. xii + 386. tlarley Books,Colchester. l9S6 Hardback price 145 00. ISBN 0-946589-34-8 Paperbackprice i25 00, ISBN 0-946589-53-'1 Iiurnring wirh u,ildlife in mind. E Charter.Pp iv + 76 OrkneyFarming and Wildlife Advisory Group, Kirkwall.1994 Price f Il 50 ISBN0-9525196-0-7 A\tetts of the.flora of (ln'c'tr[)huthhu. M Ui ChonchubhairPp xviii + 270. OidhreachtChorca Dhuibhne,Ballyferriter. Co Kerry 1995.Price f20 00 ISBN 0-906096-07-3.[The book covers the baronyof Corkaguineyor ChorcaDhuibhne, Co. Kerry, which includesthe areawhich most Britishand Irish readers know asthe Dinglepeninsula. Although the book is bilingual,I onlyfound this out by studyingthe mapofthe areaas the familiarname does not appearto be usedeven in the Englishtext!l *fheanther:form,.futtctiorrandphylogen)'.EditedbyW.G D'Arcy&RC Keating.Pp.xii+351. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge 1996 Price !55 00. ISBN 0-521-48063-9.[A detailed accountof the anther,based on papersgiven at a 1993symposium. Topics covered include fossil history, origin, diversity and evolutionary trends, adaptation to animal pollination and an 'exhaustive' indexedbibliography of 1,437works publishedsince 1900. The sheervolume of lit- eratureis impressiveand perhapsdepressing in view ofthe statementin the blurb,which I seeno reasonto doubt,that the stamenand anther'have received relatively little scientificattention'.] *Algae:an inlroductionto phycolog;. C. van den Hoek, D.G. Mann & H.M. Jahns.Pp. xiv + 623. CambridgeUniversity Press. Cambridge. 1996 [but dated1995 in book]. Hardbackprice 170.00, ISBN 0-521-30419-9Paperback price I24 95, ISBN 0-521-31687-l[A substantialintroduction to the algae,a translatedand updatededition of a Germantext. It is aimed at advancedunder- graduates,postgraduate students and others who work with algae.After a brief introductionthe mainsystematic groups are covered one by one in what appearsto be a traditionalapproach con- 'phylogenetic centratingon morphology.It endswith some reflections'and a bibliographyof l, 937 numberedreferences. The manyillustrations include a pictureof an coccolithbloom off the coastof Iceland,,seenfrom,space hy o satellite.f *l.it'henhitfutg:. Edited by T.H NashIII. Pp.ri + 301 CambridgeUniversiry Press, Cambridge. 1996 Hardbackprice f50.00, ISBN 0-521-45368-2Paperback price f16.95, ISBN 0-521-15974-5 'lhe [Thosewho did a botanydegree in the 1970smay rememberHales' biology of lichez.sas the standardtext on the subject.This multi-authoredvolume is intendedas a replacement.It givesan accessibleand readableaccount of lichenbiology, but I am no lichenologistand cannotconiment on its accuracylThe curiousnature oflichens is well-knownbut the authorsappear to be in some doubtabout how to describeit: ChapterI begins"Lichens are by definitionsymbiotic organisms..." whereasChapter l2 starts"Lichens are not organisms."!] *l'he .floru of Kirtg's 1-yzr. R.M. Payne.Reprinted from Transoctiuts descriptions,notes and supertr illustrations. This volumedeals with Rosaceae,Caesalpiniaceae and Fabaceae,and includescomplete treatments ofcritical generasuch as Rrr6rl.s(91 taxa) andAl- t'hemillo(27 taxa).There are English translations ofthe prefaceand the introduction,and an inter- estingessay on phytogeographysupported by selecteddistribution maps. Although I don't have exactprice details, the book is relativelycheap (less than t20). As before,this flora andvolume is highlyrecommended. T C G Richl The.florao/Montgomerl'shire.Editedbyl.Trueman,AMonon&N{.wainwright.pp.xii +244.The MontgomeryshireField Society& The MontgomeryshireWildlife Trust, Welshpool 1995 Price 32150 ISBN 0-95267|5-0-6. A dictionar; o;[plant-lore. R vickery. Pp rx + 437 oxford Universitypress, oxfbrd. 1995.price I14 99 ISBN 0-19-866183-5.[Many thanks to ClareSmith of O U P fbr steppingin to provide this!l C,D. PREJTON; Monks Wood, Atbots RlRron,HLiNTINGDON, Cambs ottt tat. fTE , , BSBIPUBLICATIONS - THE FIRST20 YEARS E.W. Classey'resignedasthe Society'sbook agentsin 1976and, when we werelooking for an alterna- tive, I suggestedmy father,Frank Perring, a retiredbusinessman who was livingnear us, as an altema- tive. Margaret& I wereable to storethe bulk of the booksin a cottagenext to the farmhouse,Oundle Lodge,we wereliving in at the timewhilst he operated in a bedroom,first at Glapthorna villagea mile north ofOundle and,later, in thetown itself.Ile enjoyedthe challengeand took a keeninterest in new publicationsand how they sold at meetings.and he went on working almostuntil the day he died in NovemberI S82 A fullerappreciation was published in B.\r91A'ex's 33, 5. This is though,perhaps, a momentto remindolder members and inform more recent ones, that he wasthe F. of F.& M. Perringand that BSBI Publicationsis almostentirely run by N4 - N{argaretwith the ableassistance of DianaBriggs who is hereat GreenAcre, Wood Laneon Mondayafternoons, and Tuesdayand Thursdal mornings. If anymembers wish to callwhen in the areathey will be mostwelcome. Just ring 01832273i88 in advanceso that you will find Margaretor Diana'at home'.They hope to be at your servicetbr a few more yearsyet, so long as the arthritisgets no worseand we haveenough space for the increasing numberof BSBI publications. NEWSFROM OUNDLEBOOKS SeveralBSBI Publicationsare now out of print or reprinting.The last copiesof l,ltutt.sll/ild utt! (ulti- valed andBritish aru{ Irish Herhariu havenow beensold, whilst the only handbookscurrently in print are Sedges,Roses, Charophytes and Pondweeds.With the new AtlasProject underway we musl hope that Crucifersand Willows& Poplarswill be reprintedshortly and that thoseresponsible fbr new edi- tionsof Docks& Knotweedsand Umbellifers will sooncomplete their work. The needfor CountyRed DataBooks hasbeen met in Northamptonshireand Derbyshireand we havecopies of both in stock.There is alsoa very usefulnew' book on ChurchyardConsen'ation For thosegoing abroadwe are now extendingour rangeto cover SouthAfrica and can currentlyoffer a superbnew book on the Fynbos. Ifyou would like a copy ofthe Supplenrentto our 1995list whichincludes details ofthese and othernew books please phone, Fax or writeto. F. & M. PERRINC,Green Acre, Wood Lane.Oundle. peterborouch pE8 5Tp Tel:01832273388 Fax 01832274568 Book Notcs / Reporls ofFicld l\tectings 1995 LIST OF VASCULAR PLANTS OF THE BRITISH ISLES D,H.KENT ERRATA,LIST 3 (December1995) is nowavailable tiom meon receiptof a s.a.e.Copies of listsI & 2 ( l99l & 1994)are still similarlyobtainable. I-aterthis year SUPPLEMENT I of Kent's lisl will be issued.It will coveradditional species (over 200) andhybrids as well as changesin nomenclatureand taxonomy, some ofwhich havealready been detailedin ErrataLists l-3, but it will not repeatall the minor correctionsto author'sabbreviations. statusand typographical errors. etc.. that have appeared in theseErrata Lists. CLIVE STACF..Department of Botany,University of Leicester,Leicester LEI 7RH REPORTSOF FTELDMEETINGS - 1995 Due to pressureof work, Dr B.S. Rushton has resignedas editor of Reports of Field Meetings and the following Reports will be the last under his editorship. Brian will continue to act as Receiving Editor for lltot.vtnia and I thank him for his valuablecontribution to B.\R1Neu'.s. Until a successoris appointed Reports should be sent to the Editor of R.Sdl Al,vs. ABERFOYLE. STIRL-INGSIiIRE(VC 86) 22nd-23rdJULY Saturday A good turn out of I 5 members and friends arrived after a bone-shakingdrive on the private road to Comer, an isolated farm to the north of Ben Lomond Permission for access had been obtained by Alastair Eckersall, the National Trust for Scotland ranger for Ben Lomond. Alastair also agreed to lead the summit party, sincethe meet leader was restricted to the lower slopesdue to arthritis. Three of us headed for the Allt mor, a steep gully to the east of the summit. The bracken covered lower slopes were broken by colourlul swathes of I)aclylorhiza macttlatu subsp. ericelorun (Heath Spotted-orchid) and Nurthet'ium ossifragunt (Bog Asphodel) In the gully itself Smilrcrga aizoide.y (Yellow Saxifrage) was prolitic on the banks and the almost dried-up stream bed. Suxi,frogustellaris (Starry Saxifrage), Oryria dlglza (Mountain Sorrel), l'futliclrum alpinum (Alpine Meadow-rue) and A s1tI e t ri um Ir i cho mune.s-ru m osu nt Green Spleenwort) were also found. 'fhose '1959 who made lor the main cliffs in the corrie below the summit were able to update a record of ('orex atrots (Black Alpine-sedge). Sihholdia proutmhen.s (Sibbaldia) was found in many small patchesnear the top of the corrie and by the path to the summit. On the cliffs /lrll.stic'hum knchi- ll.s (Holly-fern). ('erdsliun olpinum (Alpine Mouse-ear), I'oa alpina (Npine Meadow-grass), Szurs- .urrea alpinu (Alpine Saw-wort) and Hieracium sene,tcens were seen. Iimpetrum nigrum subsp. hcrmapltrodilum (Crowberry) was identified. The widespread Eyebright was l)uphrasio scotlica. 'f he two who went on to a crag on the opposite side of Gleann Dubh were able to confirm that the trees on the crag were Popuhrs trentula (Aspen) Hierot'ium vtll4ahnr, H. chktronthum (Hawkweeds) and Ro.nr sherordii (Sherard's Downy-rose) were identified there. [-och Dubh, beside the forest road was afso visited, and ('orex ve.sicaria(Bladder-sedge) found. Sunday It was raining unremittingly as eleven stalwarts gathered by Loch Katrine at Stronachlacherpier. The aim had been to explore the apparently base-rich slopes and gullies of I\{aol Mor part of the Loch Katrine water catchment area Pernrissionto record and to take one car along the private road had been obtained from the Water Authority This time John Gallacher of SNH, Stirling, had agreed to lead the highJevel party. He wasjoined by Lynn and Clive from Saturdayssummit party. That they managedto record while negoliating steep slippery slopes and swollen burns can only be due to their unlimited Rcpons of Field Meetin8s - I 995 enthusiasm. l rollius curopdeus (Globeflower). ('trsiunt heleroph!'llilm ( Melancholy Thistle), Suxqfraga hypntides (Mossy Saxifrage) and ()eranium .sl,htutiutm(Wood Crane's-bill) were some of the alkaline indicators found on the higher slopes Thirteen speciesofferns were flound, including l)r.vopteri.sex- Tlrttr.tu(Northern Buckler-fern), l). u'ecrcles(Mountain Male-fern), Hymenopht'llum u'ilsorrii (Wilson's Filmy-fern), l)hegr4tteris Lortnectilis (Beech Fern) and ()ymnocorpiun dryrytteri.s (Oak Fern) They also had a look at the shore of Loch Katrine, vhere L.\'thntn ytrtulo (Water-purslanel,Apiunr inuntlu- lrrn (Lesser Marshwort) and Lillorellu unifloru (Shoreweed) rveregrowing on the exposedmud-flats. 'Ihe rest of the party split into various groups, some of which attempted to explore the lower slopes ofthe hill, but were repulsed by rapidly swelling streams N4ostofus ended up on the shoresof the loch, among the ('orex r():tlrula (Bottle Sedge) and Spurgatiunt entersun,(Unbranched Bur-reed). The sun came out as we gatheredat Stronachlacherpier all apparentlvhaving enjoyed the day. DISS, EAST AND WEST NORFOLK (VCC 27 & 28) Sth-gthJULY Eleven membersmet at BressinghanrPlant Centre car park on Saturday'morning.We set offlcrr Adrian Bloom's Foggy Bottom garden by specialpermission as it was not a public open day The garden was laid out between 1970 and 1980 with a wide range ofconifers. trees, shrubs and hardy garden plants including cultivated grasses,which we found especiallyinteresting. Other plants ofinterest were Sr/ert, tloctiflord (Night-flowering Catchfly) growing as a weed and Polentillu pulu.stri.s (Marsh Cinquefoil) growing b-vthe lake which was planted. We then went through stock beds into Alan Bloonr's Dell Gar- den'- inland beds in a setting ofmature trees. After lunch we visited Blooms of Bressinghamnursery and. as it is private land we took advantage of recording in Arthur Copping's square, so grasseswere important. We did not get far. as lve came across a drainageditch with a relic len flora including ('arex di.stit'hu(Brown Sedge)and waste ground with arable weeds,Flilohinrr spp. and hybrids (Willowherbs) were the ntost interesting.Before leaving we had a ride on the narrow-gauge railway rvhich nrns round the nursery, and fiom the carriage we continued in comlbn to record, seeing(ierunrum pt'reruicunr (Hedgerow Crane's-bill) flowering at the trackside 'Reed- In the evening some members and guests met at Bressinghamvillage Hall to see the film gro'n'e'made and shown to us by local film rnaker and naturalist David Orr. This was made in the late 1970s aboul Redgrave and Lopham Fen and gave us a background for our visit on Sunday Both the sites visited on Sunday had been visited on the BSBI Weekentl in l99l as reDorted in r9,\lJlNeu s 60. 51. Twelve members met in the morning at Redgrave and l-opham Fen. and our first find was lrotu- mogeloil cttl The plant of the weekendwas Trifoliilm ochroleucon(Sulphur Clover) which grows on roadsides aroundBressingham, but to seea good specimenwas a problemas the vergeshad beenmown the Fridaybefore. I would like to thankBlooms of Bressingham,Suflolk Wildlife Trust and David Orr for theirhelp in theweekend. STELLA TA}LOR ANNTIAI,EXHIBITION MEETING - I995 The reports that follow have been edited for publication by Dr Sarah Webster despite having to do most of her work, including editing. with one hand! We send congratulations to Sarah and Antony Merrit on the safe arrival of Hollv Emma Merrit-Webster on 23rd December 1995. PULMONARIAOBSCURA (BORAGINACEAE) IN SUFFOLK:THE CASEFOR ACCEPTINGNATIVE STATTJS f n Britain,I'nlnntnqria oh.scuro (Unspotted Lungworl) is confinedto threeadjacent woods in Suffolk (VC 25) A strongcase can be madefor acceptingthese populations as native. a) theygrow in ancient woodland,a habitatrelatively unmodified by humans;b) the plant communityassociated with these populationsis similarto that whichincludes native populations of thislungwort in Europe;c) the distri- butionof P obsuru in continentalEurope is similarto severalspecies accepted as Britishnatives and i.i,hich,like I'. ohscura.are restrictedwithin Britain to East Anglia; d) P. ohscurais acceptedas a na- tive in Franceand Belgium,e) thereis no evidencethat this lungwortwas cultivatedin Britainand no olher garden escapes(except the widespreadRibes rubrum (Red Currant)) grow with the Suffolk populations;f) althoughthese populations were nol discovereduntil 1842,the speciesis very easyto over-look. PILoSELLA x FI-ORIBUNDA IN THE BRITISH ISLDS First recorded(as Hieracium auricula L.) from Cave Hill, Belfast,VC H39 in 1897,p. t floribunda waslast seen there in 1910. In 1991a smallpopulation was lound in the New Forest,VC ll, besidethe 83056 nearBeaulieu Road Station.on (he siteof militaryemplacements during the 1939-45war and may havebeen intro- ducedduring that period. The exhibitshowed variation in populationsize over a five-yearperiod and listed associate species, with colour photographsof habitatand floweringplants. A tableof the charactersdistinguishing the hybridand the parentspecies, a mapilluslrating the recordeddistribution ofeach in Europeand speci- nrensof the hybrid from Belfbst and the New Forest,of ['. laclucella lrom Keevil, VC 8 and lt. utespilttsttfrom Bromsgrove,VC 37 werealso displayed. FLOWERING IN BRITISHLEMNA SPECIES Lemnuis onegenus from the familyLemnaceae, all of whichare small aquatic plants which float on or just beneaththe surfaceoflreshwater bodies. There are four specieswithin this genus in Britain,namely AnnualE\hibition Meeting - 1995 6l Lemnamimtta. L. minor, L. gibbo andL. trisulca (Least,Common, Fat and lr,ryJeavedDuckweeds respectively) Sexualreproduction in thesespecies is consideredto be rare.However it hasbeen observed, under naturalconditions, in all ofthese speciesduring the summerof 1995.Flowering plants have numbered up to severalthousand at a time andthis, together with the observationof fruit development,may indi- catethe significantand overlooked role of sexualreproduction in the maintenanceof geneticdiversity withinthe genus. J L BRAMLEY SOME'NEW' BRAMBLESFROM EASTERNENGLAND Sheetsof threeunnamed Ruhus from Norfolk, VCC 27 & 28 and E. SuffolkVC 25 were displayed with a distributionmap illustratingtheir extentby tetrad.Sheets were also exhibited of. an unnamed Rz6r.sfirst discoveredin the Hind collectionin IPS andnow knownto occurfrom the Thamesto the Humber, along with a brief accountof the plant; RuhuslondinenlLs lrom Norfolk VC 27 and S. Essex VC l8 with white flowersinstead of pink; Rubusmerc'icus from Set3l anda mert'it'trslike plantlrom S. Lincs.VC 53 for comparisonand comment. A sheetof RrDusedeesiiH.E.Weber & A.L.Bull from N.Lincs.VC 54 wasdisplayed beside an Isotypefrom Germany.n-amed in the lastissue of Wotsotriu. A.L. BI;'LL HEDGEROWLABURNUMS IN WALES Many hedgesin VCC 44-46,Carms., Pembs. and Cards., consist wholly or partlyof LuhumrmrMost of the bushesare a form of L. anagintides (Laburnum), with leaflets denselyappressed-pubescent beneath,corollas 22-23 mm, and the uppersuture of the legumetruncate in section.Wild plantsin Europeand all cultivatedplants investigated in the restof Britaindiffer in havingcorollas l7-20 mm. About l0% ofbushesin Welshhedges flower threeweeks later, have leaflets very sparselypubescent beneath,corollas l8-21 mm, and the upper sutureacute or shortlykeeled; these are believedto be 1,., walereri,probably cv 'Parkesii'.L. ulpinum(Scottish Laburnum) is not usedas a hedgeplant in this area;it usuallyhas almost glabrous leaflets, corollas l4-17(-18) mm, and a conspicuouswing c. 2 mm highon the uppersuture. VEGETATION AND SUCCESSIONOF SOME WOLDS DEWPONDS The vegetationin and arounddewponds may well be under-recordedbecause their locationsare often well awayfrom publicrights of way. A posterwas presentedshowing the resultsof a surveyof 35 dewpondson the Woldsin VC 61, S.E. Yorks.,in the summerof 1995 Some52 laxa werelisted, a number of which might be surprisingfor an area largely devoid of surfacewater, and thereforeof aquaticplants or thosepreferring damp situations. The I 58 recordsprovided a numberof new hectad andtetrad recordsjudging by thosealready published. Two smallmaps were given to showthe decline in the numberofdewponds, now largelyredundant in farming,and six photosshowed the progression from maintainedto overgrowndewponds. [See also pages 37-41]. ARABLEWEEDS OF BARDSEYISLAND PAST AND PRESENT Arablecultivation was extensiveon Bardsey(W.Lleyn, VC 49, Caerns.)in the 1920s,but was only sporadicthereafter. From l98l onwardsone experimentalfield was ploughedand oats,potatoes and vegetablesgrown. Some 3l weed specieswere recorded(1981 and 1983)including Onophuliunt 62 Annual Exlribition Mectine 1995 trltgirut.utm (Marsh Cudrveed), Spergtlo arlensr.s (Corn Spurrey), l)er.sicariu laputhr.ftilium (Pale Persi- caria). and P. nruculo.su(Redshank). all unseenfor 20-i0 years,or as singleplants only. In 1995. five fields were cultivated. oats, barley and roots. 6l specieswere listed by the Island Warden including the lour above, but nol Lemittm h.vhridun (Cut-leaved Dead-nettle) and Silene loti- .foliu (White Campion) seen in l98l/1983 The most spectacularfind was Kickxiu elotine (Fluellen), a new speciesfor the Island. although known across the Sound lrom Bardsey and throughout W. Lleyn sparsely.Oolaop.si.t tetruhil (Cornrnon Hemp-nettle). frequent in all W. Lleyn and reported on Bardsey earlv f 950s, did not reappear Nor was Lumiunt unlilexit'uule (Henbit Dead-nettle), a characteristic weed ofthe gardens,seen. A.P CONOLLY GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION IN NATIVE BRITISH OAKS. Patterns ofgenetic variation in oaks are in part forged by patterns ofmigration following the last ice- age A mutation has been lound in the nraternallyinherited chloroplast DNA of the PedunculateOak, ()uerttt.s rchtrr, using DNA sequencingand restriction fi'agmentanalysis. Within Britain, ancient oaks (>300 yrs old) of both native species,Q. xthtr and (). patraeu (SessileOak), were tested for the ntuta- tion. The mutation was found only in the PedunculateOak and has an East Anglian distribution. In addition ancient trees at Windsor Great Park and York, also possessthe mutation indicating transloca- tion of oaks severalcenluries ago There is evidenceof recent translocationfrom East Anglia as far as western Scotland. and planting of foreign oaks in East Anglia. C FERRIS IIERACLELILIMA]VTEGAZZIANU]V (GIANT HOGWEED),HOW LONG ARE THE SEEDSVIABLE? Information on the time for which I!. mutrtegazziualm seedsare viable would assistwith control of this invasive alien. Nine sanrplesof seed aged from two to 67 years were collected lrom herbaria and through ll,\RI h'etv.;.fwo studieswere carried out. Firstly, seedsfronr all sampleswere placed on moist filter paper at 5oC (a regime favourable for gerrnination) for sixteen weeks, then planted outdoors for one rrtonlh. After this time no seedshad germinatedexcept lor 77oti ofthe two year old seeds. Secondly, some seedsfrom two sampleswere planted in pots outdoors, the rest treated as above, seeds were removed from chilling every fortnight and planted outdoors. Again only the two year old seedgerrninated with the highestgerrnination rate (6496) achievedby seedschilled for ten weeks. This confirrned that seeds are viable lor two years and require a period of chilling to facilitate germination. SORBUSDOTTESTICA - CONIPARATIVENIORPHOLOGY AND HABITATS 'Wild' Sbrbrr,srlome.stitu (Service-tree) occurs as three distinct phenotypes.The leaf-form of phenotype (a) has been found to be morphologically very close to a descendantofthe single tree in the Wyre For- 'Whitty est,the Pear' (described1678. destroyed 1862) grown at Arley House,Worcs . in the 1820sby [,ord Mountnorris. Ripe, lertile fruit has yet to lornr on plants of phenotype(a), but immature lruits are alike in the low lenticel count when compared with fruit and leaf samplesfrom 7 cultivated trees, in- cluding the pyriform tree at Oxlord Botanical Garden. The latter is clearly not descendedfrom the Wyre Tree. despitethar tradilion AnnualExhibition luectine - 1995 6.1 That the Wyre tree was grorving near a ruin and amongst calcifirge associatesindicates a planted tree possibly ofgreat age which could have been derived indirectly lrom phenotype(a) plants, possibly within a Celtic or Mediaevd Monastic settinq. M C HAMPTON BEETLE POLLINATING AN OR(]IIID A photograph, taken by A.N Scott in June 1994 at Kenley Common, \'C 17, Surrey, shr.rwedclear evidence of pollination of the orchid l)actylorhizu .fut'hsii by the beetle l)u.scillus tert'ittrr.s(L). The insect was observed vbrriag flowers. inserting its head into each flower and apparentlyfeeding Finally it climbed to the top ofthe flower spike and was photographed, showing three orchid pollinia attached to its face RD HAWKINS&ANSCOrr soME WILLOWSFROM A LETCESTERSHTREQUARRI" VC 55,1993-1995 The area from which these willows were collected, opposite Groby Pool. had been a small hill r,,hich was quarried about a hundred years ago. This hole produced a pool which was gradually tilled with overburden, boulder clay and rammel from elsewhereas the quarrying ertended. Later, left over con- crete, tar macadam and sandstone moulds and blocks were dumped, plus soil The site measures roughly 256 /. 69 m. Many flowering plants gradually appeared,including willows. On summer eve- nings a flock of goats, with their kids, came to browse from a no-man's land nearb1,. At the beginning of October this year (1995), bulldozers moved in and uprooted all the trees and shrubs which were then burnt Hard core. tar macadanr,e1c . was pulverised - the soil pushed up intc) two huge rnounds to act as a screen Grass seedmirture will be sow'nand trees planterl. List of taxa. Sttlixpetilandru (Bay Willorv), S. viminuli,s , S. c'ineraq , S. ntritu (not in Stace), S.purpureox S.cinereo-5. ' pottederium(5.'.utrdido),5. rviminuli,s, S.topreu:Jl'scrl- (.\'. r \ - r. curr,s lcurrina), S. cinerea S. Lturile: S. " tnttllinen'is. S. uryreu " S. c'inercu S. reichurtltii. S. copreo ,. S. aurita - S. t copreoltr POTAMOGETON PECTII,,IATUSX P. VAGII,,IATUS:A RELICT HYBRID IN THE BRITISH ISLES? Populations of a sterile pondweed in the River Tweed and its tributary the River Till which have been previously identified as Potenrogetott , .suec'ittr.sappear to be the hybrid I'. Ttettittulus , l'. utginutus The latter is a specieswhich in Europe is only known from Scandinavia Morphological and isozyme evidence supports this surprising conclusion. In Europe this hybrid has been reported frorn the Gulf of Bothnia, where both parents occur. and from rivers in Russiaand l-ithuania, south ofthe current range of P. vcq4inolusA comparison was drawn between this hybrid and other hybrids with apparently relict distributions. A detailedpaper is being prepared for submissionIo rfuts(nid. SOME TIIERACIA AT NMW RECENTLY DETERNIINED BY J. BEVAN Specimensof 22 of the most comnronly deterrninedtaxa lor VC,{4 Carnrs, VC 4l Glam and VC 35 1\{ons.(Gwent) rvere displayed in syslematic order H. .ttrbuudunr(ll. parlm4tirrquum), }!. vltiutlu, AnnualErhibition Meetins 1995 H wtgum. H. umbellamm subsp. umhellatilm, H. uhrhellolzn subsp. hi<'hlorophyllum, H. ,scabrisentm, H ,suhumplifolium, H. autminalun , H. diaphdnoides, H. diaphanum, H. maculatum, H. suhmuttthile, H .tlerrstroen ii, H. pellucitlum, H. suhlepiskitles, H. granditlens, H. exoteriutm agg, H. cacuminum, H ar Ket Ite u m, H. Ios i ttlthy I h m, H.. h17xx' haero i de.s,H.su hhr i lan n i c um. This summer,H. Io.siophyllunrwas found in \/C 44 Carms.for the first time by predictingthe exact locationusing a combinationofthe geologicalliterature, altitude, and aspect, gleaned fronr small popu- lationsin theDoethie valley, VC 46 Cards.The locality ofthe previouslypublished first and only record lor VC 44 Carms.,is in fact in VC 46 Cards.(1. K. Morgan,pers. comm.). The followingcorrections arenecessary: Plant Records, Walsuria 19. l5l (1992).for'*44, Carms.'read'46,Cards.'Welsh PlantRecords, RSRI lYelsh htlletin No. 53,p 39 (1992) for'Carrnarthen,vc44'read'Cardigan, v.c.46' G HUTCHINSON IS rT POSSIBLETO TELL LilVONI(rM VULGARE(CONIMON sEA-LAVENDER)FROM L. H rlMILE (LAX-FLOWEREDSEA-LAVENDER) IN THE FIELD? Limutium vulgare andL. huntile are often found growing togetherin saltmarsheswhen they normally hybridiseso that the morphologicaldistinction between the speciesis obscured.Nevertheless the spe- ciesare ecologically distinct and merit separate recognition. Differences in the pollenand stigma morph combinationin the differentspecies rnight provide a meansofensuring correct identification (see Stace, Nev l'loru rf the British Isles) L. rulgare is dimorphic(A/Cob or B/Papillatemorphs) and hetero- stylous,and L. humile is monomorphic(A/Papillate morph) and homostylous.However stigma and pollen morphology,and heterostyly,are more variablethan hasbeen reported previously and are some- timesinconclusive in plantswith intermediategross morphology and a few others.The botanistshould not hesitateto identif,,a plantas a hybridifit is intermediatein grossmorphology, or a backcrossvari- ant if it hasa'typical" grossmorphology but an obscurepollen and stigma morph. M. INGROUILLEEf H DAWSON A NEW VARIETY OF NARROW-LEAVEDMARSH-ORCHID IN s. HAMPSHTRE(VC ll) fn 1984, R. Paul Bowman discovered a population of l)actybrhiza majalis subsp. truunsleineri (Saut. ex Rchb. fiI.) H.Sund near Exbury, S. Hants. The find was determined by Rose (Wolxtnia 19 152, l ee2) N'lorphometricstudy reveals morphological differences from other populations of thesubspecies, notably a more robust habit and a more deeply three-lobed labellum. These are consideredsuflicient to justify the creation ofa new variety, named in honour ofthe finder. It has now been found at seven sites in all, in S. Hants, Dorset (VC 9) and N. Devon (VC 4), and seemslikely to prove more widespread. It is more tolerant than the typical subspeciesofdry and acid soils. Photographsof typical subsp.tt'etnsleinelr and of the new variety. together with recent books and papersby the author, were exhibited M'N JENK|NS.N : '.''j''':.''::l':.: FLORA OF TIEN SHAN DuringJuly and August 1995,I participatedin a smallBritish expedition into the westernpart of this mountainrange. It runs some800 km (approx.)from Khyrghyzstaneastwards into N.W. Chinaand risesto almost7000 nr a.s.l.The basecamp was situatedin a valleyat nearly4000 m. around1000 m Annual Exhibilion Mccting 1995 above the tree line. Continuous vegetation on the valley floor, and low flanks, consisted of sedge meadow' the dominant species being ('orex ntelanunlha. I found a striking differencebetween vegetation on North and South facing slopes,this a function ofthe extremedaily temperaturerange (-10'C at night, rising to over 30o C in the day).'Ihe exhibit contained a seriesofspecimens that indicated the various phytogeographicalcomponents ofthe area's remarkablemountain fl ora. I ) Plants of circumpolar distribution. Ranunculu.s *llthureus, A.4elundrium apelulunr, (-hanterion lalifolium. Soxifrugu .flagelktri.s. 2) Plants of a more Asiatic distribution including those endemicto the region. Saus.sureuinvoluctrq, Pediculari,s anias, Waldeimo n'iduct1,11,te.s,Printultt lurke.slurtictt. (]e n I i a no I i.ln schan i cct, l' t i Iagrost i s m ongo I i ca. 3) Plants of a more western distribution, including some found in the British Isles. Soxi fraga h i rc rr I us, ( )xy r i a d ig;tta. P er si ccrri u t't t't pd ru EPILOBIUM ARUNAESCET/SH}'BRIDS IN TIIE BRITISH ISLES Theexhibit confirmed the existence of severalsuch hybrids occurring in theBritish Isles, The status of lipilobium hnrmtescens ': 1.,.ohscunrm in lreland was described, and specimens were exhibited of E. bnomescens x Ii. montanum (found in VC I by D. Holyoak), and l'.. hnrntrcscens , h,. tiliulurrr (found in VC I by D Holyoak, and in VC 2 by R.J Murphy & H Meredith) All plants begin prostrate, with the flow'ering stems assuminga semi-erectposition. Charactersol hairs and stigmas are important for identification. The converging spread of l',. hrunttescels and Ji. cilianm was described,and coincidencemaps for Britain and, separately,Cornwall showed areasfor potential occurrence ofhybrids between these species. RUMEX x FALLACII,,IUSIIAUSSKN. - NEW TO THE BRITISII ISLES Exhibited was one of four plants of Rumex cri.spusx R. nruritin us discovered in 1995, east of Lorver Stoke, W Kent VC l6 (see drawing page 66) These were growing in the cattle-trampled margins of a series of pools in the grazing marshes between the Medway and fhames estuaries. Docks present comprised lluntex t'onglonrcralrs (Clus- tered Dock), R. crispu.s(Curled Dock). R. ntaritimus (Golden Dock) and each hybrid combination THE ASPIRATIONS AND ACTIVITIES OF TIIE BRITISII PLANT GALL SOCIETY TheBritish Plant Gall Society, now in its llth year,was formed to stimulatethe study of gallsby both amateursand professionals and to enhanceappreciation ofthese phenomena bythe public at large.The exhibit describedthese aspirationsand showed how these ambitions were being achieved.Now boast- ing a membershiprepresenting the trK, Continental Europe (Germany, the Netherlands,Switzerland), the Middle East (Israel), India, Australia and North America, the Society claimed successin.- . developing and delivering resourcematerials and advice (publication ofkeys, identification services, slide collection, check list). r stimulating and co-ordinating gall recording leading to the production of regional and national baseddata bases. 66 Annual Exhibition Ivtcctinq 1995 o encouraginginterest in galls through lectures,workshops and field meetings, o facilitating the erchange ofideas and data through the publicalion ofjournals and other documents. C K I,EACH ( R L,IIU CDK CRISPLISX MARI-I.IN{US RLINIEX x IAT,LACINUS Hausskn. llrrtrtcxn fit/lutitrtt.sdel G. Kitchener O 1995 SHETI,AND PLANTS IN SOTITII LONDON This exhibir gave some history of the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI), Tulse Hill, [-ondon, begun by A O. Hume in 1910. This has a herbarium of 100,000 specimens,a library and a botanical garden. One of the major herbaria left to the Institute was that of William Hadden Beeby who died in l9l0 HisShetlandcollectionattheS[,BlisbelievedtobeamongthelargestoutsideofShetland. Notabfe among his collections arethe HierLt(:ia,several type sheetsof these were on display, both of a Beeby name and ol a Pugslev nanre The Shetland collections have been recently added to bv a gifi fronr Richard Palmer, the joint author with Walter Scott of The l:lrnrerirrg l)ltorl.sotd Fenr.s of the Shetluml Lslutuls,and a sheetfrom this gift was on displa;. G I-YALI- Annual Exhibition Mccting 1995 6',1 FROM RED FOLDERTO DATABASE,THE NATL]R{I-HISTORY NITJSETINI'SLIS'I OF BRITISH'T}'PES' ln 1939 the more important parts 01'the N{useunr'scollections were removed to saf'ety.N{any of these were types or polential tvpes placed in red folders. After the war these foldels were reincorporated except in the British collection where most were kept separately It was decided to reincorporaie these and to take the opportunity to capture the data. The databaseis a PARADOX file with dati entrv con- centratingon beingsimple but taithfulto the originaisheet. Erarnples of this were shown Thererias no checking ofthe status ofrecords but information is presentedso that such checks are easier There are I 144 records on the databasewhich can be searchedunder many categories,e g name. collector. area of colleciion. Printouts can be provided to anyone with genuineinrerest or anyone willing to do some checking. Contact Megan Lyall. The Natural l{istory Museum. Cromwell Road. I-ondon. SWr Sgn A DATABASE OF IIIER.4CIL'M RECORDS Over the past three years a databaseofreliable British and lrish Hicrutiunr (llalvkweed) records has been compiled with a view eventually to publishing updated distribution maps. A short description of the databasewas accompaniedby herbarir"rmsheets olfive rvidelv different species(H. trhglitfuxtrn, H. ehudicun, H. hreadalhonense,H. ret'ttrlum. l!. pt'enuntfutules)and maps of currentlv known distri- bution compared rvith that used in compiling those in the ('rititul Srrpplentent. POND CREATION & TNTRODITCT|ON OF DAMASO|V|Ltill ALISN,I.4 (STARFRUIT) AT BLACK PARK COLINTR}'PARK, BTif 65., (VC 21) DuringFebruary 1992, with funding available from English Nature, a pondwas specially designed and created to provide the sr.ritablehabitat and conditions required fbr the establishnrentofi population of l)umqsoniunt rrll.rnra(Starfruit) at Black Park. The exhibit showed a set of photographs ioliowing rhe development ofthe pond from the initial excavationsthrough to the successfulintroduction ofmaierial in September1991, which resultedin the appearanceof40 plantsin I994 and 149 plantsin 1995 It is hoped that the early successcan be built on, and more can be learnr about the ecolocv ofthis interest- ing plant. Results in firture years are eagerly awaited. PRELIMINARY RESTJLTSFROM AN AIITECOLOGICAL STUDI'OF ftO.S/ AGRESTISON ]\IOUNT CABURN NATIONAL NA'TIIRE RESERVE lktso ogreslis, Small-leaved Briar, is a very distinctive free-standing shrubby rose with its smooth pedicels and leaflets cuneate at the base. It is now very rare in southern England. One of its sites is Mount Caburn National Nature Reserve,East Sussex.Its distribution within the site does n(x relate to any particulaf environmental factors but may be lelated to historical accident. I\{ost bushesiie near an old trackway onto the reserve and it is possible that disturbancehere allowed it establish.Once estab- lished it seemsto have performed adequatelybLrt there is little evidenceofit spreadingaway fronr this focus. Its ntain competitor on the site might become lktsu crurintt (Dog-rose) which is in small numbers at present R. ccntittcrgrows larger, produces more hips, which are heavierand contain a qreater number of achenes.of r.rhicha grealel proporlionare lenile F, N{ILLS AnnualExhibition Meeting - 1995 CII EAIOPODI U M URBICUfuI 3O YEARS ON! In the rniddleof OctoberI receiveda specimenfrom Mr RodneyCole. He wonderedif it was(-henopo- diunr urhicunt (Upright Goosefoot),and when I saw the specimenI tendedto agree.At the beginning of NovemberI took the specimento the identificationseminar at theNatural History Museum, checked it againstother material and confirmed the identification. JohnArcher (from the LondonEcology Unit) and I visitedthe site on November8th and found manyplants in a clearingin a countrypark closeto Basildonin Essex.The frost had killedthe leaves but the characteristicinflorescences were obvious.This is the first specimenthat I have seen.Pat Brenanidentified material collected from the Isleof Wight in 1962and the BiologicalRecords Centre, MonksWood hasa recordfrom Alan Silversidecollected in 1965also from Essex. The country park wardenshave beeninformed of the importanceof the site, which was recently clearedwoodland and scrub,and thereare manyseedlings present, so we may hopefor its continued presencefor a few more years. l)ostSct'ipt. I was later sent another specimenof Cherutpodiun which I was happy to confirm as ('. urhicunt.This wascollected by R.W.M.Corner on Octoberl5th 1995,supposedly introduced with cattlefbed on an old railwaysite, Long Meg, Little Salkeld,Cumbria (VC 70) J.M.MULLIN RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN RUBUS SECTION CORYLIFOLII 'New Emphasis was placed in the paper Rubi from Wales and the Welsh Marches' (Wttl,sonia20 133 (1994)) on RaDzs section Corylifttlii Distribution maps and examples ofall the species referred to were displayed,as follo*,s:- IIuhu.t isL0,u.\ BassalegVC 35.Llangynidr VC 42 (isotype) Rubu.sariconiensi,s MouseCastle Wood VC 36; LlangynidrVC 42 (isotype);Cusop VC 36, as R. dumektrumvar. diversifoliu^s,coll. W.M. Rogers,2917/1898 lluhus wtgensr.s New RadnorVC 43; AconburyVC 36 (isotype);Lyonshall Park VC 36, as ll. dumelontmvar. piktsus,coll. A. Ley, 17/8/1905 Ilubu,slenuiorntahrs BroughtonGreen VC 37; ChurchillVC 37 lluhuspictorunr TregarthVC 42;LlangammarchVC 42; CrieffVC 88, asR. ntsaceus(sp. coll) coll. Bailey,111711896, Glen Artney Comrie VC 88,coll. J C. Melville.8/1890 Ruhu.slriangularis Sapey,VC 36 Iluhus inlensior FillongleyVC 38, CadebyVC 55 asR. dumelorumvar. inlenst,vWarren, coll.A. Bloxam For comparisonwith the vivid pink flowered ll. ariconiensisand Il. iscanus,two sheetsof Ruhus ruhrrflontsPurchas (coll. ipse 8/1894) from Osmaston,Derby VC 57 were alsodisplayed. This name wasgiven to gatheringsfrom theWelsh Borders by W. Watson(sheets in CGE). TWO NEWLY RECOGNISED SHETLAND SPECIES: TAKLYA CUM GE I N I I I. DA E AND H I E M CI UM SPE NCEA N UM The speciesexhibited were the subjectofrecent notesby usin llqlsoniq. 7 foroxaurm geirhildoe (Beeby) R.C Palmer& W. Scott, allied to 7'.faeroenseDahlst. but quite distinct,which was first described(at subspecificlevel) by W.H. Beebybut subsequentlyconfused with forms T..faeroense forgotten its recentrediscovery in the type locality.Beeby's type of and about until '[ specimenwas shown,together with recentmaterial and, for comparison,specimens of . foeroense. Amual ExhibitionMeeting 1995 2. Hieroc'iunrspenceonum W. Scott & R.C. Palmer, previously included in H. atlenuoli.fbirrrn Sell & C. West, but quite di{Ierent and in some respectscloser to H. att.straliu.t(Beeby) Pugsley Specimensof H. spencearutnt were shown and, for comparison, material of H. ctttertuulifttliunr and ll. tur.struliu.s. R,C.PArMEl.&W: SCOTT THE I99I-I994BROADLAND FEN RESOT]RCE SURVE}' The Broadlandfens are the largestarea oflowland undrainedfen in GreatBritain and are olboth na- tionaland international importance. In 1991,English Nature and the BroadsAuthority comrnissioned a botanicalsurvey of the Broadlandfens from ECUS (EnvironmentalConsultancy, University of Shef- field).The surveyaimed to producedescriptions ofall the Broadlandfen sites,develop a classification schemefor the Broadlandfen vegetation,examine the presentstatus and changes in the distributionof plantspecies and study some ofthe factorsthat determine the development and species composition of fen vegetationin Broadland.The resultsofthe surveyare being used in the lbrmulationofa len man- agementstrategy and will form a baselinefor future monitoringwork. The resultsof the surveyhave been presented as a seriesof publishedand unpublishedreports, availablefrom the BroadsAuthority. J.M. PARMENTER PERSICARIA AMPHIBIA (ANIPIIIBIOLIS BISTORT) IN BRITAIN : .\/ER}, LITTLE VARIATION'OR'A COMPLEX GROUP OF HIGHLY VARIABLE PLANTS'? The Britishliterature on this commonwater-plant mentions the well-knowngrowth forms- aquatic andterrestrial - but omitsmany ofthe variationsrecorded in Continentaland American accounts. Studyof herbariummaterial (WAR, LTR) andlive plants(mainly Warwicks., VC 38, but alsoLeics., VC 55 andFife, VC 85) revealsthat Britishplants show considerable variation in floral arrangementsof stylesand stamens(?heterostyly). fertility, growth habit. indurnentum(glandular/ patent/appressedhairs), and leaf shapeand markings.These differences were demonstrated.some of themmay be geneticallybased. A projectwas startedin 1995at LeicesterUniversity Dept. ofBotany to investigatethese differ- enceswith cyogeneticstudies and breeding experiments. Live material(particularly when llowering or fruiting)is requested. TWENT}'QUESTIONS:A PRIZEQUIZ OF.BOTANICAL KNOWLEDGE This wasa light-heartedquiz,12 questions referred to otherexhibitors' contributions, 8 werebased on live andherbarium material. 2l peopleentered (out ofabout 200 peopleattending the meeting)with an averagescore of 12/20.Lorna Dudleyand ClareKitchen won the 2 prizes.an arrangementof house- plantsdonated by LeicesterUniversity Botanical Garden, and a book-tokendonated by Perring's Books. Threerepresentative correct answers were: 1) Thereare currently 10,581 entries for'Taxa' in the BSBI Data-base.2) Therewere 74 newly-reportedtaxa for Britainat this meeting(including 66 Co- toneasters).3) Clapham,Tutin & Moore describeCoriander as smelling of bedbugs. This may havebeen the first prize quiz at a BSBI Meeting and if it shouldbe repeated,I suggest l) fewerquestions (?10) and 2) keepthe level ofexpertise fairly low! J,W,PARTRIDGE. Annual Exhibition Mcctins 1995 BRITISHAIZOACEAE ON POSTCARDS Postcardsfeaturing Aizoaceae or mesembsin Britain were exhibited.Some simply show cultivated specimens.particularly bushes of Lampranthu.scovered by pink flowers. Othersshow naluralised standsof (-oryxthrotu.sedulis, l)isph.t'ntotnrssifolium and l.ampranthz.sThe cards reveal how the conspicuousmembers ofthe Aizoaceaehave become part ofthe botanical'heritage' ofCornwall. Lam- 'Flora prantl,usis shownwith four otheralien species in a card on the Islesof Scilly';the only native plantillustrated is Armeria muritimd.A parallelcard from Corsicaillustrales ('ary)obrotus edulis var. 'Fleurs edulis(and Opuntio) with Arhttlus and (i.s/zs as du Maquis'.This provides a salutaryreminder that the distinctionbetween native and alienwhich so concernsbotanisls is not apparentto the non- botanicalobsen'er. Finally, and most remarkably, a pinkflower of (-ar,roDrolz.snestles in the cornerof a cardillustrating the'History & Legendsof St.Michael's Mount', accompanied by thegiant Cormo- ran,the ArchangelMichael, eight Benedictine monks and one of the St Aubynlarnily boatmen. C D PRESTON A FLORAWITH A STANDARDISEDSURVEY: ASHDOWN FOREST It is well knownthat botanical distribution maps reflect the distributionsofthe botanistsas much as the plants.Atlases are usually recorded on an atl hoc basis,achieving neither conrprehensive or systematic coverage.and the extentto which the distributionmaps are representativeofthe plantsis simply'not known. Our [:ktra of the A.shdovltrliorest areu aimedto demonstratethat it is practicalto carry out a standardisedsurvey whilst maintainingthe fun and interestfor volunteers.It is recommendedthat all future atlasesshould try to achievea standardisedsurvey as comprehensivecoverage cannot be achieved T. RICH. P DONOVAN, A KNAPP,M. MCFARLANE,N. MUGGERIDGE,R. NICHOLSON, M READER,P. READER,E. RICH,D STREETER& P.WHITE. LURONII]M ]VATAI,IS PRESENT IN IRELAND In l994 we discovereda flowering populationof FloatingWater-plantain (l.uronium naton,s)in Conne- mara,Republic oflreland, the first confirmedrecord for Ireland.Subsequent investigations showed that it has beencorrectly recorded before. Full detailswere publishedin lrish Naturalists'.hnnnl 25. t40-145 PHYLLISSTOCKDALE (c. 1898-1949),A SUSSEX BOTANIST PhyllisStockdale (c. 1898-1949)was a Sussexbotanist who collecledplants around East Grinstead belweenl9l0 and 1919,having learnt from her fatherand probably from F. J. Hanbury.She married ReginaldHorrill in c l92l/1s22 andnro'"'ed to Eastbourneand continued botanizing there whilst rais- ing her family Sheis mentionedoften in A. H Wolley-Dod's(1937) l-loru of Sussex,and her herbar- ium is heldat BexhillMuseum (BEX) A detailedbiography will be publishedin the newsletterof the EastbourneNatural History and Archaeology Society. TUN BRfDG E Fr L M y- FERN (H YM EN Op H yL L UM IUNBfr /GEA'S,")IN SOUTH-EASTENGLAND IN 1994.1995 During the winter of 1994/5 we surveyed all sites ofTunbridge filmy-fern (Hymenophyllum tunbri- gen.se)in south-eastEngland to assesssurvival ater the storms of 1987 and 1990 A total of twelve sites were found with 24 colonies with 1l individual plants; half of the sites have only one plant. A Annual Exhibition Meeting -, 1995 7l comparison with data from 1953-1962 indicates a decline of 20% in the number of sites and a 680.6 decline in the number ofcolonies. The decline is due to a combination ofloss ofwoodland cover, dense shade especiallyfrom rhododendron, and recent storm damage; historically collecting and public pres- sure have also caused Iosses.The lern is under threat in south-east England, and wi are i,ndertiking conservationwork at severalsites. Full results were publishedin liern (]uzette | 5: 5 I -64. THE THREE FORMS OF FRAGRANT ORCHID The subspeciesc'(nkrp.\ea and tlen.siJkn'a of the Fragrant Orchid,,(Jjnnttdeniu corrop.seu,are familiar formsto most,having distinctive habitat preferences and many const;nt morphologicil differences. The subspecieshoreali.s, occurring in a wide rangeof habitatsis lessfamiliar Throughphotographs, draw- ings of labella,distribution maps and histograms,this exhibittells of recentresearch on thesethree subspecies,though the storyis.far from complete.Hybrids exist, and on occasionsprove infertile sug- gestingthe formsmay be geneticallydistinct enough to be consideredfor full specificrank _ The type,considered to be the specimenin HortusClillbrdianus is subsp.conopsee. However, a sheetin the LinneanHerbarium contains alpha, beta and gamma forms which relate to the subspecies underdiscussion. Furtherresearch, especially to correlatechromosome nunrber with observedmorphological differ- encesls requlred. F. ROSE& S.R- DA\EY A NEW FESCUEFOR BRITAIN Festucugtrulieri (Hackel) K. Richter subsp.scaparia (A. Kerner & Hackel)Kergu6len (Prickly Fescue) A nrysteryfescue growing in SeataQuarry, Aysgarth, N.w. Yorks.(\'c 6-5),has been identified as the above.lt is a nativeofthe Pyrenees,where it occursclose to Hypericumnuntmulariunr, another alien naturalisedin SealaQuarry. Circumstanlial evidence suggests that bolh wereintroduced to the quarry Iong(at least70 years)ago. l'estuc:agautierl belongs to the non-Britishsection Lskia. Thereis a superhcialresemblance to the I;. ovinagroup (section liestrrctt), but thedistinctive features ol I;. gurilieri ire. o Pricklyleaf-apices . Grain free from lemmaand oalea . Ovaryand grain pubescent it apex o Lemmaswith very wide scarious margins . Anthersat least3 mm long o Ligulesof culmleaves at leastI mnrlong . Growthhabit a spreading,springy cushion, not firm anddensely tufted. Subspeciesscttporia is a diploidcalcicole; subsp. ,grarlltrl is a tetiaploidcalcifuge with longerlenrmas. C.A STACE&R FLETCTIER THE BSBIDATABASE - HANDSON A computer loaded with a copy of the BSBI Database,up-to-date as at 24. I L I 995. was availablefbr membersto gain hands-onexperience. Files utilised were. o l-ist ofvascular plants ofthe British Isles o English names r Chromosome numbersof British and Irish olants 1) AnnualExhibition Meeting - 1995 o Vice-comitalcensus catalogue . BSBI Abstracts. An appealu'as madefor help in proof-readingand variousother aspeclsof the developmentof the database. THE FLOR4 OF ]ITONTGOTTERYSIIIRE Someof the featuresof the newlypublished [;lora of YC 47 weredisplayed, including examples of the artworkand satellite maps Therewas an onJinedemonstration of DMAP, the computerprogram used to store,map and analyse the tetraddata. A classificationand map ofthe tetradsofthe vice-countywas alsopresented, based on theanalysis of theplant records using the program TWINSPAN. rc TRI/EMAN.AJ MORTO\ \4 WAfNWRTCHT , CONKERS,KNUCKLE-BLEEDERS AND ISRAEL:THE ENTHOBOTANYOF AN ALIENSPECIES Introducedto the British Islesin the late sixteenthcentury, the Horse-chestnut(Aesculus hipqxtcasta- ntm) is now a widelycultivated and familiar tree. The exhibirdrew attentionto someof the waysin whichthe treehas been used. These include. . thegame of conkers,played mainly by children,with its nuts. 'fishbones', . other gamesand pastimes,including knuckle-bleeders, and leafstalkchallenge, all of whichuse the leaves. . the productionoftoy furniturefrom thenuts. . thecarrying of a nut to preventpiles or rheumatism. . the useofthe leavesas a tobaccosubstitute. . the useofthe nutsto keepmoths away from storedclothing. o the useofthe nutsin the preparationofacetone. The discoveryof this last use,by ChaimWeizmann during the FirstWorld War, eventuallyled to the establishmentof the stateof Israel,as a resultof Lloyd Georgewanting to rewardWeizmann for his work. Furtherinformation on theseuses, or anyother uses, was requested. A.R.VICKERY CENTAT]REACYANUS IN N. LINCS.VC 54 Conrmunicationand photographs ofa fieldpopulation ofcornflowers lrom Ranby,TF27, recorded by I\{rsC. Harrison,1995. I. WESTON Annual Exhibition Mcetins I995 / Adr€rtiscments ARCTIC BOTANY:SVALBARD 1995 SVALBARD is the nameof a group of islandssitualed about hallw-ay between Norway and the North Polein the BarrentsSea. The mainisland is SPITSBERGEN.Work is beingcarried out at the Interna- tionalResearch Station at Ny Alesund(79'N) into manyaspects of Ecologyin the High Arctic. This exhibitdescribed one part of a 5-yearinvestigation by the Departmentof Plantand Soil Sci- ence,Universily ofAberdeen, into the effectsofincreased N andP on the growthofthree arcticdwarf shrubs.(ar:slr4)e lelrag(nra (White Arctic Bell-heather),I)nus oLt(4)ctula(Mountain Avens) and .\rrllx ptt kr i.s(P olar Willow). Photographsof a rangeof other floweringplants of the tundrawere shown,including SuxifruSgtr ce.tpitoso(Tufted Saxifrage),S. oppositifiliu (Purple Saxifrage),I'upuver duhliornrn (Arctic Poppy) andLychnis aperala (Nodding Lychnis) G WYNNE SOMEFERNS OF SNOWDONIA- 19CENTTIR}'STYLE A dozenwell-mounted ferns were displayedfronr a recentlyacquired collection of assortedpressed plantscollected during the secondhalf of the l9th century.These were all from the mountainsof North Wafes,including two rarities Aspleninm,septentriurctle (Forked Spleenwort)and l)ol-),.stithutn lott- cftllis(Holly-fern). The present-daydistribution ofthe lernswas indicated by dot-nraps. Who was'G. Crofts'who collectedthe plantsin 1869?Most of his otherspecimens are lrom thc N4idlands. G WYNNE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR RENT' Thatchedcottage near sea. head of GalwayBay Mid-Julyto mid-August.Within half an hour of the Burrenand l 7i hoursfronr Connemara.Sleeps two doubleand 2-3 single.ln VC H l 5 andreduction considered per hectadworked in Hl5! f,200per week Phone+353 9l 7903l; 1930-2230 or week-ends.[From [.rK replace + with 00] BOOKSFOR SALE SlellaRoss-Craig- I)rowingsof BririshPlunt:;. all eightvolumes, hardback edition with dustcovers. Setin mint condition. Reasonableoffers invited to includepostage, if to be mailed. JEANETTE KINSELLA, 39 Bronwen Court, Grove End Road, London NWS gRX Tel.0l7l 2860577 Advcrtisrncnts / Stoo Prcss VINIRVA POTI. ' P!A'RLS ' CYPRUS TEL 05 42173r r FAX 05 421075 vlfll lvJ HOTEL lw;; STOP PRESS c EPHA LA IVTH E R.4 DA MA SONI{,'M (WHrTE HELLEBORINE)IN IRELAND While botanising on the shores of l,ough Mask in Co. Nfayo in May 1992 I found about a dozen plants in leaf which could have been White Helleborine. This would, if correct. be a new record for Ireland and far distant from its nearest rnost westerly site in the British Isles. If anyone is likely to be in the area at the appropriate time and would like to follow this up I would be happy to provide futher information. The Editor GuTnn Ellis can be contactcdbv phone on 0 I 222-19795I c\t. 2 l8 (NMW) or t)1222-+960{2(homc). Articles can nou bc Faxcd to the Edilor on 01222-239829 ot 01222-373219. Afl text and illustrations appearing in BSBI Nqvs and its Supplements arc coplright and no rcproduction in an1. form mar bc madc without rvritten pcrmission from thc Editor. Offcrs and special lcrms apph onh to mcmbers ofihe Socictt and copics are not availablc on an cxchangc basis. 1j,\3/.\'eu,.s(ISSN 0309-9i0X) is publishcdb1 thc BoranicalSmich of the British lsles. 's Enquirics conccming the Societr acti\ ilics and mcmbcrship should be addresscdto: The Ilon. Gcncral Sccrctan. c/o Depl. ofBohnr. Thc Natural Histon Museum. Cromrcll Road. London SW7 5BD. Camcra rcadr copr produced bl Gwlnn f,llis at tbe National Muscum of Wales and printed bf J. & P. Dar-ison,3 James Place, Treforcst, Pontlpridd, Mid Glamorgan CFIT 2BT (Tel.0l{{3;100585) Conlents Contents lcontrnucd Aom back cover) |ll l LJRI COI\TIllulNChS Al{I) SYN4lt)SLl il I irst Luropcan tlnlon Confcrcncc ou Natilc & ltcgronal planls -- Phnts ul thcrr placds rl Natural llisto^ Collcclions: n Rcsourcc lbr thc I durc 5l Japanese Knotueed - A strate!5 lor cllectivc conlrol 52 (ilobal llrcdivcrsit\ Rcsearch iD l:urope 5.2 Corlours ofltcolog\, Rcligious laith rnd issuer lil I cologr todar i2 I'l:urls lor forrl ii))LlDr(Jt( ijr! )2 'l (ls RI QI ;l Nlcutlorr-ntrs i:l Persi cati a anplih ia (Anphibious Ilistorl ) 53 WiJ) rou be rn Pelopomisos this srmneil WaDtcd - lJrilis, dnd Iish I Ierburn j.l ( hruelrrrrrl\\ rlLllrlc il hltbnnatror oI (rr",iri.s.rrnrrrr in ( )rlirrdshire .. r.1 It(x)K N{)ffs rl Bslll Publications -.fhc l:irst 2(l Ycars .. .. 55 \.'rrs from (,unJ[ ,k)ol{ 57 Li.st Ltf li.sctlo' Pluns ol tlp Bntish lsle.s 5? R|l'ORl-S OI: I tlli.l) MIiI: IIN(iS 1995 5li Aherfotle. Stirlrngshirc (VC 3o) :l{ l)iss Ilast and Wcst Norlirll (V( ( 27 & 28) . i') ANNTJN,IXIIIT]TIIoN MIIITIN(J I995 Prlntruriu ohscum (Boraginaceac) in Suflolk: Ilrc casc R)r accel)tmg nati\c stallls (n) Ptl(r\.lla t JloihxDrlrr in thc llritrsh Islcs I lorrcrrrrgrn ltrrlr'h / elrra.pr'trci Somc nc$ brnmblcr lrom elstcm l:ngland t'l llcdgeros l,abunnuns in Waler ol Vegctation and srLccessionof somc Wolds J)c$ptxrds Arablc uccds of Ilardscr Island past and prcscrtt . . . Gcolraphical vanalion in nativc llritish oaks. (r2 ) I I trucleunt nwntguz.ililnht (Ord|t I logr ccd 1. ho\ long arc the sccds viablc ('l Soehusdonestittt conrparativcnrorphologr antlhrbrtats 6: llccllc nollinirlirg dn(lorchiJ Soue sillorvs fiorn a Lcicestershlrc qum. VC 5i . . ()i I'otrovogekilt pectiD.ttt!.\ \ l'. tagiruttr.\ a rciicl ltlbnd m the llritlsh Islesl (Jl Sorrc //ierur'u at NIlfW rcccntlr dctenilincd b\ J. Bcvan 6i ' l. 11po{irhlc to lcll I tnttntunt rrr/grri liom / /rrnrrlr rn the liclJ oI A ncs rariclt olNanorrlearcd Nlarsh-orclid rn S. I turtrpshird(VC I I ) I lor.r o[ Ircn Sh.nr h-l Iiprlohrum hrunu's<'trrs hrbrids rn thc llritish Islcs .. ()i l?nmc.r x. llausskJl - nc\\ to thc IJntish Islcs b5 'Ilte Jallacnvs aspiratiors and acti!ities ot the lhitish Planl (iall Socict\ 6i Shctland I'lants in South Londol I:ronr Rc CONTENTS AJ)MINISIRAIl()N Dcadlinc lbr contributions tbr BS,8,l -\zvs 73 ...... IVr\)l(lnNtN()1t(ls Visits to the Kc\ I Ierbarirm on the da\ ol the ACM fhc I'resrJent' Asrrd Al-LnS 21)(trr nrc otliiiJl i rur.lr Atlas 20(X) Principal ()rganiscr - Thc post is lillcd Minor changcs to IIS[]l I{ecording Crds I)IARY L DI ] ('UAL }ION (iI]NEIIAT, SF,CRF,]'A]{Y'S NOI}]S ... ('oupr rtulalion. Amrral Repon Tailpiece ---Ml last Ilon (ien Scc.'s Notcsl I{I CORI)|RS NND III]CoRI)INC Anrendncnt No I to IJSIII lear llook 1996 .. V( Rr.orJer' Prncl ol Rclirccs llanl ltccorJ. Vicc-countrrbbreuction\ ... Abbrcviations lbr thc l'rcn: Vicc-cour\ IIsing Recordcr lbr tctrad rccords l'lrlI Stutus Nomcn(lilttuc NOTI S ANI) ^RI]('I LS llolanist I r\cd Iler.' Plaquc' ... Oenotheru Subgcnus l)errodoa: I hc ta\onomv Krncardincshire (VC 9 I ) records ir ,Scurre Plants ir Britail Frothr s'P I'ossiblc [,ema : Protozoa s]mbiosis l)alislr Scurvrgrass - A rathcr carlicr mland rcco.d .... -..... 'llrecarliestrecordsofl)anishScurrygrass.(.ttthleuriudaficd,onnllandrailwaytacks... I)anish Scurwgrass on a Worcestoslurc road Tilia cordata inlcaf in Dcccmbcr I'rogress *ith the studv ofRabas.frrico.ris in t}re Shirc Corulties ofNW Englmd ...... SuJ T ccl, - rrrJ slugrs Ilcrkshirc churchlards and ccmctcrics proicct .. Plants anrl cal. ucous .oils fhc four Alr'stlcs of Naturc Thc roadsidc vcrgcs schcmc in lsser l]pdatc on thc rcsccdingofnc* roadsidcvcrgcs in VC 73 ...... ('hangcsin thc llora ofindustrial Teessidc ...... I1)rgcllinF lo dic llotanistsand botanYin literature 2 ...... Aspugo's qndromc and churchvud hchcns lr{c\ in lt95 lV n chlorotic tptpdcli.s hellehorine in anl.dinbugh housing estatc Rarc plants in the n vol Gorgc. llristol conturinatod uith heaw mctals l,cvcl ofrcproductivc activit]- in fems Dcuponds in VC 6l - \'cgctation,succcrsion and mapping ...... Mlsll F f()F. sUtrvF_Y ...... Mrstlctoc {ur!c\ Uprlatc .. Mi:llctoc in ()\for{lshirc ( ( )NSLI{Vn floN NJWS ( onscrutiorr in thc |ISBI ('olrnt\ Rtrc Flmt Rcersterr CtpipediunConxfl'utionRcport 1995 .... l'lcc{( k(cn c\\a\ AI II NS \lenthdpulcyiunt il) gas\\ccd ...... I intcnr Spurpe irr Kerrt I)RI]CI NNI) IIII }]SI}I Maliurg light ofa gravc mcasion - A Mcmorial for Gcorgc Claridge l)mce F'RS 1850-1 932 ()llr rflrcst plant .. NoTT('TrS iBSIlll lrc-puhl icalrorr ollcrs Azorcs llcld mccting Advancc Noticc N() I I('LS N I}SIllr tNt '1996 Ilnit of Vcgctation Scicncc. l,ancaslcr Univcrsrt!, I mining ltogrmc Thc fncnds ol'thc Waltcs 'Cardcn Iirst'- Invcrlcith Ilousc. Roral Botanic (iardcn )ldinburgh Continucd or insidc back covcr