B.S.B.I.NEWS April1990 Editedby R.Gwynn Ellis No.54 Dept.of Botany,National Museum ofWales Cardiff CF13NP f,
Potamogeton friesii Potamogeton crispus L. Rupr.
del. O.M. Srewarr @ rsso ,\drninist ration
ADMINISTRATION
HON. GENERAL SECRE-IARy (Generat Enquiries) Mrs Mary Briggs, M.B,E, 9 Arun Prospecr, PULBOROUGH, West Sussex RH20 IAL
HON. TREASURER (Payment of Subscriptions and change of address) Mr Michael Walpole, 66 Outwoods Road, LOUGHBOROUGH, Leics LEll 3Ly (Please quote membership number on correspondence concerning membership or subscriptions - your membership number is on the address label of your mailings),
HON. FIELD SECRETARY (Enquiries on Field fvleetings) Mr Roy Smith, 8 Salcey Close, SWANIiVICK, Derbys DE55 IHD
SECRE*TARIES OF PERMANENT WORKING COMMIT'IEFS
CONSERVATION (Acting Secretary) Mrs Elsa G. Wood, The Nurtons Field Centre, TINTERN, Chepstow, Gwent NP6 7NX
MEETINGS: Mrs Ailsa Lee, 3, Rosliston Road, Stapenhill, BLIRTON-CN-TRENT, Staffordshire DEl5 9RJ
PUBLICATIONS: Mr Arthur O. Chater, Dept. of Botany, fhe Natural Flisrory Museum, Cromwell Road, LONDON SWZ sBD
RECORDS: Mr David J. N,lcCosh, l3 Cottesrnore Gardens, LONDON W8 5PR
REGIONAL COMMITTEES 1989 . I99O
SCOTLAND Dr P. i\4acpherson(lJon. Sec.), N,lr Fi.J. Noltie (Chairman), Nlrs Ni. Barron, Dr R.W.M. Corner, Dr Nl.G.B. Hughes, Dr H. I-ang, Nliss J. lvluscott, i\,lr M.l,{. Scott, Dr R.A.H. Smith, Mr N.F. Stewart, Mr,A. l\'lcG. Stirling, Nir B.lJ. Thornpson, l\{r J. Winham. Represenrative on Council: Mr fl.J. Nolrie.
IRELAND Dr T.F.G. Curtis (Chairman), Mr S. Reesley, tulr D.A. Doogue, Dr R.S. Forbes, Mr J.C.L. Phillips, tulrs S. Reynolds, Dr B.S, Rushton, Miss Nl.J.P. Scannell. Represenrative on Council: \lr S. Beesley
WALES N.'trR-.G. Ellis (Hon. Sec.), l'{rs J.A. Green (Chairman), hlr N.H. Brown, Mr p. Day, Mr S.B. Evans, N,lr T.G. Evans, Dr D.R. Hurnphreys, Dr G. Hutchinson, Dr e.O.N. Kay, l\1r R.D. pryc ivlr R.G. Woods, r\lr G. Wynne. Representative on Council: ,!lrs J.A. Green.
WELCH BEQUEST COMMIT'TEE iVIr Nl. Walpole (Chairman), Prof. D.A. lVebb, Dr A.J. Richards, Dr F.H. Perring, tl1rs I,t. Briggs.
CONSULTATIVE PANEL ON RARE PLANT INTRODUCTIONS (Sub-committee of Conservation Committee) l!{r D.R. Donald (Chairman), Miss L. Farrell, Dr F.H. Perring. Administration / Diary / Editorial
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CONTRIBUTIONS INTENDED FOR
BSBI NEWS 55
should reach the Editor before
zEth JULY 1990
DIARY
N.B. These dates are supplementaryto those in the 1990 Carlendar. l 990
AI'RIL l7-19 : Computers in tJniversity Education Conference, l-iverpooi (see page 4l) 26 : Iioyal Society Lecture (see page .11) JUNE 9 : Computer demonstration,\lonkswoorl (see page 29) JULY 28 : t)eadline for contrihutions to RSBI Neu's 55 31 : Deadline for registration for Ijnnean s.rcrctv meering (sr:epage .12) SEPTEIVIBER 25-27 : Linnean Society three dav nreeting (see page 42)
Et]ITOR
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EDITORIAL
Do I detect a falling off of crittcal reading, or arc there reailv no errrirs in BSF}INews that are worth reporting?
Are Lloydia and Gagea native in Wales?
Startling new evidence has come to lighr that casts a slight shadow of doubt on the nativity of such noted rarities as Lloydia serotina and Gagea bohemica. .A manuscript letter "Velshapparently in the hand of a relative oI the noted botanist and antiquarian Edward Llwyd has just been unearthed in, of all places, the Public Record Office in Cardiff, by Ralf Poloi, a research worker there. lhe letter, by David Llwyd, st€rtesthat he had obtained bulbs of several alpine pianrs Irorn the nurscryman i!illiam Cox of Kew Green, London, and had tried planting them on cliff ledges in linowdonia, the Brecon Beacons,and on'a low but precipitous cliff near Radnor'; an experinrentthatrmet with some success'. There is no indication of what the species were but, if they included Lloydia or Gagea, what then? ,\ paper presenting full details of this discovery and its implications on the nativitv of not only lVelsh but British alpine plants is in preparation. See also Stop Press page 57.
Special thanks this issue to Adrian Grenfell for help with the production of the front cover.
EDI'IOR .{dvertising / llon. General Secretary's i\ntes
ADVERTISING IN BSBI NEWS
Iam very grateful to the thirt_vor so mernberswho wrote in with their views on advertising books for sale in BSBI News. A series of proposals based on these replies were put to a meeting of the Societvls lrublrcoti.ns Committee in February, and I am delighted to report that nost we.re accepted by the Cornrnittee and are set out below.
l Advertising ol nrc-rnberssecond-hand natural-history books and nraps |VILL NOW BE ALLOWED in BSRI Nervs. 2. No rnore than two pages of adverts per issue. 3. No member to be allowed more than one advert every two years. .1. No more than five books per advert; if more are offered for sale then members to be invited to contact the advertiser for the cornplete list. 5. No charges to lle made for the adverts. 6. Commercial booksellers who are also members of the Society should be afforded the same privileges as oth€r rnembers for up to five books, but they be restricted to a ()nce onl_v'advertof a list of books. 7.'rVhile mernbers rrrav make requests for books for bona -befide research purposesin the ilequests section of Nevs, this facilitv should not used for commercial purposes. 8. No adverts to be allowed for equipment, cars, boats, holidal, hornes, etc. 'I'ours 9. Advertising rrf Botanical letl hv rnembers, field courses, etc., are to be allowed to continue its prcsent.
EDI'I'Oit
HON. GENERAL SECREIARY'S NOTES
ll.M. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, our lratron, will be ceiebrating her 90th birthday in August, To tnark this anniversar_r'llSflJCriuncil has rccornrnendedthat the Socjety should purchasea small llestrve in the Rntish Isles for tlle protection of a threatenedplant. lVe are requesting approverl for the lieserve ro be named in honour of her \'iajesty, Details u'ill be publishedin IISBI irews 55, \ieanwhile anr ;nerrbersrvishing to make a donation for the 'freasurer, purchase of this iieserve, please send this to the iJon. address on page 2, clearly rnarked 'll.iri. The ..7.ue:en\rotherrs Birthda)' Reserve Fundr.
Congratulations to Llrs Violet Schwerdt, Presi(-'entof the !\ild F-louer Society and ilonorary Nlember of The BSBI who rviil be celebrating her 90th birrhday in l\'1a\,,
Stamp Cover for Kew anniversary Cn the l50th anniversar,r'of the opening of Leri' Gardens ro rhe publ c, a set of four commeinorative stamps will be issuedon Junc 5th. A unique First Day Cover designedbv CoverCraft will mark I-lStslrslinks with liew. lhe Post Office SrarnpsiviLl feature trees and buildings in the Garderns,the cover shows a Victorian lithograph of the Palm House, and the stamps will be post:narkedon June 5th bv a special handstanrpincorporating the RSBI bluebell logo. So'le of the covers are available signed bv the stamp designer, Paul Leitlt. Cost unsigned f4.75, or signecl f'5.95, p...?.p, in the UK included, For overseas post pJeaseadd €1.00 for first cover and 50p per cover thereafter for airnrail. The covers rvill be sent in stiffened envelopeslvithin 28 day.safter June 5th. Orders for BSRI l'irst Dav Cover, with pavnrent to rCoverCraft' and vour narre and address,should be sent to:'Covercraft'(iiew 150) PO ilox 713, LONIX)N SEl9 2Htl, before 5th June.
Night Botanizing When British Ilail invired Sussex naturalists from tl.re Rooth;\,,iuseumof Natural Ijistory and the Sussex Ilotanical itecording Society to study a length of railwa;,-embankrnent at .!lonkscoinbe north of Brighton, as the electricity was to be switched off, we accepted with alacrity. Our enthusiasm was darnpened rvhen we learnt that the exercise was scheduled for nridnight- 5anr in rnid.FFbruary! trion. General Secretary's Notes
However, deciding that co-operation could be worthwhile, six of us assenrbledat the l1.l5pm rendezvous,to start with steaming mugs of tea and to don protective hard hats and B.fi. orange tabards, while waiting for the switch-off and rhe all-clear signal. Ry the light of our torches ad some temporary lighting fixed along the cutting, we clambered over the rails and up the banks, The botanical score was 42, with Veronica persica the on)y plant in flower (so photographed at 2.30am by the light of several flashlights, see below). The specimen of cheese plant, presumably cast dorvn from the housing estate above, was not recorded on the card. Ed and tsiddy Jarzembowski and Geralcl Legg from the Museum were rewarded by finding an assortment of spiders, flies, snails and siugs, a badgeris skull, and a small piece of a 60 million year old fossil 'sea-lily' (a relative of starfish and sea-urchins),
Paul Harmes and Tony Spiers botanizing by torchlight! Photo i\,1.Briggs
Other peoplers problems
W, Van Warmelo, now working for conservation in South Africa, writes that they have to contend with the problem of bark-stripping of trees for trarles in traditional healing - herbalists, diviners, healers and witchdoctors etc. This has been an old problenr in Natal and [:astern Cape, but rapid urbanisationhas now brought it to the remnant forests of the Southern Cape. A workshop has been arranged to look into ways in which these needs can be reconciled with the need to conserve the trees.
Vascula
RSBI has nou got four large vascula and lirnited storage space. y/ould any member who could make use of one of these please contact me, The_vare all rather bulky and heavy to post so would be better collected by hand from The Natural History r'vluseumor transferred, by arrangement to another centre for collection. If posted, all costs must be born by the recipient. f.l.{RY BRIGGS, llon. General Secretary Welsh QuadrennialMeeting / Puzzle Picture I
IMPORTANT NOTICE
BSBI WALES QUADRENNIAL MEE-TING AND 28th ANNUAL GENERAL MEENNG I99O
NOTICE IS HEREfIY GIVEN that a meeting of rnembers of the Society, normally resident in Wales, will be held at University College Gardens, Treborth, Bangor, Gwynedd, on Sarurday 2l JuIy 1990 at 3.l5pm.
AGENDA l Election of Chairman and mernber to serve as Representative on BSBI Council 2. Election of Hon. Sec., Treasurer and members of Committee for Wales 3. Any other business
Nominations of members for election as Chairman and Representative on Council must be in writing, signed by two members normally resident in Wales, and accompanied by written consent of the candidate to serve if elected. Such nominations, and nominations for members and officers of the Committee for Wales, should be sent to the Hon. Sec. of the Committee for lVales, Mr R.G. Ellis (address on front cover), to arrive not later than May 30th 1990.
I,'IARY BRIGGS, Hon. General Secretary
* +** ****)i.**r(****t* +** *d.*****r PUTZLE PICTURE 1 'afterr This picture shows that the mystery photographer was the late Ted Lousley. Only two members guessed correctly; Mrs Chris Dony, who took the photographs at a Worcestershire wool alien field in 1959, and Mrs Dorothy Lousley! This picture was really a test to see how many members had read their Botanists (see between pages 164 and 166), not very many it seems, tut,tut,tut! Barbara Welch / Exeter Conference Report BARBARA WELCH Barbara lVelch (right) and Mary McCallum Webster (left) photographed by J. Russell looking at Scirpus triqueter in Limerick, Ireland on June 22 1952. See The Annual Report for 1989-90 pages l0-ll for details of the awards from the Welch Bequest Fund. *********+*********+*********+***** **+****** ** *+*************************** rr*+*+ ISPECIES-MAPPING AND THE BIOLOGY OF PLANT DISTRIBUTIONI JOINT BSBI/BES CONFERENCE EXFTER, 6-9 APRIL 1989 The Conference was attended by some l17 participants roughly 607o BSBI and 40o/oBES. Most came from the UK, but a number were from Ireland, two frorr the Continent, and two from North America. Residential accomrnodation was in the Duryard IJalls of ,Residencec.lkm from the main University campus, where the paper-reading sessionstook place in the l{arherly Laboratories (Department of Biological Sciences). Friday 7 April was taken up mainly with papers on plant distribution patterns and their more immediate interpretation - close to the Watsonian tradition. The rnorning session was chaired by the Society's president-elect, Professor D,A. Webb, who welcomed participants to the conference. The opening paper onrThe Atlas of the British Flora'was given by Dr S.N4.Walters, who outlined the early development of distribution-mapping studies in Europe, leading up to the start of work for the BSBI Atlas. He was followed by Dr G. Halliday, who illustrated a wealth of patterns representing diverse distribution types in 'The flora of Cumbriarand by Dr lvt.C.F. Proctor who discussed a number of rPatterns in the flora of Devon'. Dr N.K.B. Robson concluded the morning with a thought-provoking comparative discussion of the distributions and habitats of the British species of Hypericum. The afternoon session, chaired by l)r lVaiters, began with a consideration by Dr C,D. Preston of the distributions of the British species of Potamogeton, a genus of which many species have greatly decreased during this century. Mr R.W. David discussed some puzzling questions raised by the British distributions of Carex montana, C. appropinquata, C. punctata and C. magellanica. Dr S.B. Chapman presented evidence indicating that in Dorset Gentiana pneumonanthe is a relict and declining species, but that Erica ciliaris is probably a relatively recent arrival and still spreading. Finally, Dr B. Huntley's paper 'Pollen on maps and pollen-clirnate response surfaces: biogeographic implicationsr gave a fascinating dynarnic picture of individual plant distributions responding to changing climate since the last glacial period, and the effects of this on changing vegetation, The second day of the conference was concerned with analysis of the causes of plant distribution limits. The nrorning session was chaired by Professor J,A. Bryant, head of the Department of Biological Sciences at Exeter. In the opening paper onrAnalysis and experiment in the study of the climatic control of planr distributionsr, Dr C.D. Pigott considered particularly the effects of temperature on fertilisation and embryo*growth, and Flxeter Conference Report water D^tress,as factors rleternrining northern and southern lin)its of some European forest trees.'l'he influence of rnineral nutrient factors on distribution was consideredby Dr J.R. Etherington, rThe impact of heavy-metal toxicities on plant distribution' by Dr A.J,M. [3aker, the inf]uence of drought stress by Dr N, Srnirnoff, and factors limiting the distribution of coastal c)iff plants by Dr A.J,C, Malloch, In the afternoon session, chaired by Dr C.l). Pigott, l)r F.l. Woodward discussed some of the physiological effects of altitude on plant growth. Dr J. Jenik spoke on the role of wind systems in mediating topographical lirnitation of species in the mountains of Czechoslovakia, and considered the possibility of similar effects in western Europe. Dr J. Grace gave an interesting paper on microclimatic (particuiarly temperature) differences between neighbouring vegetation types. I)r T.C.E. Wells described some of the results of long-term recording of orchid oopuJationsnear their northern limits in relation to year-to-year climatic variations. Finally, Dr J.P. Grime provided a wide-ranging and thought-provoking summing up. The general atrnosphere of the conference indicated that people found it an enjoyable and intellectually worthrvhile occasion. Certainly manv seem to have found the slightly unfamiliar juxtaposition of amateur and professionaltalent stimulating, and much interesting discussion resulted. Our speakers all did an excellent job of pitching their papers at an appropriate level for a very mixed audience, and they all deserve our warm thanks. Around half those present at the conference took part in the field excursion on Sunday 9 April. We first visited the valley of the ltiver Teign, near Fingle Bridge at the north edge of l)artmoor, where Hypericum linarifolium was seen just starting into growth on the steep south-facing rock outcrops; a quick reading with an infra-red therlnometer showed these slopes several degrees warlrer than the woods on the opposite slope, even in hazy sunshine. Some members of tl.re party found Teesdalia nudicaulis in flower. We then continued to the l)evonian limestone of Berry Head near Brixham, rvhere the fine coastal cliifs ancl rich flora and the seabirds particularly irnpressed our overseas visitors. Ilelianthemum apenninum was conspicuous in the short limestone turf, and a few plants were already in flower. Trinia glauca was more difficult to find, but the distinctive foliage ancl a ferv florvers were seen. Farther south along the cliffs, the autumn-flowering Aster linosyris was just starting into growth, For many people, the nost exciting find of the dal was a plant new to Berry l{ead, Poa infirma, aiso found new to Darvlish lVarren (a NCR!} on the day before the meeting. We got back to Er(eter almost on time, and proceedings concluded with a Devon cream tea at Duryard before participants set off on their journeys home. MICIIAEL PROCTtIR, Dept. of Eotanv, Hatherll Laboratories,The lJniversity,Prince of lVales Road. EXETEtt EX4 4PS IOur thanks to i\]ichael Proctor for organizing such an interesting meeting - and for the crearn tea! Ed.l Michael Proctor (plus temperature'gun') et.al. at Fingle Bridge, Photo Mrs P.P. Abbott Recorders and llecording RECORDERS AND RECORDING A KEY TO THE 20 COTONEASTER SPECIES MOST LIKELY TO BE FOUND NATURALZED IN THE BRITIS}I ISLES la) Petals erect, pink-red, obovate; filanents pink; flow^riap of inl loresconce extendod t'Sant l-ntnnoactor\ 2a) SLamens10-13(-lC) (Suhqecr. Adpressi) 3a) Flowers usually solitary, nodding; leaves Leathery, semi-evergreen (Series Dlsrichi) C. niridus Illp to 2(-4)m ta11, stiffly erect, distichously branched; leaves B-13rnm, sub-orbiculari fruits 9-11mrn, red, obovate to sub-,q1obose; ntltlets 3l. 3b) Flowers 3-4; Ieaves monbranorrs, d<:ciduous fserios {,rDressi ) 4a) Fruits to 9nn ovoid-e11ipsoid, dark rlch-red; hei,ght 1-2n spreading, branchlets often al1 in sane plane 45-60 deq.; leaves 8-2Onm elliptic-ovate; nlltlets 2; apomlctic C. divaricatus 4b) Fruits to 12mn sub-g1obose, fleshy, red; height to In, by 2n wide; branches creeping, arching outwards; Leaves 12-25nn, orbicular, undul-ate: petals frineed; nutlets 2; aponictic C. nanshan 4c) Fruits Lo 5m sub-globose, orange-red; height in open to 1n, often several times as wide; branchlets herringbone; leaves )-15mn sub- orblcular, broad elliptic; nrrtlets 3; aponict-ic C. horizontalis 2b) Stanens 20 (Subsect. Cotoneaster) 5a) Leaves to 15cm, bullate; fruits red or black; nutlers 4-5 (Series lullar:i) 6a) Fruits currant red; leaves 3,5-7cm, petioles 3-{>nm; height 2,5-t+n, broad open habit; branches black-brown; leaves elliptic to ovate, acuminate; calyx hairy; fruits sub-globose to obovoid . C. bullatus 6b) Fruits blood red; leaves 5-15cn, petiole very shorr, 1-3m; height to 4.5m; calyr glabrous except on narg:Lns, otherwise similar Lo C. bullatus; aponictic C. rehderi 6c) Eruits purplish-b1ack; leaves 4-1Ocrn; heiaht to 3m; branchcs often sprawling to 4m wide; leaves elliptic-ovate to ovate, acuninate; fruits obovoid to sub-globose; aponictlc. . . , . . C. moupinensis 5b) Leaves to 7cn, f1at, shining; frults black; nurlets (2-)3 (Series Lucidi) 7a) i.5-2n ta11, uprlght brrshy habit; leaves 2-7cn, ovaLe-e11.iptic, acule; frujts 8-10mn sub-g1obose, black, g1-ossy; aponictic C. lucidus 7b) 2-4m tal1; leaves 8-1Ccm, ovate to oblong-ovate, acl!t-e or acllninate, densely villous beneath; fruits 8-10mm, sub-g1obose, b1ack, sonewhat pubescent C. villosulus 5c) T,eaves felted beneath; flowers 4-15 (Series Franchetioldes) 8a) Flowers -5-15 on shoots to 4cm; calyx vi11ous, lobes acuminate; helght 3m; branches slender, arching; 1vs 2-3.5cm elliptic to oval-ovaLe, pale greyish yellow felting beneath turning silvery with age; frs ":':':-:":'.u:uT."f':': :".":":o: :',:':',: :-:'.":"T':'l c. francherii Recorders and Recording qh) Flowers 5-15 on shoofs to 1.5cm; calyx fe1t"d, iohes acuLe; raDidly growing to 3m with stiff open spreading habit; leaves 2.5-6cm, ova1, rugose, thlck silver,v feltinS beneath; frrrits red, B-1Omm, srrb-globose; nutlets 3-1+; apomictic . . , C. sternianus 8c) Flowers 3-7 on shoots 2.5cn; calyx pubescent, lobes acurninaLe with long mrrcro; height to 1.5-3m; branches extremely slender and whip- like; pendulous; leaves 1.5-2.5cn oval-ovate to obovatei fruits blood- red, 6m, suh-globose; nrtlets usualJy 3..4; apomictic C. dielsianus 5d) l,eaves tomentose beneath; flowers up 16 7 (Series Cotoneaster) . C. integerrimus Illeight to 1,-5n, bushy, arching habit; leaves 0.9-4crn, broadly ovate to ohlong-ovntc Ilowers in shorf, no4ding, most]v olahrorrsnanielps: frrrrrs B-11mm,red, sub-globose; nutleLs 2-3(-5)] 5e) Leaves strigose beneath; flowers campanulate (Series Yucronati) . C. simonsii llreiqht l-5n sl iffll erect and sparinglv branched; leaves 1.5-3cn orbicular-ovate; flowers 1-1+ together on very short shoot-s; frrrits obovoid to oblong, scarlet; nutlets 3-4; aponictic] Ih) PeLals spre;rding. white, sub-orbicular; filaments white; flowering of inflorescence sinulLaneous (Sect, Chaenopetalum) oa) Leaves longer than 2cm (Subsect. Chaenopetalum) 1Oa) Leaves nenbranons, deciduous (Series ChaenoDetalum) C. frigidus [l{eight to 1Bm; leaves 6-12cm elliptic to oblong-obovate; corymbs rnany floivered, 4-6cn across: fruits light red, broad ellipsoid, -5mt nutlets 2; outbreeding, very variable] 1Oh) Leaves leatherv, evergreen 11a) llpper surfacc of leaf shining; nutlets 3-,5 (Series Salicifolii ) C. salicifolius Ir{eight 2-5n: lcaves 3-Qcn e]liptic-1anceo1ate, rugose, margins and tips revolLrte, tonentose beconing glabrou-s beneath; many flowered corymbs 3-4cn across; fruits bright red, sub-globose, 5mrn; outbreeding, very varlable] Flybrids between C. frigidus and C. salicifolius (C. x watereri) are sonetimes found naturalized, These are intermediate and variable. sirowing featrtres fron both parents. llh) rlpper surfaco of leal dr:ll: nrrtlets 2 (ceries Pannosi) . C. lacteus Illeight 2-4m about the sane in width; branches broadly arched, drooping; leaves 3,5-5cm, rvirle el1iptic, with thick yel,lowish down 5ene:th, Iine] ly becomirrg.ereyish then glabrous .in 3nd year; man.u flowered corymbs, 4-6cn wide; petals nilky-whltei fruits red, ovate, 6mm; apomictic] 9b) l,eaves shorter than 1cm (Subsect. Iicrophylli) l2a) Fruits shininR scarlet, g1ohose,7-omn; \eight ln; shoors grev striqosc; foliage not spirally arranged; leaves 5-9mm, nostly oblanceolate, rarely oblong; petioles 1-1.5nm; calyx sparsely pilose, soon glahrous; fruits with 2 nutlets; outbreeding, extremely variahle . C. conspicuous l2b) Fru:lts carmine, q).obose, 6-l0m; height to lm; shoots yellowish-green, strigose; fgliage splrally arranged; leaves 4-15m, mostly obovate- elliptic; petioles 1-4nm; calvx strigose-pilose, soon glahrous; fruits wi.th 2 nutlets; outbreeding C. integrifolius (C. thvnifolius) 10 Recorders and Recordins 12c) Fruits cerrmine, globose,5-7mm; leaves -5-8rm, obovate, white-gre_v strigose-pilose below; petioles 1-2mn; otherwise similar to previous species, it does not seem to naturalize so readjly as C. integrifolius . C. microphyllus l'here is much work still to be done on these last three species, they are not fully or clearly described in their original Latin descriptions, causing confusion in correct identification. The name C integrifolius is the correct name for C. thymifolius as it is the older validly published name. This work has been checked with all the relevant original descriptions, p)us herbariun type specimens, and living material in arboreta and specialist collections. The table on pages l2 & 13 lists many important characters; also usefui are leaf th,ckness (and texture) as set out below. THIN Cotoneaster horizontalig C divaricatug C. nanshan, C. luciduq C. villosulus, C. simonsii, and C. frigidus all have relatively thin leaves. MEDruM Cotoneaster integerrimuq C. franchetii, C. bullatus, C. rehderi, and C- moupinensis leaves are of medium chickness,with the leaves of the last three speciesbeing bullate (blistered between the veins). THICK Cotoneaster integrifolius, C conspicuoug and C. microphyllus rvith leaves thick and leathery; C. sternianug C. dielsianug C salicifolius, and C. lacteus wirh leaves thick and rugose. References Bean,. W.J,, 1970. Tlees gnd:l'rybs Hardy_in the British Isles. Ed. 8. l: 729-759 ljrowlcz' K. 1959. Species of the genus Cotoneaster Ehrh, in Poland. Arboretum Kornickie 4: 5-t08 Flink, K.E. & Hylmii, B. 1966. A list of series and species in the genus Cotone-aster.Hot. Not. ll9: 445-463 Hurusawa, I. 1943' Cotoneaster Asiae Orientalis. Acta Phytotax, et Geobot., Kyoto l3: 225- l(lotz, G.F, 1963-1972. Neue oder kritische cotoneaster-Arten. lVG. z. unrv. Hatte. \4ath.-Nar. {l) l2: 7s3-768 (1963):(il) l2:769-786 (1965);(111-1yy ts; nS-saa (1966);(V) l7:333-339 (1968);(VI) 2l:969-977 (1972);(VII) 2t:979-t021 (1972). Krussmann, C. 1984 (Trans. M.E. Epp). r'lanual of Cultivated Broad-leaved Trees & Shrubs. l: 38I -393 Pojarkova, A.l. I955. Addenda secunda ad eleborationern generis C-otoneasterMed. in'tFlora URSS". Not. Syst. Komarovii 17: 179- Pojarkova, A.l. 1961. Florae URSS et Chinae generis C-otoneasterlrled, species novae. Not. Syst. Komarovii 2l: l6l- Rehder, A- l9?il .BTtligglgpry of Cuttivated Trees and Shrubs. Jamaica plain. sax' H'J. 1954. Polyploidy and Apomixis in cotoneasterJourn. Arnold Arb,35:334-365 Yij, T.T. 1954. Cotoneastersf rom the eastern Himalaya. Sull. Brit- Mus.-lNat. IIist.), Bot. l: 125-l4l ZeiIinga, A.E. 1964. Polyploidy in Crroneaster. Bot. Not. ll7: ?.62-278 JEANETTE FRYER, 3 Trooper Bottom Cottage, Honeycritch Lane, Froxfield, PETERSFIELD, Hampshire GU32 IBFI Recorders and Recording ?ABULAR KEY TO Cotoneaster trur-c Hairs on Fruit f rLll1] tn m colour Fruit shape Iength (+ t hybrid) ln mm horizontalis 0.5-1 Keo Glabrous Subglobose divari-catus Dark Glabrous ObIong 7-9 red nanshan 0. s-1 Keo Glabrous Obovoid 10-12 Iucidus t.)-z Black Glabrous Suhglobose B-10 vil losuLus 2-4 Black e 1 i ^h+ L, Obovoirl 8-10 Pubescent integerrimus I{eo GIabrous Subglobose 8-10 s r-mons t- 1 2-4 GLabrous Subglobose 5-8 red - obovoid bullatus RLCN Glabrous Subglobose 6-8 red q rehderi 3-4 KICN GIabrous Subg lobose 7-1 1 red moupr-nens 1s a-J Glabrous Subglobose o-o black francheti i 1 .5-3 Orange Subqlabrous Obovoid 6-8 sternianus 1. s-3 Orange q l i ahl- l rr Subglobose 8-10 red downy - subglabrous dielsianus Kect Downy Subglobose 4-6 frigidus l- tb Sub- Subglobose q-c red glabrous x watereri vari. btwn varl Glabrou s Subglobose 4-8 nrronFe ^Ll ^ saI icifol ius Red c I abrou s Subglobose l-acteus .A T i ^L+ Subglobose 4-6 red downy -obovoid integrifolius n (-'l Carmine Glabrous Globose 6-10 consDlcuus 0.5-1 Light Glabrous Subg Iobose 7-9 red microphyllus nEl Carmine Glabrous Globose Recorders and Recording COTONEASTER SPECIES flumber Nunber l,eaI Deciduous nutlet s fruits ( rnature ) or i.n fruit |-ncofhar 1n cm 1n cm hairs Il\zarn raan 3 1a 0.3-0.4 Glabrous Decirluous or Semi-ev. 2 1-3(4) 0.8-2 o q_1 5 Gfabrous Dec iduous 'l 2 11 2 GLabrous Deciduous q (2)3 J- | Z 2-1 1 C_d cl inhf lrr Deciduous nrrhoqnonl- - crrhal rh 2-(3\ J- | Z 4-1 0 Decidnous q-4 (2t 3-4 t-J n Tomentose Deciduou s 3-4 I--t Dec iduous or Semi-ev. (4)5 J . )- / Pubescent Dec idr-rous (4)s 10-25 2-10 Pubescent Deciduous (4)s 10-25 4-1 2 11.5-8 Pubescent Dec iduorr s (213 J- | Z Z-J.) Tornentose Ii\ro rftraa n to Serni-ev. 'l 3- (4) -10 2.5-6 2-5 TomenLose Semi- 3-4 t-l Tornentose Deciduous 2 10-30 o- | ! 11 Subglabrous lteciduorls 2- 415) ,,--t ^Lt ^ variaLrfe ..--i ^Lt ^ Subg Iabrous Semi - 3-5 20-80 3-8 | -J Subg Iabrous F\r6rd7aa. 2 10-30 3.5-9 I - l-9 Tomentose Frtarffraan 2 1(2',) dAlE 0 .2-0 .7 Frrordr6an Vi I lous 2 1 nq_nq 0 .2-0 .4 Vi f Ious Evergreen 2 1-2(41 0.5-0. B 0.3-0.s Subglabrous F\r6-^r66n 13 tlecorders and lRecordins Arnendment No. 5 to Vice-county Recorders, September 1988 Change of address: ill2 Co. Wexford: Lady Ro FitzGerald, Beggarrs Roost, Lilstocl(, Sridgewater, Somerset TA5 ISU Supplement No. 7 to Panel of Referees and Specialists, September 1986 Cf IEI{OPODIACEAI.- Atriplex: Dr Pierre Taschereau has suffered the misfortune of redundancy from his University; at present all his papers, books and specimens are in storage, and nleiibers are requested not to send rpecirnens of Atriplex to hiil in Canada. We hope tc have better nervs fron Pierre at some future date. CO}IPOSI'fAE Taraxacum: Sadly rve report the death of Chris'.iarvorth in l)eceinber I989, John Richards, whr says that this leaves an enor.nous vacuurn in the study of 9ritish Taraxacum, will norv again act as Referee. Speciinens to be sent to: Dr A.J. Richards, Dept. of Botany, The Llniversity, NE\VCASTLE-LIPON-TYliE NEI 7RU. lvleanrvhileAndrew Dudrnan, tJolebeck IIouse, Cleator ir4oor, Cumbria is building up a large database using the coiubined records. This wiil forrn the basis of the proposed llSiJI Taraxacum Handbook, and Andre*, ia a recipient of a Welch f]equest Crant for this projecr. C;IUCIFERAE Dr T.C.G. ilich has norv nrovc'd frorn the iliological Records Centre at;!,lonks Wood to Lancaster, his nerv address is: Unit of Vegetation Science, Biological Sciences, University of Lancaster, LANCASTEIT LAI 4YQ, teI.0524 65201 ext.3509. lJe regrets he can no longer accept fresh crucifer material (unless by prior arrange'nent) as he rvill be doing field work most of the surnmer. SAXIFI{AGACEAE Saxifraga: Prof, l).A, $'ebb has retired as Referee, and this group is temporarily without a re feree. I'IARY IlltlGGS, Hon. General Secretary * * * * * * f * * * * :i * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * i<* * +* ** * * * * * ?/IGTOWNSHIRE RECORDING AND FIELD I\,{EETING The basic recording unit for iVigtovr'nshireis the 5x5kln square, the srnallest practical unir for a vice-county virtually devoid of botanists. This inevitably leads, however, to accutnulation of records that can no longer be localised lvith any ease. Consequently, I have modified the scheme to one in *hich every record is localisable to a lkm square and have designed a new-style recording lorrr, I am always grateful to receive records from visiting botanists and would be pleased to supply theln rvith the new forms. Follorving successful trials of the scheme last summer, I shall now be inflicting the new forms on those attending the 3-day BSBI meeting on July l3th-1sth. Problems over selecting the base for the rneeting meant that little detail was provided in the Field fuleeting Programme. The meeting will be based on Glenluce, near Stranraer, and will be including population rnonitoring of one or two uncorrrnon species and detailed recording of sorne potentially interesting wet Jnoorland (if we get there before the Sitka Spruce) and a variety of coastal habitats. Anyone who wishes to become blas6 about Mertensia and sick of the sight of Carum verticlllatum is welcome to attend. I can supply further details and recommend early booking of accommodation. ALAN SILVERSIDE, Dept. of Siology, Paisley College of Technology, PAISLEY, Renfrewshire PAI 2RE t4 Recorders and Recording LYME DISEASE : A HAZARD LURKING IN TI-{E COUNTRYSIDE? Lyme disease is a bacterial infectior.r of humans and other animals, trans,nitted by ticks (Ixodes species). The disease was first described in 1976 in Old Lyme, Connecticut, IJSA, hence its name. The tick initially appears as a black, pin-head size, spot on the skin but it can swell to the size of a pea by sucking blood, if left. If the tick is infected with the causative spirochaete, florrelia burgdorferi, the first sy,i.lptonl in 75r)b of cases is a distinctive rash surrounding the tick bite. This is a red area that clears in the centre as it expands to its final dianreter of up to lscils. After a couple of weeks rvhen the rash fades, flu-like and meningitis-like symptonls occur, followed by rnore serious complaints of the disease affecting the heart and nervous system. i4onths or years later arthritis can affect the patient and this can last for several years. i/any of these long terrn syrnptorns are similar to those of syphilis whicir is also caused by a spirochaete. Immature ticks are parasites of rnice, voles, squirrels, rabbits and birds. It is thought that the disease is spread across the vrorld by migratory birds. Adult ticks are found on large mamrnals such as sheep or deer. About 85o/oof iierv Forest deer are said to carry infected ticks. Mice are thought to be the inajor reservoir for Lynre disease bacteria which they can harbour for up to three months. I)uring this time any irrmature ticks living on the Inice becoine infected. Adult ticks reach the host by jumping froni leaves to passin,rj mamrnals which are often deer, but equally can be humans or dogs, Action: Take precautions to prevent tick bites by tucking trousers into socks and b_v wearing boots. Following exposure to susceptible lrabitats exalnine y,ourself for ticks, and if you find any remove them immediately. This is best done by wiping liberally u,ith alcohol or spirit to make the;n release their grip so that they can be brushed out without leaving any bits behind. Include a small bottle of rnethylated spirits (or whisky!) in your firsr aid kir. If you notice a rash around the site of a tick bire, or get enlrrged glands, or flu-like symptoms visit your doctor and inention Lyme disease. If caught early enough, antibiotics, particularly tetracycline, are very efficient at lij-liting tlre rlisease. Lyme disease can be detected in pathology laboratories bv serological tests (i.e, lndirect irnmunofluorescent antibod,v assay, and enzy'ite immunoassay such as those ;narketed b_ySi;1nra Diagnostics, and l)iagast L,aboratoires,France). Due to the wide range of hosts, tick control is very difficult an N4ARTINE AttCllEIt, Departinent of iu'licrobiology,lJniversity of Surrey, GUILDFOiTL) * * * *,t* * * * * ** * * * * * * * ** +** ** * * * ** ****t,1.*** THE 1976 OPHRYS BERTOLONII IN DORSE-T ''Vebster Pankhurst and i4atthews (1377) reported the discovery in April 1976 by il.E. of a single flowering speciinen of Ophrys bertolonii Lrioretti (whose nearest native locality is southern France) on calcareous grassland in i)orset. They recorded that it'disappeared in lriay,.. perhaps picked or grazed". The area concerned is a stony, short-grassed, steeply south-facing, litnestone coastal hillside; it is probably the best site in the U.i(, to nurture and, in a wan'n year, to allcw the flowering of wind-borne adventive seed frorn the llediterranean. 1976 had an 'rvarm exceptionally dr_yspring (as had 1975, in fact) so the genuine occtrrrence of a I'iediterranean species at that tiine and in that place is by no jreans an irrpossible scenarlo. On the other hand, Pankhurst and,'v'iatthews (ibid.) noted thatrsome years ago seeds of various iv{editerraneanspp. of orchid were scattered in this area of Dorsetr, irrplying that the specirnen's provenance rvas doubtful. I have unfortunately lost contact rvith fulr \Vebster since he rnoved from Essex, but it was his belief in 1977 that the seed concerned was unidentified, carte from ivlallorca (where Ophrys bertolonii does occur, rather uncornrnonly), and had been broadcast by a local lady in a valley just north-west of ir'orth llatravers; this is some 6km west of where the plant was found, rvhich rnerkesa connection a little l5 Recorders and ilecording unlikely. The date of the broadcast (not known to ine) would be material, There is a quite different tale in circulation, that the plant was dug up and the soil at its base rvas found to be incompatible rvith the ambient, thus proving that it had been 'planted'. I have been quite ur)able to discover any basis for this tale; ;t.J. Pankhurst (pers. comm. 1989) is unaware of any report, published or not, which would lead him to alter his 1977 opinions; l'l.J.ivl. tsolen (BSBI Recorder for Dorset) is sirnilarly in the dark, as is J.J. Wood (BSAI Referee for Ophrys et al.). Furtherrnore, I went with lvlr Vt'ebster in April 1977 to rhe site, which he re-identified to within a few inches, and, apart from the disappearance of a few srnall pebbles, there was no sign of soil disturbance. A small blind rosette of Ophrys leaves was there, but of course these could have been of O. sphegodes which is locally abundant. By April 1978, these leaves had gone. If anyone has relevant infornlation, I should be most grateful for it, Any narnes will be treated in confidence if requested. The point of this enquiry lies in the comment, which I have already heard inore than once, that rhe 1939 record of Serapias parviflora 'must be a fraud, like the Ophrys bertoloniir. This is not a helpful presumption! Reference Pankhurst, R.J. & G.A. Iiatthews (1977). Ophrys bertolonii Nloretti in Britain. Watsonia l1 : 430 D.l\l. TURNER ETTLINCEII, Iloyden Cottage, Cliftonville, DORKING, Surrey RH4 2Jir * * ** * * +* * * rrtr( )t< * * * 1.t * * t(+ ** ** * * ** * * * *+ ** +* * ARTEMISIA BIENNIS IN EAST SUSSEX This Artemisia was found by Dennis Vinall on September 23rd 1989 on the exposed mud at Arlington i{eservoir and is a new v.c. record. After the exceptionally dry summer the reservoir was at less than half capacity, leaving a large expanse of mud ideal for colonization, Along the south side of the reservoir towards Polhillrs Farm he noted many more plallts among Atriplex spp., Chenopodium rubrum, Polygonum persicaria, Gnaphalium uliginosum, Plantago major, Tripleurospermum maritimum and Matricaria recutita. The Artemisia plants varied in size, graduating from l8 inches (one at least 3 feet) to a very large patch of young, bright green seedlings numbering more than a thousand, many flowering frorn an inch upwards in height, and froni a distance appearing like a young grass sward covering an area 30 x 80 yards. A ferv raore plants rvere found on the north side of the reservoir but in srnaller groups. It was noticeable that the lmudrwas lnore gravelly and most plants were near the retaining wall. lvialcolrn Johnson, of the Wildfowl Trust and Sussex Crnithological Society wrote:'rBoth ,\{allards and'rVidgeon visited Arlington Ileservoir in large nurnbers during both cold winters of 1985/6 and 1986/7. Widgeon are birds that prefer to graze and in the two winters mentioned could have been present in thousands, coming across from N. Europe very suddenly as colder conditions set in.rr In BSBI News 37: 27 (1984) there is an illustration by Hilli Thompson and in News 45: 26 (19S7),-a rxrte by il.ri. Payne with details of A. biennis at Chew Valley Reseiiofl N. Sornerset. A comparison with Arlington Reservoir shows that conditions there are very si r:ri Iar. L. BREDA BUR'f, tsoonfield Farrn, Playden, RYE, Sussex TN31 7QA DENNIS L. VINALL, Elmbrook, l0 Old r\lill Lane, Wannock, POLEGATE, E, Sussex tsN26 sNS * * * * {.* * ++ * * * *i. * +rt * +* * * * * ** +* ++ t * * * * +* * * * THE HERBACEOUS BORDER I A corner has been rnade opposite the Cabbage Patch for garden escapes which are in need of closer examination or correct names. The first planting is climbing honeysuckle. t6 Recorders and llecording CURIOUS HONEYSUCKLFJS ln v.c. 99 and for that rnatter central west Scotland ancl south west Scotlan IITAIN DISTINCTIONS Non-clinbing forms Climbing Forms Makes dense rnounds Clinhs rrees or posts, forrns lonq rroright shape, not wide at base \lihole plant very robust, Sterile new Soft new Urovth, stringl' older brernches. shoots thick and whippr Sterile shoots not a feaLure llark, Ncw especi a1Jy on steri 1e shoo' s, Ner^'bark pale grecn or bufl', seldon tinted, ruby, scarlet or p1um, often with bloom not a feature of the plant on the surface ),trewshoots often grow vertlcal fron I'iew shoots thjn, soft and weak, soon trvlninq, horjzontal older wood, fat, often as not eve-cal-chinq thick as a penci.l Foliage coriaceous, often rich qreen, but Foliage soft pale green, thin, easily torn or nay be glaucous, veins often sunk below bruised, veins not a feature, hairy surface making a net pattern, sparsely especiallv when new, narrowly e1llptica1 hairy or glabrous, very broad Florqers of a flrmer texture, trunpets Flovers a softer texture, sonetines ver1, few rarely pale self-colour, but almost always trurlpets which are pale with liLtle gradation strongly tinted, maroon, deep rose, ruby- of colour. Ruds nay have green or deeper pttrple, sornetimes the tips of unopened tjntts, but contratst ts wcall bells mav be orange ivlth a green band or may be verv deep ruby scent very strong in all hut- one sanpled. scent not- verv strong (in conparison) tHoneysuckler; clove carnation (the most comnon) with Lhe ruby-rose tint. One snelled horribly of dead nouse, 7l Recorders and l?ecording SLarrdard (rrpper petal) extremely variable, Variations nol noticeable some splr'L deeply to glve the appearance of double the teeth at the rim; the degree of curvature of mature standards and falls ( lower petals) 1s very v;rrioble Fn.joys full srrn ancl takes baking, con- Enjoys sone shade, probably needs to have ditjons, does not requlre to have the roots oul of full sun. l{ith us, fottnd on roofs in sh;rde, I ikes hacic nr noutrJl fairly acid, hunusy soils, coJorrr difference soils. fhe sftrri Ie shoots and I inLs on rhe only seen in planLs in Lwilight conditions flowers fail to show if the plant is not emerging to hetter light in the sun \ot (yet ) fnrrrrdat rny grcil 1l t i I udc Able to ascend into the hills Dr Hugh i\,icAllister at Ness, has discovered that there are three different chroulosone counts in Flora Europaea, but they were not done frorn British material, which has ineant that so far he has not discovered the locations. Anyone looking for an unexplored field? ALISON RUTI-IERFORD, l9 South King Street, HELENSBURGH, Dunbartonshire G84 7PU |lon-ciirnbing forrn of lrnlcera perlclymenum. Photo A. Stirling * * * * * x * t( * * * * * + +* + * * * +* * * * * * i( * + * * * +* t(r( * * * A NEW RECORD OF EQUISETUM X FONT{UERI IN DUIUFRIESSHIRE ln 1988, while helping ivlrs ilary l,'lartin record a tetrad for the BSBI lJonitoring Schetne, I found a horsetail that t thought rnight be a hybrid, It had the overall appearance of a large Equisetum palustre, but with larger cones, brighter green whoried branches, and the main stern internodes were paler and more ivory coloured than those of the normal form, We returned last year on the lSth June to collect better specimens for Dr Chris Page to determine, which he did, as Equisetum x font-queri Rothm., the hybrid between E palustre and E telmateia, the 4th record for the British Isles, the 2nci for a natural habitat, and l8 iRecorders and llecording o *t- 4* Britrsh Tarra6 Water record Vc'72 EGUISETUM x trONT-8uERl Rothm. Equisetum x font-queri del. O.M. Stewart @ 1990 19 Recorders and Recording the lst for mainland Scotland. The other Scottish site is by a ditch in Skye, and the two English sites are on a railway elnbankrnent and roadside verge. I understand a Welsh record was found later in 1989. The site of t)re hybrid horsetail is by the Tarras Water north of Langholm. Its habitat is a rnarshy slope under open rvoodland; it grows with Equisetum telmateia, and E palustre grows a few yards away on level open ground just below. Also growing near, among the trees are E sylvaticum and a little E arvense. OLGA M. STEWART, 30/5 Colinton Road, EDIfJTURGH El{10 5DG * *+ * * * * + * ** + * + ** *,F* * * * * * ** ** t(* ** * * r(* * * * * POTAMOGETON X LINTONII - NEW TO SCOTLAND Carlingwark Loch, a eutrophic lake near Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, is a well-known botanical locality. Several of the locally rare species which grow around its edge have predorninantly southern distributions in Great Britain, including Carex elata, Cicuta virosa, Ranunculus lingua and Rumex hydrolapathum. Potamogeton friesii, another southern species, is found in small quantity in the lake itself, where it was first collected by F.R. Coles in 1882. Other pondleeds found here are P. crispuq P. pectinatus, P. perfoliatus and P. pusillus On 20th June 1989, O.[i.S. collected a pondweed at Carlingwark u'hich, in the field, appeared to be P, obtusifoliug but on closer exalnination turned out to be P. x lintonii, the hybrid between P. crispus and P. friesii. Vr'e visited the loch on 6th August 1989 to see how common the h_vbridwas. At least l0 patches extended over 300m of the eastern shore, frotn 25/765.613 to 764.610 (where rve iurned back). They grew in water l0^25cm deep over a stony substrate, with Callitriche hermaphroditica, Elodea canadensig Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamogeton friesii and P. pusillus The water was obviously eutrophic, with algal scum on the surface and frequent filarnentous algae in the water. Much material of P. pusillus was washed up rounil the edge (probably detached by the 80 !'lute swans swimining offshore) and the occasional dead fish rvas visible. The eutrophic state of the loch is not a ne!v phenornenon: earl_ythis century visitors who carne to Carling\vark to study crannogs were unable to see the bottom of the loch because of algal growth. Potamogeton x lintonii has not previously been found in Scotland: the nearest localities are in Lancashire and i\iorthumberland, sone l30km frcm Carlingwark. The hybrid is superficially similar to P. friesii and P. obtusifolius, but its leaves are obscurely toothed towards the apex. It closely reselrbles the hybrid P. x bennettii (P. crispus x P. trichoides), which nay be rnore fainiliar to Scottish botanists as it occurs in the Forth and Clyde Canal near Clasgow. The differences between the two hybrids were sorted out by Dandy & Taylor (1939). P. x lintonii has stipules rvhich are tubular (not open) belovr and flowers which usually have 4 (not 2-3) carpels. The young stipules of the Carlingwark plant were tubular for 0.5-1.2r,rirabove the base. Of 6il florers erarLrined,63had 4 carpels and 3 had 3 (b1,66,r,Oo.1son,Dandy t Taylor e-xarrined 2l flor,rers of P. x bennettii and found only I vrith 4 carpels, but 9 with 3 and l1 with 2). Like most Potanrogeton hybrids, the Carlin;;',r'arkP. x lintonii is sterile. SonLeclu;r':ps were flor,vering in August: their anthers appeared to be rather ernpty, containing only a strall quantity of pollen, and the pollen grarns i,erc collapseCand rrisshrpen.The patch found in June was flovrering then, but by Au;;ust rt,ost of the inflorescences rvere olcl or even rotting, and there r''as no sign of ,t1 lRecorders and Recordins Reference Dandy, J.E. & Taylor, G, (1939). Studies of British Potamogetons. IX. x Potamogeton bennettii and x P. lintonii. J. Bot., Lond. 77: 304-3ll OLGA M. STEWART, 30/5 Colinton Road, EDINBUIIGII EIII0 5DG Ct{RIS D. PRESTON, Biological Records Centre, Monkswood Experirnental Station, Abbots Ripton, HUNTINGDON, Cambs PE17 2LS MULTI-LEAVED CLOVERS I have been collecting and Iooking at four- and multi-leaved clovers for two years. The species that I have been looking at locally is Trifolium repens, White Clover. It grows in sown grassland maintained by the local council. I had thought that constant cutting was the reason that caused unusual numbers of 4- and S-leaved specimens to occur. However the occurrence of multi-leaved individuals is confined to edges of the area under grass, i.e. to edges that are sprayed with weedkiller regularly. The rmutantsr occur in clumps suggesting that they are thrown up by one or two individual plants. These plants, when dug up and p)aced elsewhere, i.e, away from weedkiller, and allowed to Brow normally, revert to a three-leaved form. I have found as many as 35 four-leaved leaves in a square foot of grass in areas of heavy spraying with weedkiller. Normally in spring and sunmer when spraying with weedkiller is regular, four-leaved leaves will be seen in the sprayed area. Five- and six-leaved specimens also occur but are less frequent. Silhouettes of clover leaves collectect by D. Ivlurray DANIEL N{URRAY, 46 Balnagask Circle, ABERDEEN AUI 3TT [This splendid contribution must go into the record books as having been sent in by our youngest author; Daniel is ll years old!. Ed.l 21 Recorders and Recording GAUDINIA FRAGILIS IN N. WILTS, David Pearnanrs note in-Rg4 News 53 prornpted rne to lvrite this update. Eric Clenent reported in IISBI News 20:rGaudinia fragiris (L.) I3eauv.: Damp, graz;d illeadow, near llelksl.ram (X,-Wittsl--nugust 1928, Nlrs J-. Swanborough. Oet. bji.' Since then, I have found the plant in nine atljaceit fields and a further eleven sites in nine lknr squares falling in four l0km squares. ()f the t\Menty one fields known, nine are irnproved leys or recent perrnanent pasture; eleven are species-iich, serni- or un-irnproved neutral pasture; the final site is a hill pasture containing eighteen grass specres. The .lajority of trre localities - - thirieen in fact riJ on the heivy Jurassic clays. A further six junction _are on the of the clay ancl the greensand. One site is on the oolitic lirnestone' I agree with rr4r Pearrnan on his lisr of aJsociated species. I would add, however: Bromus racemo_sus, llordeum secalinum, Silaum silaug Succisa pratensis, Stachys officinalis, and Lychnis flos-cuculi. Gaudinia seelrls not to be able to sustain itself against more vigorous grasses such as Arrhenatherum, grorvs but it vrell where the soil is thin or poor. After the nay ls cut in a second flowering July,, of a percentage of the plants has teen seen annually at the end of August, C'E' Hubbard (1968) wrote that Gaudinia fragilis was occasionally introduced. The above records.suggest that they might ilore appropriately be named denizens, ie.e. species fully established in natural habitats. To help me gather - further infonnation on distril)ution, would mer,rbers please send me details of sites of Gaudinia fragilis known to theril. References Grose, D. (1957). Flora of lvilrshire. Devizes. I{ubbard, C.E. (t96BJ:-Cf 2nd ed. London. DAVIi) Cf{ElrN, 297 uloor,rfield Road. BATI-I **** ** ****** **** **,t,1.rk****,F+ x*{<*+ ***+ rk+*+ -'fITH THE PROBLEMS S'UALL ISLANDS DOTTED AROUND THE COAST During the cornpilation of a new set of distribution nlal)s for ferns in vy'aleswith a colleague, Dr G. Hutchinson, the question came into rny inind of how best to record islands. If the islands are in a lOkm square together with an aiea of rnainland, a stngte dot does not in these circumstances really do justice to plant distribution, All the isla-ndsaround the',1elsh mainlanr](taken here as including Anglesel.),except Flat'.iolm,,.v.orrn,sijeacl and Grassholm, are in the same square as part of the rnainland, and of these, Flat Holm is in the sarne square as Steep Holnl. off the Pelrbrokeshire coast, Skokholr, skorrrer and llLidland islands are all in the same square as part of the mainland. A single dot in SNl70 rnight, therefore, indicate a presence on one or rnore of four disjunct pi!""r-oi land, Isrand mapping can be further complicated if such a small piece of land overlaps rwo squares, especially if, as in Burry llolms and Rarasey, the landlvard side is in the sairre square as sorne mainland. There seems to be a strong case for inodifying the mapping systeill, Islands are special places, in addition to their romantic appeal, so studying, reco.aing and mapping their floras can be a very varuabre contribuiibn to our knowredge of pJint disrriburion. There are already variations away frorn strict 10km sqirare mapping. itre usrat practice, as in Perring and iy'alters (1976), is to take records frorn coastal iquui". with verr srrall land areas and include them in one of the adjacent squares. Ellis (igS3), however, did not follow this pattern, bur instead rnapped all sqi:ares independently, Some problems involving islands around Vr'alescan be solved very easily. Crasshollr is mainly in sil50, but its extrenre easterly edge is in sft,i60.In practice all recoros nave becn included in Sr450. Ellis (1983) has also lffectively addresied rhe Ramsey problern by including all island records as failing in the more wesierly square (sf,i62), thereby isolating rhern frorn those of the mainland (SM72). I believe that there is a sirnple solution to the problen of recording-are and rnapping the other islands around the lvelsh coast. Islands, being surrounded by sea, usually 22 iRecorders and l{ecording adjacent to squares that are devoid of any land, so it would not be difficult to allocate reccrds of their plants to such'emptyrsquares. I therefore propose the systern given below for rnapping plants on the sinall islands off the \lelsh mainland, Island AcIrral location P' Proposed l'iotr:s other land in the locatiorl sane sqlrare Fl at IIoln SS25,o' Steep t{qlq )),1r) Tn v.c. 41, 8' open s,:a l.lal ps Steep I{o1n SS26 I Flat IIoln SS]5 l1 r1.6. 6, & open sca ling1;rnd Worm's Ilead SS38 ss'lIl Burrv Holns SS3q & a)pen Sca SS3q SS49 & Vainlanrl Caj dy SSlq & l'fainl and SS2') Skol Skoner & S^{70 & ikokhotr ll sr'150 Thosr: lro verv Yid land )1ainl rrnd cl ose toeel her pY Gras sholn s\f50 s)160 s'4\l Cornon practice Ramsey 5)'1629llpen Sca sv62 i\s ir Fllis SLIT2 t ilain-Land (1933) Cardi gan S\i15 P, Ilainl and s\05 East & Uest SIr32 I \'lainl and c,I42. Verv snr'l L and St Tudwal's cl osP ioget-her Barrlse1' SHI2 a' Yainl and srllI Puffin Island Sil(! ,r, !f3 j n l31d Sftr'cl i\ silnple systerrl such as this could be extenderi arounrj the coast of tlre jlritish Isles. It Inight not be so easy to separate the Scottish lslands as ir is for those fringing the \\'elsh coast, but with thought it could be done to make maps much more useful. I have encountereddifficulty in looking at the distribution of pl3nr; in orkney. [t is often impossible to tell from tnaps which island the record is for <;r whether it is for both. For exanple a recorci in rLiY2Ocould refer to Orkne,\..',iainlancloI to that part of north lJoy which includes the botanically very important area of \Vard Hill. Ilowever, I do not suggesr that all the Orkney islands should be treated as separate entities as there is a large nuiaber of very small ones, but do advocate the developrnent of a system rvhich separates tlte main islands. The Shetlands and Hebrides could be si;ililarlv n.iappedin a much r.nore rneaningful fil anner. References: Ellis, R.G. (19E3) F-lo',veri!gPlants of r.lales. Cardiff Perring, F.H. & waIeis, Sl"i.T362-). @c]| the Brirish Flora. I_ondon BAiRliY A. TiJO,\/IAS,Departinent of ilotany, National i'rluseurrof Wales, CARDIF|- Cl.'l 3Np 23 i?ecorders and i?ecordin,s TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FITCHES "Fitches" is one of the Biblical narnes for Nigella sativa, of which I detected five small specirnens spontaneously self-sorvn opposite the Albert llemorial in Kensington 6ardens, 'I'he I-ondon, on June 24th, 1989, spr:cies was not cultivated nearby, and I can currently find no reference that it has yet occurred as an alien elsewhere in S.E. England. (lur rnost farniliar Nigella is N. damascena, the popular Love-in-a-rnist of herbaceous borders. Short-lived casuals of this showy annual turn up on broken soil outside gardens once in a rvhile; recent records are given for i'.ssex (Jermyn, 1974), for the London area (Kent, 1975; l(ent & Lousley, l95l-7; Burton, 1983),and for Kent (Philp, 1982),but not for Surrey (l-ousley, 1975) or Sussex (Hall, 1980). I have personally noted it several tirrles as a brief garden escape in North London and llertfordshire (unpublished observations) during tJre last fiver.rty-five years. In addition, there are two London area records of N. arvensis since lg00 (Kent, 1975); this is a weed of disturbed habitats in Europe (Tutin et al., 1964). There is a rather surprising record of N. gallica in Essex (Jerin-r'n,l97J); thli is a nrore restricted endemic of cornfields fro'n southern I'rance to Central Spain. N. hispanica, also Spanish, with larger florvers than N. damascena,is grorvn ornamentally in Great Rritain (V/right, 1384):I have adrnired it thriving in tllree university botanic gardens, Any non-planted 'Love-in-a-mist'speciuren deernedworthy of recording in the British literature should therefore not be asslrrnedto be N. damascena without closer examination. One rright also add that no such wildling would be expected to acquire any long-term ecological significance in orrr norrnallytemperate clirnate. By and large, wild Nigella plants occur as thermophilous arable rveeds. Twelve species share a sunny South European, iviediterranean or wider distribution (Tutin et gL 1964), and sorne of these, including N. damascena itself, contribute to the eight spe-ciesknorvn in Palestine (Ternple, 1907). N. s.rtiva may fairll' rank as inore heat-dernanding than N. damascena by virtue of being indigenous to Syria, Egypt and lrlorth Africa. Although it is also frequent throughout Southern Europe and the lloly Land, Tutin et al. (1964) and \loldenke (1952) respectively question its status in these regions because of widespread cultivation for thousandsof years. The overall corrmercial iinportance of N. sativa as a crop has actually declined since the beginning of the Cornrnon Era (iVatchtower, lg88); nevertheless the culinary and herbal qualities of its shiny black seeds continue to enjoy wide repute. Indeed the genus Nigella itself was coined with reference to these seeds, as a dirninutive ofrnigerrwhich means black (Coombes, 1985). According to an .Arab proverb, rln the black seed is the medicine for every diseaser (Ternple, 1907). In the main, however, it is prized as a peppery spice or condirnent, characteristically crushed into an aromatic seasoning for curries, cakes and loaves, rather as the sprinkling upon crusty bread of Opium Poppy and Caraway seed has becorne corninon practice in more northern latitudes. \Ve are further informed tlrat dishes flavoured rvith tire rblessed seedr of N, sativa continue to be much sought after by Ilgyptian Iadies'to produce stoutness,which is consideredan attribute of beautytin that part of the world (I{oldenke, 1952). In ancient tirnes, such pungently savory produce rvas valued particularly highly, Our earliest reference dates back to 725 before the Common Era, in Isaiah 28: 23-28. Here a cornparison of the gathering techniques of Nigella sativa and Cuninum cyminum show us that then, as now, the Fitchesr seeds were beaten out of their thick-skinned follicles by means of stout staffs, rvhile the Cur.rin seeds rvere readily detachable frorn their fragile umbelliferous peduncles by wielding relatively light rods. The Sible explains that greater care used to be given to the sowing of inore valuable wheat, millet, and barley seed, but that heavier threshing instruments were employed to harvest their ripe grain. \latchtower (1988) suggestsfrolir the'xider scriptural context that each of these beating and harvesting rleasures rnay additionally be interpreted as a warning illustration of the various modes of discipline that God intended exercising over the Israelites of Isaiah's day, in response to the kind of lifestyles they pursued. Unfortunately, it has to be admitted that different Bible translationsand different analytical accounts thereof present a rather bewildering variety of English labels to the plant known in original Hebrew as'qetsach'(ortketzah') and in botanical Latin as Nigella sativa. ivioldenke (1952) probably offers the roost authoritative summary, referring to the loose applications of such names as rfennelr, rdillr, rgith', 'nutrneg-flowerr,and 'black cumnrinr(sic). For the exacting taxonornist familiar with the modern genera to rvhich most of these terms properly belong, despair is easy to succunb to. Even the nalne Ilecorders and Recording 'fitches', though not prone to similar ambiguity, is discredited by L4oldenkeas being a variant or corruption of rvetchest (Vicia species); his argument might even have been strengthened by the fact that rfitchesr, to a furrier, also indicate the pelts of the polecat! Nevertheless it apparently serves as the least confusing of the bunch, it does make the King James Version easier to comprehend, and it features more regularly in the descriptive literature, even if sometimes relegated to a second-choice synonyrn. Few truths are stranger than the diverse English words bestowed upon a plant whose scientific nomenclature seerrs to have stayed extraordinarily stable (so far) - but then it hasntt been around for quite the sa,ne length of time! The follorving key to the five Nigella species under consideration, has been constructed in the hope that future British material inay be identified with greater confidence. l. Follicles united fron base to tip, tormingan inflate,l 63pcr11p,nol lrrrlnlrrl'11n, Flotuers sky b1ue, surrounded by a conspicrrousleaf-1ike involucre. N. damascena l. Fo11ic1esseparating towards Lip /+ anlted throughorrtin N. sativa, br1115..n tuberculate on back). fnvolucre absent (rarely present in N. arvensis) 2 2. Follicles three-veined, united for about half thelr length N. arvensis 'l 2. Follicles one-veined, united for about Lwo-thirds their length 3. Follicles usually densely glandular. Fl.owers 4-5cn, bright blue N. hispanica 3. Fo11ic1es smooth or scarcely glandular. F.lowers 2-3.5cn, shades of pale b1ue, du11 crean or grey-rvhile . . . L 4. Anthers distinctly mucronate. Leaves with broadly linear segments N. gallica 4. Anthers not mucronate. Leaves with narrowll' linear segments N. sativa These characters are lnostly drav/n from Tutin et al. (1964), and Polunin 8" Smythies (1973). For full-page line drawings of N. sativa, readers are referred to ivalker (1964), and Hepper (1987). Close-up photographs of flowers and fruit are also given in Polunin (1969) as the white-flowered form, and in Watchtower (1988) as the lilac-flovr'ered forrn; the latter work uses the English name rBlack Currinr. References Burton, R.lvl. (1983). Flora of rhe London Area, London I,latural Ilistory Sociery. Coombes, A.J. (1985).Dictionary of Plant Names, Collingridge, f{anlyn. iliiddx. Hall, P.C. (1980). Sussex Plant.Atlgg, Sussex Flora Society and llooth l,iuseunr of )latural History, tsrighton. Heppe_r,F-N. (1987). Planting a Bible Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens, Iierv, il.i!i.S.O., LOnOOn. Jermyn, S.T. (1974). Flora of Essex, Essex Naturalists Trust, Colchester. I{ent, D.H. (1975). The i-listorical Flora of N,iiddlesex,Ray Society, London. Kent, D.Il. & Lousley, J.E. (1951-7). A Hand L:ist of the Plants of rhe London Area, (l-ondon l.laturalist Supplentent),L.N.H.S.- Lousley, J.E. (1976). Flora of Surrey, David & Charles, Newron Abbott. Nioldenke, IJ.N. 8r A.L. (1952). Plants of the Bible, Chronica :lotanica Cornpany, rilaltharr, \lass., U.S..A. I'hilp, E.G. (1982).Atlas of rhe Kent Flora, I(ent Field Club. Polunin, O. (1969). Flowers of Europe, Oxford University Press, London. Polunin, O. & Smytiries, B.E. (1973), Flo'rers of South-rvest Europe, Oxford University Press. London. Temple, ,{.A. (1907). Flowers and Trees of Palestine, Elliot Srock, I-ondon. Tutin, T.G. et al. (1964).Flora Europaea,Vol. l. Canbridge 'Valker, W. (1964). All the Plants of the E1ble, [-utterworth Press, London. !'y'atchtower (1988). Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. l. 0/atchtower and Bible Tracr Society of New York, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. ''Vright, M. (1984). The Conrplete llandbook of Garden Plants, Nlichael Joseph, London. BRIANI WURZELL, 47 Rostrevor Avenue, LONDON N15 6LA * * * * * * * * * + * * * * * * t t( {<+ * * + * + * * * ** ** * * * * r<* * * Recorders and Recording TULIPA GOULIMYI ON CRE-TE l'hree BSRI rnernbers, John Akeroyd, fvlary Briggs, and Nick Turland, who rvere leading groups on Crete (for different travel firns) in l!{arch 1989, cc-ordinated their weeklyrday offr to meet for a Tour l-eaderts outing, joined by John's Cretan botanist Friend, Zacharias. Mar.v took them to the site of the recently nainetl Tulipa goulimyi (see M. Briggs, t'fhe Fifth'fulip in Crete', Alpine Garden Society Bu)lerin 57\1): 4l-47, i\,larchlg89), and Nick recorded the occasion on film. I"IARY BRIGGS, 9 Arun Prospect, PULBOROUGH, Vy'estSussex RH20 IAL ffij''4 f. t*: *" ,:F * ai '"4 /' },,4 . 't{ -.* t*.*" " Pictured with Tullpa goullnyl, frorn left to righr: Zacharias Kypriotakis, Nick Turland, i\lary Briggs, John Akerovd. Photo N.J. Turland ******tr<+***+*************+***+********** ON TFTE PRESERVATION OF COUNTY FLORA DA]'A i\iernberswill recognise tlre truth encapsulatedin Dr Johnson'sfamoLrs epigram:'Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows thar he is to hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his rnind wonderfulll'. In ny, case, the imperative is the rather less awesome sentence of retirement from the Natural l{istory ivtuseum, where I have been employed for the past thirty-eight years. Nevertheless,th)s has concentrated my mind on the safe disposalof various archival ranges currentll under my immediate care. In particular, there is the original base of records etc. on which the account of the flowering planrs and ferns published in the Island of l\4ull (actually a County F-lora for part of v.c. 103) is founded, which were accumulated during the survey of the island undertaken by the Natural History Museum during the years 1966-70. The data preserved vastly exceeds that actually published in the Flora, Thus, for instance, actual localities are only published for species with up to ten 'modified records while, for all the rest, distributions are indicated on the basis of ll) kilometre grid squaresr. [n our files, full records, more than 50,000 of them, are preserved for all species, together with details of their original sources e.g. record cards, herbarium specimens, correspondence, literature, etc. Likewise' there is a Lt> Recorders and [iecording distribution map for each species on which all records are plotted in such a way that those substantiated by specirnens are easily recognised. The long-term solution that we have adopted is to hand the Mull archives over to the Archives Section of the lv4useum Library Department, where it will be preserved and be available to future workers on the flora of the Hebrides. Obviously, any future prospective Flora writer should be able to benefit frorn access to the iceberg-like base from which the visible flora was published. This is likely to be particularly important for relatively uncommon species rvhich yet exceed the ten-record criterion. Discussion of these matters lead to a realisation that this was a general problem that applies to most, if not all, authors of County Floras. A note for BSBI Neyg to draw ailention to the need for the preservation of the resources behind--ihEpublished works with which we are all familiar, seemed to be desirable, In the case of itlull, the archival material was already housed in, and the property of, the \luseum, but even here some thought for its future accessibility u,as appropriate. Most authors of County Floras rvill want to keep their basic data at hand so that they can add new material and answer detailed enquiries. However, there comes a time when changed circumstances or intimations of mortality may suggest the need for its deposition in a secure location for the long-term benefit of others. This will be no less true for the cornputer databases now being established by the new generation of Flora writers, than it is already for those who have used rnore traditional means. I therefore suggest that all authors of Ccunty Floras should make a conscious effort to secure the ultimate preservation of their data by some permanent organisation such as a local museun or society, SaCly, the history of scholarship is scattered with tragedies resulting frorn the hasty and unthinking action of next-of-kin and executors. We have reason to be Droud that our native flora is the best documented in the world, and, as any afficionado of field botany is aware, this situation is the end product of countless hours of devoted labour by numerous enthusiasts over the years. I make no apology for raising this slightly gloomy topic but, on the contrary, wish my fellow authors many happy years of continued contributions. It is, however, otrr clear duty to preserve as completely as possible our legacy of the past, for the interest, benefit and enjoyment of those lvho rvill study our flora in years to coine. In conclusion, it would be appropriate for the Society to establish and update an index, to record the final resting places of original data behind our now nunerous County Floras. JOFIN CANNON, Department of Botany, The Natural tjistory Museum, Cromwell Iload, LONDON SW7 5BD BUTTERBUR FORMS ItFIowis the Butterbur pollinated?".This apparently simple question led to an interesting investigation of the flowers of Petasites hybridus. rCTW' is the obvious port of call - answer: chiefly bees; but the description of the two types of flower in the 2nd edition (1962) was puzzling. lr referred ro'r'nale'heads with 0-3 female and 20-40 sterilerhermaphrodite'florets,'female'headswith about 100 female and l-3 sterile florets". I decided to investigate further, on a site in Lancashire, l6,niles east of Blackpool on the edge of the Fylde. The plants were in a large colony on sandy ground close to the River Brock which floods frequently, a typical site (in the grounds of the Lancashire College of Agriculture and ilortrculture). l'here were trvo types of plant, with different flowers, growing in distinct patches. A single head was collected from, as far as possible, each inflorescence in the colony, and each type of flower was examined. According torCTWr, thetmalerheads are large (7-12mm) and very short-staked,the'female'only 3-6inm but longer stalked, and this was what I found. The population contained approximately 19 male and 40 female plants. Examination of rmale' heads showed no distinct female florets, but between 22 and 44 florets of the type described as "sterile'herrnaphroditetrr. These florets were typically tubular, with a s-toothed corolla, and a bulbous, columnar stigma as long as the floret, surrounded by a ring of anthers. These anthers appeared to be fertile. There was an ovule at the base of the floret. twice the size of that in the'femalerfloret. The'fernale'heads were a mass of tiny tubular florets surroundingtwo or three similar to the 'sterile hennaphrodite' florets described above, with a colurnnar stigma. The tiny 27 Recorders and Recording rfemaler florets had a bilobed stigma projecting beyond the tube, and this was also surrounded by anthers which appeared fertile, Indeed, under x500 magnification, pollen grains could be seen all over the stigma, and on the anthers. 'CTW'further points out that while the male plant is locally common throughout the British Isles, the female isrrnot uncommon in Lancs, Yorks, Cheshire and Derby". How does it reproduce if female plants have such a restricted distribution? However, it looks as if the rmale' plants rnay be hermaphrodite, and the female likewise' The characteristic stigma in Compositae is bilobed, so perhaps the columnar variety is sterile. This was difficult to establish in the time available, but it occurred in both rsteriler rfemaler the rrnalet flowers and in the few florets in the heads. Both types of floret had an ovule present. A search through the available flower books did not suggest much appreciation of the problem, except fo; Rose in his Wild Flower Key (1981) who was very brief, and Ary & Gregory's The Oxford Book of Wild Flowers 11960) who went into more detail, but still did 'Bentham not mentio;-the columnar styte-in the knaLet florets. An old & Hookerr (1912) surprisingly got the relative sizes of male and female heads rMrong,calling rhe male sntille.. Flo.a Eu.opa." suggests that where the female plant is absent, the species has been introduced. It would be interesting to find out if thermalerheads which occur in parts of the UK withoutrfemalerassociates have a few female florets incorporatedin them. Maybe my northernrrnalerpopulation lacks these becauseof the presenceof female plants close by. If anyone could help with this problem, I would be most interested to hear from them. |\4ARGARET CURTIS, 3 Vicarage Hill, HELSBY, Warrington WA6 gAD )lrii l/ C D Petasites hybridus florets (not to scale), del. M. Curtis - A "Sterile hermaphrodite" centre floret of female flower columnar style and epiphyllous stamens B "Female" floret of fernale flower C Stigma of B with pollen - "StErile hermaphrodite" floret of male flower columnar style and epiphyllous stamens with anthers closely appressed around style [This note should have appeared in the last issue but was omitted due to the Editor's forgetfulnessl Ed.l 28 Monitoring Scheme / Notes and Articles B.S.B.I. MONITORING SCHEME Telephone:(ollice hours; BioltlgicalRecords Centrc, Abbots Ripton (0.1873)3tll Monks Wood ExperimentalStiition. (outsideotllce hours) AbbotsRipton. Huntingdon, Percrborouqh((tll ) -1919t{ CAMBRIDGESHIREPEIT 2LS. Final Report The finnl rennrt nf the i\4onitoring Scherne was handed to the Steering Ccrnnrittee on ilarch l2th. flooray! itleans of publishing the report are currently being discussed by the Committee. Change of address I have now rnoved frorn the Biolcgical iRecords Centre at ivlonksrvoodUxperirrental Station, Abbots llipton to l-ancaster where I have taken up a post in the Unit of Vegetation Science at the University there, N{y new job will invoive assessingand predicting the i;npact of climatic warming and air pollution on vegetation. Please note that rny nelv address is as given belou'. Cabbage matters Because of this change of circurnstance, I can no longer accept fresh crucifer nraterial (unless by prior arrangement) as I will be doing field work most of the sumrner. Pressed rnaterial rnay be sent to nry nevr'address at any time. Tlivl RICH, Unit of Vegetation Science, Biological Sciences, University of Lancaster, LANCASTER LAI 4YO. tel. 0524 65201 ext. 3509. **(****,1({<*+*******+*,F*****+*{.'i.*,1.**.***+*********t<+********'1.*.**+********'*******r(*** NOTES AND ARTICLES SOME HISTORICAL NOTES ON BRITISH ORCHIDS ln The Phytologist for 1861, pp. 171-175,a correspondentcalling hi,rselfrZrwrote frorn 'rKerv" rvith notes and additions from an interleaved copy of John Blackstoners "i{arefield I'lants" (1737) about British orchids. This copy for,nerly belongedto Peter Collinson F.R.S., of Mill Hill and the handwriting is his, in part, and that of his son ln'lichael. llenrey (1975) lists the i{o_r'al3otanic Gardens, Ke',r, as one of seven libraries rvith copies of rllackstone's book, Peter Collinson (1594-1763) .,vasan early {luaker. ln 1749 he inove 29 Notes and Articles lludson var. trollii (Hegetschrv.) Reichenbach. Summerhayes (1951) notes that the great majority of flowers of O. apifera are self-pollinated and that this explains the abnorrnality named var. trollii. Further, it is known to be very persistent in sorre localities. I believe it is still known fronr the Bristol area! In 1840 llegetschrveiler described Ophrys chlorantha and Ophrys Trollii fronl Switzerland. Ilichter and Reichenbach subsequently reduced each of these species to varieties of Ophrys apifera (Canus & Camus, 1929). One wonders wirether plants sirnilar to those found at ilancorlb in Gloucestershire and Clifton near Bristol l.radbcen noticed, at least in the ilritish lsles, before. Surnmerhayes (1951) points out tlrat atrnori.naltypes of O. apifera, in which category he includes vars, chlorantha and trollii'are raore abundant in tlre more northern parts of the range of the species, where self-pollination is alinost invariable'. Finally, in i\1ay 1767, f.lichael Collinson 'found, in an olcl chalk-pit near Dartford Ileath, several plants of the Tragorchis lHimantoglossum hircinum]; aJso six or seven of tiie larger Fly Orchis [Ophrys insectiferal, grorving upu,ards of a foot in height. There had been a destroyer in the same pit a little before me, rvho had (by the holes in the turf) carried arvay with hirn in full flower near seventy roots, most of which would undoubtedly perish, and this species of Orchis rare to be met rvith here for the future,l r'[he I have just read in Plantlife reportrof an incident in July 1987, rvhen so,neone 'clug up over 100 Flarly Purple, Green-Winged and Greater Butterfly orchids from a site in Glouccstershire,..,l References Carnus, -E.G. 8,, Canrrrs A. (1929). Iconographie des urc ntoees drEurope et du Bassin M5diterranSen. II. p. 324. Paris. Godfery, i\4.J. (1933). i\'lonographand iconograph of native British Orchidaceae. Carnbridge. I{enrev, B, (1975).British Botanical and Horticultural Literature before 1800. Ill. pp. 8-9. London. Raistrick, n. (1950).Quakers in Science and Industry. London. Sumr;rerhayes,V.:i. (1951). iVild orchids of Britain. I-ondon. I'-ltANi( IIOrt\r,iAN, 7 Fox \i'ood rValk, LEtrDS, Yi. \'orks. LSS 3llP ***+****++*t *******+****++*************+ JAPANESE KNOTWEED, A POSTSCRIFT I rvas luckl' enough to see the TV coverage of the debate on Japanese Knotweed rvhile late night wordprocessing with the one-eyed ilonster on (see BSBI News 53: 34, 1989). During a sequenceof highlights of action fromrTheir Lordships'ilouse', Japaneseknotweed was ment,oned. And lo, there was the nob)e Earl, Caithness,then at the I)oE, rising to his feet with a folder of vital answers. The content was not unrelated to the forn of rvords extracted frorn rne by an officiaJ froiir the i)epartrnent rvho had phoned some rveeks earlier for details. The Lords, in their exchanges,as outlined in the original article, had a tenuous grasp of nonenclature, but there is a bit rnore to the story. As a postscript, the BBC unearthed a video clip of rrry ITE colleague Gerry Lan'son hacking a patcl.r of knotrveed during our experirnental work on biornasspotential. It looked as if the object of his aggression'ras giant knotweed, Reynoutrla sachalinensig so unfortunate viewers (all ten of them!) rvould be even rnore confused. The three comrnon names used, Japanese,hrnalayan and Bjant, all refer to diIferent sjrecies(s.e Lous]ev t l(cnL, Brjtrsh & Irish llerbarra, l98l) hut I havc never heard of Ilancockrs curse before, The advance of Reynoutria japonica rernarked on in I'im liich's ivlonitoring Scherne page (also in the last rssue),is largely a process of infill and reluctant inclusionby recorders, r'y'hatis remarkable is horv lirnited the advance has been in Inany sites where the species has lurked a very long tirne, John Bailey's rvork on the introgression of Fallopia a,lds a fascinating twist to the story; rvho knows rvhat new combination cf genes rvill arise? RICIIARD SCO'f f, ITE, ,\ierlewood Ilesearch Station, Wincierr4ereRoad, (jtr.Ai.,iGE-CVl'-it- SANDS, Cumbria L,Cll 6JLI 30 Notes and Article.s REFLECTIONS ON THE BIOLOGY OF THE HLIMBLE CONKER I was interested to read the conments on conkers and their possible dispersal by animals rscardic and torrentsr [see below, Ecl.] in BSRI News 53: 6 (December 1989). Undoubtedly squirrels and other animals that store or hide food must be one mode of dispersal, and conkers are likely to be eaten by deer and perhaps baclgersthroughout their wild and naturalized ranges. H.N. Ridley, in his Dispersal of plants throughout the world (1930), noted evidence that rats and rooks also act as agents for transport of conkers. F-urthermore, Ilorse Chestnuts share their native home in the Pindhos Mountains with two large ornnivores, Ilrown Bear and Wild Swine, that we had exterminated before the l-lorse Chestnut was introduced to these islands. Even more significant feeders on conkers were probably the elephants and hippos that fossil evidence indicates roarned Greece during the Late Tertiary and early Pleistocene periods, from which time Aesculus hippocastanum is apparently a survivor. The treers relict status is supported by the presence of several other species of Aesculus in the I.J,S.A.and Flast Asia, fragrnents of a once widespread forest belt. Certainly, it would not look out of place in a subtropical forest, with its large cornpound leaves, massed flowers and robust fruits. The Lrain problem of dispersal of conkers by animals is the fate of these (stoneless) fruits in the rnouth and alimentary canal, although Ridley observedthat conkers will gertninate even if damaged by rats. Perhaps a large creature like an elephant, with its gargantuan appetite, is less likely than some other species to digest all its food. On this score, I am assured by one of the regulars of The Royal Oak, my local hostelry, who forrnerly looked after the elephants of llertram Nlillsr Circus, that elephants eat more or less continuously and defecate 'every l4 minutesr. This being so, doubtless at least some prehrstoric Epirotic conkers would have escaped destruction and passed through the odd elephant into a well-manured seed-bed, of mammoth proportions. Back to The Royal Oak for di scussion ! JOHN AKEItOYD, 4 Seifton Batch, CR.AVENIA.ltllS, Shropshire SY7 9l-C rScardusr IThe following definition of was provicled by liary I]riggs and inadvertently omitted frorn the last issuel: 'Scardus: Sara Planina, S. Yugoslavia - Scardus mountains on borders of Albania and S. Yugoslavia - adj. scardicus, eg. Crocus scardicus, Dianthus scardicus, Saxifraga scardica.' Ed.l ISOLEPIS CERNUA AS A POT PLANT G.li. Forster draws attention (PTSBINews 53: 33) to the use of Isolepis cernua as a pot-plant, and rt is something I have become increasinglyarvare of in the last ten years or so. But it is by no rneans a nerv phenomenon, even if the plastic tube is an innovation. In l8i9 .\nne Pratt, discussinqthc plent in her Rritish !E!!!g and Sglgsg (p. l8), wrt-rte: rOf late years it has been commonly exposed for sale in Covent Garden under the name of Isidore. Planted jn a pot, ancj set to stand in a saucer of water, it soon fills the pot with innumerableevergreen bristling stems, which spread in all directions and present a very pleasing appearance.' The passage has stuck in my head since I first read it as a schoolboy, chiefly on account of the curious nar:le Isidore. Has anyone heard it used recently? 'vVay, ItlCf IAltl) PAt.I,iqli, 11 Fleet DIIfCOI', Oxon. OXll SilZ * + * * * * * * +-r +** * * * * * * * t+ * ** * * * * {<+ f * + + + * * *,1. M PAYS TO ADVERTISE i'he following notice appeareciover 120 years ago in the Glasgorv llotanical Societyrs privately circulated Rotanical Quarterly l(l), January 1868: '... A young gentleinan is desirous of opening a correspondence with a young lady 3l Notes and Articles on botanical subjects. Age must not exceed 25. Good looks indispensable.Apply with photograph...r. By the late 1860s the exchange of personal photographs ('cartes-de-visitet) was already nothing new, but in advertising in a scientific journal with the undoubted intention of getting to meet attractive girls, our enterprising young Scot lnust be considered something of a pioneer. JOIIN I\4ITCHELL, 22 Nluirpark Way, DRYI'IEN, by Glasgow G63 ODX **************************************** PLANTLIFE TTIE BSBI, AND A NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS I have been most disappointed by the PLANTI-IFE outfit and itrs setting up. Plantlife conveys very little to the non-academic person in itrs title, I feel that it is long overdue that we had a British f/ildplant Protection Society for the public to identify with. Allowing for Prince Charlesrs liking for gardening and 'Green N{atterst, I would have thought a Royal Patronage would eventually be granted. All of this should be under the aegis of the BSBI. I also contend that a National headquarters for the BSBI should be a long term airn, with Reference Library and Seed Bank. lv'laybea Building Fund could be started with a f1 fee (on either side), for all book sales and botanical equipment transactions [but see page 4. Fld.l. I can rernernber as a granlrnar schoolboy that two magnificent colleges were eventually built from a srnall College Building Fund. MIKE TUIT, 28 South Road, LONDON i.lg 7.ll'l Il anl sure supporters of Plantlife will wish to comr]rent on the first part of this notel F-d.l **r<,*r.* *r<**,k*,1*** ** *****1.**** *****!r** **** ]IIORE FOG CREEPS IN lVhen rneurbers have coine to some conclusion about the derivation of Yorkshire Fog as a comrnon name for Holcus lanatus, they might like to try their hands on H. mollis, knorvn in the British Isles as Creeping Soft-grass but in New Zealand as Creeping Fog (liilgendorf 8" Calder, y'/eedsof I'.lewZealand,4tlr Ed., l94B).'fhis book is optirnistically subtitled - And how to eraAicate t-nem - Uut glves no specific advice on Yorkshire Fog which 'night help D. ilorne *ith tris ta*.r. For Creeping Fog it suggests deep ploughing followed by a srnothering crop such as oats. l'his sounds a bit drastic but both Holcus species are introductions to i'lew Zealand and less than welcome weeds. IJave the New Zealanders coined'Creeping Fog' or does anyone know of that narne being used here? JOFIN TIviSOlrl, 5 Ashley Avenue, FLIXTT)I{, fvlanchesterI,131 2TX ** *****r.**** r<*******rk****{.**r,{<* {.+* *** ** * ILUCKY WHITE TIEATHER?I I wonder, does anyone else, rvhen confronted by a ha,vker selling'lucky white heather', have to control an almost overpowering urge to say 'this is Limonium sinuatum, of the farnily Plumbaginaceae,and Irve half a rnind to cop you rvith the TradesrDescriprion Act'? JOf Ii{ itlctIA}RDS, Departlnent of Botany, The i-lniversity, NEWCASIT-E-UPCI'{-T'YNENFll TltU ****,1.*r.**r.*t(r.****** ** **r<+r({.r.**{.****,1.j<*** UNIDENTIFIED MEDICINAL PLANTS None of the names listed below feature in any of the standard works on the subject - or at least are given an identification in them that seerls at all convincing. They are all of 2) Notes and Articles plants recorded as in use by country people in some part or other of Britain or Ireland as herbal rernedies. i"4ost of them come from folklore collectors with little or no botanical knowledge rvho more often than not will not even have had sight of a specirnen of the particular herb in question. In some cases they may even have misheard the name they noted down. Unless the plants referred to can be identified, the inforrnation collected about their use medicinally (which in some cases could be valuable) might just as well not exist. I should be very grateful, therefore, if identifications can be made, or even suggested, for any of the following: Alexoodne (Orkney), Black Pepperirrint (Cotswolds; a cornrnon plant of bogs. Merely Mentha aquatica?), Blue lvlallow (Cavan), Bog Onions (Clare), Calfrs Plant (lsle of Lewis), Catweed (Gloucestershire; a plant avoided by cats), Creeping Kate (Cavan), Crisp rlike Thistle (Cavan; Cirsium arvense?), Devilrs Hemlock (8. Anglian Fens; a miniature geraniumt), Eaglers Claw (Cavan), Eagle Foot (Cavan), Early Spring (Meath), Fermoreum (Wicklow), Forum Leaf (Wicklow), Golden Wheat (Cavan), Gravel Root (Wicklow), Herb Rue (Shropshire), Horse Pepper (florfolk; young shoots taste Iike peppery celery), Mary of the River (somewhere in lreland), Poverty of the Ground (Waterford), Pusey (Fermanagh; a meadow plant with purple flowers in early surnmer), Red tJeath Broom (Somerset), Red Roger (Down), St Fabianrs Nettle (unlocalised), Sparrow-weed (Ulster), Spear Point (Cavan), Stony-on-the-lVall (Lincs.; Saxifraga tridactylites?), Three Sisters (JMeath), Water Parsley (Cavan), Worm Plant (Meath), Yellow Fern (lnner Ilebrides), Caora aitinn (tr,tavo;a-IllT-plant withlrnall white berries),-D66i6lo-iia-(Cavan; some kind of fern), Glaistema = 'Pepperwort' (l6th-century lreiand), Leothann or Leon (Barra; a leafy plant of bogs), Lus Moire (Eriskay), Lus na liagh (Cavan), Maol-Moire (Eriskay; a flattish green plant), Senur capaill = rllorse Cloverr (l6th-century lreland). DAVID ALI-EN, Lesney Cottage, iv'iiddleRoad, \{INCHESTFR, Hants SO22 sllj ++f*** *********i( ** **+ ** ****:1.****** *++ *+1( STACTIYS MACRANTHA (C. Koch) Stearn, SYN. S. GRANDIFLORA (Willd.) Bentham The correct name for the Stachys admirably figured on the cover of BSBI_News 52 (Sept. 1989) is not Stachys grandiflora (V/illd.) Bentham (1834) non Host (lS3lJ-as used there and on page 30, but S. macrantha (C. Koch) Stearn, the name adopted, for example, in Chittenden, R.H.S, Dictionary of Gardening4:2Oll (1951) and Davis, Flora of Turkey 7: 260 il982). This well-known garden plant, which has several horticultural variants, is native to Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern lran. It rnay be useful to reprint here the article regarding its nomenclature which I published in The Gardenersr Chronicle III 130: 168 (November l95l) as follows: 'Among the species referred to Stachys or Betonica, the one which best rnerits the Itgrandiflora" 'rmacrantha", epithet or both meaning "large-flowered", grows in the Caucasus and adjacent Asia lviinor. It was described in 1801 by \Villdenow under the name Betonica grandiflora froin Caucasian specimens collected near the river Terek by Stephan, and introduced into British gardens about the same time by Messrs Loddiges; a coloured plate appeared in Curtis's Botanical Nlagazine (t. 700) in 1803. Unfortunately, the name Betonica grandiflora had been used in 1799 by Thuillier for another sDecies. and so is not available. tsentham transferred lVilldenowrs species to the genus Stachys in 1834 as S. grandiflora, but this name cannot be used on account of the earlier S. grandiflora of i-lost (1831), The correct name fortor the species,specres, iflt Stachys and EletonicaUbtonlca are regarded as one genus, is S. macrantha, based on B. macrantha, described by C. Koch in l-innaea 2l: 683 (1848). The type-specimens of this were collected near llenshin, north-east Asia Ilinor, In 1935 I corrpared the three sheets of B. macrantha in Kochrs herbarium, then at rhe Botanical lluseum, Rerlin-Dahlem, with the five sheets of B. grandiflora in Willdenowrs herbarium, likewise at Berlin-Dahlem. Kochrs specirlrens,22 cm,,30 cm. and 32 cm. high, were shorter than Willdenowrs and had srnaller leaves and slightly srnaller flowers, but obviously belonged to the same species, Like other wild specimens, all were unbranched and had one or two pairs of stenr-leaves.' 'IVILLIAI"I T. STEARN, l7 lligh Park Road, Kew Gardens, RICHtulOl.,lD, Surrey TW9 4BL 33 Notes and Articles GERI\{INATION OF LONG_BURIED SEED I was interested to reacl Allan llallrs notes on Reseda luteola (BSRI Netvs 53: 23, Dec. 1989).l'he 'spectacular appearance'of this plant after disturbanZE-andsubsequent reduction in abuttdance is nicely shorvn in photographs of iharrar;r Qrrarry Nature Reserve in Usher (l9BG). I also observed this phenomenon during preparation for a field trial on colliery spoil at Thorne Colliery, South Yorkshire in 1975. There rnuch of the foriner spoil heaps had been rernoved a fe'w years earlier to build the iul18 rnotorway. This left a flat, surface-panned unvegetated area, However, after ripping of this area, R. luteola arose in abundance in the area which had been ripped but not elsewhere. Subsequently as at lvharram Quarry Nature Reserve it declined in abunCance.With respect to Allan Hallts observations of R. luteola on the University of York carnpus, I and others in the Derelict Land ljnit teall Inay have been responsible for its introduction. Vegetation frotn our field trials on colliery spoil (of which at least one other than that at Thorne supported R. luteola) was cut and taken to the Vvalled Garden at the University rvhere it was dried and stored and occasionally transported across campus to the lliology Departlnent for analysis. This activity took place betvr'een 1975 and 1983. In rhe'yvalled Garden and in the l3iology Departinerit, s$,eepingsoff the floor of the working areas were deposited outside and it was in 1976 in the \Valled Garden that I first observed R. luteola on cai-r:rpus.!Ve rvere certain then that it was derived frorn the Thorne field trial samples. The iValled Garden was an interesting place to be at tl:e tirne because plants like Pale Flax and Ruck*'heat frorll tlte sv,eepings from the Psychologistsr pigeon house, and Tornatoes from an overflowing sewer could also be foundl Reference Usher, )"t.13.(ed.) (1986). r!ildlife Conservation Evaluation. Chapr,ran and I'1all, London. JOrIN Pnl-tlEi{, Stichardsirrloorehead and Laing Ltd,3 ClLvydStreer, llUTlllN, Clwyd LLl5 llJF * * * * * * *,t * * * * +* t(* * * t<* :j(* * * *(,r+ t( * * t rr*,k ir * * )++ + HENBANE AND I)YERIS GREENWEED I was interested to read the notes on i'ienbane and D1'g1tsGreenweed in ilsl-ri News 53 and wonder if the folloN,ing conlnlents r.rav also be of interest. Near where I live Hyoscyamus niger grL.\r'very sparsely, perhaps ten plants annually, by the side of a cart track running around the edge of a ploughed field. A nel owner took possessionof the field and had it ploughed up right to the hedges; by the following sunrmer the llenbarre had quadrupled in nu;nber and spread wiciely, The farmer sprayed weedkiller, but with little effect on the IJenbane! T$'o _r'earsIater, the ilenbane had taken over fro,n the Barley, covering an area of about half an acre. iJot until a special spray was used and hand-pulling of surviving plants, was the ilenbane eradicated frorn the field. An adjoining field rvas an old unploughed river meadorv, but constantly sprayed and with just the odd patch of nettles and thistles. l'he nerv owner decided to plough this field as well and to resolv to permarlent grass. In one place, up a steep bank well above the flood Ievel, fJenbane, Docks, and llettles grew in abundance arqongst rubble from rvhat had probably been a cattle shed, not used this century and allowed to collapse. It had eventually been covereri by grass but no other plants until tire field was oloughed. Dyer's Creenweed, Reseda luteola, suddenly appeared in my garden, just one plant. I had never seen it there before, nor on any of the surrounding land, and I have walked this area for 30 years. I allowed the plant to seed, but tire fcllowing year no seedlings appeared; does the seed of this plant have to go through the alinlentary canal of a bird to becorne fertile? PEGGIE PIT'Ii(.L'.],Nafford t.odge, Eckington, PEi{SllOrlE, rCorcs. l|Rl0 3DJ *****+(r<*:k*'tx********+ i<*******+*+*+** * **+ HEMLOCK AND HENBANh] - LONGEVIry OF BURIED SEET') The work of the Danish botanist Soren Cdurn is essential reading for anyone interested in this engaging copic. Iie provides ver_ysuggestive circumstantial evidence for the longevicy 34 Aliens and Adventives / Conservation Ne$'s of rrran_vplants including llernlock and Henbane. For instance, both these species germinated in soil taken frorn under a demolished house, that had been built about 150 years before, on the small island of Hirsholm off the northeast coast of Jutland. Of course, this is not rjgorous scientific proof. Could small rodents have carried the seeds down long after the house was built? Oniy radio-carbondating of the seeds at the earliest stage of germination but before photosynthesis had startecl would show how old the seeds were, as Sir Ilarry Godwin outlined rnore than twenty years ago. Reference Oduin, S. 1978. Dormant Seed in Danish i?uderal Soils. JIlvl DICKSON, Ilotany Departrnent, Glasgorv University, CLASGOy/ Gl2 8QQ *******i<+*i<*******+****+***x***+t(****+*+t(*,*'t(***t(*****,r*********t({<*****+*+******r( COMPU'TERS BSBI COMPIJTER USERS CROUP There will be a meeting at the Iliological Records Centre, ivionkswoodon Saturday June 9th, to deinonstrate a variety of mapping and recording databases on computers. All members are welcome to attend, not just those in the Cornputer Users Croup. For further details contact me at the address below. TIVI t{lCfl, Unit of Vegetation Science, Biological Sciences, lJniversity of Lancaster. LANCASTER LAI 4YO A COMPUTER-BASED MULTI_ACCESS KEY FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF NATIVE AND NATURALISED ALIEN FERNS IN THE BRTNSH ISLES by Pat llill-Cottingham and ,A.lanl{orton This ke1, is designed for use on I3iri-compatible personal rnicrocornputers, such as the ,Arnstrad1640. It is supplied with all necessaryinstructions, a sheet of diagrarnsand a giossar_r'which can be accessed during use of the key. iiesults can be printed out, a useful facility for recorders. The instructions on the screen are free from computer-jargon. All presently-documented species and sub-species are included \vith notes and pitfalls to identification described so that the key can be used by amateur and expert alike. ijecause it is a multi-accesskey, the choice of the characters used in identification is in the hands of the user and, in most cases, only a few characters are necessary for an identification. There is a rnain key which will serve the needs of most botanists, but nine sub-keys give further help with sub-species, for exanple, l)ryopteris affinis based on C, Fraser-Jenkins'classification. Any'one wfro lvould like further inforrnation, please contact r11eat the address below. P.{T illl-L-COTTIIiGllAr,i, l',iill House, l8 tJigh Lane, SIJAPTVICK,Bridgwater, Sornerset 1A7 9l'lrl. Tel. 0.158 21C557. *********+*xx*x****+++*x***+*t(xx*****+{<**x***************+****r ALIENS AND ADVENTIVES SOLANUM CIIENOPODIOIDES Lamarck, ESTABI-ISHED IN S.E LONDON In October 1989 while plant-hunting in Oennondsey(v.c. l7), I noticeclsome quantity of an unfamiliar Nightshade which was determined by Dr A.C. Leslie as the above species. Its forrner (and inore familiar) names are S. sublobatum and S. ottonis. Returning to the area in early November I found that this perennial Nightshade was an extensive weed on pavements, in alleyways, on pieces of waste ground, in a churchyard, and in t\vo snall public parks, in an area of about one-fifth of a square mile. Full determination of its extent was prevented by the onset of heavy rain, but it has obviously JJ Aliens and r\dventives / Conservation liervs been established there for sorne time and rnay also be discovered, bird-sotvn, across the river in Middlesex, or in other parts of S. London. 'fhere have been a few casual records. but it seems to be established in the British Isles only to a limited extent in Guernsey (since 195E) and s,ith only one plant in Sark, before this discovery. This S. American plant is attractive with its greyish leaves and white starry flolvers, and there is a drawing on page 172 of '/vild Florvers qll Guernsey (l,rcClintock, t975). Further inforrnation relating to Solanum chenopodioides and its distribution in the ilritish Isles will be of great interest. F-lora Europaea describes it as naturalisetl in Switzerland, France, Spain, and possibly Portugal. JOHf.i it. PAL;vrEFi.,l9 \later jvlill liay, South i)arenth, DAIJ.TF-ORL),Kent DA4 gfJI) CONSERVATION NEWS T}IE CONSERVATION COMMITTEE Follorving recent discussions it was felt that the BSBI's Conservation Cornirittee could function more efficiently if a two-tier structure was created: i) a core group (to include representatives from i\iCC, RSNC, C.q.Bs/Plantlife, l3RC, and NCCPG) dealing with uational issues ii) the core group plus representatives frorn lreland, ScotlanC, and !\'ales, arrd, from Lngland, a netrvork of regional representatives (possibly based on the NCC regions), any one of whoin could be contacted by the:nerrbership rvhen a conservation proble(il arises in their region. A list of all these regions and their representatives will appear in a subsequent issue of BSBI Nglyq. Long terrn projects tltat Conservittion Cc,jl{ilittee are invciveti q,ith are: i) the coinpilatiotr of a draft list of recoirirnendedspecies to be included in (or removed frorn) the Schedule; to be contributed to the NCC. If anyone has such 'v'ihitten recocttlrendations, r'zith justifications, please send thein to Tony (address on page 39) or to tnis Cornrrittee at the address below. ii) to encourage the ineiirbership to participate in the ,nonitonng and stud]' of species selecteC in the recovery programr:re (see page 38). iii) tc be instru'rteDtal in the production iind publicaticn of an updated i(ed [)ata Book and of a proposed 'Pink Data Eookr. iv) to maintain strong links rvith the Introductions Panel and lts rvork, Cngoing v;ork involves responding to Nationfl Issues, e.g. tire propcsed tjlreat to Lurcher's Gully, and to the r\,i.A.F.Ii. reuulations on the irriportation of bulbs and corrns. 'I'he ILSA r'vCOi), (.Actin6 Sccretary), Nurtons, TIl.iT:-R,\i, Gl.ent l..li,6 7,..JA + N<* * * *,1.r( * * * * * * * * * * * * x x * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * RIO fi/tAZAN PROJECT UPDATE : CI-OUIfFOREST CONSERVATION N'ly original venture to the Andes, back in 1982, was as an archaeoJogicalphotographer on an Inca excavation near i"lachu Picchu in Peru. Cver a period of four ilonths in the field, I spent all available spare tirne hunting out the local flcra and fungi. A further four rnonths of identification work at the ;?oyal [']otanic Cardens, l(ew, resulted in a short botanical checklist for the region an 36 Conservation Nervs Viva who invited two visiting biologists frorir the Oxford [Jniversity nxpeditionary Society in 1984 trl r€turn with a team alilc to produce a rnanagement plan for the newly protecte(l forest. Sorriernonths later, at a;neeting back in the UK, the:Lio iviazanProject was created. By the end of 1986, after the UK's largest independent scientific expedition this century had been rnounted, a rnanagement plan was prepared. A supplementary expedition the following year resulted in a total of 50,00C rnan hours being spent in fieldwork. Since then there has been occasional but continuing fieldwork, probably rnaking it the lnost intensively .studied cloudforest any'vhere on tl'l€ planet. Ilunning the botanical survey in an area the size of Richrnond Park, I discovered there were as rnany (and probably more) orchid species in this forest than the 'rhole of the Ul(! Fungi, understandably, receive low priority in under-tlevelopeclcountries and tl.re records established for i'v'iazan,in most cases,;lroved to be neff records for f.jcuador. Several new fungi cane to light, including a parasite of local phasinids Cordyceps sp., and a scarlet slime ritould Diderma sp. In 1989 it carne to the attention of f<.\li'tirat an haciendaof 3500 hectares, with a virgin tract of cloudforest, ivas being offered for sale. r'lrnowflaS tFlor del Bosque' (Florver of the Forest), it is situatecl 60krn l.J[i of tviazan and occupies the liearl of a valley cut by the Rio illazar, at a sirnilar altitude of 3,000rn but on the eastern Andean slope, down to the Amazon basin. Consisting of an area of arable and grazing land beside the river, a regime of pararno grassland above the tree line, and a cloudforest between the two of about twice the area of ,viazan. Containing Grey-breasted mountain Toucan, 20 or r-rrore species of humrningbird, inountain tapir, puma and the entlangered Spectacled bear. As yet, no botanist has assessedthe flora, but fro,i.r sotre photographs and descriptions it certainly contains exarnples of Ekrrnarea, Calceolaria, Fuchsia, Peperomia, Salvia, Solanum, Tillandsia, and Tree Ferns, as well as a vast nurnber of orchids, The llrvlP has never considered direct purchase to promote conservation before, since this hints at 'lmperialism' and is otherwise fraught rvith rlany unirnaginable problerns, but having spoken to government bodies and local pressure groups about this special situation we were encouraged to make every effort in this case. The asking price for the hacienda is $100,000 (USA) or i,60,000 but the vendor has agreed to ivait a reasonable time for the lnoney to be raised. To tl.ris end we are currently initiating ar fund-raising i;ro6rarnnre and all 'FIor del Bosque' forest occupants rvill be grateful for any support that IISBI rnembers can offer. I look forward to beinS able to present news oI our progress at the []StlIrs Annua] Exhibition i'/ieeting in fiovenber. In the rneantillp nlocco canrl r cAI: f^r further inforrnation to the address belo\'r'. VAUGIIAiJ FLil:vili"lG, (Director), ;?io ,\lazan i)roject, P.f). Box 14, Q.i,t,IL, St Dartholomervs Ilospital, LOllDOl.l ECIA TilE THE BRITISH HERPSTOFAUNA CONSERVATION APPFJ,L 'fhe ilritish t{erpetoiogical Socrety's Conservation Cornmicrec (JiiSCC) is inid-way chrough an appeal to raise noney to safeguard once and for all sorae of the key sites for rare ampiribians and reptiles, They intend to do this by site purchase or lease and long tenrl managerrent and, with the assistance of the ,VorldVr'ideFund for iiature (*iiVF) and the Nature Conservancy Council (,i.iCC),have already purchase HOViAiiD INNS, IJIISCC, PO Box 126, l'AliNIlA.\i, Surrey GUl0 3ilt. Jt Conservation Nlervs SPECIES RECOVERY PROGRAMME FOR GREAT BRITAIN Under the provisions of the vVildlife and Countryside Act 1981, 97 species of ,rild anirrals and 93 species of plants have been afforded strict protection by virtue of their being listed on ljchetlules 5 and B respectively of the.Act. Scherlule 8 cornprises 86 higher plants, six ferns and fern-allies, and one alga, 1'he Act makes it an offence to uproot any wild plant unless authorised, and to pick, uproot, sell or destroy any of the scheduled species. Any or all of these prohibitions irra_vbe Iifted subject to a licence issued b1, tlre NCC. The species selected for protection under the ivildlife and Countryside Act are deeined, in the words of the Act, to be danger of extinction in Great Britain or likely to "in 'fhe become so endangered unless conservation Lleasures are taken". scheduled plants fall into three groups. The first cornprises those restricted to certain clirnatic or edaphic conditions, and are naturally rare (defined here as occurrence in l5 or less !Okm grid squares), Exarnples are lllue ileath Phyllodoce caerulea, Lundy Cabbage Coincya wrightii (fornrerly Rhynchosinapis), and iiock Cinquefoil Potentilla rupestris. The second group cornprises those species rvhose nctural llabitats (such as fen, bog, pond and subrnontane woodland) have been converted or,nodified by rnan to such an extent that they are uncornrflon or unsuitable for those species. Some of this group now depend on regimes of disturbance, rnowing, or other hunran managenlent, that cnce woull have been provided by tree falls, pigs breaking uir the soil surface, grazing animals or other uatural elenents. This group includes inost of tire protected grassland plants and arable ryeeds such as lviilitary Orchid Orchis nrilitaris, Field Cow-wheat &lelampyrum aryense, Rough ,,iarsh-mallow Althaea hirsuta, and Oxtongue:iroor:trape Orobanche loricata. A third group corrprises those species that have been directly and relentlessly sought by man, such as sorne of the ferns and orchids, for example Ladyrs-slipper Cypripedium calceolus. In adclition, there are species such as two Rritish endenic species of sea lavender Limoniurn which are not threatened in Great Britain but which require protection under Britain's international obiigationsin the Bern Convention. Ct'rtain species, or groups of species, are not included in the schedules if the protection it confers is felt to he i!;rpractjcable, Included in this category are plants $'hose i,lentification is difficult, e.g. Hieracium, Taraxacum, Sorbug and Euphrasia. Abundance of a species outside ilritain is not considered as relevant; for exarnple the Jersey Cudrveed Gnaphalium luteoalbum is no'r,only knorvn frorr a single British site but is found throughout war,r.rterrperate regions of the *'orld. Indeed, only a handful of species 'Irichonranes such as I'rillarney Fern speciosurn, Slender Cottongrass Eriophorum gracile, and Creeping irlarshrvort Apium repens are threatened globally. It is held that the protecte(i species are integral members of our flora anC fauna, and their possible loss is judged to be detrilnental to the national natrlral heritage. In addition, many of the silecies reach their northern or northwestern li'ilit in Great ilritain and are phenotypically and genotypically distinct froril tileir rnainland relatives. Species ;nay 5,' reinoved fro n tlre Schedulesif thcy are felt to be "no lon3er endangered or likely to becoine so endangerc'd" unlt ss thL're are interirational obligations to the contrary. i{ecommendations for the addition or deletion of certain species frorn the schedulesare rnade to the Secretrry of State br the l.lCC ufter the quirquennia)revipw. These are based on the kno'riledge and opinions of its own staff as inflr:enced by a'ride range of counsel sought frorn scientific institutions, IearneCsocieties, and voluntary conservation or€{anisations. Legal protection has dralvn attention to the plight of the sc:ledrrledsDecies and has stimulated enhanced efforts by the NCC and voluntary conservation bodies that have led to intensification of research and survey, as well as site safeguarcl and rlanagement. Protection has also had an effect on the actions of public authorities, bcth through their adrrinistrative ijecisions (e.9, the grantinE of p)anning consents) ancl ti-reir direct actions, for inany have taken their responsibilities serious.lyto avoid the unnecessary destruction of irrotected anirnals and plants. Public enquiries over lccal authority plans for developrnents that worild threaten a protected plant species have not allorved these develoi)!rlents to procecrl. vVhile the protection does guard against certain threats, it does not in itself ensure the survival of a species or an improveJnent in its status even if fully iinpletnented and enforced. Ihe rnajor threats often lie elservhere, e.g. habitat loss and change through inappropriate site rranagelJtent, Cisturbance, inciderrtal destruction, or because populations have been reduced to a critical Ievel froin rvhich they cannot clinrb rvithout hul;rau 38 Conservation News intervention. Thus, the act of protecting a species has had a reason (hecause it is threatened), but l.raslacked a goal. Indeed, noivhere is the official aint of protecting species actually spelt cut. fjo gcvernrrental agency has ever been given or assurned the duty of actively protectin6 rare anirnals and plants; nevertheless it is the policy of the Nature Conservancy Council (i\iCC), the governrnent body that proqrotes nature conservation in ;lritain, to ensure the continued survival of native species in Great ilritain and tl.le inaintenance of their range aud abundance, NCC, encouraged by ',Vildlife Link (the unbrella organisatior.rfcr 3ritain's non-governJnentalconservation bodies), decided to develop a prograrnrne for the rccovery of scheduled species. As a result, they establisheti an 1E-rnonth post for the preparation of a proposed prograinlne ivith recoiurlendations for its impleuentation. 'lhile teis jnay be a nev/ initiative in llritain, a recovery prograrllnte rvas begttn in the U.S.A. in l9flll under its Endangered Species.Act, and in the Spanish Autononous Comirunity of the Canary Isles in I 987. The proposed llritish recovery prograrn,rre aiLirs to provide the nreans by ririch each of tl.tr: scheduled species will improve its status, and could eventtlally becorne a secure' self-sustaining coijlponent of its ecosystsrn, ancl thLls be considerr:clfor rerrioval fro,n tire scnedules. This is obviously more likely for sone s1;eciesthan for others. Preliminary sheets coi:r;trising basic infor,nation on the species, a recovcr_ygoal and prescriptions, necessary rnanagernent actions, llotential for recovery and a rough bu'1,,;et have been prepared usin6 inforrnation in NC(- files anrl the knowleclgeof si)eciallstsin the 'lhe NCC Chief Scientist i.)irectorate. sheets have been s(int to others $,ith slrecial interests in, and l',novrledgeof, the particular spccies in orCer to solicit coi,.l|r.llrts, corrections and criticisrn. i';ith the 93 plant species, for exa;,rple, 192 contacts rvere narle soile of whom rvere asked to coi,'irr€nt on the sheets of : nu,'rber of species. The final docurnent.vill cornprise tire species sheets witir an introductory section explaining the rationale behind certain proposals(oarti.:ularll e'rrr:erningtranslocation, contingency, and:vardenind requireinents), In arir,litionthere r.rill're rlraft budgets ancl general recornmenCationsfcr disse6linationto the irrplerlenting an(i furiding ar;enciesin order to pro,xote the recovery of the spncics ,vithin their ecosystems.Th: infoFrrati,)nInfy be used to support bids to Governinent anci other bodies fcr tlle necessary resources, to identify priorities for rnanageinent-orientatedresearch, to grve the public inforrnation 0n the needs and successesof species conservati,)n; and to assist the for,ration of appropriate policies, l'jublication is expected in June 199C. Further inforrnation,nay be obtaiiretl frorl the address belorr. TUr'-lY ?!HIfTEii, F'rotected Species Officer, i.lC,.l,,'rorthr,.linster;iouse, i'eterboroui;h irlrl 1iJ,{ [This note has been aciapted, by the author, fro,n an article u.hich first appeared in Threateneci Plants itev/sletter 21. Ed.l + * {. i<+,i. * * * * * * * rr * *'l< iI * * + * ** * * * a * * + + * * * + * * *,F SECOND QUINQUENNIAL REVIEW OF SCHEDULES 8 & 9 Tlre )JCC is cornnrissioning a contract refiort regarding the second Quintluennial.levierv of the ,'!ildlife and Countrysrde Act l9Bl. 7re invite members to coutact the Acting Chairrnan of the FlSjflts Conservation Ccrnnrittee, ilr Frankiyn Perring, if the,v have any suggestions for additions or deletions to Schedule 3 of protecte,l piants, or the qchedule 9 list of plants whose introduction is prohilited. \,ierabers are reriiincled that tire species selecte.l for protection under the \,Vildlife and Cotrntryside Act are Ceerned to be "in Janger of extinction in Sreat Britain or likely to becoine so endangered unless conservation rneasrlresare taken". In practice, the sj)ecies generally fall into one of the folloving categories. - species ivhich are rare or wl1ich have a very restricted distribution in Great ;lritain, and which are also at risk. Sucir species inay or may not be threatened internationally - endenic spccies (those not found outside areat :lritain) - species vririch have shoivn serious population declines in recent years 'lo Conservation Nervs / Notices (ijslll) / Notices (Others) - species which are confined to particularly tlrreatened habitats - species knoivn fro,n a single llritish site - species rvhich require protection under Britain's international obligations Certain species, or grouirs of species, have not previously been included in Schedule 8 where the protection this confers is felt to be impracticable. Included in this category are species rvhose identification is difficult, e.9,, llieracium, Taraxacum, Sorbus, and 'fhe Euphrasia. ljSill intends to collate rnernbers viervs and present thern to the NCC. TOIJY ,Vljl'f'fliii, I'rotected Species Of ficer, NCC, lrlorthrninster Ilouse, Peterborough t'El ltJA *********************************************************t *r(*:*****,k***********{<* NOTICES BSBI ADVANCE NOTICE BSBI FIELD MEETING - THE DOLOIIITES, I99I A nreeting based on Selva, Val Gardena, I)olomites, South Tyrol, Italy, is being arranged for July lSth-28th 1931. Leader, lvlary Briggs; details will be published in BSBI News 55 (Septer-,rber1990), i,reanrvhile, for furiher details or advance booking send s,a.e- co: 't/2 ,Urs lilinor i'iiltshire, 52 Carroll Ilouse, Craven Terrace, LONDOI'i 3PIt. ivlARY ilRIilG:i, Hon. General Secretary *****:i:*****t*{.***x*xxx*r<+**+**t+r.+{ NOTICES (OTHERS) FORTHCOfu1ING MEETINGS OF TIIE BRITISH ERYOLOGICAL SOCIETY I - l5 {,ugust. Sur:r nrer l"ield rleeting. UIster: Antriin, Derry and Donegal. Full details frorn the local secretary: Dr Keith Lewis, |3iomedical Library, Queen's University, Belfast City I{ospital, Lisburn itoad, I3EI.FAST 3T9 7.\R 2l - 23 September. Annual General ivieeting and Paper R.eading,\,ieeting, Carnbridge. A special ineeting in honour of Professor Paul iiichards and Dr llustace Jones. Full details from the local secretary: Dr Philip Stanley, 48 Glisson ,Road, Cambridge crJl 2rtF 9 - I I Nove;rrber. \Veekend tlorkshop on Bryophyte Photography, I'lanchester. Full details fro;rr the local secretary: Dr Sean Edt'ards, ,^!;anchester.viuseurn, The lJniversity, i.lanchester 9PL "vll3 As alrvays, flSlll rner,rbers\vill be rnost rvelcoine at these .neetings. PiJILIP LIGllfOtVl-E;{S, 36r\ Lockhurst Street, LONDCI'.1F.5 0\P IJIGIILAND FIELD STUDIES Places still exist on some of these courses in Scotland rvhich were listed in the last issue of BSBI News. Enquiries please to the address below (sae appreciated). URIAN I',ROOf(ES, Florelick, Trochry, DUN:(ELD, Perthshire PH8 0tlx. Tel, O3503-222. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * t * * * * * * i( * 40 Notices (Others) / Requests FLOWER PAINTING COURSES The artist Zowie Keating will be taking the following courses on wild flower l)ainting in I 990. Botanical Tllustration for heginners 13 - 20 4pr11 Flatforrl I'lill Field (lentre Botanical Illustration 3 - 10 August Slapton Ley Field Centre Starting to Paint Plants P"Flowers 22 - 2Q August \ettleconbe Court Eield Centre Painting I,Ji1d Flowers of Cornwall ),9 - 26 llay Hearlland T{otel, Newquay For further details please contact rne at the address below. ZOWIE KEATING, The Studio, l9 Rosparc, Probus, TRURO, Cornwall Tl-t2 4TJ. Tel. 0726 883138 *,f * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * * * * * * * * * * * +* * * * * * * 1.* ROYAL SOCIE-TY LECTURE - APRIL 26 How many species on earth to-day? And tomorrow? This lecture will be given by Professor Robert lv{. May, F.li.S., of the Departrnent of Zoology, University of Oxford and Imperial College, London, at The Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London Si/ilY 5,\G, on Thursday 25 April 1990 at 5.30prn. There are around 1,5-1.8 million species of plants and animals that have been named and classified. Horvever, this nurnber is uncertain, because there is, as yet, no central catalogue of named species. The total number of species on Earth today is even inore uncertain, with current estirnates ranging from as low as 3-5 rnillion to around 100 rnillion or more. The task of cataloguing the biological diversity of our planet - grossly incornplete though it is - is only one step loward answering the more fundamental question of ivhy there are that {nany species, and not significantly more or fevrer. Professor lvlay will surve.vcurrent research bearing on this question, including patterns in the structure of food rvebs, in the relative abundances of species, in the nurnber of species and of individuals in different categories of l)ody size, and in the geographical ranges of individual species, along with other determinants of the col,rmonnessand rarity of organisms, Fie will give a revierv of extinction rates over the sleep of geological time, and will contrast them with recent and likelv future rates of extinction of species, especially in the tropics. .A,llare rvelcorireto attend this public lecture - 5ut sears cannot be guaranteed;parties of six or i.nore are asked to inforrn the Society beforehand. Further infor;nation frorn Cl-839-5561ext. 219. lvi.r^R.YBRIC(11j, llon General Secretary. CUEgO _ COMPUTERS IN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION University of Liverpool, April l7-19 An international conference and workshop on the role of computers in education in the biological and chernical sciences, organised jointly by the Coinputers in Teaching Initiative National Centres for Biology and Chernistry, rvill be held at the Lhiversity of Liverpool from Tuesday 17th - Thursday 19th April 1990. The programme will be divided between discipline-specific presentations and keynote sessionsof general interest, and there rvill also be Poster and software denronstrations and a Trade Fair. For further information contact: CTI Centres for Biology and Cheri"listry,Donnan Laboratories, University of Liverpool, PO Box 147. Liverpool L69 3BX or telephone 051-794 3586. EDTIOR 4l Notices (Others) / Requests LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON TI-IREE-DAY MEETING, SEFTEMBER I99O The Linnean Society of London is organising a three day meeting on September 25-27 at the University of Reading, with the aim of encouraging younger research workers to present papers, with an opportunity of publication, The themes of the meeting will be: 'The present state of the biospherer - monitoring, conservation, manageinent. 'Evolution' - co-evolution, evolutionary biology, phylogenetic reconstruction. All whose work covers these topics are invited to submit papers for consideration, Approxirnately thirty presentations of twenty minutes each will be needed, and a prize will be awarded for the best presentation. A'keynoterspeaker will introduce each topic. For further information and provisional progranrme, send an s.a.e. to: The Linnean Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, I-ONDON lVlV OLQ. The deadline for registration is 3l July 1990. |"4ARY BRIGGS, Hon. General Secretary. **i(,t(*N(* ***,k+,t<***+ +N.r<+****+**+*****r.i<*********,********* {<*ir*** ****** ** **+**+ ****** REQUESTS DISTRIBUTION OF ARRHENATHERUM ELATIUS As part of a NERC funded project on the comparative ecology of growth forms of Arrhenatherurn elatius we are trying to gather as much information as possible on the distribution of the trvo subspecies of A. elatius (subsp. elatius and subsp. bulbosum). lVe would be grateful if anyone who has observed subspeciesbulbosum (as illustrated in Hubbard's Grasses) could contact us rvith information about itrs location and habitat type. JOIIN CUSSANS & ALAN rvlORTON, Imperial College at Silwood Park, ASCOT, Berks. SL5 7PY. Tel. 0990 23911 ext. 337 **i<** + {<*+ ***r<*** ****i(*******r.rk1.*** ** **rt* SIVTYRNIT'MOLUSATRUM AND PUCCINIA SMYRNN I arn undertaking a study of Smyrnium olusatrum, Alexanders, in an Ecology and Landscape course run by Cambridge University. I would be grateful if readers with ANY habitat data relating to Smyrnium olusatrum, or with records of Puccinia smyrnii on SmlE-ium olusatrum, particularly from inland sites, would contact me at the address below. K.R.l-. \4ARSDEN, Fiedge-end, St Michaels Road, IHORI'E-LE-SOKEN, Essex CO16 0EJ. Tel. 0255 860936 after 6pm. SILENE DIOICA SEED In a small scale study of the effect on seed weight of pollination date and period for capsule nraturation in Silene dloica involving 220 capsules and sorre 27,000 seeds, the rnean weight of air dried seed was found to be 0.869 per thousand, with only three capsules having seed weights less than 0.709 per 1000, Baker (1947) quotes a figure of 0.5g per 1000 for fresh seed of the typical forrn of S. dioica subsp. dioica, and l.4g per 1000 seeds for subsp. zetlandica. Hybrids of S. dioica with S. alba have greater seed weight, Baker, loc, g$., but the latter species does not occur near the study area. Nor did the study populations show any evidence of hybridization. The localities discussed in detail in Baker (1948) are in south-east England and East Anglia, although he visited the Cower peninsula and two other stations in Wales. In view ilequests / Book Notes of the degree of hybridization noted by hirn in East Anglia, it is probable that lris figure for seec.lvreight was based upon sanples originating in south-east England. If this interpretation is correct then populations distant fron this area rnay show local variation in seed weight and the possibility of a south to north cline for increasing seed weight rnust be considered, I would like to obtain seed sarrples frorn different parts of the country to try and clarify this point. Several ripe, i,e. just opening, capsules from any one plant may be packed together, but capsules fro:n different plants should be packed separately. lnclusion of the capsules is necessary to check for hybridization. Please include a grid reference if possible or at least rhe nearest town or village. It would also be useful to know if S. alba grows in the sarne area. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. References Baker, iJ.G. (1947). Melandrium (lloehling em.) F-ries., in lliological Flora of the British Isles.,1. Ecol. 35: 27l-192 Baker, i-I.G. (1948). Stages in invasion and replacement dernonstrated by species of Melandrium. l. Ecol. 36: 96-113 LES rvlAY, 20 Crescent ;toad, ROCIIDALJI, Lancs. CLll 3LF ***)il*+*x*************+*******rr*:l:********+*t*****{(*+*+r<***+*+*****+*)*+**t****+i(** BOOK NOTES '"Vatsonia ileviews of the follorving books rvill be inclr-rcledin the August issue of vol. l8(2): Flore de la Suisse et des-regions limitrophes, by D. Aeschimann .aull.ir'i. llurdet. Vegetation 9! tfitlgyfg!-*CiElgltglr-t\1,D. Aleksandrova and The livins tundra, by Y.l. Chernov. Comparative plant ecology: a functional approach to comrron tsritish species, by J.P. Grirne, J.G. Hodgson & R, llunt. Somerset Ferns: a field gu:(!g by P. I'lill-Cottinghaln. A flora of iiensleydale: a centennial review of the plants of the llaie, by D. ivtillward. [The author has asked ine to point out that this title is now sold out and there are no iminediate plans to reprint it.l DeveloD;nental biology of fern gametophytes, by V. lla3havan. Colour identification guide to the !rasses, sedHes,rushes and fer!r of the Sritish Isles and north-western EuroDe. bv F. ttose. Norway's wild flovrers - from bees and flowers to seeds and fruit (tr.), by L. Ryvarde, Ii, 3erg & K. Faegri. Ted trllic'the r'onnlo'c n2r',r^licr h\/ L (rnno The European Garden Flora, vol. 3 (Dicotyledons part l), ed. by S.i"l. Walters, J.C,il. Alexander et al. r\,lorphologyof f*l^vers and inflorescences, by F. iVeberling, tr. by lR,J. Pankhurst. The following books havr: heen received recently. Those that will not be reviewed in \\'atsonia are marked with an asterisk. *.{ studentrs guide to the seashore, by J.D. Fish 8z S. Fish. Unrvin FIyman, 1939 (ISBN 0-04-754043-7 hbk., 0-04-7540.14-5pbk.). [A very practical field guide of particular value to undergraduates and extra-rnural students, rvith a good bibliography, -,\ srnall section on Angiosper:nae rlentions Salicornia, Tnste?a, and Spartina.] .fhe herbarium handbook, ed. by L. Forrnan & D. Bridson. R.ts.G. I(ew, 1989 (ISBf.i 0-947643-2A-6), Price ll2. [An up-to-date account of herbariurn techniques, including notes on collecting and preserving speci;nens, manageinent of loans and exchanges, and pest control methods. Fills an importanI gap in tlre available literature.] +'fhe - French lleconnaissance. Baudin in Australia l80l-1803, by F. Horner. ilelbourne U.P., l9S7 (ISEN 0J22:84339-s). lan- accc,unt of alifGl[nown French naturalist and sea-captain who died while exploring Australia on the ship Le Naturaliste.l 43 Book Notes *Basic growth analysis, by Il. f{unt. lJnwin Hyrnan, 1939 (lsi]f( 0-04-445372-8 hbk., 0-04-415373-Gpbk.). lsubtitled "plant grorvth analysis for beginners'r,this concise handbook outlines;nethods of recording iirter alia absolute and relative growth rates, leaf area ratios and root-shoot coefficients. Highly statistical, this book will help to enlighten those who are engaged in the study of autecology, and its techniques rnight usefully br: employed in nronitoring the perfornrance of rare and endangered species.l *The - wild and naturalized plants of the islancl of Rrecqhou, by D, ivicclintock. [,a Societ5 G-uern-esiarse,P.eport ,f.fransactlons for 19SA-,pp. aSa-452; norv available as an offprint frorn the Secretary, S.G., Candie Gardens, St Peter Port, Guernsey, C.l, price i1.50. [The flora of one of the least-visited inhabited islets of the Guernsey group now totals 302 vascular plants and 67 others.] *rloods, trees and hedges; a review of changes in the llritish countryside, by G.F. Peterken & FI. Allison. Focus or.rnature conservation no. 22. N.C.C., 1989 (ISilN 0-85139-586-7). [Covers woodlands, plantations and hedgerovrs,and su,nnarises the rnost pertinent changes of the present century. Stresses the ecological isolation of Britainrs now fragmentary lorvland woodland.] r\4odern-:lzzgZ:n.rnethods in orchid conservation, ed. by ii.\t. Pritchard. C.U.P., 1989 (lsBii 0-521- Tpresents ts p+rers w'trlch were delivered at a syrnposiurn at Kew in 1986, including an inforlnative account of Prritish orchids in tl.reir Curopean context by J.J. rVood, a sumlnary of the lJ,(1,C,'s rvork on orchid conservation by L. Farrell & R. FitzGerald, and a note on irnport & export law by S.G. i..nees.l -lryCgglgC of ancient, long-established and serni-natural voodland for Scotland, by C.J. vYalker & K.J. Kirby. N.C.C. 'Research & Strrvey in nature conservation' Report no. 22, 1989 (lSUl'.J0-36139-564-7). Ii)escribes desk-based rnethods used by tlie l].C.C. to identify sites cf various categories of woodland in Scotland and gives examples of results fron Ansus, Caitllness, Clacklnannan, Cuinnock ,t Doon Valley, Dundee, Falkirk, Nairn, Skye i Lochalsh, Stirling and Sutl.rerland.l The editors of lrr'atsoniaare not destined to receive a revierv coov of !-erdinand ilauer's '.,"*, lllustrationes t|gl_?_g-I_gy_l_iliollandiae (lllustrations of tlre f lora nf t{olland), alas, but the announcelient of a liinited erlition of llauerrs l5 stipple engravings of Australian plants is a note\i/orthy event for lovers of Sotanical 1rt. The press release froi,i Alecto ilistorical llditions states that the decision to restrict the edition to 35 sets was dictated by the ainount of tirne rhe printers and colourists could sgrarefor the project. A snip at tl5,000. J()iiN ;r)i.,iONi)S{J:'.1,Sotany I)eirr., Liverpool i,luseui], rlilliar;r Sroq'n St, LIVLITPOOL I-3 8[r\ NEIVS FROI'i OUNDLE BOOKS ATLAS OF THE BRITIST] FLOITA 'fhe Society is pruducinl a 1raper5ack,.,-6u6erlsize, reprint of the,,rost rccent,3rd edition of the Atlas (1932). Ttre Atlas has been out of print since 1985 and nany younger mernbers ivill norv irave a chance to purchase a copy. In this reprint, maps of about 320 rare .lritish jrlants plants included in the Znd edition of lled ijata Books -Presron,l: Vascular v/ere updated. lt will also include a oibliograpfry,conpiled by-C.D oi ,rpaat.r distribution rnaps of British plants publisheclelselvhere. I hope to have copies for sale at the i-gham A.G.i"'1.,and thereafter by post, at i23.50. If you have not yet bought a copy of the rnost recent conference reirort, i-leathers and iieathlands, I still have sorne in stock at t4.85. I also have a stock of page 531 of the 3rd edition of The Flora of the British Isles (1q89) ,'rhichinclurles ,iannichelliaceae rvhich was o,nitted tro,n ttre f irst priffing (-t-987t Send an .{.5 s.a,e for a ccpy and/or rny most recent supple:nentary list, rU.A,l{S.AIRET;,ERr{Ii\jG, 24 Glapthorn P.oad, OtJfjDI-li, Peterborough PIiS 4Ji2 t **x***+,****+j!**+*******{<*+******.**,1.*,1****+********+r.****,t(*'t'|<**+1.**+***+******** 44 Annual Exhibition iueeting, 1989 ANNUAL EXFIIBITION IV{EETING, 1989 The Annual Exhibition i/ieeting was held in the Conversazione 1ioom, The Natural ]listory Vluseum, I-ondon, on Saturday 25th November 1989, frorn 12.00 to 17.00 hours. The following exhibits were shorvn. ANNA ATKINS, PHOTOGRAPHY PIONEER NIrs Anna Atkins (1799-1371) was one of the most enduring supporters of the Societyrs foreruirner, the Botanical Society of London, contributing specilnens to its annual exchanges from 1840 till at least 1853. I-ler herbariunr of soine 1500 sheets was eventually donated by her to The l.Jatural l{istory Museum, of which her father, J.G. Cltildren, had been briefly Keeper of the Zoological Collections. Recent research by an American historian of photography, Larty J. Sciraaf, has brought to light that in those same years she was also pioneering the use of the cyanotype process. A close family friend of its inventor, Sir John flerschr:I, she conceived the first rphotograrns'), book to be illustrated with photographs (strictly speaking, tsritish Algqg which she published in parts, anonyinously, over a period of 16 years, starting in 1843, a rnere four years after Fox Talbot and Daguerre rnade their respective inventions of photography public. A copy of the third volume of this work (which she ls on record as having donated to the Sotanical Society of London in 1845) rvas exhibited. Acco;npanying it was a copy of Schaaf's Sun Gardens : Victorian Photograms !X Anna Atkins (Aperture, New York, 1985) and the catalogue of an exhibition of her work shcwn last year in St Andrervs, Glasgow and Edinburgh, open at a pencil portrait of her, drawn ivhen she vzas about 21, D.E. ALI-I]N HAMPSI{IRE RUBUS DISCOVERIES OF I989 1989 saw two further narned species added to the llairpshire Rubus list, bringing the total to 130 (106 each in v.cc. l1 and l2). They were: Rubus tamarensis Newton. A bramble known since 1974 in quantity on part of Chilworth Common, on the outskirts of Southampton, v.c. ll, and collected in 1987 in ilarervood Forest, near Andover, v.c. 12, had been suspected for sorne years to be this rnainly Devon species hitherto believed endemic to the South-west Peninsula. R. raduloides (llogers) Sudre. Widespread in the ilritish Isles, cornrnon in the Cotsrvolds and known from several places in neighbouring li/iltshire, this has long scelned a very likely Fiampshire species. A patch of it was found in 1989 just inside v.c. 12, at its north-western tip. A further highlight of the _vear was the rediscovery of t{ubus incurvatus 3ab., the only previous i'larnpshire record of which is a specilnen in BRIST collected at Brockenhurst in 1917. A rnore thorough conrbing of much-visited i{engistbury l{ead, near Christchurch, was 'rVales. rewarded with a sizeable patch of this rvestern species, with its rnain horne in l.lorth Another North iVales speciality, hitherto thought to be endemic there, is Rubus effrenatus Newton. This rvas established in 1989 as the identity of a bramble known since 1982 in abundance in two localities in the south-east of the the Isle of'vVight, v,c. 10. Sheets of these four species were exhibited, together with Devon rnaterial of R. tamarensis and iVelsh material of R. effrenatus for comparison. The approxintate locations of each of the records rnentioned were indicated on distribution rnaps. D.E. ALLEN ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF I\4ALLORCA Eleven cornplete or nearly cornplete plates frorn this project were shown, witl.r a sample frorn the text and some explanatory rratter. The cornpleted work will have 96 coloured plates, of which about half are finished, the majority of the others needing only one or two more specles. BSBI members were appealed to once again to help find the remaining elusive plants, and thanked for their magnificent help so far, E. BECKETT 45 .Annual llxhibition lueeting, 1989 BEVANIS BIT'TEIICRFSS An investigation of rnorphology, pollen and chromosones, combined ',vichhybridization experilnents, suggests that a striking, white-florvered Cardamine frorn Bentley Priory, Nliddlesex is a hybrid between C. flexuosa and C. pratensis. Full details rvill be publishctl Iat er, 'I.C.L]. D. L]EVAN & ItICi] FLUCTUATING 'N,ATER LEVETS AND THE PRECARIOUS LIFE-CYCLE OF DAMASONIUM ALISMA (STARFITUIT) The life-cycle of this small, annual se,ni-aquatic is atiapted to, and dependent on, seasonal fluctuations in the water level of the shallow water bodies in which it lives. Its seeds gerrninate in che early winter s.hen the water Ievel is high. Gerrrrination will only occur below rvater and cannot be elicited on darnp mud. The seedling over-winters in the equable erlvironnent of the poncl bottoin. In the spring it produces long-petioled, floating leaves. \'r'ith the onset of surnil]er, conrpetition frorn other aquatic plants becomes intense. It is norv critical that the ',vater level falls to expose the Starfruit plants above lvater. Once exposed the floating leaves die and are replaced by stout, short- petioled alternatives. It nov behaves as a;nud annual and rapidly flolvers and fruits before the ntud dries out. The six carpels of the fruit are firrnly fused together and only dissociate to release the seeds rvhen sui);nerged by rising lvater levels in the autumn. One possible cause for the decline of this species in llritain is the artificial maintenance of constant #ater ieveis in its pond habitats. C.R. ;']IiIKIIJSI]AT/ THE IIARRIS GARDEN: A I]OTANICAL AND HORTICULTURAL ATVENITY GARDEN FOR TI{E UNIVERSITY OF READING With the forrnation of a School of i'lant Sciences by the University of i{eading, an area of six hectares is beir-rgdeveloped as a 3otanic Garden to serve the Departments of Botany and Agricultural Botan.v, and as an arnenity garden for the Departrnent of llorticulture, This new garden has been nairred after the late Thomas i,laxrvell ('Toar') Harris, Professor of Botany at Reading 1935-1963. Plans and notes outlining the features to be developed irere shown and notes about the ne'r rGarden Irriendsr scheme presented. f{.J. RISGI{OVE, S.L. JURY & il.!'v. RIJ'fllEl{l'(lt-iD SOME RECENT FINDS IN DORSE_I The best native plant record is probabll' Lythrum hyssopifolia; earlier reports may have been for alien species. It has been seen regularly over the past four years at the edge of a damp arable field by B. Iidwards. The second record for the grass Gaudinia fragilis, found by Anne ilorsfall, is rvelco;re as the other site is threatened by building. Bupleurum tenuissimum has becu refound on Portland, where it was last seen in 1375; it has not been reported in Dorset since 1950. Otl]er records include: Silene nutans, third record, local on chalk cliffs; Euphorbia platyphyllos, now a scarce and usllally transient weed; tr4yrrhis odorata, a NCR, possibly introduced, in a hedgebank; Vulpia ciliata subsp. ambigua, second inland site, on heathland; Briza minor, three ne\y records from arable/waste land on acid soil; Festuca arundinacea subsp. atlantigena, a drvarf coastal ecotype of this grass, needing confiriiration; if correct, it may be new to Britain; Epipactis purpurata, now known in three sites, see note in Watsonia 17: 441 (1989) by rvi.l.l. Jenkinson and A.G. Ilobsor.r. Among cryptogams, Pilularia globulifera, found by iR. Smith, is tire first sighting since 1938; Equisetum variegatum has been for.rnd in a second locality by J. r'/'hite; Thelypteris palustris has been seen in several sites; and the alien fern Polystichum falcatum (l.iCR) is established on a wall near the sea. Several interesting and critical hybrids have been noted. Carex demissa x C. hostiana, found by J.C. i(eylock, and Rumex crispus x R. sanguineus, found by A.J. Byfield, are both 46 Annual ixhibition l{eeting, 1989 lrlCi?s. Alopecurus bulbosus x A. geniculatus may turn out to be not uncotnmon, as there wer two gatherings determined as this by P.J.O. ]'rist this year, confirning a 1932 record. l-l.J.xi. BC!V]ri\l & D. PEAitIi,AN HAIRY ALIEN POLYGONUMS AND TIIE POLYGONUM LICHIANGENSE MYTH Lack of readily available, and adequate, descriptions of the naturalized I'limalayan Polygonum polystachyum var. pubescens has led to the incorrect identification of ti.tis taxon, with its hairy stipules and velvety leaves, either as P. molle (known naturalized frorn only a single Scottish site) or as P. lichiangense, a Chinese species introduced by Forrest in 1310, never recorded naturalized, and scarce even as a cultivated garden plant. A further cause for coufusion has been the assi.gninentby Steward (The Polvgonaceae of Eastern Asia, 1930) of P. lichiangense to a Inere variety of P. campanulatum, despite its closer resernblance to P. polystachyum, These four large hairy alien species of Polygonum, along viith a fifth, P. weyrichii (known as an escape fronr but a single Curnbrian site), can be distinguished by four main features: the forrn of the florver and the size and shape of periant)r segrlents; the shape, size and hairs of the ochreae (stipular sl.reaths);the size and shape of the nuts, and any 'fruiting' perianth changes; and, nrost irnportant, the nature of the indu[tentu.I on the lorver surface of the leaf-olades. 'fhese characters were illustrated by herbarium specilnens and by S.E.h4.photograplts of the leaf indunenta. All these species have recently bcen placed in the genus Persicaria. A.P. COIJOLI-Y LYTHRUh,I HYSSOPIFOLIA L.: TI{O POSTSCRIPTS After an exceptionally wet year fror:r July lg87 to July 1988, L. hyssopifolia was very abundant in many of its hollows in TL44 in Car:rbridgeshire,v.c. 29. Photographs of one of these sites in 1975 (also a good year) and in 1938 were shown on 26 Novernber l98B (BSBI i\ervs 5l: 46, 1989), as ivell as cuttings which had been rooted after as few as four days in a mist-propagation unit. Sorre of the rooted plants shorvn then were placed on 28 November in 16-hcur illumination at 20 C; others e,/ereleft in natural (8-O hour) daylight, By 22 January 1989 the long-day plants were flowering freely, the short-day ones not at all. The long-day plants fruited well, seeds ripening in the early spring - six rnonths out of phase with wild plants. Since July 1388 the rainfall has been exceptionally low, and most of the v,c.29 sites were far too dry in l9B9 for L. hyssopifolia to develop, as shown in photographs. D.E. COOTV1BE FERULA COiIMUNIS L.: MYTHOLOGY AND BIOLOGY One flowering Ferula communis L. was found by iiirs G. Crorlpton \yith Prof. l'lank Art besid. the All in \.r'. Suffolk on 21 i,"'ay 1388 (A.L. Crenfell in IISBI News 50: 30-32, 1988, and 51: 3l-33, 1989). It was described in the 8th century B.C. by-llesiod rn Theogony anc.lWorks & Days as the narthex in the sr;roulderinSpith of which Pro{-iretheusstole fire frorr heaven, with several dire consequences.It is 'widespread in the rviediterraneanregion. The Suffolk plant is perennial and produced new leaves in both winters after flolvering. 1988 seed gave copious gernination the same a[turrrn without chilling; four seedlings rvere found on the roadside in early l9B9 and despite later drastic excavations and road repairs, at least trvo seedlings survive as does the parent plant. Roots frorn l98E seed, grotvn in the Canbridge lJniversity Botanic Garden, dorrnant froni nridsumrner to early autuinn 1989, u'ere shown, as well as vigorous leafy plants 13 months old, and seedlings which gave 50')'ogerrrrinaticn after a year. Ferula as a fire-stick was also shown. l).tr. COOrv'ltsE& G. CRO|IPTOf'] 47 Annual Exhibition i!'reeting, 1989 DENDROBIUM (ORCHIDACEAE) IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA The orchid genus Dendrobium contains over 300 species distributed throughout Indo-\'lalaysia and Australasia. I am undertaking a review of section Pedilonum which has its centre of diversity in tlew Guinea. Dr lludolf Schlechter described 1,549 species of orchids froin Gerrnan Nerv Guinea; the result of fieldrvork in l90l-1902 and 1907-1909. Ilis main collection was at Berlin, but boirtbing in 1945 has apparently resulted in the 'loss of nine type specimens'of his twelve species in section Pedilonum. Proposed field work in Papua New Guinea rvill enable studies to be made on living orchids. L. DAUNCI]Y THE IRIS UNGUICULARIS GROUP A revision of the taxonomically isolated series Unguiculares has been carried out at Reading lJniversity, recognising two species: Iris lazica Albov and I. unguicularis Poiret. Iris unguicularis can be conveniently divided into three subspecies, of which subsp. unguicularls is restricted to Algeria, Data supporting this classification was presented fronr rlorphological, cytological, palynological and phytocheinical scuCies. A.P. I)AVIi..S FLORA OF THI:- NORTH-EAST OF IRELAND The first edition of the Flora rvas published in 1538, and a second edition in 1938. A Suoplement to the second edition appeared in 1972 and .vork towards a revised third edition comrnenced in 1976 scheduled for coinpletion in rnid-199C. The Flora covers threc counties: Dorvn, Antrirn and l-ondonderry, a total area of alnost 3000 square rniles and including the ivhole of the coast of Northern lreland. Since 1938 a nu;nber of additional native sj)ecies have been found in the area. ,iost notable are Groenlandia densa, Ceratophyllum submersuru and Flierochloe dorata. The rare Spiranthes romanzoffiana appears to be spreading with three ne',v sites reported since lg76 in areas i'vell arvay frorn its norinal Lough Neagh shoreline stations. There has been a decline in rnany arable and rneadorv iveeds including the already very local Sanguisorba officinalis. P. IIACKNEY r.vORTFl FAST ESSEX FLORA PROJECT The project is now in the final stages, almost 100')bcoverage of the 1322 lkm squares in the survey area yielding 180,000 records. iiaps giving the starting and final nui-nberof species per square i'rere shorvn along rlith distribution r.laos for selected species of interest; that for Cochlearia danica revealing it follos's the route of the,6rl2 dual carriageway cornpared to Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima rvhich has still retained its essentially coastal distribution. The distribution of chalky boulder clay rvas shorvn clearly by the nap for Clematis vitalba and the rnarked reduction in tlle distribution of many species since tire last Flora was illustrated by Petroselinum segetum. The project, now in the 'vriting up phase, is scheduled for publication in Sept./Oct. 1990, and any aCditional records fro,n the area were requested. J.J.HEAri r EQUISE-TUM HYBRIDS IN THE BRITISH ISLES The exhibit showed the ilritish species of Equisetum, i.e. all but one of tire European species, and the eight hybrids between thern that irave been found in Britain and lreland: E. x bownanii C.N. Page (E. sylvaticurn L. x E, telnateia Ehrh.) E. x dycei C.N. Page (E. fluviatile x E. palustre L. ) E. x font-queri Rothm. (E. palustre L. x E. celmateia Ehrh,) E. x litorale (uhlsy 1.yRrrnr. (E. arvense L. x E. fluviatile L.) 48 Annual Exhibition Meeting, lg89 E. x mildeanrn Rothm. (E. pratense Ehrh, x E. sylvaticurn L.) E. x moorei Neman (E. hyemale L, x E. ramosissimum Desf.) E. x rothmaleri C,N, Page (E. arvense L, x E, palustre L.) E. x trachyodon A. Braun (E. hyemale L. x E. variegatum Schleich.) Three others are known from continental Europe and may well occur here: E. x dubium Dosta1.l9g..ng!. (E. arvense L. x E. telnareia Ehrh.) E. x meridionale (Milde) thiov. (8. ranosissinun Desf. x E. variegalurn Schleich.) E. x montellii Hiitonen nom. nud. (8. arvense L. x E. pratense Ehrhl) Note that no hybrids between the two subgenera, Equisetum and Hippochaete, have yet been recorded. Hybrids are typically intermediate between the parents in characters such as sheath teeth' stem morphology and branching patterns. They have abortive spores, and even the cones may be deformed. All species of Equlsetum have the single chiomosome number of n=108, hybrids cannot therefore.be detected by chromosome nu-mber alone, but they do show the_typical lack of pairing of chromosomes at meiosis that results in abortive spores. Like Bracken, Horsetails spread by a subterranean rhizome. Equlsetum hybridi may, therefore, form extensive stands. Many of the reported hybrids are very localized but could be found throughout the range of the parents. A.C. JERMY, J. CAMUS, A. PAUL & C.N. PAGE DRABA AIZOIDES IN BRITAIN - GLACIAL RELICT OR GARDEN ESCAPE? In Britain, Draba aizoides is confined to the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, where it is locally abundant on south-facing [imestone cliffs near the sea, associated with several L,ate-glacial relict species including Hellanthemum canum, Potentllla tabernaemontant and veronica spicata. Although irs habirat and associates suggest that it is native in Bricain, the Gower sites for D. alzoides are separated by a wide disjunction from its mainly Pyrenean-Alpine distribution in Europe and it hai often been regarded as at besr a doubtful native in Britain. we have studied allozyme variation at I I polymorphic loci in leaf sarnples of D- aizoides from l6 populations in continentaf Europe and 49 populations or sub- populations in Gower. A phylogenetic tree based on rhe allozym" datu, drawn using Felsensteinrs PHYLIP-CONTN{L procedure, showed thar the European populations rvere genetically diverse, with no clear geographical pattern of variation. The Gower populations were genetically rather distant from any single European populacion, Within Gower, genetic diversification was as great as within the continbntal'European sample, although only 20 of the overall total of 48 alleles occurred in Gower. These results show that it is most improbable that D, aizoides is a recent introduction in Gower. It seems most likely that the Gower populations of D. aizoides are a Late-glacial remnant which passed through a bottleneck of small population size before subseq"uentdiversification within the isolated relict area. R. JOHN 8. Q.O.N. KAY UMBELLIFERAE IN EUROPE: A PROPOSED NEW EDITION OF YOLUME TWO OF FLORA EUROPAEA with the completion of the revision of Ftora Eurgpgsg Volume l, the Editorial Comrnittee has turned irs attention to Volume 2. Dr sJ._JuFhas been appointed editor of the Umbelliferae, replacing the late professor T.G, Tutin. Since the publication of Volume 2 in 1968 research has indicated that considerable revision is necessary. Examples include:_a new genus from Crete, related to Scallgeria to be published by Greuter et.al, and rorilis webbii Jury, recently described frorn the Mediterranean; Toritis arvensls (Hudson) Link subsp. eiongata (i{offmanns. & Link) Cannon to be recognised at the specific level; Lereschta ihomasii (Ten.) Boiss. transferred to peucedanum cryptotaenia; the distributions of obtusifolium Sibth. & sm. enlarged to include Bulgaria and Exchtnophova tennifolla L. subsp. sibthorpiana (Guss.) Tutin to include Jugoslavia. S.L. JURY 49 Annual Exhibition ir4eeting, 1989 MOUNT OLYMPUS IN SEPTEMBER Botanical hiShlights of the OPTItulA excursion to NilounrOlympus, Greece, l7-21 Septernber, 1989, were illustrated. iVlany of the taxa endemic to the mountain were seen in full flower. as well as numerous other plants of botanical interest. Those species found flowering included: Achlllea holoserlcea Sibth. & Sm., Alyssoides utriculata (L.) N4edicus subsp. bulgarlca (Sagorski) Harrvig, Anthyllis aurea trVelden in Hosr, Aquilegia otronis Boiss. subsp. amaliae (3oiss.) Strid, Armeria canescens (Host) Boiss. in DC., Asyneuma limonifolium (L.) Janchen, Aubrieta scardica (Wettst.) Gustavsson, A. thessala Boissieu, Aurinla corymbosa Griseb., Beta nana Boiss. & Heldr., Botrychium lunaria (L.) Swartz, Campanula glomerata L., C. oreadum Boiss. & Heldr., Cardamine camosa Waldst, & Kit., Carlina acaulis L., Centaurea pindicola Griseb., Cerastium theothrasti N,lerxrn. & Strid, Colchicum bivonae Guss., Cyclamen hederifolium Aiton, Doronicum columnae Ten., Gentlanella crispata (ViS.) J. Holub., Gentiana verna L., Geranium macrorrhizum L. var. olympicum Stoj. & Jordanov, Jovibarba heuffelii (Schott) A. & D, Love, Ligusticum olympicum Novak, Paronychia rechingeri Chaudhri, Pinguicula crystallina subsp. hirta, Salvia ringens Sibth. & Sm., Scitla autumnalis L., Senecio squalidus L., Silene ciliata Pourret, Staehelina uniflosculosa Sibth. & Sm., Teucrium chamaedrys L., Viola delphinantha tsoiss., V. striis-notata (J. Wagner) ivlernrx. 8. Lippert. S,L. JURY UMBELLIFERAE IN CULTIVATION: THE EUITOPEAN GARDEN FLORA Three volumes of The European Garden Flora have been published, Volume 4 is alrnost ready for press, and accoffris-Eie-5ffig activell' soughr for the remeining volumes. The Unbelliferae will appear in Volunte 5 under rhe editorship of Dr S.L. Jury. The crireria for inclusion in the Flora were explained and some very garden-worthy species, possibly not yet in cultivation, were illustrated. Exainples shorvn were Eryngium glaciale Boiss., Thapsia villosa L. and Portenschlagiella ramosissima (Portenschl.) Tutin. S.L. JURY & S.G. Ki\iEES UI\4BELLIFERAE IN GREAT BRTTAIN AND IRELAND: A PROPOSED NEW EDITION OF TFIE BSBI HANDBOOK A second edition of Untbellifers of the British Isles is proposed, and corrections and einendations are being collected, It is proposed to illustrate eight additional taxa and robservationsr add three species as under existing descriptions. It is suggested Bupleurum robservations'. falcatum and Apium repens be reduced to It is anticipated that distribution rnaps rvill be added for about 45 species. S.L. JUitY, S.G. KNEIIS & rtri.J.SOtJItIA*'i RUBUS A series of drawings are being rnade of tsrarnbles that are representative of Cornwall's llramble flora with einphasis on species that are endernic to the county. Z. KEATING BAILIMCK OF GUERNSEY - 1989 Another crop of good finds during 1989; tl'tose for Alderney are not yet available: GUERNSEY Ranunculus baudotii, Iast record 1970; very rare in C.l. Fumaria purpuiea, only previous record 1970/71. Crassula helmsii, new island record. Solanum rostratum. nerv C,l. record. 50 Annual Ilxhibition i\,{eeting, 1989 SAIiK Rurnex x pratensis (R. crispus x R. obtusifolius), first Bailiwick record. Erodium cicutarium subsp. bipinnatum, first confirined island record. Plantago major subsp. intermedia, new island record. HERM Verbascum thapsus, nerv island record. Agrostis gigantea. new island record. JETT'IOU Scrophularia auriculata, nerv island record. Veronica hederifolia subsp. hederifolia, new island record. Lamium hybridum, new island record. J. Le HUQUE'I (olim PAGE) MIST-FOREST ENDEMICS OF THE SEYC}{ELLES A conservation study was undertaken 3 Septernber - 2 October 1989, on the endemic Seychelles pitcher plant, Nepenthes pervillei Blume. The study was funded by the University of Reading and syrnpathetic business sponsors in the Seychelles. Nepenthes pervillei Blume is norrnally found above 400m in the high altitude mist vegetation conmunities on bare granite rock or in the moss forests, on the islands of ivlahe and Silhouette. These are some of the few areas rvhere indigenous species still dominate the vegetation. Species studied and illustrated included: Northia seychellana Hook. fil., Nepenthes pervillei Blurne, tolemecyclon eleagni [3lurne, Dillenia ferraginea (Barllon) Gilg., Cyathea sechellarum Mett., Pandanus sechellarum Ralf. fil., and Medusagyne oppositlfolla Baker. S.T. MALCONiBER ERICA BOCQUETII Pesmen Ferv have heard of this distinctive heather; even fewer had ever seen it - probably only nine, all men and all Turks, since it was first found, and named, in 1968, none of them in 'faurus the past l5 years. Its apparently single locality was at 1750m in the E. rnountains of Lycia in SW Turkey. Cn 27 July last, three further Turks, one of them a wontan, one Italian, and myself saw it in about three places a kilometre or two apart in the general area indicated. Cuttings have rooted; it remains to be seen of seed taken gerrrtinates. It is a gay, floriferous plant which grows rooted in, and flat against, rather shady calcareous rock faces, getting little or no snolv cover. [t should make a decorative, probably hardy, addition to our gardens. D. IVICCLINTOCK DISTRIBUTION OF ULMUS IN BRITAIN SINCE 1986 Five Ulmus taxa have been recorded on llectad (l0xlOkm square) grid inaps of Great Britain. On each map the Hectads in rvhich the taxon was known to have occurred before 1985 have been lightly filled in in coiour, and symbols in black ink have been added to show the presence of (a) trees which have survived since before the onset of Dutch Elm Disease, and (b) surviving juveniles, suckers and sucker hedges generated by foriner trees of the same taxon which have succumbed to the disease. It is believed that the second group can be identified with the first {iith about an 80'r/odegree of certainty by an experienced observer, but because of this uncertainty a series of Group Names is proposed, and it is intended that the application of these should be one of the points for discussion at the aSBI Elm Workshop meeting in 1990. The five mapped taxa are U. glabra, U. glabra hybrids, U. procera, U, plotii, and U. minor (excluding U. procera and U. plotii) agg. K.G. MESSE1\GEI.{ 5l Annual Exhibition l4eering, lggg DOES GRAZING AFFECT THE ALPINE GENTIAN? Proteccion of Gentiana nivaris frorn grazing by sheep and red deer at Ben Larvers NNR result-e-din taller prants, better survivar and increased seed output. However, there was no difference in plant density between grazed and ungrazed plots after 3 years. lvithclrarval of grazing also caused big increases in ihe heigh.t and cover of competing perennials, especially grasses and thyme' and a substantial decrease in the arnount of bare ground. It seems possible that the annual/biennial.alpine gentian may becor,re scarce in ungrazed grassland plots and that tnoderate grazing nruy b. essential to their conservation. G.R. NIILLER, C. GEDDES & D.K. iVIARDON COOKING CHENOPODIUM In october this year prof. G.A. Swan, fron Newc.astle, sent me a very strange chenopodium. on the same day Eric chicken telephoned ,ne and described u ch.noplaru, he had found near York, apparentry -s,i9"1,!g as a crop, whire rarking to him i had !- serenoipitous thought and suggested that it _might be a crop species from south America called chenopodium quinoa willd. and tv-hen he sent'ao,n" ,o rne I realisecl that both records this species. were of I therefore decided to produce a short exhibit on the various u,ays of eating Chenopodium. These include: Boiling the leaves and eating after the fashion,of spinach, which can- be done with many spelT,. e.9.. C. album, C. bonus-henricus, C. hybridun;;J-C: Boiling the ;;;;;;. firm. voung shoots and eaiing in the fashion oi isparasus, C. bonus-henricus. chierrv the grain as.a staple; -^Cooking C. quinoa the South American species was cooked offered for tasting. and In the pasi other ipecies like c. album rvere also fashion. used in this quinoa is starting .,c' to be grorvn in this country and Inight be expected widesoread. to beco)ne l,lore J.r,r. MULLIT{ THREE SUBSPECIES OF BRACKEN (PTERIDISM AQUILINUM) IN BRITAIN The three native subspecies of Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, which are known in Britain were illustrated. These are: P' aquilinum suhsp. latiusculum, - knorvn previously to have its nearest station in scandinavia,.is a subipecies rvhich has been found iecently by the author in the viciniry of the Scottish native pinewoods. P' aquilinum subsp. aquilinum is the comrnon . and widespread bracken present over che rvhole of the British Isles. P' aquilinum subsp. atlanticum is . a new taxon described recently frorn tlmestone areas in the west of Scotland. The display comparecl the three subspecies in habit, r,rorphology presents and ecology, and photographic evidence in suppoit of the vierv-p."uiorsry"i.opo-se'd 429-434, l,rratsonia l7: 1989), that rhe common subsp. aquirinum is the g"n"ti"uiry'.i"uiri);ffia"' between subsp. ratiuscurum and subsp. atlanticum, its vigour and viriability from resulting hererosis, presumed poryropic origins and possibre i"ia".pruuclupliin'por"o introgresion, C.N. PAGE EXOTIC SEEDS, EXOTIC WEEDS Two recent BSRI reports describe weeds growing in cultures of two Fenugreek (Trigonella unfamiliar herbs, foenum-graecum) aid Coriander (Coriandrum sativum). Follovring the discovery of scorpiurus murlcatus in 1987 in a Fenugreek crop cultivated bv a Punjabi allotnrent holder in^LLarrrington sp", l rr"""-"iri;J ;';lj;;;;nr sires in lg88 and 1989 in lVarwickshire (v.c. 38), wheie therl were 24 separate allotrnlnts cultivated by families originaring from punjab either the (20), Bengal (2) or the west Indies (2). 52 Annual Exhibition Meeting, 1989 Fenugreek (iviethi) and Coriander (l)hania) seed is bought frorn local lndian shops as culinary seed originating from L'iorocco or India, but some gardeners preserve seed each year from mature plants. At least 5 allotrnents grow these two crops comrnercially, and bundles are sold to local superlnarkets and greengrocers, The culinary seed can be seen to 'exotic' be rnixed with other seeds in the packets, which explains the source of the rveeds. Four of these rexoticr weeds and crops have been found beyond their sites of sowing, yet close enough to suggest further dispersal had occurred 'naturallyr, rather than by human agency (Eruca sativa, Chenopodium hybridum, Coriandrum sativum, and Brassica juncea). Soine have persisted the next year. These unusual crops and introduced weeds may represent potentially pennanent additions to the UK list of aliens and adventives. J.!V. PARTT{DCL A NEW FLORA OF MADEIRA Like most of the lvlacaronesianislands, l\/radeirahas a rich and varied flora containing a high proportion of endernics. Only three Floras of l4adeira have ever been produced, all incomplete in so:ne way. The most cornplete, C.A. Nlenezes'Flora do Archipelago da I'Iadeira (1914), contains 951 vascular plant species. Since publication of this work a further 173 species (an 18% increase) have been added to the checklist for the area. These additions, and the Inany nonrenclatural changes and additional records post-dating ivlenezes'work encouraged The Natural ljistory l,luseurr to undertake production of a new Flora of the area. The display described the project rvhich began in 1983 anC indicated the style and scope of the Flora, The final manuscript will be subrnitted for publication in April 1990. J.R. Pi{ESS SORBUS IN THE BRISTOL CHANNEL AREA, WITH PARMULAR REFERENCE TO S. PORRIGENTIFORMIS Peroxidase isoenzyne patterns confirrr.rthe acceptecl delinlitation of rnost of tire Sorbus microspecies occurring in South A'ales and adjoining areas. S. eminens froin the Bristol-ilendip area is genetically different from plants collected near Syrnonds Yat; trees in shade can lcok very different froin those on open limestone in both areas. Plants which have been nafned S. porrigentiformis in South !r'ales include (a) a rvidespreadplant, usually forming a tvr'iggy shrub, rvith obovate leaves and broad crirnson fruits (the generally accepted concept of S. porrigentiformis), (b) a nuch rnore local plant centred in the )viynydd Llangattock - Cwm Clydach area, of different peroxidase phenotype, commonly growing into a tree, witb nore oblong biserrate leaves and subglobosescarlet fruits, (c) a variant on Taren-yr-Esgob very like the last but with rnore sharpl_vtoothed and lnore narrorvly cuneate leaves and somevlhat broader fruits. Plants froiir the Synonds Yat area differ frorn all of these and need further study. ,'!i.c.F. Pt{ocTOR & A.C. (liiot_Nljoi-- CRUCIFERS OF GREAT BP.ITAIN AND IRELAND BSBI HANDBOOK No. 6 Draft accounts, keys and rnaps for the BSBI Cruciferae tiandbook rvere exhibited. It is hoped it rvill be published by Easter 1990. T.C.G, JTICJI BSAI MONITORING SCHEME Sonre provisional maps of species - the results of the rlonitoring Scheine - were exhibited to show selected points of interest. T.C.G. RICF-I 53 Annual Exhibition iueeting, lg89 ASHTON WOLD WILD FLOWER SEED PROJECT creating new l.rabitats for arnenity and rvildlife has produced a challenge for the horticultural industry. Now as never before there is a demand for wild flower seed rni-xtutes which have genetic diversity, ger;rination quality and, above all, originate from the right provenance, if we are to prevent a universal rnixing of genotypes throughout the north temperate zone. This exhibit shorved a flowering hayfield grown at .{shton !\'old (near Peterborough) from seed collected froin a species-rich meadow (115 species of grasses and broad-leaved plants were identified) in the vicinity. About g0 acres have been established successfullv bv the method described in rhe exhibit 'vvold, At .Ashton the cost of seeding into rye-grass sward was f,,80 per acre for top class tneadow lnixture with an additional lll per acre for the hire of a rotary strip seeder, plus labour to work the drill, and slug pellets to scarrer behind the drill. Such a field can be cut for hay for the first and second years after drilling, and grazed from harvest until Christrnas. Seed is harvested by conbiiling the cut hay (l1l per acre) and then passing it through a boby dresser. Sarnples are sent for analysis to NIAB and the seed can be sold as a natulal mixture for between f,l4 - f,40 per kilo according to the nurnber of species present. lvr, ROTTJSCHILT) ELECTROPHORE-TIC STUDIES OF BRACKEN Ilorizontal starch gel electrophoresis has been used to investigate two pteridium taxa new to the British flora and the following conclusions reached: page Subsp. latiusculum (Desf.) C.N. has nor yet been found in the Brirish Isles, but it-s hybrid with subsp. aquilinum has. European material referrecl to this taxon inay all be of sinilar hybrid origin. The elevation of var. latiusculum (Desf.) Under*'. to subspecific rank is only tenable if Pteridium is split into several species. Pagets subspecies are not as distinct as those recognised by Tryon (1941). Because isozyrne parterns are additive, var. aquilinum cannot have been derivecl frorn var. latiusculum by hybridization. Subsp. atlanticum C.j'.1.Page is electrophoretically indistinguishable from subsp. aquilinum, and on these grounds may be best considered synonymous. Cultivation and further experinentation rna.vsupport taxonornic recognition at a lolver rank, F.J. RUl,rlSllY & E. SHEFF-IELt) ATLANTIC BRACKEN IN WEST SCOTLAT\D The newly-described subspecies of comrnon bracken, Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn subsp. atlanticum C.N. Page has proved to be quite courmon in central west Scotland on basic soils, especially near the coast, Distribution naps shorving the extent in v.cc. 77, 99, and part of 100 were shoryn and descriptions of the habitats and appearance of the new subspecies were given. A. RUTHEIiF.OIRD A SCOTTISH MISCELLANY (a) An exhibit cornpared the hybrid Calamagrostis stricta x ?, from Alemoor Loch (v.c. 80) with one collected 4krn arvay near Clearburn Loch (v.c. 79). They are not the same, and it is possible that the Clearburn Calamagrostls is the other parent of the Alernoor Loch hybrid. (b) New records for Crocosmla pottsii in v.c. 74 and Arran. The various sites in v.c. 73 are long established, and I arn asking for help to find how they were introduced. (c) New records for v.c, 73: campanula trachelium, potamogeton x lintonii (new to Scotland) and P. x cooperl, A separate note will appear in BSAI News (see page 20). 54 Annual Exhibition lvieeting, 1989 (d) Equisetum x font-queri from Tarras Water (v.c. 72) - sth British record. Again a note and drawing will appear in RSl-ll Nelyg (see page l8). (e) Aliens in Edinburgh docks. (f) Flower paintings fro,n a trip to lreland. O. STEvVART NATURE CONSERVANCY COUNCIL RARE PLANT SURVEYS Too many species are still lost in this country through excessive secrecy and inaccurate recording, rvhich contribute to inappropriate and inadequate protection. With the current high rate of loss through rnisrnanagementof the land this additional burden rnust be reduced, In 1974 the NCC instigated a pilot scherne in llast Anglia in rvhich the surveyor, Mrs Gigi Crompton (alongside NCC's rare plant officer, Lynne Farrell), developed the methodology in use in the current surveys. The work is concerned, prirnarily, with lled Data Sook species (Perring & Farrell 1983) and it is intended that thc whole of Rritain will eventually be covered, In each region the surveyor exainines the history and extent of all relevant Rl)R species. Current records are carefully exanrined and, hopefully, local knowledge is provided by individuals and organisations such as County Trusts and flsl3l recorders. Visits can then be rnade to extant sites, vrhich are recorded with maps and phocographs in such a way as to rnake refinding the site an easy task. ivlany old records are rather vague, but those generated by the rare plant surveys have precise locational data including grid references, landmark details and inforrnatiorr relating to vegetation, ownership and landuse. Population size estirnates, quadrat data and i\VC corrrnunity structure are recorded to provide a base-line for future inonitorinS. Threats from rrris;lanagement are identified and more appropriate managernent prescriptions formulated which can then be brought to the attention of local f.]CC officers. Although the surveys deal nainly with ltDB species, the surveyor has the opportunity to identify local rarities and detajls of these can also be included in reports to the regional office, I. TAYLOR 8" LADY R. FIIZGE}RAI-I) YELLOW_FLOWERED SPECIES OF ACHILLEA IN T}IE BALKANS Species delimitation within the yellovr-flowered milfoils of the Balkan Peninsula remains unclear, The degree of variation within subsection Filipendulinae DC. rvas frequently attributed to hybridization, both within and outside the group by early rvorkers. Flowever no experimental data exists to support the reported status of the rnanyrhybrid'species described. The particular case of A. tracica was highlighted; a plant of t;te central plains of Bulgaria, vrhich has not been recorded since I934. \iodern techniques of analysis may classify the position of this, and other taxa within the group, as well as the origin of popular garden cultivars. S.P. THORNTO\-IVOOD MADAME i\4ARCELLE CONRAD Now aged 92, iviadarne Conrad has for nearly 70 years inade an intensive study of the Corsican flora. She has drawn and painted, lvith ineticulous accuracy, the endemic plants of the island, These paintings have been published in a series of portfolios, containing 94 plates, as the Flora Corsicana - Iconographia. The exhibit displayed a slnall selection of these plates, including Trisetum conradiae Carnisans, one of the species named after her. This exceptional woman is the supreme authority on Corsican plant life and has known and worked with many famous botanists. She has contributed extensively to scientific journals, and has written books of her own and in collaboration 'with others. lvi. TODD 55 Annual llxhibition l,leetine, 1989 ALCHEIVIILLA ivIOLLIS AND RELAI'ED SPECIES : RESULTS OF THE l9BB-Bg SURVEY iy'ier,rbersof the i.:oyal llorticultural antl 'lotanical Societies and readers of The Tirnes have responded well to u-v request for specirnens of any garrJenAlchemilla s,-rsp""tE?lof treing rlike A. mollis. but not identicalr. The results can be suumarisecl as follows: 'cf. A. mo111s 9 A. mollis' 2 A. rvenosat 3 A. glabra ?- A. indi.visa 2 A. xanthochlora 1 A. speciosa I A. indet. ?, The four species in the left hancl column are all elatae, with a general resernblance. They are easily distinguished on a single sumrner leaf; for further inforination see ilSill News 5l: 23-24 (1989\, S.lri. iVALTEI{S COLLECTION OF CONVOI-VULACEAE IN COSTA RICA An outline rvas presented of a visit to Costa Rica to collect living nraterial and herbariun.l specirnens of Convolvulaceae for a Ph,D, research programne. This will be on the infrageneric classification of Ipomoea and a revision of section Pharbitis (Choisy) Griseb. Acknowledgernent was rnade of a \'y'arburglviernorial Fund grant. P. \\'ILKIi.J SUMMER IN GREENLAND MY FIRST VISIT TO THE ARCTIC In Jul_v1389 six naturalists Iror;r Irrgland and ,'''alesspent a fortnight in vVestGreenland, back-packing in wildernesscountry. Creenland is the rvorldtslargest island, some 1,800 rriles long, but tlre trltal population is only 5:2,0o0,l'he ice-cap covers rnost of the country, \^'ith an ice-free zone of tundra up to 100 miles 'wide along parts of the coast. The exbibit illustrated !vlth photographsand herbariurnspecirnens rrran,'- of the plants recorded during our rvalk over drvarf-shrubheath, dry, stony'fell-field'and valley bog. The three dorninant plants on the dry hillsides are Salix glauca, Eletula nana antl Rhododendron lapponicum. Eight of the l6 species of Saxifrage growing in Greenland were recorded, including the attractive Saxifraga cernua {a rarity on sojne Scottish rnountains), Other British raritles found in sorne quantity included Woodsia ilvensis, Diapensia lapponica and Carex saxatilis. Of the 7C or so vascular plants noted, only two, Arnica angustifolia and Cassiope tetragona beJongedto genera not represented in the 3ritish flora. G. !t'YiiNi: The following also exhibited: ROTANY LIilriAilY (Nlixi) - ltecenr boranical books. R.W, DAVID -'fhe distribution of Carex appropinquataSchunacher in the British Isles. F.lJ, l)AiVS()N - Crassula helmsii (T. Kirk) Cocllar-ne: coinparative observations of the nativ', habitat in Australia and llritain. R.A. GALE & A.P. DAi-Y -'li'ort's ics nane?'Can _younarne cheseaquatic/wetland plants?. A.D,R. HARE & il. SYNGE - Plantlife: the new organisationfor plant conservation.. V.A. JOHIJS'|ONE - Photographs of wild flowers frorn sor.rthernBritain S,L.ivi. KARLEY - a) Help! - b) British ['lant Call Society. S.J. L|.ACFI & T.C.G. IiICH - Scurvv-grass Roadshow. M.C.F. PIiOCTOII - SEti of Carex leaf surfaces. 56 Annual Exhibition i.4eeting, l9ll9 / Stop Prcss ..\lso on displa;" were: exhibits of colcur transparencies of plants and scenes frorn RSIII L-ield:''ieetingsto Bulgaria 1988 and I'oland 1989, by rnenrberson those meetings and of the field excursion to Rose End ivleadows, l)erbysl.rire follovring tire SSfll ACnl 1q89, by A.L. ljtorer; an albun) of prints taken on BSlll Field tuleetingsin 1969 by Lady ]i. F-itzGerald and P.i). '\bbott; recent publications by 3.Sil[ ;,ier.,bers;Perring ijooiis; and ilon. Ceneral fiecretaryrs rniscellany which inclr-rdeda photograph of our ilonorary ilember ivlrs Irene.\4. Vaughan taken on her lCllth birthday. In the lecture-hall, the following members gave short talks illustrated by colour slides: D, IIEV,{N - Bevan's Bittercress. PARTRII)GE - irxotic Seeds : iaxotic iveeds. 'f.C.G.J. ltlCH - t'rSill ivlonitoring Schefie. ,vl. TODD - Corsica : Paradise fcr botanists. **)ki(*t STOP PRESS LI-OYDIA & GAGEA REVISITED! For those bemused tretnbers rvho have read the note on these two species in the ilditorial on pa:4e3, NOTE TIJE DATFI - Lirpa l-oof (backwards!). OFFICERSAT TT{E 1989 AGM Our President, David Webb, Hon. Ceneral Secretary, lvlary Briggs, and llon. Field Meetings Secretary, Roy Srnith, enjoying the sun at the BSBI AGir4 excursion to Rosend, Derbyshire on ,,1ay7 1939. Photo L. !itLrrer. .,7 contents Contents (continued from inside back cover) ANNUAL EXHIBITION MEETING (continued) A new Flora of Madeira 53 Sorbus in the Bristol Channel area 53 Crucifers of Great Rritain and Treland BSBT llandhook No. 6 53 BSBI f4onitoring Schene 53 Ashton Wold wild flower seed project 54 Electrophoretic stud'ies of Bracken Atlantic Rracken in \iest Scotland 54 A Scottish niscel.lany Nature Conservancy Council Rare Plant Surveys l) Yellow-flowered species of Achillea in the Balkans . . . 55 Madame l'{arce1le Conrad 55 Alchemilla mollis and related species : results of the 1988-89 survey 56 Collecrion of Convolvulaceae in Costa Rica 56 Sumer in Greenland : ny first visiL to the Arctic 56 0ther Exhibitors 56 S1ides 5l SToP PRESS )/ Lloydia & Gagea revisited! 57 Officers at the iqSq A(lM s7 The Editor, Gwynn Ellis can be contactedby phoneat 0222-397951ext. 218 (NN{\Y)or 0222-496042(home). ARTICLES CAN NOW BE FAXID TO THE EDITOR ON 0222.373219(GROIJPS 2 & 3). All text and illustrations appearing in RSBI News and its Supplements are copyright and no reproduction in any form may be rnade without written perrnission from the Editor. Offers and special terms apply only to rnembers of the Society and copies are not available on an exchange basis. 'BSIll NEIVS| (ISSN 0309-930.X)is published by the ilotanical Society of the tsritish Isles. Enquiries concerning the Societyrs activities and membership should be addressed to:- The FIon. General Secretary, c/o Dept, of Botany, The Natural l-listory Museum, Cromwell Itoad, LONDON SvVT SLID. Camera ready copy produced by Gwynn Ellis and printed by J & P Davison, 3 James Place, Treforest, Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan CF37 2BT 5B Contents Contents (continued from back cover) COMPUIERS 35 BSBf Computer Ilsers Group 35 Computerkey for identification of Ferns in the British Tsles 35 ALIENS AND ADVENTIVES 35 Solanum chenopodioides Lanarck, established in E, London 35 CONSERVATIONNEWS 36 The Conservation Comnittee 3rt Rio l'lazanProject updatc : ('-lorrdforestConservation 36 The British Herpetofauna Conservation appeal 37 Species recovery programe for Creat Britajn 3B Second Quinquennial review of Schedules 8 & 9 39 NOTICES (BSBI) 4n Advance Notice : BSBI Field Yeeting - The Dolomites, 1991 40 NOTICES (OTHERS) 40 Forthcorningmeetings of the Brltish Fryological Society 4O Highland fleLd studies 40 Flower palnting courses 47 Royal Society Lecture 4I CLn90 - Conputers in llniversity education 4I Linnean Society of London three-day neeting, September1990 42 REQIIESTS 42 Distribution of Arrhenatherum elaLius 42 Smyrniun olusatrum and Puccinia smyrnii 42 Silene dioica seed 42 BOOK NOTES 43 News from Oundle Books 44 ANNUALEXHIBITION }METING, 1989 ct Anna Atkins, photography pioneer 45 Hampshire Rubus discoveries of 1q89 Illustraced Flora of I'fa11orca 45 Bevant s Bittercress 46 Fluctuating warer levels and thp 3recarious Iifc-ev.le of Damasoniumalisna . 46 The Parris garden for Lhe I niversity of Pea.linq. . 46 Somerecent finds in Dorset . 46 IIair,v alien polygonums and the Polygonum lichiangense nyfh 47 Lythrun hyssopifolia L.: tvo postscrjpts 47 Ferula comunis L,: Mythology and biology 47 Dendrobium(Orchidaceae) in Panua NewCuinel 48 The Iris unguicularis group 48 Flora of the North-east of Ireland 48 North East Essex Flora project 48 Equisetum hybrids in the Brltish ls1es 48 Draba aizoides in Britain - Glacjal relict or garden escape? 49 llmbelliferae in Europe: a new ed. of volume two of FLora Europaea 49 Itfount 0lynpus in September 50 IJmbelliferae in cultlvation: The EuropeanGarden Flora 50 Ilmbelliferae in Great Rritain and freland: a new ed. of the BSBI handbook , . 50 Rubus 50 Balliwick of Guernsey - 1989 50 lfist-forest endernlcsof the Seychelles 51 Erica bocquetii Pesmen 5l Distribution of lllmus In llritain since 1986 -51 T)oec orazi '"bno ..affoel fho Alnino Canri:n? 52 Cookine Chenopodiurn 52 fhrce subspenies of tracken (Pteridium aquilinum) in Rrj.fain 52 ExoLic seeds, exotic weeds 52 Continued on page 58 Contents CONTENTS ADMINISTRATION Secretarles of PernanenL Llorking Cornmittees Regional Cornmittees198q - 1990 hlelch Bequest Committee Consultative Panel on rare plant lntroductlons Deadline for contributions for BSBI \lews 55 DTARY ..-.- EDITORIAL ADVERTISINC IN BSBI NF,I./S HON. GEI{ERALSECRETARTTS NOruS H.M. Queen Elizabeth Lhe QueenMother Congratu1a t ions Stamp cover for Kew anniversary Ni ohf Rorani zi no 0ther people's problens Vrclrl a IMPORTAIITNOTICE - I{elsh Ouadrennial f"leet,ing PUZZI.E PICTURE I BARBARA TELCH CONFERENCEREPORT - Species-napn;rqrnd the hiol.oqyof plant distrihut ion RECORDERSAMD RECORDING Key to 20 Cotoneaster specles AmendnentNo 5. to Vice-county Recorders l Supplenent No. 7 to Panel of Referees and Specialists I Uigtorvnshire recording and field meeting I Lyme disease : a hrzard lurkjng in the countrvside? 1 The 1986 Ophrys bertolonii in Dorset . 1-5 Artemisia biennis in llast Sussex . 1,6 The l{erbaceous Border f : curlous honeysuckles 16 A new record of Equisetum x fonc-queri in lumfriesshire 18 Potanogeton x lintonii - now to Scotland 20 Multi-leaved Clovers 2I Gaudinia fragilis in \iilts. 22 The problems with snall islands dotted around the coast 22 Truth is stranger than fitches 2,4 Tulipa goulinyi on Crete 26 0n the oreservation of Countv Flora data . . 26 D..r F^-L,.- a^--,, 'r1 MONITORINGSCHEME 29 I'inrl r6^^.t lO Change oi adclress 29 Cabbagematters 29 NOTESAND ARTICLES 29 Somehistorical notes on British orchids 29 Japanese knotweed, a postscript 30 Reflections on the Biol.ogy of the hunble conker 31. Isolepis cernua as a pot plant 3I ft pays to advertise 31 Plantlife, the BSRI, and a National Ileadquarters . . . 32 flore fog creeps in 32 rlucky white heatherr? 32 Ilnidentified medicinal plants 32 Stachys macrantha a svnonym of S. grandiflora 33 Germination of lons-buried seed 34 Henbaneand Dverts greenweed 34 Ilemlock and Henbane - longevity of long-buried seed 34 Continued on inside back cover 60