December1978 B.S.B.I.NT.WS No.20 EditedbY EDGAR D. WIGGINS 1I gRD CowpastureFarm , Felixstowe, Suffolk IP
Cvtisusstriltus seePages 7 and \2 ADMINISTRATION
GeneralEnquiries from membersshould be addrgssedto : HON.GEN.SEC. Mrs. M. Briggs,White Cottage, Slinfold, HORSHAM,West Sussex, RHI3 7RG. Changesof addressand subscriptionsshould be sentto : BSBI, flarvestHouse, 62 l,ondon Road, READING, Berks.RGI 5AS. Mattersconcerning field meetings,should go to : HON. FIELD SEC. MissL. Farrell Nature ConservancyCouncil Godwin House,George Street, HUNTINGDON, Cambs.PE18 6BU. RECEIVING EDITOR Dr. C.A. Stace, llatsonia Adrian Building, University Road, LEICESTER LEI 7RH.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Nominations to Council Nominationsfor vacancieson Council,in writing, signedby two membersof the Society and accompaniedby the written consentof the candidateto serve,if elected,should be sentto the Hon.General Secretary, White Cottage, Slinfold, Horsham, West Sussex RHl3 7RG, to arriveBEFORE FEBRUARY lst 1979. Mary Briggs.Hon. Gen. Sec. Rules of the Society - important reminder At the 1978 Annual GeneralMeeting an alterationto Rule28 concerningpayment of Annual Subscriptionswas approved.This Rule is now "Any memberwhose subscription shallbe in arrearsfor five months on the first day of Junein any year shallcease to be a member".This meansthat any memberwhose subscription is unpaidon JUNE lst 1979 will NOT receive llatsonia 12 (4), BSBI Abstracts 9 or BSBI l,{ews22. Subscriptlon renewalforms are sent with this mailing,and memberswho do not pay by BankersOrder areasked to renewpromptly.
BSBI News - back numbers BSBI News No. 2, would be gratefullyaccepted by the Hon. Gen.Sec. if any members no longerrequire their copies.Also any sparecopies of Nos. I I and 11. BSBIly'ews is distributedonly to members,is not on sale,and Back Numbersare not held as stock items. lilatsonia, Proceedings, BSBI Abstracts, back issues seeunder PUBLICATIONS o.18. Index to Watsonia Volume l1 This is now being compiled,will be publishedin l9l9 and mailedto memberswith Watsonia12 (4). This is plannedfor July or August1979. Mary Briggs.
2 EDITORIAL
SHE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW - an Honour for our Secretary The Byelawsof the PharmaceuticalSociety of GreatBritain provide for the occasional designationof Fellowsof the Societyand I am suremembers will be delightedto know that our HonoraryGeneral Secretary Mrs. Mary Briggswas recently honoured in being designatedas a Fellow. This award is made to Memberswho have attained special distinctionin Pharmacyand in the last 12 yearsonly 2l women havebeen rewarded in this way. In the caseof Mrs.Briggs, her work for the professionof pharmacylinked with servicesto botany hasbeen recognised,so continuingthe historicalconnections between the two disciplines.She hasbeen part-time Pharmacist at HorshamHospital for l6 years and in addition to honorarywork asgeneral secretary of the B.S.B.I.,during the summer monthsleads botanical parties for mountainflowers in Europe.In 1978she led toursto Creteand to Norwayas well asto the Pyrenees,the Alps and the Dolomites.
HON. GEN. SECRETARY'SNOTES We apologisefor the late despatchlast year of l|atsontol2 (2)andBSBI Abstracts8. This was due to two monthsdelay at the printers,and mainlythrough the breakdownof their binding machine.ln particular the specialoffers for Reprints of lncal Floras(sent with the Journals)which closedon October lst 1978, did not reachmembers until October2nd at the earliest.Our Agentsat Oundle l,odgehowever were aware of this situation and orders sent to them on receipt of the mailing were honouredat the offer price. Fortunately the late arrival of the Black NightshadeNetwork ResearchSurvey card and instructionswas offset in most areasof the BritishIsles by goodgrowing weather in October.The floweringof Solanumnigrum was extendedinto this late seasonenabling many membersto take part in the recording.The Surveywill be carriedon until the end of 1979.We would like to complimentDr. JenniferEdmonds on the clarityandformat of the surveycard which sheherself designed and drew.
NO VISITORS PLEASE Gageabohemica (Zauschn ) J.A. & J.ll. Schultes,has been recordedin Walesand it is hopedthat the site is to be declareda NationalNature Reserve, when access wili be by permit. For the time being howevermembers are particularlyrequested NOT to visit the sitewhile this is under negotiation.The main reasonfor this is that it is a very sensitivehabitat, and other rare plantsmainly bryophytes and lichensare threatened and could very easilybe damagedunwittingly by visitorsnot knowingexactly where their feet can safely tread. ThrsGagea flowers very eariy in the year;in Britain,from Januaryto Marchwhen the rocksmay often be dangerouslysurfaced with ice. Very few of the plantsflower and in some years none at all. Without local guidancea visit to the site could well be both unprofitableto the visitorand very damagingto the habitat,so pleasedo not attemptto visitbefore the permitarrangements have been announced. A full report of the discoveryin Britain, and the Europeandistribution of Gagea bohemicawill be publishedin llatsonia. Hon.Gen. Secs. Notes Cont'd.
ELODEASELUCIDATED EVENTUALLY ?
At the very enjoyableand successfulAquatic qnd MarshPlant Syntposrarnheld at Brathay Field Centre,we were pleasedto hearfrom ProfessorC.D.K. Cook that he has recentlybeen awarded a ResearchGrant to work on l-lydrocharitaceaeand that he will, duringthe next two years,be makinga specialstudy of the very puzzlingElodea spp. on a world wide basis.Prof. Cook tells us that the taxonomyof Elodeospp. and Hydrilk spp. cannotbe determinedon fernaleflowers alone (the branchingof the stigmasis not a constantcharacter). As, so thr in Britain,only femaleflowers have been recorded from 'invading' the recentlyreported Elodeaspp., Prof. Cook asksthat membersshouid NOT sendhim specimenso{ Elodeasfrom Britainwhich arenot flowering,or haveonly female flowers.BUT il anyonecan find a male flower (thesebecome detached and float on the surfaceof the water) he rvould welcomeand repay costsof an inrmediatetelegram or telex nressage:if. nroreover,any nrenrbercould find SEEDonan Eltttleaplant in Britain, a worthwhilereward is ol'fered. Communicationsshould be addressed: Prof.Dr. C.D.K.Cook, Botanischer Garten der Universitat, Zollikerstrasse107, 8008 ZURICII, Switzerland. Telephone (010 41.1) 32 3670 No Telex. On excursionsat tl'rerecent Synrposiurn. with the aid of divers,specirnens of Elodea from severalCumbrian krkes were examinedand provisionallydescribed as two species, one "text book E. cattatlettsis"and the other as"not E canadensisand not E- nuttallii'. It is pt.rssible,that we nray now havetwo lelativelyrecently recorded species ol Elodeain Britain,but we canboth look forwardto a definitivereport by Prof.Cook in 1980on the statusand identity of theseproblem plants. T0 menrbersattended the Symposium; abstractsof the papersand a reportof the rneetingwill be publishedin llatsctnin.
FLOWER STAMPS from the Post Office On March21st 1979Spring will be heraldedby a stampissue featuring wild flowers. The four stamps will show Primroses,Bluebells, Snowdrops and Wild Daffodils in paintingsof a countrysidescene. A specialF'irst Day Coverwill be sentto memberswho sendfl.00 with their nanteand addressntarked lst Day Coverto F. & N'1.Perring, Oundle[.odge, Oundle, Peterborougli PE8 5TN beforelvlarch lst. It is hoped also to arrangethat the post cancellatlonslogan used by somesorting officesat the tinte of the stampissue will carrya conservationmessage such as "Please leavewild flowersl'or othersto enjoy". and talking of stamps . . . . A reminderplease to sends.a.e. with enqiririesto membersat a privateaddress, and to non-membersas for exampleMr. L.P. Burgesswho offered pollinationrecords (B,tBl rVewsl9 p.20).Mr Burgesstells me that only 50fl of his BSBIcorrespondetrts have to dateenclosed s.a.e. rvith their enquiries. ]\4ARYBRIGGS
BSBI NEWS 2l Contrlbutionsfor thisissue nlust reach the Editor BEFORE17th FEBRUARY I979 EASTERN ENGLAND RARE PLANT SURVEY
It wasthe turn of Hertfordshireto be surveyedthis year.and, though poor in nation- ally rare plants,the County provedto be rich in documentarymaterial. Much of the winter was spentin readingJ.E. Little's 12-volumeDiary, and looking through other materialnow at the HitchinMuseum. About 35 of the specieslisted in the RedData Book usedto occur in the county; 12 becameextinct duringthe 19th century,a further 15 were lost between 1900 and 1945. Since the war only 3 specieshave vanished, (all cornfieldweeds) and the last plant of Sese/ilibanotis was seentn 1914. Out of the 35 nationally rare speciesonly Bunium bulbocastonum,Hypochoeris maculata and Phleum phleoidesstill occur,so 6 locallyrare specieswere added to the survey,(of which only 3 were found to be still extant).Despite the lack of success,it wasa pleasureto work in Herttbrdshireand receivesuch friendly and invaluablehelp from localbotanists, and in particularfrom John and ChrisDony. Brian Sawford,Trevor James,the Darlingsand Mr. A.W. Graveson. Sincethe surveyof a County is limited to one year,it cannever be complete.Plants havetheir good and bad yearsand this l.rasperhaps not beenappreciated enough in the past.I was iucky to be able to work in Norfolk in 1971,when conditions for plantssuch as Liparis (and the surveyor)were very good I This year only a few plantsof Liparis were seenand it would havebeen very difficult to spotthese little plantsin nervsites under the soddenvegetation. Fortunately, through lack of time,a systematicsearch for Orobanche purpureahad to be postponedto this year;this resultedin the surveybeing carried out in a very good year for this plant.Whereas over the past3 yearsnot more than 20 plants wereseen in 3 sites,this year22 I floweringspikes were found in 8 sites.Another welcome addition to the 1977 Scheduieof Rare Plantsin Norfolk was the re-appearanceof Gttaphaliumluteoalbum after an absenceof 5 yearsin its classiclocality on the Norfolk coast.
Obviouslvthe very fact that a surveyof rare plantsis, or liasbeen carried out in a county, acts as a stimulusto local botaniststo find new sites,or to visit againold localities.A strikingexample is Alan kslie's two-dayperambulation which hasresulted in the addition to the 1976 cambridgeshireSchedule, of 4 new sitesfor Lythrum hyssopifolia.
Sincethe publicationof the BritishRed Data Book on VascularPlants (1977), it has become necessaryto add 31 speciesto the list of Rare Speciesin EasternEngland publishedin BSBI News14. The amendedand correctedlist is printedoverleaf. I hope that membersof the BSBI will continueto sendme newsof their new dis- coveriesas soon as they find thent,so that I can map, photographand recordthem in detailimmediately. Only in this way canwe build on our remarkablyscant knowledge of the statusand behaviourof our nationallyrare plants,and thereby accumulatethe necessaryinforrnation so vital to their conservation.This pleais directedparticularly at Suffolkbotanists for I shallbe workinein Suffolkdurins 1979.
G. CROMHION(Mrs), UniversityBotanic Garden, CAMBRIDGECB2 iJF NATIONALLY RARE SPECIESIN EASTERNENGLAND (with dateof lastrecord).
f Agrostemma githago Junats filiJbrmis - 1970 - Alisma gramineum 1975 .l,actuca soligru - 1978 Alopecurus bulbosus- I978 t Leucojusn aestivum - ,Alyssunt alyssoides l97B Limonium bellidifolium - I978 TAnthoxanthum puelii- 1972 Liparis kteselii- I978 Armeria moritinu Ludwigia Wlustris . subsp.ebngata- 1974 Luzula pallescens- 1976 T Arnoseris minima - I960 L1tthrum h.yssopifuIia- I978 Artemisio campestris- I 9 78 Maianthemum b ifu lium - ) 9 76 - , Atriplex longipes I 9 76 MelamPltrum arvense' I 978 T Bromus interruptus - 1972 Mentha pulegium B. tectorum- 1978 Mibora minima Bunium bulbocastanum- I978 Muscari atlanticum - I978 - t Bupleurum l'alcatum 1962 .Najasmariru- 1977 T.B. rotundifoliurtt - I 96 l t Ophrys sphegodes t Campanula patula Orchis militaris- l97B . C. rapunculus f Orobanche loricata (O. picridis) t Carex filiformis t O. maritima f Caucalisplatycarpos O. purpurea - I97B t Centaurea calcitrapa t Otanthus nnritimus Cerastium brachypetalum - 1973 * Petroselinum segetum t Chenopodium tuivaria Peucedanum officinale - I 9 7I T Llrsiunt Iuherosutn- 197l Phleum phleoides- 1978 f Crepis foetida * P i Iu lar ia glo b u lif era Crocuspurpureus - 1977 t Pulicaria vulgaris- 1963 . Cynodon tlactylon - 1977 Rhinanthus serotinus - 1970 t Cynoglossum germantcum - 1950 f Rorippa austriaca - 1958 Cyperus pratensis , fuscus 'ft Salvia T Damasonium alisma- I958 Scirpus triquetrus Dryopteris cristata - 1978 Scleranthus perenna - . Equisetunt ramosissimum I975 wbsp. prostratus - 1978 f Eriophorum gracile - 1959 Selinum carvfolia - 1978 t Eryngiunt catnpestre Seneckt congestus (5. palustris) Festuca caesia- 1976 S. poludosus- 1978 Filago gallica - 1977 Seseli libanotis- 1978 F. lutescens (F. apiculata) Sileneotites-I978 F. pyrarntdata (F. spathulata) - l978 Sist,nbrium irio F-i t illar io m e leagr is - I 9 78 t Sdchl's gernntrica f ()aleopsis segetuftl Taraxacunt acutum ()alium spuriurn - 1976 T. oustinurn f G. tricornutunt Tetragonolobus maritimus - l97l t Genista pilosa - 1810 T'eucriunt scordium - I 976 . G naplu liu nt lLtteoa lbu m - I 9 7E Tht'ntusserpvllum - l978 f I Io li nt io ne pedun cu Iata f Va-lerianetldbriocarpa - 1964 + Honnwrbya paludov - 1977 l'. rimrosa Ilerniaria glabra - I97E Veronica praecox - 1978 . Itinwntogktswnt hircirturn - I 9 78 V. spicata f H 6 POLLINATION THE GORSESAND BROOMSPOLLINATOR SURVEY This survey forms part of a wider survey of pollination mechanismsin the legume tribe Genisteae(Gorses, Brooms and laburnums).There are 195species distributed over 'pea' the whole of Europe where their yellow flowersare a commonfeature of scruband wood margins.In this surveyI hopeto obtaindetaiied information about the pollinalion of the Britishmembers .- Cytisusscoparius L. Broom. (Sarothamnusscoparius (L.) Wimm. ex Koch.) Heaths, wasteground and woods. 'Needle Genistaanglica L. Furze',Petty Whin'. Dry heathsand moors. 'Hairy Genistapibsa L. Greenweed'.Cliffs and dry, sandyand gravellyheaths on poor soils. 'Dyers Genistatinctoria L. Greenweed'.Rough Pastures 'Western Ulexgallii Planch. Gorse'.Heaths and siliceoushill grasslands. 'Dwarf Uex minor Roth. Gorse'. Heaths.U. minor is found east of a line which stretchesroughly from Weymouthto Salisbury,Marlborough, Oxford and Sheffield and Ulex gallii is found west of it (Proctor,1965). 'Gorse'. Ulex europaeusL. Roughgrassy places and edgesof heaths. 'Suburban Introducedspecies include ktburnum spp. l-aburnum',Genista hispanica L. and Cytisus(Sarothamnus) striatus (Hill) Roth. found in parksand gardens,and Spartium iunceum'SpanishBroom' on roadsidesand railway embankments and Cyriws multiflorus with white flowers. Although it is alwaysassumed that thesespecies are pollinatedby the largerbees: Bombus sps. (bumblebees)and Apis mellifera (hive bees) there has been very little actual documentationof this, indeedwork I havedone recentlyin Norfolk on Cytisus scopariusand in Europeon other membersof the Genisteaeindicates that much smaller bees are able to trigger the leguminouspollination mechanismsby pure persistence, forcingapart the keelpetals with their head,mouthparts and front legs. Becauseof the fleetingvisits of the pollirratorsa clearpicture of their activity only builds up after repeatedobservations; with the helpofthe BSBII hopeto obtainenough recordsto form a statisticallysignificant picture of the pollinatorsvisiting each species, their numbersand the frequencyof their visits,and someidea of tlte pollinationevents at the flower.As the surveywill be carriedout overthe wholeof Britainand over a periodof time, I will alsobe able to seewhether the main pollinatorsof eachspeciesare constant throughoutBritain and overthe wholeflowering period (bearing in mind the geographical and temporaldistribution of the plantand insectspecies). To obtain all this informationI am askingBSBI membersinterested in takingpart in the surveyto spendsome time watchinga few bushesof one of the abovespecies of Genisteae,both endemicand introduced,to do someIrnited collectingof the pollinators visitingit and to fill in a questionnaire.It is impossibleto identifymany insectswithout voucherspecimens; but to lintit the catching,participants should only collectone of each speciesof poliinator. At the beginningthis rnight seemdifficult but as the observer becomesaccustomed to watchingthe visitorsand a patternemerges, it will becomeeasier to recognisea typical pattem which may indicatethe presenceof a second,previously unrecognisedspecies. It is alsoproposed not to catchqueens of Bombusspp. during the spring (participantswill be given an information sheetcontaining details) as a single overwinteringqueen gives rise to a whole colony in summeriinstead outline diagrams will be providedfor colouringin. The coiourpattern when combinedwith the well-known distributionol Bontbusin Britainwill enablea partialiclentification. Bookswhich woulclbe inrerestingtcr participants 'Floral in tirissurvey are :- Biology',Nlary Percival (1969.), perganton press 'Pollination Ltd., of Florvers',Proctor and yeo (1973),New 'A NaturalistSeries. FieldGuide to theInsects of Britainand Northern Europe', Michael Chinnery (19i3), - Collins this is an excellentguicle to the differentinsect types which assumesno previousknowledge. 'Bees, Waspsand alliedir.tsccts of tlie Britishlsles', Edward Step (1932),Waysideand WoodlandSeries. A referenceto help distinguishbetween UIex gallii and U. ntimr: ldentificationof Ulex gallii and U'lexrrtintr, Proctttr,N4.C.F'. ( 1965), ll/atsonia6:177. Pleasewould all trretnbersinterested in the surveywrite lor nroreinformation to : MargaretAdey BiologyDept.. Building 44, The Llniversity,SOLTTHAIVIPTON, SO9 5NH...... Ilookforwardto hearingfromvou.. .. . \., ( Chi e no p o ctiutrt p u nt i lio ALIIINS andADVI'INTIVE S ADVENTIVENEWS I2 Cornpiledby Eric J. Clement VERONICAS AND NURSERY GARDENS A.W. Gravesontells me that his Veronicaacinilbliarecord in BSBI Newsi9 p.l6hasa history dating back many years.A few plantsarrived spontaneously in his gardenat Beanrinsteramongst newly plantedCupressus ttucrocarpa in 1937.lt increasedconsider- ably in subsequentyears and is still fairly plentifulmost years,just a few plantsbeing sparedfrom weedingoperations each year. Veronicaperegrina also arrived in the garden n 1937and haspersisted ever since. Both arerecorded in Dr Good'sDorset Flora (p.191) as"casuals". Ten miles from Beaminsterare the largestNursery Gardens in the area,(Scott's), at Merriott (S. Somerset).In May 1978both thesespecies were found to be abundantthere by Capt. R.G.B. Roe, although not noticed on visits in previousyears. Conf. R.J. Pankhurst.BM. The V. acinifolio is new to Somerset. Veronicaperegritw is well-known as a specieslargely confined in tsritain to nurseries and gardens,and it is still spreading.I-ast year, for example,saw the first everrecord in the LNHS l,ondon Area (2O-mileradius of St. Pauls),in flower-bedsat carshalton (Surrey).The GlasgowNaturalist l9 (4) : 341-342(]976) tellsof its recentabundance at the FinlaystoneHouse Garden Centre at Langbank(Renfrew). Numerous older records arelisted inPoc. BSBI5 (4) ; 303-313and hoc. BSBI 6 (3) : 215-220for the Britishlsles Yet it is still totally unknown, even as a casual,from wales (comm. G. Ellis). crw wrongly givesthe flower colour as"blue" : it is alwayswhite (or whitish). Veronicatriphylbs away from Brecklandis nowadaysknown only from one isolated nurseryat Byfleet(Surrey) where it still lingerson, but only a few indivicluals(or none!) areto be found thereeach year. Future spread is mostunlikely. MIXEDBAG Bromus lattceolatusRoth /8. macrostachl'sDesf.l var. lanuginosus(Poir.) Dinsm.: Widespreadin gardensand wasteplaces, New T'ownarea of Nolth Yeovil (S. Sonierset), Septenrber1917. J.G. Keylock.Conf. C.E.Ilubbard. The varietydiffers frorn tlie type only in the hairy(not glabrous)spikelets. Possibly of woolorigin here'l (lt iswell-known from wool shoddyfields). In plenty,on sandybeach, Felixstowe Ferry (E. Suffolk),July 1978.Nl.A. Hydc'. Der. EJC.Growing with someLagurus ovqtus and Briza maxinw;all threegrasses are popular in ornamentalgrass-seed mixtures. This was presumably their originlicre - andwere they 'l deliberatelysown to beautify our countryside TheBriza waspresent there the previous year,with Iberisumbellata L. Chenopodiumpumilio R. Br. (c carinatumauct., non R. Br.): Filled gravel-pittip, Kennett(cambs), 1969-70 & 1975.G.M.s. Easy & G. crompron.cGE & Hb. GMSE. wronglyrecorded in watsonia12 (2):170 andNature in Cantbsl9:63 (1976).This is the only speciesin this group of alliedAustraljan, annual weeds that hasa tendencyto persistin Br (e.g.in Kent and Surrey).Graham Easy has providecl a skillfLrldrawing of his plantshowing that it lacksthe prominentlykeelecl (or winged)tepals of trueC. L'aritwtunt R. Br. Thesetwo species,together with C cristatum(F. v.Muell.)F. v.tr{uell.,with pectin- ately-toothedwinged tepals, occur fairly regularlyin wool shoddy,and sonrewool specimenshave been det. J.P.M.Brenan as C x bonteiAellen (e.e. Blacknroor. N. llants. 1969,Fh. EJC),which is C. carirutumx uistotunr BSBIDEC 78 GaudinioJiagifts (L.) Beauv.:Damp, grazed meadow, near Melksharrr (N. Wilts.),August 1978.Mrs. J. Swanborough.Det. EJC.Found scatteredall over one field, and overinto two other fields. It was recordedas a weed in carrotsin a sandyfield (allotments)at Sandridge,just l\b milesaway, May 1957,Miss M. McCallurnWebster,BM, CGE,E, K, and on wasteground, Sandridge Hill, August 1951, J.D. Grose,K, but both of these recordssuperficially appeared to be "casual". Numerousother recordsexist for Great Britain,well summarisedin Watsonin9(2): 143-146(1972). No recordsexplicitly appearthere for Somerset,but the June 1970 record givenas vice-county"?" shouldbe 5 (S, Somerset).J.G. Keylock tells me that sincethen, some4 milesE. of Crewkerne,he hasfound two morelocalities in S. Somer- set, viz. plentiful in new ley, S. of Windmill Hill (June 1972) andin very rich permanent pasture,unploughed for at least 100 years,near White Vine Farm (June 1974):In the latterspot it hasapparently been increasing over the lastfour years. Hubbard'sGrasses (p.2a7) gives only three lines of descriptionand no drawing. Lysbeth Richards (nee Kemp) has kindly illustratedthe Melkshamplant for us so that membersknow "what to look for" : many coloniesmust surely still awaitdiscovery. Note that it can vary much (at leastin S. Europe!) in height,size of spikelets,and degreeof pubescence- forms occur with near giabrousleaf-sheaths and the spikeletscan be denselypubescent. Ornithopus sotivus Brot. ssp. vtivus: Growing in quantity on china clay waste CarbisMoor, near St. Austell(E. Cornwall),September 1978. Mrs. B.E.M. Garratt. Det. EJC.It may haveoriginally been sown, together withTrifoliumhybridumandT. subter- raneum,to help stabilizethe tips, but it had spreadto roughground off the wastearea. It looks verylike an outsizeO. perpusillus,with pink corolla6-9mm long. Both pubescent - and glabrous-poddedforms were present.It is grown as a fodder plant in much of Europe.British records are very few - I haveonly heardof it, in recentyears, as a wool- alien on rivershingle at Galashiels(Selkirk), September 1971, Miss M. McCallumWebster, E andHb. EJC. Salix eleagnosScop. ssp.dngustifolrb (Cariot) Reich. f. : In a dry dyke, remote from habitation,near the Gaywood River, Bawsey(W. Norfolk), 1978. E.L. Swann& R.P. Libbey. BM & Hb. EJC.Det. (on 1-ls,to sp. only) R.C.L.Howitt. It "had paleyellowish- greenbracts, glabrous ovary, short stubby nectary,silky hairy leavesand red, glabrous sliiningtwigs". The very narrowlylinear mature leaves, only 0.5 cm wide, placedit into the ssp.angustifoli/t, which appearsto be new to Britain. The type sub-specieswas by the river at Bury (W. Sussex),April 1960. N{issM. McCallunrWebster. Det. R.D. It4eikle(as S. incanaSchrank, a synonym).No nrorerecent recordshave reached me. Downingia elegans(Douglas ex Lindl.) Torrey: Area newly sownwith grassand white clover seed,by the newly formed Willen l-ake,Newport Pagnell(Bucks), July 1978. G.E. Higgs,comm. P. Taylor. K & Hb. EJC. Det. (at Kew) P. Halliday& P.Taylor. It is new to the Britishlist of aliens.Some 40 plantswere growing in severaldepressions; in its nativeNW USA it grows,similarly, in moistmeadows and borders of ponds.It is an annual speciesin Qntpanulaceae,much resemblingLobelia but with sessileflowers in the leaf axils, which appearto be long-stalkedbecause of the elongate,narrow hypanthium. Describedin RHS Dictionaryof Gardening,but it is rarelygrown today. A returnvisit in Septernberrevealed the presenceof seed(very minute in size),so it rnayreappear. r0 Gaudiniafragilis -AA \" \ lodicules 1 \ -==-- i\ 1 '\ .) ,Jmm , / " 'v ll Teline monspessulana(L.) C. Koch (Cytisus monspessulanusL.): St. Catherines (Jersey),June 1976. P. Macpherson.Det. EJC. This tall, spineless,yeilow-flowered gardenshrub readily seeds itself about,in and outsidegardens - the beautifullydetaiied, drawinghere by FlorenceGravestock was of a planton the old rubbish-tipat Kingsweston, Bristol,May 1977,now partly in BM. Clearlyshown are the importantcharacters of the calyx, the upper lip beingdeeply 2-fid and the lower with 3 distinctteeth;the standard exceedingthe keel; the hairy legume,and the strophiolateseeds. Scattered Br records exist,but it is probablyan overlookedspecies. Cytisusstriatus (Hill) Rothm.: Severalplants on roadsidebank of A438 Hereford- Breconroad, just insideWales at aboutGR SO2346(Brecknock), 1978. G.M. Kay. Conf. EJC.The silky fruits werespotted while pasingby car:they lookedfike white flowerson the broom ! This specieshas been much plantedon roadsidesin Britainand is now spreadingby seed.It is alreadyrecorded in Walesfrom Cardiganand Radnor(Nature in lilales16(l):57 and Watsonial2(2):191) and from Easternessin Scotland(Watsonia l2[):a\. Mis M. McCallum Webster'sfine new Flora curiouslyback-dates this latter record to 1970 and addsanother locality (Polmaily). Miss U.K. Duncantells me AberdeenUniversity know of it from severalplaces alongside the Stonehaven-Banchoryroad (Kincardine). Monks Wood havenot beenkept up-to-date! In EnglandDr. C.A. Stacerecently spotted it on the banksof the Ml motorwayin Bedfordshire;no other Enghshrecords appear to exist. Apart from the very hairy and more inflated pods, it differs from our native C. scopariusin havingpaler yellow flowers that appeara little laterin the season(comm.Dr. J.G.Dony) JGD remarksthat asthe Ml wasopened in 1959,the Cytisus striatus colony presumably (no recordsare kept by DOE) pre-datesthe winter of 1962-3which decimatedall the local,native broom. Our very professionalcover drawing is the work of Jili Smythies,drawn from a native colony on cragsW. of Bolonia,Spain (Cadiz) : it shouldassist members in findingmore Britishlocalities. Campanularhomboidalis L.: On wooded bank of River Esk, S. of Langholm(Dum- fries),July 1978.R.C.L. Howitt. Hb. RCLH.Det. EJC.Some ten plantspresent, growing with C latifolia and C. rotundifolia. lt is locally naturalizedin Belgium,Holland, etc., but is apparentlyunknown rn Britainas an escape;native of the JuraMountains and the AIps. Linum tenueDesf .'. Casual in garden,Dallinghoo (E. Suffolk),October 1978. Mrs H.B. Miller, cornm.F.W. Simpson.Det. EJC.This yellow-flowered,annual species, ap'parently new to Britain,was most probablyintroduced with bird-seed.Native of S. Spain,Portugal andN. Africa.The leafmargins are normally minutely serrulate, not "entire" asappears in the key in FL Eur. 2:206 (soit failsto key out correctly). N,IANURES Only threemembers have communicated their manurefinds ! (requestedin BSBINews 18 p.11). J.R. Palmerinvestigated piles of agriculturalmanure (processed sewage) on Dartford Marshes(W. Kent) in July 1977 andrecorded Cannabis sativa, Centaurea diluta, Coriandrum sativum, Guizotin abyssinica,Helianthtrs annuus, Lepidium sativum,Linum usitatissimum,Lolium temulentum,Panicum miliaceum and Trachyspermumammi. lt is noteworthythat all arewell-known bird-seed aliens. 12 q) l--=: (\---:/ .,r1 'f {!: Telinemonspessuluna 1a IJ A.L. Grenfellre-explored in 19'18the marketgarden at Downend,Bristol (W. Gios) where chicken manure is used.Hibiscus trtonum L. (in onion crop) and Vicia lutea ssp lutea werethe only two finds of interest. Mrs.B. Burtt told me of her September1976 finds in a marketgarden at Kenardington (E. Kent). I suspectthat manure(s)were responsibiefor Abutilon theophrasti(in various crops),Amaranthus retroflexus (in Gladiolus),Hibiscus trionum (in Statice) andDatura stramonium(by potatoes). Pleasecontinue to keepme well-informedso that I may well inform others.Thank you for all your contributionsto date,of which,alas, only a smallselection can appear here in my allocatedspace. ERIC J. CLEMENT l3 Shelford,Burritt Road,Kingston, Surrey, KT1 3HR. LATHYRUS PALUSTRI^S L. var. pilosus (Cham.) Ledeb in V.C. 44 On August 6Ih 1911 a party of the Llanelli Naturalistsrecording in the dunes of Towyn Burrows, Pembrey,found a smal1population of an unknown l,athyrus species, nearestin main charactersto, thoughobviously differing fron, Lathl,nrspalustris L. of which the only known extant statlon in Walesis a fen lesstl.ran a rniledistant. It should be explainedthat this fen is actuailyderived from an old dune complex;although now inland and much altered,it still hasaffinities. As leaderof the party I took the respon- sibility for collectingan adequatespecimen for submissionto Mr. E.J. Clementwho kindly comparedit with herbarium material in the British Museum.He suggestedthat it appearedto be an alienform of the circumpolarand polymorphicLathyrus palustris L: var. pilosus(Cham.) trdeb of North Americaand Asia, this being the nearestmatch Comparisonwas made difficult becauseof the remarkablepaucity of pressedfruiting specinrens,the varietybeing apparentlyunknown or rare in Europe.Since this deter- minationMr. Clementhas calledmy attentionto Plar.rtNotes in B.S.B.l.hoceedingsYoL 4 Pt. i. September1960, where there is a reportfrom D. Munro-Smithol L. palustisvar. pilosusin a "swampyhollow in sanddunes Berrow 1958" det.N.Y. Sandwith1959. Cap- tain R.G.B.Roe R.N.,recorder for V.C.6, kindly informsmethattl'rerecordof thelate Dr. D. Munro-Smithwas first publishedin hoceedingsof the Bristol I,'laturalistsSociety for 1958but that therehave been no subsequentrecords of the plantfrom Berrowdunes or elsewherein N. Somersetso it would seemthat the plantdid not survive. ThePembrey population was sparsely distributed over a patchof about6 x 4 metreswith no apparent rnorphologicalvariation between individuals.All shoots were slender, distinctly wingedand scrarnblingrather than ascendingby branchedtendrils: the pods pubescentand setting seedfreeiy. The flower colour was a rather lurid blue/crimson reminiscentol L. montanas.The habitatwas a damp slackwith a densecover of Accro- cladiumcuspidatun over a humus-richsandy soil with a pH aboutneutral. The immediate assoclateswere : Salix repens Rubttscaesius Potentillnreptans Calystegiasepiunt Filipendula ulmsria hunelln vulgaris Valeriaru officitwlis Epipactispalustris Hydrocotyle vulgaris Succiv pratensis Angelica svh,estris Galiumpalustre Vicia cracca Alnus glutirtosa Iris pseudaconts IRENE M. VAUGIIAN, Tal Ebolion,Cilycwm, LLANDOVERY, Dyfed. t4 CRASSULA HELMSII I was interestedin the articleon this speciesin the lastissue, since Ted Bangerter(now in N.Z.)and I werethe originalfinders at Greenstedin1956, unfortunatelyan errorhas crept in to Mr. vaughan'sE. Sussexdata, probably a printingerror since"Cockayne" is not a placein the c<,runty,and has been confusedwith the nan.reof the author of the spec1es. To put the matterright we now havetwo knownstationsinv.c. 14(8. Sussex),both foundby the SeafordNat. l{ist. Soc.and communicatedby MissB.A. Kneller. Theseare : "Dewpond or bomb crateron downsabove Nervhaven. W.H. SPREADBURY1965" (seeBSBI hoceedings6:130) seenregularly since. Fristonpond, 1978,Seaford NIIS (seenby myselfSeptember 1978). P.C.HALL, Almar,Fairmile Lane. Cobham. Surrey KT11 2BX SLUGGISH Recallingthe cartoonon p.20 of BSBI News l7 showingthe late Ted Lousiey'sslugs devouringOrchis nilitaris, Dorothy Inusley sendsus her sketchof Asarum canadenseIhe wild gingerof Canadawhich shesaw in the NiagaraParks School of Horticulture,during a recent visit. Her reasonfor sendingit ? It is one of that exclusiveclique of species pollinatedby - yes,SLUGS ! 15 NEWS TROM MONKSWOOD FRANK SPEAKING 'News This will be the last from MonksWood' which I shallsign. I am leavingat the end of the year to succeedTed Smith as GeneralSecretary of the Society for the Promotionof NatureConservation. I shallbe sorry in many ways not to be able to devoteso mucl.rof my time in future to work of directinterest to theBSBI: it isnow 25 yearsall but a few monthssince I was appointedas Dr Walters'assistant on the MapsScheme, and all that I havedone since stemsfrom thoseearly happydays. However, I shallnot be givingup botany completely, and I hope to continueto meet my old friendsin my new capacityelmost as frequently as in the past.The SPNCis deeply involvedin wild plant conservation,and hascolla- boratedwith the BSBIand the BiologicalRecords Centre on nlanyaspects: the'Act', the postersand the recently-publishedRed Data Book. This collaborationwill undoubtedly continue:there is much still to be done.Also, for the time beingat least,I shallremain Secretaryof the BSBI RecordsCommittee. What will happento botanicalwork at BRC ? The Managernentof the Instituteof TerrestrialEcology is deternrinedthat the work of buildingup the botanicalrecords at MonksWood shouldcontinue. ln the last six monthswe haveembarked on a schemeto put all unincorporateddata into our new computer system,and I shallcontinue to supervisethat scherneuntil I can handit on to my successor.I shall continue to live at Oundlet-odge, so that occasionalvisits to MonksWood will not be difficult. As no successorto Lynne Farrellhas yet been nanred,and it will be a few months before my replacementis appointed, there may be delays in dealingwith corres- pondencefor a while. However,BRC staff at Monks Wood will, I am sure,answer all routineenquiries about records,cards, and maps.Enquiries and recordsconcerning Red Data Book specieswili be passedon to Lynne Farrell,who visitsMonks Wood regularly. Other correspondencerelating to the BSBI in generalor the RecordsCommittee in particularare best sent to nteat Oundlel,odge. Oundle, Peterborough. This note givesme the opportunity to thank all thosemembers of the BSBIwho over the last 25 yearshave helped nre professionally and personallyto enjoyevery hour of the work: it l'rasbeen a privilegeand a pleasure.Without your sustainedinterest, nothing could havebeen achieved. I step down looking forwardenormously to joiningthe ranks 'amateuls' of the andbombardinq my successorwith recordcards and impossible questions. FRANK PERRING CHANGES IN RECORDERS v.c.44 Sadly, after rrany years of invaluableserviceto the Society,Mrs. H.R.H. Vaughanl.ras found it necessaryto giveup the Recordership.R.D. Prycehas beenanpointed to succeedher. v.c.ll Dr. P. lvlacphersonhas been appointeci to succeedthe late R. Mackechnie. i6 RECORDERS' CONFERENCE I979 The next BSBI Recorders'Conference takes place at RogateField Centreon the Hampshire-Sussexborder from 5th-SthOctober, 1979. On this occasionthe niaintopics for discussionwill be the co-ordinationof botanicalrecording in a county,including the rneritsof a Flora C<-rmmittee,sources of errorsin field botany, and the identification of certain difficult groups,particularly those t<-rbe includedin the next part of the revisedAtks of the llritish Fktra. Two excursionsin the area,led by Dr. FrancisRose, areplanned. Wltilst this meetingis primarily arrangedlor County Recordersand they havefirst claim on the acconrrnodation,we will try to fit in as many other memberswlto would like to attendas possible.Day visitsare welcomed for thosewithout a bedat the Centre. lf you are not a Recorderbut would like to come,please write to Dr. F.H. Perring, OundleLodge, Oundle, Peterborough PE8 5TN.All Recorderswill leceivean invitation in due course. PUBLICATIONS THE FLORA OF THE ISLEOF WIGHT The Flora recordsthe thousandor so speciesof floweringplants that forni the natural vegetativecovering of the lsland.The presentstatus, distribution and habitat of each speciesare shownand the changestaking place are discussed.Everynameisgiveninboth Englishand l-atin. The Flora, composedof approximately130 pages,constitutes the secondlargest publication dealing exclusively with the naturalvegetation of the Island everproduced. A whole chapteris devotedto a "BotanicalCalendar", a featurewe believeunique in county floras. Listing in chronologicalorder suitableoutings througliout the entire year, chosenfor their unforgettableimpression upon us during fifteen yearsof field work. Somethingfor the countrylover, the anrateurand the professionalbotanist, and an absolutemust tbr the visitor. Machinesown spinewith semi-stiffglossy cover in Astralux,illustrated with the Sea Stock againsta backclothof chalk cliffs terminatingin that well-knownlandnrark, The Needles:- !3.00 per copy. Pleaseadd 35p post and packing. All cheques,postal orders, etc. should be madepayable to BSBIPublications, Oundle l-odge,Oundle, Peterborough PE8 5TN. BOTANICALATLAS OF THE HARROGATEDISTRICT Duringthe period 1966-1911,members of the Harrogateand District Natural History Societyhave undertakena I km surveyof that part of v.c. 64 which liessouth of the R. Ure and embracesthe whole of the valleyof the R. Nidd.This is now publishedin an instant-printring-bound format showing just under800 distributionmaps, 4 per page. The work makesa valuableaddition to our knowledgeof the presentday flora of Yorkshire.It can be purchasedfor f4.25 (post and packingincluded) lrom MissIvl.R. Sanderson,7 StrayWalk, Harrogate HG2 8HU. F.H.Perring. 1'7 WARWICKSHIREMUSEUNI HERBARIUM The task of cataloguingall non-WarwickshireBritish material in this herbarium is 'volunteer', complete after over three yearspart-time work by museum MissGladys Cooper.Many of the specimensdate from the first half of the last century,and they havebeen listed by vice-county. Copieswill be sent free upon receiptof a larges.a.e. Please state which vice-county you requlre: Mrs. Pam Copson(Keeper of NaturalHistory) WarwickshireMuseurl Service. MarketPlace, Warwick. BSBI Journals - back issues Pleasenote carefullythe followingarrangements : IMatsonia- up to and includingVol. 1l part4. BSBIAbstacls - up to andincluding Number 7. BSBI hoceedings - all,. Obtainableonly from : DawsonBack Issues Dep't CannonHouse, Folkestone, Kent. (Paymentmade direct to Dawson& SonsLtd). llatsonia - Vol. 12 parts I & 2. BSBIAbstrocls - Number8. Obtainablefrom Hon.Treasurer : Mr. M. Walpole, 68 OutwoodsRoad, LOUGBOROUGH, kics LEl l 3LY. (Paymentmade to BSBI) Other BSBI Publications (see separately issued list) Frorn ; F. and M. Perring, Oundletodge, Oundle, PETERBOROUGH PE8 5TN. (Paymentis madeto F. & M. Perring). REMEMBER. REMEMBER! BStsINEWS 2I Contributionsfor this issuemust reachthe Editor BEFOREITth FEBRUARY I979 18 THE BRITISHFLORA rN NEWZEALAND Since I wrote my first account of plants common to both the British Islesand New Zealandthe summerseason has advanced,bringing into flower here severalmore species well-known to British botanists.On my daily walks I frequently meet with Ranunanlus vrdous, &rdamine hirwta, Silene gallica, Lotus angustissimus,L. subbifbrus, Mentha pulegium, Stachys arvensis and Prunella vulgarison the roadsideverges or along the ditches. Among the grassestall Festuca arundinacea and Bromus uniloides overtop Agrostis tenuis, A. semiverticillatq and Bromus brevioristatus,while Lolium perenne and L. multi-florum are everywhere;the ryegrasses,in fact, as pasturegrasses, are the subject of innumerablearticles in agriculturaljournals. Poa annua andP. trivialisare as common as in the British Islesbut Briza medin I havenot yet encounteredalthough B. minima gracesmany a ditch or berm with, lessfrequently, B. moximt. Hypoclneris radicutais probablythe most common of all weedsin all typesof habitat,closely rivalled by the ubiquitous Uex europaeus,early introducedas a hedgeplant and sincemuch regretted. Undevelopedbuilding sites and other waste areas house Sonchus oleraceus, Piuis echioides, Brassica campestris, Gersnium dissectum, Crepis capillaris, Raphanus raphanistrum, Sisymbriumofficinale and Chenopodiumalbum amongothers. Untended gardens usually have a good crop of Euphorbia peplus with someE. helioscopia,Fumaria capreolata, Vicia hirsuta and Galium aparine.As I write, rnoreand more speciesspring to mind to be reservedfor furthernotes. Recentlya young universitystudent and I went to one of my favouriteaquatic habitats to collect Glyceriafluitans, which he lacked in his herbarium.By chancehe spotted a labiate growing by a ditch, just one plant of Melisv officinalis,easily recog- nisedby its fragrance.Serendipity was with us this day asin a fairly deepcreek, wherein I showed him native Sparganiumand Potamogeton,we discoveredEgerin denv tn full l1ower,which neitherof us had seenbefore. On returninghome l lookedup No. 12 of "B.S.B.I. News" to checkthe Egeriaand found it keyedout alongwith Elodeacatwdensis and Lagarosiphonnnior, two further waterweedsproving potentially dangerous to water- ways and lakesin New Zealand.Known as "lakeweeds"or "oxygen-weeds"tliey are often written about in technicalpublications, sometimes in the pressand even appearing on television.Elodea originated about 1870 as an escapefrom theAcclimatisation Society's fish-raisingponds in the BotanicGardens at Christchurch,according to A.J. Healyin his accountof Canterburyadventives. I find no earlyrecords for the other two, which are doubtlesspost-war arrivals as aquarists' plants. Spacewill, I hope,admit one shortstory to illustratea tensemoment in my pursuit of weedsand to point a moral for would-becollectors. Michaelmas-daisies are grown here,Aster laevis,A. novtbelgiiA. novae-anglitebeingrecorded as escapes,and I had a I'lourishingcolony of the first under observationon a wastearea otherwise overgrown with rank grassesand ruderalweeds. I put off collectingthese for sometime, probably becauseI had not yet identifiedthem, until to nry horrorone day I observeda bulldozer bearingrelentlessly down on thern and only a breathlessrush on my part haltedthe monster,the driver of which complyingreadily with my requestto stop.The moral ? Yesterday'spiant habitat may well be to-day'shuman habitation. One specimenof the Aster has been put in the Auckland Herbariumand the othersdistributed to various Institutions,so l-ar no-one has shrieked "wrong nanre". E.B.BANGERTER, Flat 4, I l0 EastCoast Road, Milford, AUCKLAND c), New Zealand. 10 NOTICES UNIVERSITYOF LONDON Certificatein Field Biologyand Diplomain Field Biology Applications,Regulations and further detailsfor these coursesare availablefrom P.M.J.Burtt-Jones, Senior Assistant. Departmentof Extra-MuralStudies, Universityof l,ondon, 26 RussellSquare. r.oNDoNwclB sDQ The Certificatecourse extends over two years,with study mainly at home to a prescribedsyllabus, but includesalso two full-timepractical courses each of two weeks duration held in the August of consecutiveyears. The next practicalcourse will be held at MalhamTarn Field Centrefrom lst - 15thAugust 1919. [,ast date for late registration for this (doublefee) is lst March 1979.The Diplomacourse is a new third year course for thosealready holding the Certificate. PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEN{ ENT Ihirteenth InternationalBotanical Congress Sydney,Australia, 2l-28th August,1981 The Programmewill consist of l2 sections- molecular,metabolic, cellular and structural,developmental, environmental, community, genetic,systematic and evolu- tionary, fungal,aquatic, historical and appliedbotany. There will be plenarysessions, symposia,and sessionsfor submittedcontributions (papers and posters).Chairman of the ProgrammeCommittee :- Dr. L.T. Evans. Field Trips will includevisits to aridand semi-aridregions, eucalypt forest, rain forest, heath, coastalvegetation (e.g. Great BarrierReef, mangroves)etc., and specialisttrips. Chairmanof the FieldTrips Committee :- Prol'.L.D. Pryor. First Circular,containing details, will be rnailedin August,1979. Send your nameand full address,preferably on a postcard,to ensureyour inclusionon the maiiinglist. Enquiriesshould be sentto the ExecutiveSecretary, Dr. W.J.Cram. Congresaddress - 13th I.B.C.,University of Sydney,N.S.W. 2006, Australia. Sponsoredby the AustralianAcaderny of Science. CONSERVATIONLECTURE The l,ondon Natural History Societyinvites BSBI membersto a lecture,illustrated by slides,by P.J.Wanstall, on "Problenrsol PlantConservation" in the LinneanSociety lectureroom, BurlingtonHouse, Piccadilly, on Wednesday17th January1919 at 6.30pm. FRITILLARIESAND N{ILITARYORCHIDS IN SUFFOLK The Fox Fritillary meadowat Framsdenwill be open on Sunday29th Aprll 1979 and the Rex GrairarnReserve, site of tlie NlilitaryOrchid, will be open on SundayJune 1Othat 11.00am to 4.00pm. )n REQLTTSTS Watsonia Vol. I 1 No. 4 (Wanted) Stocksof this, the LousleyMemorial issue, are very low, andmembers who may have copiesthey arewilling to disposeofare askedto sendthem to the Treasurer, M. WALPOLE, 68, OutwoodsRoad, LOUGHBOROUGH, [eics. ORKNEY : VICE COUNTY111 Assistancefrom membersvisiting Orkney in l9l9 on the secondpart of the revised Atlas wilI be welcomed.Plants in needof up-datingare likely to be Ranunculaceaesub- genusBatrachium, and Fumariaceae,but I suspectI am liableto overlookaliens. I can supplycopies of up-to-datefield cardsbased on lOkm or individualislands. EIAINE R. BULLARD, Vice-CountyRecorder Toftwood,KIRKWALL, OrkneyKWl5 lSB TRADITIONALMEDICINE Following the contribution in BSBI News 19 by Clifford Holliday in which he explained the meaningand purposeo/ Ethnopharmacology,some members asked what relevancethis hadfor amateurbotanists. Mr. Holliday wasinvited to answerthis questionand hereis his reply : What can the amateurdo in this field of study ? A greatdeal without doubt. It is most importantthat old herbaland medicaltraditions are not lost in the onwardmarch of urbanization.In many country districtsa greatdeal still exists,and an attempt is beingmade throughout Europe to recordtl're facts before they arelost to posterity. Discussionswith residentsin country districts,or evenin towns - especiallywith the elderly on the waysin which plantsand other material have been used in traditional medicine,can frequently produce interesting results. Sucha surveyin the United Kingdomcould be invaluableand evenlead to the intro- duction,after carefulscientific evaiuation, of new remedies. Work of this nature is being co-ordinatedin Europeby a memberof the Botanical Societyof the British Isleswho is residentin Lausanne,Switzerland, and further infor- mationregarding the kind of informationneeded can be obtainedfrom : Mr. C.B.Holliday, FPS, FLS, l. Cheminde Lucinge I 006 [ausanne,Switzerland (Tel:(021) 23.81.87) What he is trying to do is to assessand co-ordinatethe inforntationreceived, in the form of a book or someother pubLication,and producea pool of informationrelating to traditionalmedicine in Europe.He would be delightedto receiveinformation from BSBI memberswho are interested,and to correspondwitl'r them on this subject.A1l lettersreceived will be answeredand contmenteduoon. 21 THE BOTANICALSOCIETY OF LONDON In her note in BSBI lVews 19 on the BSBI Emblem the Honorary GeneralSecretary referredto the BotanicalSociety of t-ondonas the BSBI's'forerunner'.Really, though, it wasmore than that: it wasthe Society'sown ancestor,albeit a little indirectly. As quite a number of membersknow already,in connectionwith the History of the SocietyI am undertakingin anticipationof our 150thAnniversary (1986) I am trying to identify all the 300-400 peoplewhom it has proved possibleto traceas having belonged to the BSL. Unfortunatelythe only membershiplist publishedappeared a meretwo and a half years after its founding; but many further names can be gleanedfrom the one minute-book that has survived,from the reports of the meetingsin a largenumber of periodicals,and from the labels of specimensreceived through its annualDistribution that arenow preservedmore particularly in H.C.Watson's herbarium at Kew.- Many, of course,are familiar figuresand call for no further research.But in a daunting number of casesscarcely more than the name has come down to us and even the bur- rowingsof Britten and Boulgerfailed to turn up suchbasic details as their occupationor their yearsof birth and death. As these one by one emergeinto the light, an impressivenumber are proving to be well-knownin non-botanicalconnections: as naturalistsof other persuasions,as experts in other scholarlyfields or, more unexpectedly,as socialreformers. The effort involvedin huntingthem down is thus turning out to be well worth while - evenif it was not virtually the only meansnow remainingof learningmore about the BSL itself. There are still a few peopleI cannot identify after trying all the obvioussources. Many of these are likely to have formed herbaria;some may also havebeen contributorsof local records.In the hope that their namesmay ring somebells I list them below and, needlessto say,would be gratefulfor any clues:- +Charles John Anderson (Richmond) Lingwood JamesDavis Blyth (SierraLeone connections) W. McEwen (Arundel) J. Brown H.A. Marten (d. 1847) William Browne Mrs Morgan (Southsea) J. Cowell C. Morley or Murley (Cheltenham ?) *JamesDean Charles Nichols *Mrs. Dennison F. Robins *JamesDickinson MissRoods John Ellis (Farnham) Henry Taylor William Evans (Llanrwst) Mr. Tovey Miss Evans(Coventry) D. Walker (Colchester ?) James Halley (Madeira connections) Miss Martha Wilson (Belfast) George Hickman Mrs. Wright Mrs. E.M. Jones Mrs. W. Jones(Sussex) *P.F. Keir W.S. Lamberger Mostflourished in theperiod 1840-50. Those marked * areknown to havebeen London residents- but othersmay havebeen as well, D.E. ALLEN ksney Cottage,Middle Road, WINCHESTER, Hants.SO22 5EJ. 22 LETTI]RS ATLAS OF FERNS : A CORRECTION Mr. R.H. Robertsof Bangorhas pointed out that I failed to refer to his papersin Watsonia8: 121 - 134 (1970) and Brit. FernGaz. 9:283 - 287 (1966).Both of these contain relevant and important information on the taxononryand identilicationof Polypodiumaustrale and I apologisefor this onrission.Roberts points out that counted diploid plantsshow an indurated-cellnumber in the annulusmuch higher than previously thoughtand weli abovethe rangeofP. interiectum(S- l0). Isolatedcounts may giveup to 18,a figurenormaliy associated with extremecases of P. vulgares.s. A.C. JERMY,Botany Dep't. BritishMuseum (Nat. Hist.) LONDONSW7 5BD. THE IDENTIFICATION OF CALLITRICHE spp. Many recordersfind &llitriche spp.some of the most puzzlingand difficult to identify in the field. British WaterPlants, Haslam, Sinker and Wolseley,gives two keys : 1. Simpleidentification key basedon leafshape and 'mature 2. Accurateidentification based on fruitingplants, preferably in still water'. L.J. L,ewis-Jonesand Q.O.N. Kay, in The Cytotaxonomyand Distribution ot'll'ater Starworts (Callitriche sp) in llest Glamorgan,Nature in l|ales l5 (4) September1911 statethat "The best charactersfor identificationof water starwortsare the shapeand structureof the fruits, the morphologyof the microscopicpeltate hairs which may be presenton the stem,the charactersof the pollengrains and styles,and the chromosome number. kaf-shape differsbetween typical forms of differentspecies, but showsgreat plasticityand is often a most unreliablecharacter because it dependsso much on the habitatand canbe completelydifferent in submerged,floating and terrestrial plants of the samespecies, or even in different parts of the sameindividual". The causesof the difficulty of this group are givenas : the frequentabsence or scarcityof the fruiting plants;the unreliabilityof the leaf charactersand the need to use a microscopeto examinethe peltatehairs, pollen grains,and for determinationof chromosomenumbers. Tlre authorssuggest that ail water starworts(with the possibleexception ol C. stagtwlis wereseriously under-recorded in theAtks of theBritish Fbra, Perringand Walters I976. The publishedfield observationsfrom WestGlamorgan in 1975 form possiblythe first local surveyof Callitrichespp. in Britainusing chrornosome counts and studiesof chromo- somemorphology. Identifications were madeusing fruit, microscopicand chromosome charactersand C. stagnalisby far the commonestsp. found in the survey,was apparently alwaysdiploid 2n = 10. C. platycarpawas found at four localitiesand was alwaystetraploid, ln=20. The authors found that the chronosomecount was the most rapid and reliableway to distinguishbetween C. stagnalisand C. platycarpa. C.obtusangulc found at four sites,2n=10. C. hamulatafound at only 2 sites,2n=38. C. brutia (C. interntediassp peduttatlata) found at 3 sites,2n=18. (This sp. was growing at sitesin the westernGower in associationwith Ranunrulustripartitus). Permissionto quote extractsfrom the Paperwas givenby the Editors,I'lature in Wales MARY BRIGGS WhiteCottage, Slinfold, IIORSIIAN{, Sussex Rlll3 7RG. /J LAPSANA INTERMEDIA At the Exhibition Meetingin l9ll , R.J. Pankhurststaged an exhibit dealingwith Lapsarwcommunis subsp. int ermedia ; seethe note in llat sonia 12: 196 ( 1978). It seemed strangethat the botanistwho first recordedthis plant for Britain(as a species)had not been consultedby Pankhurstwho describedits discoveryvaguely as "Tottenhoe,Beds., v.c. 30, on chalk in the 1940's". It was discoveredand a specimentaken on 3rd July 1945 under Ihe numberMilne- Redhead5340, and was determlnedby B.L. Burtt and laid into the Kew Herbarium. More recentlythe determinationwas confirmedby C. Jeffrey.The plant was growing on a steepnorth-facing railway embankment(not on the chalkgrassland of Tottenhoe Knolls), whereit would receiveno sunshinefrom Novemberuntil February- a strange habitatfor a plantfrom warmerclimes. It wascompetingsatisfactorilywith native vegetat- ion and was not in the kind of habitat one associateswith casualsor gardenoutcasts. There were no housesor buildingsanywhere near the site.When first seen,its bright yellow capitulawere taken for thoseol a Hieraceumsp. In cultivationit provedto be a perennial,not a winter annualas L. contmunts,from which it is alsoeasily distinguished by its bright, not pa1e,yellow capitula,as well asby the charactersstated by Pankhurst.ln the cultivationit showedconsiderable adaptability, growingmucir largerin good soil. At Petersharnon sandand in Suffolk on calcareous loarnit is equallyat home,sowing itself and becoming a weed. Wlry this taxon should be reducedto a subspeciesof 1,. communisis beyond my cornprehensionI Can it be that the computerwhich Pankhurstdemonstrated at this same rneeting,made this decision! E. N,IILNE-REDI]EAD. 43,Bear Street, Nayland, COLCI{ESTER CO6 4llX. SEED FROM RARE PLANTS Havingnow been concernedwith the collectionof seedfrom nationallyrare plants, for over 4 years,I weicomewholeheartedly Mary Briggs'Note in ArewsNo. 19 on "Col- lectionof Seedfrom RarePlants". I havelong advocatedthat this shouldbe centrallyorganised and that the decision to collectcan only be taken by one person- I do not believethat thiswork canbe dele- gated,even to County Recorders.Few CountyRecorders have the time to revisita site- perhaps10 times in a season,to collectthe correctmixed sample from flowersmaturing overa longperiod, and to documentthe collectionproperly. Despiteall the difficultiesexperienced in collectingseed, (not least,being beaten to it by the rabbitsin someyears), there is alreadyseed banked at Kew of many of our rare species(at leastfrom EasternEngland). Obviouslyhelp is neededin collectingseed, but the coilectorneeds to be chosen almost as carefully as the time and placeto collect lSo please,don't collect unless Lynne Farrellasks you to, and please,use the Kew SeedBank at Wakehurst,if you need seedI GIGI CROI\IPTON(Nlr$ UniversityBotanic Garden, CAI\IBRIDGECB] IJF. a4 FRAGARIA MOSCHATADuch. and.F. VESCAL. As a strawberrybreeder I may be ableto clarifysome of the diagnosticfeatures of the wood strawberry,F. resca (diploid) and the musk strawberry,F. moschnta(hexaploid) discussedby A.C. lrslie in B.S.B.l.1VewsNo. 18. I have examined severalaccessions of F. vescoand F. moschatatn the living species collectionof' the Westof ScotlandUnit of the ScottishHorticultural Research Institute and find the two speciesquite distinct. In generalagreement with other breeders(e.g. Advancesin Fruit Breeding,ed. J. Janick & J.N. Moore, Purdue UniversityPress, 1975, p.72) the characterswhich I would useto distinguishthe two speciesare as follows. The leavesof F. mosclwta are duJlgreen, rugose with deep set venationand heavily pubescenton lower and upper surfaces.The leavesol F. vescaare thinner, slightly glossy, light greenand superficialvenation and aLnostglabrous above and below. Petioles, pedi- celsand pedunclesare heavily pubescentin F. moschalabut almostglabrous in F. vesca. The flowers of F. moschataare 25-35 mm in diameter,those of F. vescal0-20 mm in dianreter.The fruit of F. ntoschorais generallylarger than that of F. vesca.Degree of pube' scenceis the mostreliable character lbr separatingthe two species. I considerthat poseof pedicelhairs and leaf shapeare of doubtful diagnosticvalue as both arehighly variable. The poseof hairson petiole,peduncle or pedicelis adpressedand ascendingon emergencefrom the crown, later becomingreflexed or spreading.Thus poseof hairsis partly agedependant. Appressedcalyces on ripe fruit is not a good characterfor distinguishingthe garden strawberry,F. x ananassaDuch. (octoploid)from F. vescaor F. mosclwlaas the calyx nray rangefrom claspingin some cultivarsto reflexedin others.Indeed F. x atwnassa is extremelyvariable as a resultof breeding.It may be distinguishedfront F. mosclntain beinggenerally less pubescent and from F. vescoin usuallyhaving larger flowers, thicker leavesand stouterpetioles and runners. lncidentallyI would be extremelyinterested to hearfrom anyonewho findsF. t'esca with symptomsof red core disease(Pltytophthora fragariae). This importantdisease of commercialstrawberries has never been recorded from wild populationsof-E yesca.This is odd since F. vescais susceptible.Infected plantswilt in the sumnterand dissected rootsof dying plantsshow a characteristicreddening of the stele. DAVID MACINTYRE. RiversideCottage, Stairaird,MAUCHLIN, Ayrsl-rire. KA5 5TB. POLLINATTON MEETING Thank you, Editor, for your kind remarks(BSBI News19, p.20) about the Pollination Meetingin Cambridgeon 12th August.You haveerred however (no dotrbt tliroughury fauit) in creditingme alone with the conceptionand executionof the rreeting.The original idea was conceivedby Dr. Craneand Nlrs Briggsafter the 1977 Newcastle Conferenceand without theirinspiration it wouldn'thave happened. The detailedplan- ning and executionI sharedwith Mr Prys-Jones,who wasin factjoint leader,and we had nruchhelpful advice from Dr Corbetand Messrs.Palmer and Unwin. PETERYEO, University Botanic Garden. CAMBRIDCI:CB2 iJF. t5 HORNBEAMS ON STRIKE ? Hornbeam(Carpinus betulus) catkins have been hard to find in 1978. This is not for lack of hornbeamshere at Cuffley in Hertfordshire.Here hornbeam is numericallyour most abundanttree, although as coppiceor hedgeit can be incons picuous. Nor are catkinsnormally difficult to find. I haverecords each year from 1970 of datesfirst seen:the mean and medianbeing 3rd April, the earliest16th March(1975) and the latest hitherto 28th April (1970). (This scatter parallelsGreater Stitchwort Stellariaholostea,mean 7th April, median 1OthApril, earliest22nd February(1975), latest 2nd May (1970),andcherry hunus avium,mean14th April, median15th April, earliest28th March (1975) latest 3rd May (1970)but thesetwo specieshave flowered normally, if late, this year). In 1976 when we neededphotographs for a lecture, the massedmale catkinsgave whole treesa fine auburn colour. Thisyear was different;repeated searcheswent unrewarded until,on 2l May I reported the problem to the party of 23 from CheshuntNatural History Societyand Iondon Natural History Society who were botanizingwith me near Hertford. Success! We tbund one rather overblownmale catkin. Whywerehornbeam catkins not initiatedlast autumn ? Wasthis tree,with a "continen- tal" distribution, inhibited by our Jubilee summer? Or was the causean earliergood crop of fruits ? Or what ? H.J.KILLICK, l7 Bradgate,Cuffley, POTTERS BAR,IIerts EN6 4RW. HELICHRYSUM and OROBANCHE In my gardenhere which is on chalkysoil of the IcknieldSeries, I grewthis yeara tall cultivar of the Straw Fiower (Helichryntlz sp.). When diggingup the plants I found associatedwith each clump a singleplant of CommonBroomrape (Orobanche minor). There were sevenOrobanche planls in all and they occurrednowhere else in the garden which contained twenty-two other species.Collins Pocket Guide to Wil.d Flowers (McClintockand Fitter) quotesa numberof hosts,including garden plants, for O. minor andits micro-species. Here is one which it seemsto parasitizevery successfully.Would any other readers like to comment? D.P.STRIBLEY, l3 Yew Street,Houghton Regis, DUNSTABLE, Beds. POSTCODES You are reminded that more and more postal sorting offices are becoming mechanised. llhen writirtg to BSBI News or any of its officers or contributors, PLEASEINCLUDE YOUR POSTCODE in your address. f6 BOUQUETS Our Hon. Gen. Sec.has receivedon behalf of BSBI the following cordial letter from our colleaguesin Holland : As secretaryof the Royal BotanicalSociety of the NetherlandsI have the pleasureto thank you very much indeed for everythingyou did to make the excursionsfor the Dutch floriststo East Englandin July 1977such a success. I hope that the Dutch BotanicalSociety will havethe opportunitysome- time,to arrangea trip to Hollandfor membersof the BotanicaliSociety of the BritishIsles. And, in the course of correspondence,these complimentary remarks from the INSTITUTO DE BOTANICA. Sao Paulo.Brazil I should like in any caseto say how much I appreciatereceiving, through the B.S.B.I.,so much informationabout the Britishflora on which, in spite of a good few yearsof on-and-offresidence in Brazil,I wasbrought up and which, rather like beingbrought up on a chalk soil, is somethingthat one does not loseeasily. ATASDAIR G. BURMAN RuaBela Cintra l4l, Apto.22,Consolacao, 01415 Sao Paulo, Brazil. SIREDWARD SALISBURY As this issuewent to press,it waswith greatsadness that we learnedof the passingof Sir Edward Salisbury,who died peacefullyat his Sussexhonre aged 92. He was an HonoraryMenrber of BSBI, havingbelonged to the Societyfor over sixty years.Nlany thousandsof botanistsand ecologistsowe him an incalculabledebt for his teachingand writingswl-rich stimulated their interestin thesesciences. Active to the last,Sir Edward wasgiving a learneddissertation on orcl.ridseeds only a few daysbefclre liis death. JOHN CARR We alsohave to recordthe deathof John Carrwhile leadingone of the lecording expeditions to Spain for rvhichhe becamenotab le. lle wasa dynanricpersonality of great vitality and he will be sadly missedespecially at BSBI Exhibition Meetingswhere he showed with enormousentl-rusiasm the resultsof l-risextensive work in the Iberian penins ular. Fullerobituaries will appearin l4'atutnia. )1 APPEALS PIONEER PLANTSMEN This was John Tradescant- prorlouncedwith the sectmdsyllable accented - who, cotningfrom Sulfolk farrningstock, became gardener successively to the first Earl of Salisbury,tire Dr.rkeof' Buckingham,and finally CharlesI. At his nurseryin lambeth he collectedand introduced into cultivation an immensevariety of exotic plants, amongthem such now faniiiar subjectsas Sumach,Tulip tree, Passionflower, Virginia creeper,Evening primrose. Golden rod. Rudbeckia,Phlox and the Runnerbean. In the decadesofthe late l6th and early lTth centuries.when merchantadventurers flourished,overseas trade was boclnring.It was also the age of statelyhome building, with extensivegardens an essentialadjunct. For the furnishingo1'these the new nobility and gentry demandedunusual and peculiartrees, shrubsand herbaceousplants wltich John Tradescantwas enterprisingenough to provide.An experiencedgardener, he made expeditionsto the Old World: France,Holland, Russia and Algiers,his son John three tirnesvisiting the thrivingNew World colonyof Virginia. JO HN TRAD ESCANT (FATHE R) JOHN TRADESCANT (SON) Drawingsby PhyllisMorgan from the originals in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. From thesejourneys and from the numeroustravellers and merchantswith whorn they had contacts,the two Johnsobtained not only plantsbut an amazingcollection of "curiosities";carvings, coins, costunres, weapons, stuffed animals and fish. This museunr washoused in their own home,Town Housewhich became popularly known as "The Ark" and was a notableattraction t'or visitorsto [nndon. The siteof their activitiesis today only identifiableby two unpretentiousstreets leading off the South l-ambethRoad and namedTradescant Road and WalberswickStreet. The latter recallsthe Suifolk viilage, home of the Tradescant'srelatives where, in a gardenowned by Mea Allan authorof The Tradescanlsmany of the plantsthey introducedare still grown. Acrosslarnbeth Bridge.at the gatesof lambeth Palace.is the redundantchurch of St. Mary the Virgin.Here is the family tomb of JohnTradescant, his sonJohn who succeeded him as Royal gardener,their wivesand other nrembersof the farnily.Tliey can truly be saidto havelaid the foundationsof Englishgardening. Their collectionof "curiosities" formedthe basisof the AshmoleanMuseum. Oxford. Britain'sfirst publicmuseuul. 28 THETRADESCANT TRU5T A PROJECTTO INTERESTALL GANOENERSTHROUGHOUT THEWORLO. TO INCLUOETHE ESTASLISHINGOF A MUSEUMOF GARDENHISTORY THE TRADESCANTTRUST, a registeredcharity, has been set up with two aims: 1. To converttl-re church irlto an active centrefor all interestsrelating to gardens, gardeningand Conservation,rvhere open nreetings, demonstralions, lectures, exhibitions and educationalcourses can be held and to establisha ntuseuntof the History of Gardening. 2. To createin the churchyardthe TRADESCANTN4EI\4ORIAL GARDEN, planted with the speciessl'rrubs anci flo'nvers they introduced,with modernhybrids illuitrating thedevelopment of horticulture. An internationalappeal has been launchedlor {'undsto restoreand convertthe churchto its new use and to establishthe Garden.A grant has been made to the TradescantTrust by the Departrrrentof the Environrnenttowards the targetof f250,000. To keep the public inforrnedof progressand to widen supportthe FRIENDS OF TIJE TRADESCANTTRUST hasbeen formecl: minimumsubscription f1.00 (t1.50 abroad)to MRSJOIIn- NICHOLSOTT*,7 The Little Boltons, LONDON SWl0 9LJ, who will gladlysend fulthel details, and rvill also welcorne donations to thegeneral fund. BARDSEYISLAND - N. WALES The BardseyIsland Trust is appealinglor 3100,000to purchaseand endow for the future this Welshisland which liesoff the Lleyn coast(Caerns. vc 49). Its rich heritage, rvithmonastic associations dating back to the 6th century,includes, besides the ret.nains of theAbbey and conslderable evidence of prehistoricoccupation, a wide lange of wild life (bird nrigrationis monitoredby Wales'sonly BirdObservatory)-and, a relativelyrich llora comparableto that of the similar-sizedCaldey Island in soutl.rWales. There are 'herbal' - perhapsmonastic associatessuch as Artemisiaabsinthittm, Balbta nigra, 'apple-mint'. Conittm nwculatunt,I{t-osq,anus niger,Inulo heleniumand a variegated All theseliave only limited occurrencein this part of Wales.Other speciesof restricted clistributionin trorth Walesinclude Ranuncultrs parvi.fLrus, Linunt hint'rtosum, Sc'hoeruts nigricans,Tltalfctrum ntinus At or neartheir nolthernlirnit aleJuncusacutusandT-riJol- iunt subterrarreum.Spiranthes spiralis appears regularly: Antertruria dio[ca and Linunt biennelrave been reported in the past.Lamium atnplexicaule and Cororutpus tlidymus are cornmonvegetable-garden weeds. The lichenflora is the richestof any (British)island and hasits own, asyet undescribed,endemic. A prograrnmeof scientil'icwork isenvisaged by 'field' the BardseyBird and FieldObservatory, which coversall work not only ornitho- logicaI. Contributiorrstowards the ct'rnservationof this unique island should be sentto : NevilleLewis, Appeal Treasurer, Bardsey Island Trust Ltd., Midland tsank,21 4 HigliSt., Bangor,Gwynedd, LL57 | RU, NorthWales. ANN COn*OLLy ).9 THE HIERACIUMCOLLECTION AT MERSEYSIDECOUNTY MUSEUMS Hereis the list referredto by Mrs, BarbaraGreenwood in herarticle under this headinsin BSBI llews 19 p.30. H. amplericaule: 11,,.|6.85 f-1.lusiophyllum : 36, 40, 43, 47, 19, 9(t,91, 9tt, H38 l{. pulrnonarioides: 62 IL speluncarum: .)4. tl8 H. cillense : 42 H. nitidurn:88,90,92, 108 H. holosericeum : 88, 90. 91, 97, lOtt 106, ll. jovrmontis: 90, 92 Il. alpinurn : 90, 91, 94, 97 tl. : 49, Il. pscudopetiolatum : 9f lcyi 69, 90 t{. cyathis : 6, 42 ll. tenuifrons : tt8. 90, 92 ll. decolor : 49, 57, H. subgracilentipes: 69/70 64, 65 pseudolcy'i H. erirnium : 88, 89, 90, 9l tl. : 49 H. backhousei:92 H. !:arneddorum: 47, 49 I{. globosiflorum : 90, 92 l{. somnrerfeltii: 8tl, 90, 92, 98 H. granticola : 92, 94 H, cambricum : 49, 50 H. calcnduliflorunr : 90, 91, 97 H. vagense: 42, 49 ll. pseudocurvatLrm: 90, 92, 97 ll. argenleum: 41, 49, 69, 72, u8, 89, 90, 92,97, H. hanburyi : 88, 89, 90, 91, 97, 108 108-Ill,H2 H. atraticeps : 92, 97 ll. cacuminum:41,42 H. lingulatum : 88, 90, 92, 98, lOti I{. leyanurn : 42 H. insularc : 8fl H. holophyllum : 49, 50, 5 l, 57, 64 l{. eustxles: 88 H- caledonieum: 41, 49, 50, 57, 60, 64. 71, 89, 90, 9l H. crenlnanthes: 90, 92, 98 97. 104,106, 108-l I I, ll]5 H. sinuans: 8u H. angustisquamum:6 H. senescens: 88, 92, 97, 9fi l{. scoticurn : 90, 108, 109, I I I H. marshallii : 8tl. 90 Il. proximurr: l0lt, 109 H. submurorurn:9ll l{. subrude : 49, 106, H35 H. diversidcns: 8u l{. orirneles: 44, 49, 69,72, I 10, I I 2 H. cuspidens: 8tl, 89 H. chloranlhum:'12,88,92,94, 104 H. anfractiforme : U8. 97, 98 ll. exotericum: 17, -13,34, 40,42,57.59. 60, 64 ll. centripelale:72 il. grandidcns; 35, 64, 69 H. longilobum : 72 ll. sublepistoides: l?, 57, 60, llll H. callistophyllun : 9u H. cinderella: 41, 47 H. isabellae: 94 11.hjeltii : 60 l{. pellucicium: 14, 41, 42,.14,57, 60, 64, 65. 69, 90 H. venniconlium: 64, 88, 89, 90,92.91 []- snowdoniense:49 H. pruinale: 90 H. clovense: 69, 89, 90 ll. candelabrae: 64 H. chrysolorunr:72 ll. stenstroenrii: 14. 36, 41, 41, ,13,64 ll. gracilitolium : 87, 88, 89, 92 ll. pollinarurn : l0ti H. dasythrix : 88, 92, 98 ll. prolixurn ; l0li H. pctrocharis : 88, 89, 90, 97 Il. subprasinifolium; 57 H. pseudoanglicunr: 88 I{. asteridiophyllurn: 42 H. shoolbredii : 97, 104, 108 H. duriceps: 60, 61, 72,lltl, 89, 90, 91, 106, 108,HSlJ H. flocculosurn : 89, 90, 92. 97, 98, 105, H3tt 11.gougetanunr : H2 I I{. hebridense: 108, I l0 H. pictorum : 90. 92 H. arnl>liatum: 60, 64, 65, 69, 70, 90, 92, 108 ll. pollinarioides: 108 H. langwellensc;89,92, l{)7, 109 H. piligerum: 88, 90,92, 96 H. anglicum : 64, 65, 66, 69, 88, ll9, 92,91,98, H. cymbifotium : 39, 57, 60, 64 105,108, I I l, rr2,H39 H. pseudostenstroemii: 60, 64 H. iricunr:65,66.92, l0tt,H2, II35 H. psudosarcophyllum : 72 H. euslonon: 4,41,4) H. sanguineum: 42 H. stenopholidrurn: 41, 57 H. pachyphylloides: 34, 36 H. stenolepiforme : 6 H. rivale : flS H. subbritannicunr: 36, 42 H. crebridentiforme: 64 H. brilanniciforme : 49, 5l ll. auratiflorum : 62. 64, 69 H. britannicurrr: 57 H. maculosum : 64 H. fratum:72 H. rnucronellum : 108 II. urcophylloides: lll H. anguinum : 72 H. dicella : 42, 64, 65, 66, ll3, 109 H. aggregatum: 90, 92 H. baplticola : H19, H40 Il. srrbtenue:90,108 H. subplanifoliun : 34, 36. 57 ll. subhirtum : 8ti, 92, 96, 97 H. saxorum: 42, 44,12,90, 92, 98, 106 H. neocoracinum:42 ll. silvaticoides: 64 H. praetermissunr : 108 IL oistophyllum: 50. -sl. 59, 60. 64, 65, 89 H. riddclsdellii : 42 H. uisticoLa:lll) ll. repandulare: 42, 44 H. cuneifrons : 42 H. hypochaeroides: 34. 50, 64, 69 II-radyrense:41 H. schmidtii: 6, 16. 49, 69, 87, 89, 90, 92, 94, 108 I L rhonrboides: 64, 90, 97 H. briganturn : 64 H. caesiornurorunr: ti8, 89, 90, 92, 9.1, 105, 108 H. stenophvcs:7J ll. talcarieola: ,11, 57. 5fi ll. fulvotresiu nr : 108 ll.trvensc:42 IL nraculoides: 64 ll. latohrigorum:,19, 65. lJtl, 1J9, 90, 91. 9-5, 97, 104,105. II- oxl,odus: 813 l()7,l0li, 109,I I t, H3tt,H39 I l. cuprepes. 12, 64, 7 2, uU, 89, 90, 97, 108, I 09, Il. subcrocatum: 39, 42, 41, 48. 49, 57, 65, 66, 69, 72, 75 il 1. H39 79,Uli. 92, 94, 102 ll. submutabile: 42 II. strietriorme: 64, 65, 69. ttt1, 92, 96, 97, 10,1,105, 108, fl. rectulum:.14 109 H. pulcluius : 42, 44 ll. reticulatunr: 43, 6,5. 72, lllJ, 90, 9l, 97,9ll, 107,l0lJ, H- nlaculatun):6,U, 17,12.38,39,59, l0l 109 H. glanduliceps: 64 H. suburnbellatiforme: 8fl, tl9, 96, 97 H. diaphanum: 4, 17, 36, 38. 41, 42,.19,50, 51, 57- ll. bakeranurn:65/66 60, 62, 64, 90 ll. rnaritimum: 98, l0u ll. subrninutidens: 42 H. urnbcllrtunagg : 9, 17,21 , 48,49,55, -58, 59, I0l II. diaphanordes: 51, 57, 60, 6.1,65, 69, 89, 90 H.umbellatums.s.:9. 11,14. 16, 17.22. llt, 14'l8' 19., H. strumosum: 4, 6, l?. 12, l+43,,1t3-51.57-60, 64, .ls.49, 51, 55. 57. sti, 59. 61, 64. 66, 69 67.7-5, lJti.90, IIl5. S H. subamplifolium: 34, 35. 36,41, 42 Il. unrhrllatumssp. bichlorophyllurn : 3, 4, 45. 48, 49, S ll. surrejanum : l7 [{. vagun : ], 19,40, 41, 47, 48, 49, 50,-s'1, 57-60, 63, 64, H. subramosurn : 85 69,'t3 ll. rubiginosum: 42, 44, 48-51. 57-60,62, 64, 65, 69, slticola: 51,59, 60, 69 72, 88, 90, 97. 107, 108, I 10. H20 perpr Congratulationsto the GIJOUCESTERNATURALISTS' SOCIETY which has recently celebratedboth its 30th anniversaryand its 100thmember. BSBI is representedby many membersactive in both societies,a list of the GNSfounder members includes : Mr. E. Milne-Redhead(President BSBI 1969-71and President GNS since1968) Mrs.S.C. Holland (Editor of GNSJournal since 1962 past council member BSBI) MissD.E. de Vesian(Botanical Recorder GNS 195471) Mr. C.E.Townsend (Botanical Recorder GNS 1948-1953) PresentBotanical Recorders for that Societyare : MissH.M. Caddickand Mrs D.S. Dudley- Smith,and their BotanicalField MeetingSecletary is MrsJ.M. Allen - all BSBImembers maintainingexcellent links betweenthe two Societies.Recording for the forthcoming Supplementto the Flora of Gloucestershireand a surveyof Veronicafiliformis in Glos. areamong the presentbotanical activities of the Society. -l JI CONTENTSLIST ADMINISTRATION Nominations to Council.Rulesof the Society - subscriptions 2 EDITORIAL 3 Mary Briggs, FPS 3 HON.GEN. SECRETARY'S NOTES 3 Gageabohemica, Elodea, Flower stamps 74 EasternEngland Rare Plant Survey 5 POLLINATION 1 Gorsesand Brooms Pollinator Survev 7 ALIENS and ADVENTIVES q AdventiveNews 12 9 Lat hyru s palu str is var p i lo w s 1.4 Crassula helmsii 15 "Sluggish" - Asarum canadense 15 NTIWSFROM MONKS WOOD. t6 Frank speaking l6 Changesin Recorders 16 Recorders'Conference 1979 t1 Publications- LO.W. Harrogate,Warwick Herb. 18 BSBI Journals back issues 18 The British Flora in New Zealand 19 NOTICES Irield Biology - Certificate & Diploma 20 I 3th InternationalBotanical Congress 20 ConservationLecture 20 Fritillariesand Military Orchids 1979 20 REQUESTS Watsoniall (4) t1 Orkney (v.c.111) 21 Traditional Medicine 21 BotanioalSociety of London 22 LETTERS Atlas of Ferns - a correction L) Identification of CallitriChe spp 23 Lapsana intermedia AA Seed from Rare Plants 1A Fragaria moschata & F. 25 l{ornbeamson strike ? ?6 H elichry sum and Oroban che 26 Bouquets 27 Sir Edward Salisbury and John Carr 27 APPEAI-S PioneerPiantsmen 28 The TradescantTrust 29 BardsevIsland. N. Wales 29 The HieraciumCollection at MerseysideMuseum 30 G loucesterNaturaLists' Society 30 "BSBI News" (ISSN 0309-930X) is publishedby the BotanicalSociety of the British lsles.Enquiries concerning the Society'sactivities and membershipshould be addressed to:- The Hon. Gen. Sec.,BSBI, c/o Botany Dept, BritishMuseum (Nat. Hist.),Cromwell Road, LondonSW7 sBD. Printed by Suffolk Office SerricesLtd., 50 VictoriaStreet, Felixstowe Tel. 77117