Sussex Botanical Recording Society Newsletter No. 69 http://www.sussexflora.org.uk January 2010 President’s Message Secretary’s Note As the year turns again it is time to assess SBRS and, Dates for your Diary as reported at our Autumn Get-together, more progress with the New Flora has been achieved in 2009. Many Saturday 6th March 2010 members have sent large numbers of records, and a The Annual General Meeting will be held at 2.00 p.m. few more have written many species accounts and at Staplefield Village Hall followed by a showing of taken a large part in the production of the Flora. Our members’ photographs and finishing with tea and cake thanks to them all. As well as this the Society has or biscuits. The hall will be available from 1.30 p.m. again promoted good fellowship and friendship while The present officers and committee members are improving plant recognition skills for all those taking willing to stand again and elections will take place at part in the field meetings. this meeting. If you know anyone who would like to join us on the committee, or if you would like to This year there has been a bonanza in publication of become a committee member or an officer please send new books for the field botanist. A BSBI Handbook, nominations to the Secretary by the 27th February No. 13, updates our well-thumbed copies of Grasses 2010. by C.E.Hubbard, first published in 1954. We now have Grasses of the British Isles by Tom Cope and Alan Saturday 6th November 2010 Gray. This handsome book is enhanced by the delicate The Autumn Get-together will be held in Staplefield drawings by Margaret Tebbs, and is published in Village Hall. The doors will be open from 10.00 a.m. association with Kew and the Centre for Ecology and and the meeting will start promptly at 10.30 a.m. Hydrology. A new approach to identification is There will be reports of field meetings and interesting provided by John Poland and Eric Clement in The records and an illustrated talk. Please remember to Vegetative Key to the British Flora. The helpful bring a packed lunch; tea or coffee and biscuits and illustrations include some by SBRS member Rosalind cakes will be available. Members are invited to bring Bucknall. Several members have told me that they books and plants for sale, any items of interest or have been making good use of this book, some adding specimens for display, and digital photographs or slides in a rather surprised tone – it works! Collins Flower to show in the afternoon. Guide by our member David Streeter is the most recent Rita Hemsley title in Collins’ field natural history series. It is illustrated, and has David’s informative ecological comments in the text, well known to us from his earlier In This Issue books. President’s Message 1 We send congratulations to Rene Folkerd on her recent Secretary’s Notes 1 90th birthday; we send good wishes to her in her new Treasurer’s Note 2 home, and thank her warmly for the gift of her Obituary: Betty Bishop 2 botanical books, some of which were auctioned at the Book reviews 3 Get-together. VC13 Field Meetings Report 2009 3 VC14 Field Meetings Report 2009 5 Very sadly we report that Betty Bishop died, just Dr Derek Hill 6 th before her 90 birthday. Beryl Clough has written her Mistletoe in Sussex 7 Obituary for us. Flora Progress & Recording Notes 8 Warning – accuracy of GPS 11 Writing cards is now not easy for me so may I take this Field Meetings 2010 12 opportunity to wish you all well for 2010, with a good season of plant recording for you all. Newsletter Editor Frances Abraham The Old School House Mary Briggs Ebernoe, Petworth West Sussex, GU28 9LD 1 Treasurer’s Note to the Sussex Plant Atlas, which was published in 1980, and was just as enthusiastic about our New Flora. The subscription for the calendar year 2010 remains at the same rates as for 2009, which is £5 for a single Betty was wonderful at sharing her knowledge, always membership and £7 for joint membership at one pointing out the relevant parts of a plant. These address, with part of the subscription going into the identification tips were written up and copies handed fund for the new flora. Payment may be made to me at out on our botany trips. I am sure that we all agree that the AGM or the Autumn Get-together or sent to me at we shared so much with our delightful friend. my home address: Westfield House, Church Road, Crowborough, East Sussex, TN6 1EE Trevor Lording Obituary: Betty Bishop 1919-2009 by Beryl Clough Although I am sure by now you have heard that our dear friend Betty Bishop died on 20th July last year, I would like to give a brief picture of her very interesting life. Betty was born in Cornwall in 1919; her father, a naval officer, was stationed there. They then moved to Heathfield, where Betty and her brother Harry spent their early childhood. In 1934 their parents bought a house in Shoreham, where Betty lived for the rest of her life. She became an art teacher at Charmandean Girls’ School. During the war years Betty was Commander of the Shoreham Unit of the Women’s Junior Air Corps, but all the time developing her love of painting and of natural history, with botany being the most important subject. Betty met her husband George at the Southwick Art Club. George was also interested in the Photo. Margaret Patrick botanical world and his knowledge of mosses and lichens was immense. They were ardent supporters of Above: Betty Bishop Below: Coppice workers the Sussex Wildlife Trust from its early days, with a sketched by George Bishop, probably while real ‘hands on’ attitude. They looked after Borrer’s recording in West Dean Woods with Betty Garden, which had been set up at Woods Mill to commemorate the life of the well known botanist William Borrer (1781-1862) who had a large garden at Henfield. Betty and George had a delightful daughter Helen, who as a youngster accompanied her parents on all these happy occasions, and consequently she also has a very good knowledge of the botanical world. Betty enlarged her knowledge of botany by attending Oliver Buckle’s evening classes. This led to Betty and George carrying out many surveys, the most well known being the West Dean Woods Survey, which lasted for 25 years. This was set up in 1985 in conjunction with the Sussex Wildlife Trust, and they were known as the West Dean Recording Group. As you can imagine, the records were meticulously kept and will always be available for future interest. In 1984 Betty and George wrote a booklet called Flora of Shoreham-by-Sea which was very informative and well-illustrated. Betty updated this Flora in 2003. Another point I must mention is that in the 1960s Betty rediscovered the Trifolium stellatum (Starry Clover) on Shoreham Beach, which in 1943 Wolley-Dod had thought to be extinct. Betty was a prolific contributor 2 The Vegetative Key to the British the sample is old or damaged. Therefore, if you come to a branch point in a key using this character and Flora by John Poland & Eric decide latex is absent, be prepared to go back and Clement Review by Alan Knapp check the "latex present" branch as well. Another character which can cause problems is the presence or Uniquely, this book aims to allow the field botanist to absence of stomata on one or other surface of the identify the vast majority of vascular plants, both leaves. Even with a x20 lens these can be hard to see native species and introductions, when in their and, for species where this is important, it is far better vegetative state. It contains a mass of information to use a low power (x30 or x40) microscope - they are which is either not covered at all or hardly mentioned then clearly visible. With experience this character gets in other UK floras. The keys are set out in a very clear a lot easier so try it out on a plant whose identity you manner which minimises the number of steps required know. to identify a plant. There are also many excellent illustrations (a number by SBRS member Rosalind Overall we thoroughly recommend this book - it is an Bucknall) to assist in the use of the keys. However, excellent work containing a mass of new information some of the terms and features are unfamiliar to those which will prove to be invaluable to anyone involved of us used to more conventional floras. It can take a in serious recording in the UK. little time to become familiar with these terms, although they are clearly described and some are The Vegetative Key to the British Flora by John Poland illustrated in a comprehensive glossary and list of & Eric Clement, published by John Poland in symbols and abbreviations at the back of the book. It is association with the BSBI, 2009. ISBN 13:978-0- also important to read the introduction before using the 9560144-0-5. keys. When you first use the book it is a good idea to take a number of species whose identity you know with certainty and work through the keys in order to gain experience and check whether you are using the Collins Flower Guide by David characters correctly.