Dumfriesshire Rare Plant Register 2020 Christopher Miles An account of the known distribution of the rare or scarce native plants in Dumfriesshire up to the end of 2019 Rare Plant Register Dumfriesshire 2020 Holy Grass, Hierochloe odorata Black Esk July 2019 2 Rare Plant Register Dumfriesshire 2020 Acknowledgements My thanks go to all those who have contributed plant records in Dumfriesshire over the years. Many people have between them provided hundreds or thousands of records and this publication would not have been possible without them. More particularly, before my recording from 1996 onwards, plant records have been collected and collated in three distinct periods since the nineteenth century by previous botanists working in Dumfriesshire. The first of these was George F. Scott- Elliot. He was an eminent explorer and botanist who edited the first and only Flora so far published for Dumfriesshire in 1896. His work was greatly aided by other contributing botanists probably most notably Mr J.T. Johnstone and Mr W. Stevens. The second was Humphrey Milne-Redhead who was a GP in Mainsriddle in Kircudbrightshire from 1947. He was both the vice county recorder for Bryophytes and for Higher Plants for all three Dumfries and Galloway vice counties! During his time the first systematic recording was stimulated by work for the first Atlas of the British Flora (1962). He published a checklist in 1971/72. The third period of recording was between 1975 and 1993 led by Stuart Martin and particularly Mary Martin after Stuart’s death. Mary in particular continued systematic recording and recorded for the monitoring scheme in 1987/88. A special mention should also be made of Derek Ratcliffe. He recorded many of the montane plants from the 1950s onwards and published “The Mountain Plants of the Moffat Hills” in 1959. Since 2018 a new Botany Group has been active in Dumfriesshire and this has provided a number of updates for the Register. The group has included the following regular recorders; Drew and Kath Davidson, Ian Gormly, Jean Muir, Fiona Macfarlane, Ranald Lamb, Zoe Gardner, Bob Meritt, Karen Miller, Chris Miles, Alison Miles. Thanks also to the many referees who specialise in difficult plant groups, and to Chris Metherell who provided guidelines and an initial template for the original Register. I have taken ideas from Stephen Bungard North Ebudes and Barbara Sumner Midlothian Register. Finally, thanks to Jim McIntosh (BSBI Scottish officer), Chris Metherell and Rod Corner for suggestions and checking the original text. 3 Rare Plant Register Dumfriesshire 2020 Contents Introduction ............................................................................................. 5 Criteria for inclusion in the Register ………......................................... 6 Exclusions ................................................................................................. 6 Confidentiality.......................................................................................... 7 The Records ............................................................................................. 7 Notes about the Species ........................................................................... 9 A note about changes in this second edition .......................................... 9 References……………............................................................................ 10 The Species accounts ...............................................................................12 Extinct Species .........................................................................................152 4 Rare Plant Register Dumfriesshire 2020 Introduction This second edition of the Register records details of the occurrence of rare or scarce plants in vice-county 72, Dumfriesshire and updates the first edition published in 2016. Dumfriesshire for the purposes of botanical recording follow the boundaries of the more recent local authority areas of Nithsdale, Annandale and Eskdale. This excludes those parts of lower Nithsdale that lie to the west of the Nith which fall into Kirkcudbrightshire including part of Dumfries itself. The Register has been produced as part of a national initiative based on the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) vice-county system. The Register provides a snapshot of the known distribution of rare or scarce plants up to the end of 2019. Many older records are at low (typically 10 km) resolution. This document provides a baseline for further recording in the hope that these older records will be refound. Dumfriesshire. Vice County 72 Three main uses are envisaged for the Register: firstly, to provide information on taxa at risk and requiring protection; secondly, to provide a baseline in order that as detailed surveying continues, changes in occurrence and distribution can be followed; thirdly to stimulate further recording of these taxa, and to fill in gaps apparent to the reader who may have seen the species in locations that are not mentioned. The author would welcome details of these. Please send to [email protected]. Species are arranged in alphabetical order of their scientific name. The scientific and vernacular names are those used by the Fourth edition of Stace (2019). 5 Rare Plant Register Dumfriesshire 2020 Criteria for inclusion in the Register The principal criteria used for inclusion in the main portion of the Register are: a) International Criteria. Native and archaeophyte* vascular plant species that are currently internationally rare. These are species that are: • endemic to Britain (a list is available in Cheffings & Farrell, 2005); • of restricted distribution internationally. These are as listed/occurring in EC Habitats and Species Directive Annex IIb, IVb or Vb; or Appendix I of the Bern Convention or Appendix I or II of CITES; b) National Criteria. Native and archaeophyte (established before 1500) vascular plant species that are currently scarce or rare in Britain. These are species that are: • listed in Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; • listed as occurring in IUCN categories CR (critically endangered), EN (endangered), VU (vulnerable) and NT (near threatened) in the British Red Data Book for vascular plants (Cheffings & Farrell 2005); • nationally rare, occurring in 15 or fewer 10 km squares in Britain; • nationally scarce, occurring in between 16 and 100 10 km squares in Britain. c) Local Criteria. Native and archaeophyte (established before 1500) vascular plant species that are: • rare, present in 3 sites or fewer in the vice-county and do not fall into the above categories. In this context a ‘site’ is a discrete area within a moveable kilometre square. Some judgement has been exercised over older doubtful records; • scarce, present in 4 -10 sites in the vice-county and do not fall into the above categories. In this category considerable judgement has been exercised to allow for the historical nature and geographical imprecision of many records. The upper limit has not been strictly adhered to, particularly where there are very few recent records; • not scarce, not meeting the criteria above but of interest in Dumfriesshire because of a particular association with a vulnerable habitat, being restricted due to lack of suitable habitat, being on the edge of range or having a notable adverse change in abundance in recent years. Native has been taken here to mean “native in the UK” not necessarily in VC 72. *Archaeophytes are alien species known or suspected to have been introduced before AD 1500, whereas neophytes are more recent introductions (Preston et al. 2002). Exclusions Records which appear or are known to refer to planted specimens have been excluded. Rare hybrids have generally been excluded as their distribution is inadequately known in the vice-county at present. Some have had more attention and their listing may stimulate further attention on them. The hybrids that have been included fulfil the following criteria as used by the JNCC for inclusion in the Red List (Cheffings & Farrell 2005). 6 Rare Plant Register Dumfriesshire 2020 a) The hybrid must be between native parents (or parents that were once native to Britain) b) The hybrid is not a short-lived annual c) The hybrid is not a single occurrence of a long-lived individual d) The hybrid reproduces vegetatively, producing long-lived colonies e) The hybrid is not regularly present as part of a hybrid swarm between similar parents. Most microspecies of Hieracium, Taraxacum and Rubus are omitted because they are not adequately recorded. Confidentiality Restriction of access to rare plant records is an issue that has caused much debate over the years. If detailed locations are given, plants may be at risk from collectors or even from those who simply wish to photograph them but may damage plants by trampling. On the other hand, many more are at risk from neglect of habitat or potential development and if their locations are unknown their conservation becomes more difficult, if not impossible. In general the policy in this Register is to give the fullest information. In three cases (Ajuga pyramidalis, Saxifraga nivalis and Woodsia ilvensis, all of restricted occurrence in the Moffat Hills) detailed locations have not been given. Full resolution information is available from the author to those who have a genuine need for it. All users of this Register are requested to respect the information provided, and to note that rare and scarce plants may grow on private property. Many are also found on SSSIs and other areas