BSBI News the Next Issue Of1y'el's Will Include Reports Ofthe Final Field Meetingsi'll Be Leadingthis Year and Ofthe Forthcomingatlas 2000 Workshop

BSBINEWS September1996

Editedby R. Gwynn Ellis No. 73

4l MarlboroughRoad, Roath

CardiffCF2 5BU W *z\

Solanum tternetat Whiteknights, Reading, del. Annette Townsend O 1996 (see page 40) -Adrninrs(nlion

ADMINISTRA.TION

PRESIDENT Nlr David Pearman The Old Rectory,Frome St Quinton,DORCIiESTER. Dorset DT2 0HF Tel & Fax01915-81702 PRESIDENT.ELECT Nlrs Mary Briggs 9 Arun Prospect,PULBOROUGH, West Sussex RH20 IAL Tel 01798-87323:l HON. GENERAL SECRETARY(General Enquiries) Mr Gwynn Ellis 4l Marlborough Road. Roath, CARDIFF CF2 58U Tel & Fax 01222 49604?..E-mail paellis(rDnrsncom

HON. TREASURER (Paymentof Subscriptionsand changeof address) Nlr I\'lichael Walpole 68 OutwoodsRoad, LOUGHBOROUGH, Leics. Lf ll 3LY Tel 01509-215598 (Pleasequote membership number on correspondenceconcerning membership or subscriptions) llON. FIELD SECR-ETARY(Enquines on FieldMeetings) NlrslVl. Lindop 36 WoodlandHill. Whitkirk. LEEDSLSl5 7DG Tel 0l l3-2646513 BSBI CO-ORDINATOR Mr CameronS. Crook 8, WoodstockClose, Lostock Hall, PRESTON,Lancs. PR5 sYY Tel & Fax01112-31671'7 E-mail 101353lT5TfrDconrpuserve com

BSBIATLAS 2000ORGANISER (Enquiries on Atlas 2000\ Dr Trevor Dines Rhyd y Fuwch,Bethel, Nr Caernarfon,Gw1'nedd LL55 3PS Tel.01248 670189 E-MaiI 101667.2317@compuserve com

OFFICERSAND COT]NCILFROM NIAY I996

(Datesgir en are thoseof electionfor presentservice )

President Mr D.A Pearman.1995 President-elect Mrs M. Brrggs,1996 Vice-Presrdents MrAO Chater,1993 Mr R G Ellis,1995 Mr C.D Preston,1995 MrR Gornall,1996 HonoraryGeneral Secretary MrRG Ellis,1996 HonoraryTreasurer. Mr M Walpole,l97l

COI.JNCIL In clrderof seniorityin accordancewith Rule il I991 Mr B.A. Gale,Mr D J McCosh, Dr G. Wynne 1994 Mrs M. Lrndop,Prot. C A. Stace,N'lr R M. Walls | 995 Mr Nt.E. Braithwaite.N'lr R M. Bunon. Ntr D.E. Green I 996 Mrs P P Abbott. Dr F.l. Rumsey.Dr lVlC Sheahan Admlnlstratlor / Dran

l',lt'ctetl hl llegiott.s tr trct trdotrce v ilh llula I 2

1995.lreland Dr D.W Nash 1993.Scotland Dr P Maopherson 1994:Wales l\{r P Dav

/ pprtr rttetl hy ('outtt r/ :

Hon Receiving Editor lI'ttt.sotnu Dr B S Rushton, l99l Hon Editor IISBI n"av.s N{r R G Ellis, 1986

ax rtf/icrrt:

ChairmanMeetings Comrrrittee. Dr S.l-. Jun, l99i Hon. SecretaryPublications Committee. Mr ClR Boon. l99l ChairmanRecords Committee Dr G Hallidav.1991 ChairmanConsen'ation Comrnittee. Mr D T Streeter.1994 Hon Field Secretary l\1rsN'1. Lindop. 1994

FIon.N,linuting Secretan Mr P Thomson. 1995

Contributionsintended for BSBIIVEWS 74 shouldreach the Editorbefore NOVEMBER5th I996

DIAR\

N.B. These dates are supplementaryto those in the | 996 []alendar in BSlll ]'aur lJrn;k 1996

l 996 October31 Deadlinefbr booking spaceat AnnualExhibition Meeting (see booking fbrnr) 1997 May l7 & l8 BSBI AGM, Dorchesterand associatedfield meeting in Dorset (pleasenote later date fbr 1997) .lune2l-July 6 Azores Field N{eeting(see page 55) June/ Julv N E Turkev FieldN{eeting lsee page55 1

Seealso page 59 lbr datesofother lr99611991Conferences and Svntposra

EDITOR Edrtorirl

EDTTORIAL

I'hanks 'l'he AGM last May was a memorableone for me Not only did I have tlte privilegeof being elected Hon. GeneralSecretary but also the quite unexpected.and in rny opinion undesen'ed,honour ofbeing elected an Honorary member of the Socrety I reall-vwas bor.vledover by the occasion The thought of .'qir,ingan impromptu speechabout hal'ingnothing to ofler but blood, etc . flashedacross the space betweenmy ears some people call a mind, but. wisely, I just babbledsonrething incoherent and sat down, just beforemy Welsh emotionsgot the betterof me. Ilowever, I reallydo appreciatethe trenlen- dous honour bestowed on me, and wiJl do my best to live up to the trust vou have placed in me, thank vou all very much. Mary tells me that shewas Secretaryof N'leetingsComnrittee for 6 vearsbefore her 1.1vears as Hon Gen Sec. and, as Secretariessiit on Council in thosedays. she has beenon Council continuouslyfor the last 30 years.This must be record andjust shor.vswhat a glutton for punishment she is. It will be at least another 3 vears befbre she retires as President and w,ho knos's what may be linedup lor her then?I don't think we shallsay larervell to Mal1,for manyyears yet, thank heavens!

New Artist I am very grateful to Annette Townsend fbr the superb drawing whioh graces our front cover this time. Annette was rvorking in the Dept. of Botany, NN{W, Cardiff on rllustrationsfor the new edition of I|'al.vhJicrns rvhen the specinrenc\f .l()lunun vcrnar arrived llonr Carol Hora. She readily agreed to tlraw the plant and would like membersto kno.,r'that she is a lieelance r.vildlifbartist. availableto carry out any illustrativework. She canbe contactedat 26 EclipseStreet. Adarrsdown, Car-diff CF2 lJE.

Nerv Book For those of you with an interestin the historv of plant recording.especialll of North Wales.a new book published this spring is a must. fhe Bolcuti.t/scoul (fuidar oJ Snov,tlonioby Dervi Jones is a mar- vellous account of the botanistswho visited Snowdonia and the locals who guided them in their searchesfor plants This I 70 page paperback,prolhsely illustrated with biack and white photographs and line drawings and r"ith 4 pages ol colour. is availabletbr f7.50 inclusiveof p& p. from the publishers.Gwasg CarregGwalch, I 2 Yard yr Orsaf. Llanrwst,Wales LL26 OEH.Tel 01192 642.03|

Ciontacting the Editor. bi, post. phone, fax or e-nrail Pleasenote that I have norv left the National Museum of Wales and all mail should be sent to my honre address.t still visit NNlW two to threetimes zr month but therewill be an inevitabledelay rn ansrvenng anv letterssent there. Note alsothat my Fax numberis now the sameas rnv telephonenumber 01222 496042 If I am not available please leave a brief message,your name and telephone number on the ansrveringmachine and I urll get back to you as soon as possible.I can also be contactedby E-mail at paellis@)rnsn.com

Insertswith this issue IISBI Notices. Annual l'.xhihilion lvleettng notice and booking form,l'he .lcotlish ,.1nnuolMeering noticeand booking fornr Atlas 2000: ('

A NOTEFROMTHE PRESIDENI'-EI,ECI

IMary has very kindh'preparedthe tbllowing note to replaceHott. (;L'trcrulS(Lt(tur't.\ ,\.)1r,.\lor thrs issue.She may no longer be our HGS but she still has her finger ven'nruch on the pulseofthe BSBI and is I'arbetter able to produce this sorl ofreport than i There is an arvftrl lot to learn ! Ed I

Our Congratulations to Rev Gordon G Graham O.B.E., arvardedthis in the Birthday Honours in Junetbr his sen'icesttr [rot- 'l any These culminated in the publication of his comprehensive he lilrtru and L'cgaruttotrof ('otrtrtt Durhon. and as joint author of the BSBI Handbook lkxc.; of (iraut lJrrttritt tuttl /rclruzl Gordon rs borh a \/C Recorder (66. Co. Durham) and a Ref'eree(/lo.ra) for BSBI To FrancisW Sinpson M.B E, honouredfbr his senices to natureconsenation in Suflolk Fran- cis too has beenVC Recorderfor 25 & 26. E. & \\/ Sullblk, fbr nran\,y.ears,and is still joint Recordcr for thesevice-counties To Rev. Dr Tony Primavesi, awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the De N{ontlbrt University.This was cited as, in recognitionofhis contributionto botany on a nationallevel (as a /{o.rrr Referee), and his work on the F-loru of Leice.ster.shn'cTony writes I lronestly think that I or.r't'it iargely to the BSBI and that much o1-the honour should go to the Societv' He was joint author ol Rost:s of (ireat Rritdtrr and IreldrrLl (with Gordon Graham). ancl sincc his retirenrent ftom teaching Tony hasworked through the specimensof Rosa checkingidentification and labellingin (l Herbana llt estimatedthat there are 20,000 specimensin the BM collectionalonel So a considerableand wonh- while task. Congratulations too to Adrian Darbv, Chairman of Plantlif-e,awarded an O B E. in the Birrhdal Honours, to The Colleswold Nantralisls' Field Cluh which ceiebratesits l5Oth Annirersary this vear andto The British Br.tological Societl' which celebrates its Centenary. ln Memoriam Since the Report of Council went to press for publication in the BSB-I1996 Annual llep.r'l we fegret to report the loss of the following members:Mrs Violet \2.C. Schrverdt,President of the Wild Florver Societyfor very many yearsand an Honorary menrberof BSBI. Edgar Milne-RedheadNl.B E lSO. TD, also an Honorary member of BSBI, Past President and a menlber since 1929 rvho was at various timesduring 40 yearson every BSBI Committee,John Trist (Mr P.J.O.)O.B.E.. yet anotherHonorar1' member, a BSBI Grass Referee for l4 years and a member since 1956, Frank Brightman, a mcnrber since 1957, representedthe British Lichen Society on the BSBI Consen,ation Comnrittee for man\ years, and when in the B.M. Dept. of Education he produced the earlv infcrrmationleaflets after the llrst legislation fbr wild plantsl Dr Larvrence A. Storer lVfB, Ct{B, w'as an active field botanist, recordin! mainly in Derbyshire, and his plant records have been given to the BSBI by his son, John Fisher rc- corded and photographed plants in Sussex,and with a particular interest in rare plants he searchedlbr thesethroughout the British Isles.Author of severalbooks on wild and gardenplants As this goes to presswe hear of the death of Miss D.S. Lambert M B E. - Doreen was VC Recorderfbr H36 Tyrone fbr l5 years.All will be sadlymissed, there will be Obituariesof manvof thesein l|?tt.vtrrrct Giant Aroid You could hear the excitementin Peter Boyce's voice when inten,iewedat Kew on the dav that the giant aroid - Amorphophallus tilanun flowered Describing the thousandsof visitors queuing to see the flower, Peter agreed that it was a Red-letter-Dav for Kew - and lor botany. The last times that it flowered at Kerv were in 1889, i926 and 1963 Peter.rvho is the author of 7he (ienu: Arunr (lJeter Boyce 1993, Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew), assistedDavid Simpsonwith the arrangementsfbr rhc tsSBI AGM held at Kerv on May llth 1996 The Nerv Naturalist Nlonograph InrtJs utrl Ludic.r (Cccil T. Prirne 1960. Collins), includesa photo ol A. riltrnumflowering in the Leyden Botanic Garden in 'l l954, it rvas recorded |henin T'he ime.s,as this vear's fkrwer lvas also Note from Prcsident-elect / New Hon. Gen. Sec. - Mini Profile

Vascula appeal From time to time we have requestsfrom membersfor a vasculum, still useful at times in the field when collecting critical specimens or occasionallyfor an exhibition. Recently one was sent to the Depart- ment of Botany, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Members have donated to us assorted vascula which they no longer use but currently rve have none in reserve, so ifyou have a spare vasculum and would like to pass it on, pleaselet us know

Past Hon. Gen. Sec.'sTail - P.S. As the last BSBI New.swent to press before the AGM when the new Hon. General Secretarywas officially elected, I did not then have the opportunity to warmly welcome Gwynn as my successor,to wish hrm very well and to hope that he will enjoy the post as much as I have done through the years. I am 'For certain that the BSBI's secretarialaffairs are now in very good hands and as we all say Gwynn's ' ajolly good fellow

MARY BRIGGS. President-elect.

NEW HON. GEN. SEC._ MINI PROFILE

He's short He's fat He's Welsh Welcome Tweedle-dum

Tweedle-dum in a characteristicpose Yes - there are three glassesofGuinness in front ofhim - and a few more inside! Photo O M Briggs 1995(at lastyears AGM Dinner in Dublin) Allas20(X)

ATLAS 2OOO

REPORT

It's Full Steam Ahead! Fieldwork and recordinglbr the Atlas 2000 rs now rvell under way lollouing the successflllaunch ol the schemein April. The projecthas obviously grasped peoples imagination, and the levelofenthusiasrrr which has been shown by members is really encouraging. After a late start to the season.eventhin-!l seemedto burst into life in early June and recording cards have been rapidly filling up since then The last few months have therefore been incredibly hectic, what with travelling up and down the countrv organisingfield meetingsand workshops, and having to identif, many specresI've never seenbetbrel This and future reports give accountsof field meetingsand recordingworkshops. discuss points nradeby members,pass on tips and advice,and generalll,'keepyou up to date with prorrressSo flrst. here'san importantannouncenlent . .

Atlas Organiser Change of Address Pleasenote that, by the time you readthis, I will har.emoved house My new addressis Rhyd y Fui.vch Bethel Nr Caernarfon Gwynedd LL55 3PS and nry new telephone number is 01248-670789

Moving house obviouslycauses a bit of disruption.so pleasebear with nre if there are any probienrsr 'Rhyd 'Ford By the way, to saveyou asking,the nameofthe house y Fuwch', means ofthe Cattle' and is pronounced'Rheeder viwch' (with the'ch' as in'loch';.

Some Thoughts on Recording Having actually completed a fair amount of recording specifically for the Atlas, it's become apparent just how easy it is to record at the tetrad (2 km square) or site level while satislying the requirementtbr hectad (10 km square) records. When arriving at an under-recordedhectad. selectthe potentially most species-richarea and begin recording. When you move to a new site or tetrad, stan a new card and eithercross offall speciesagain, or. if time is limited.add only the new speciesyou see Bv covering the most diverse selection of habitats you can clock up very reasonablespecies totals for the hectad while retaining detailed site or tetrad information Obviously, tetrad or site recording is not leasible in all areasand situations,but is to be encouragedwherever possible. It's surprising how nrany interesting and less comnlon speciescrop up when recording in this wat, These include not only rare and scarce species(such as Violct lacteo (Pale Dog-r'iolet) in the Isle of White and Orohanchealha (Thyme Broomrape)in Mull), but also Vice-countyfirsts (such as./rrrtttr.: litlio.sus(Leafr Rush) in Mull and Stellaria pollida (Lesser Chickweed) in Peebleslrire) I would. here. like to reiterate our desire for complete six figure grid referenceswhenever such speciesare found, as thesecan easilyand quickly be enteredonto the front ofthe recordingcard The widespreaddistribution of alienspecies is also striking Notablefrom earlierrn the spring*as the frequency of Ht'uc'.t'nthoitJeshi.spanica (Spanish Bluebell) and its hybrid rvith our native species (H. non-scripla - Bluebell). Care should be taken to identifo such taxa, as they not covered in the original Atlas and we currentlyhave no good nationaldistribution maps. Chrrs Preston's'Notes on Identrfl- 'faxa' cation Works and Some Difficult and Under Recorded (distributed with the last lJSlJl Nor'.r) rvill help to alert you to these and other taxa requiring attention Atlas 2(X)0

The richest hectad? Reports have come in from the remoter parts ofDorset ofa hectad (10 km square)with well over 1000 speciesrecorded from it. Details have yet to be confirmed, but a full statementwill be made in the next News. Can anyone better this? (Or, alternatively,can the poorest squarein the country be found?)

Atlas 2000 Publicity The Atfas 2000 publicity machine is gearing up with two recent articles onetn British Wildltfe, and one in the Royal Horticultural Society Magazine (volume l2l, part 6). This latter was written by Franklyn Perring and addressedthe presenceof aliens in the British and Irish floras, leading on to a discussionofthe new Atlas and how this is mapping their distribution for the first time. The British Wildltfe article (volume 7, page 305) was another well presentedpiece by David Pear- man and Chris Preston, outlining the project, why it's being done, and calling for volunteers. In this respect, the article was particularly successful- enquiries and oflers of help really have been flooding lnl A similar article is being planned for New Scientisl in the autumn. Has anyone elsebeen involved in publicity?

E-mail Users Many thanks to those ofyou who have got touch by e-mail. It's been suggestedthat a BSBI register of these numbers could be useful - pleaseget in touch ifyou agree and don't object to your number being nublishedin a future issue of News.

Field Meetings At the time of writing, five of the Atlas 2000 field meetings advertised on the green flier have been held. All of these have been successful,and, in order to give you a flavour of recording meetings, a briefreport on each follows.

Framlingham, Sulfulk (VC 25). 22-23rd May. A cool but bright morning greeted the fourteen memberswho assembledin Framlingham to look at the largely arablecountryside in the area. Our hopes to find rare cornfield weeds were somewhat dampened by the latenessofthe season,but this did not reduce our enthusiasmand we split up into pairs to cover the hectads(10 km squares)deserving attention. Tr.vodays ofgood recording were completed, with the huge village greenscharacteristic ofthis area providing the richest habitats.Finds included new sitesfor Orchi.s morio (Green-winged Orchid) and Primula t polyantha (.P. veris x P. vulgaris). Unfortunately, recent reports of Fritillaria meleagris (Fritillary) in a lightly grazed meadow could not be confirmed. The potential richnessofarable fields was indicated by the abundanceof Lomium hyhridum (Cut-leaved Deadnettle), Anchusa arvensis (Bugloss) and Sherqrdia arvensis (Field Madder) in many places. Wet ditches also proved productive, with severalrecords for Ranunculus sceleratus (Celery-leavedButter- cup) and Thalictrumflavziz (Common Meadow-rue), while wet woodland revealed Slellaria neglecla (Greater Stitchwort), Adoxa mr.tschalellina (Moschatel) and Ribes rubrum (Red Currant). At the end of the second day, Chippenhall Green SSSI was the closing venue where members enjoyed carpets of 'liiftlium Orchis morio (Green-winged Orchid), and ochroleucon (Sulphur Clover) was found in its vegetative state.

Newport, Isle of ltight (VC l0). 2|th - 27th May The promise of torrential rain was probably responsiblefor the poor turn out on this Bank Holiday meeting. However, the four'mainland' memberswho did attend were joined by severalmembers of the local Wildlife Trust, and a very keen party therefore tackled the island with vigour. A coastal path at Bouldner Cliffon the NW side of the island proved very rich, with much regeneratingwoodland over unstable clays and sands. One particularly nice patch included (-arex pulicaris (Flea Sedge), Viokt luctea (Pale Dog-violet) and C'uscutaepithynum (Dodder) Another surprisewas a fine patch of Coz- vallario majalis (Llly-of+he-valley) in the wood - presumably introduced. The next day was, Allas 2000

meteorologically speaking, diabolical. The rain rvas so bad it got under the bonnet of the leaders' car 'Heath and caused complete electrical failure. traunratisingthe passengers!Aller a dubrous Robinson' repair.we headedfor a patch of wet woodlandaptly named'The Wilderness'(whichat leastseemed a better option than the alternative-'Bleak Moor')! Extensivesearching within the wood led ro the rdentificationof Dryopteris carlhusiana (Narrow Buckler-fern) amongst widespreadD. dilatoto (Broad Buckler-fern), but the best find. however, was l). " dcv,eyeri, the hybrid betrveen the two The next day, the weather was back to glorious sunshine,so we tackled a small area around the Needles con- venientlydivided offinto its'orvn hectad.This proved a remarkablearea, complete rl,ith it's own cliff 'saltmarsh'. top SeeingAtriplex porlulacoides (Sea-purslane),and l.'rtutkeniq /aeul.r(Sea-heath) grow- rngat220ft on top of a chalk ciiffis unlbrgettable. The surrounding clilFslopes also proved rernarkablv rich bolh Ranunculus parviflrtrus (Small-flowered Buttercup) and Pou hulbosa (Bulbous Meadow- grass)were found and so rve rewarded ourselvesat the end of the meetins with National Trust tea and caKesI

Salen, Isle of Mull (VC 10,1). 22nd - 29th .lune. A total of seven intrepid members met in Salen for a week of superb botany in this incredibly beautrful island We were extremely lucky rvith the weather, u,ith only two wet daysl Again. the group split into two to cover as much ground as possible.The first day was spent near Salen, with one group encoun- tering iarge numbers of [)at:ty*lorhiza incornoto subsp. incarnato (Early Marsh-orchid) and I). incarnala subsp.pulchella in wet flushes. The others tackled Ben Talaida, linding typical upland 'l'halictrum speciessuch as Alchentilla ttlpiru (Npine Lady's-mantle), ulprnun (AIpine N4eadou,-rue) and l.uzulq splcala (Spiked Wood-rush). Day two concentratedon coastal clifls at Carsaig that were remarkablefor their diversity, probably a product ofalternating base-richand acid substrates ().tnundu regalli (Royal Fern) was seen on the cliff tops, with Equisetum t litorale, l)rosera iiltarnl(,dio (Oblong-leaved Sundew), Pinpyicula lusilanictr (Pale Butterwort) and C.ystoTtteri.;.fiugtlt.: (Brittle Bladder-fern) being seen nearer sea level. On day three we headed for lreshwater lochs and grassland near Lochbuie. Ophioglos:suntvulgalum (Adder's+ongue) rvas fbund in the latter, with surprisrngfinds of Gr:ranium molle (Dove's-foot Cranes-bill) andSherordia urvensis (Field N!adder) on the mortar-rich ramparts of Mov Castle. The lakes proved very productive, turning up (arex t:estcuriu (Bladder Sedge), Droseru rotundirttlia (RoundJeaved Sundew), D. intermediq (Oblong-leaved Sundew) and l). longrftlia (Long-leaved Sundew) on their margins, while Isoetes lacuslri.s (Common Qurllwort). 'luhuloria dqualica (Awlwort) and Lohclio dortmanne (Water Lobelia) were found in rhe shallorvs The fourth day was spent on the Isle of Ulva, which is said to be beautiful. The persistentrain. however, prevented us forming this opinron as rve struggled over heathlandand small bays, the latter ollen sheltering nice patches of Blysmus rulrs (Saltmarsh Flat-sedge). Shelter from the weather came fiom attractive stands of ('orylus uvellana (Hazel), in which Hyment4fiyllum wils:ortit (Wilson's Filnry-t'ern) was frequent on rocks. Grey Sealswere also seen,boosting our morale considerably!On the next day, we tackled the steep rocky cliffs ofthe Ardmeanach Peninsular.The range ofaltitude, aspect and base- richnesslead to stunnrnglydiverse vegetation,with over 230 speciesrecorded from one tetrad! Notable finds included liciu orohus (Wood Bitter-vetch). Iluhus saxc.tili.\(Stone Bramble\, S'cdum y,illo:unt (Hairy Stonecrop) and Orobonche alha (Thyme Broomrape) Koeniliiu i.slttndittr (lceland-purslane) was known to occur, and was eventually located after some judicious searching! A great day, despite the hr.rgepopulation ofhungry Deer-ticks. The final full day w,asspent searchinga coaslal stretch ofthe Ross of Nlull, again notable for rts richness.Wet flushesrevealed Hypericun elode.s(Marsh St John's- rvort) in quantity, afong r'"ith Osrnurrda regalt.s (Royal Fern) and l)r.1.,optarr.sut,mulu (Hay-scenled Buckler-fern) on the cli11.s.Base rich patches over calcareous sand supported (;Lr(utiun pr(u(n.\L (Meadorv Crane's-bill), Ophioglos.utn wtlgultrm (Adder's+ongue) and occasional/)uttylorhr:o nttur- rralrr subsp.coccineo (the red form of Early Marsh-orchid). To end the trip a visit,,vas ntade to Calgary sand dunes, but iittle was found because of the unrelenting downpourl llowever, .luntns fblio.ttr.; (Leafy Rush) was fbund on the paths and Gerailntm sdnf1uiileum(Bloody Crane's-bill) brightened up surroundingclifti. All in all, the Mull meetingwas very successful,not only providingvaluabie upclates ll, Atlas20(X) of existing records but turning up a few new ones as well. Mush more will have to be done, but a great start has been made

Northullerton, North Yorks (VC'62). 29th - 30th June. Two days were spent examiningsonre rather inrpoverishedagricuiturai land around Northallerton Ainderby N'[iresrvas visited on the first day, rvhich proved to be intensivell cultrvated. A local railway, however. turned up fulpta bromoides (Squirrel-tail Fescue) and ('hoenorhtrrun rrlnrr.r (Small Toad- flax). More agricultural land was covered on the ncxt day, notching up some useful records. Towards the River Tees, Hesperi.s notronali,: (Dame's-violet) became frequent, with occasional clumps of lktrippa .sylve.slris(Creeping Yellow-cress) Both these, however. had to share their niches with a farr number ol introduced species.These included Mimtrlu.sgullalils (N{onkeyflower), lnputiens glanduliJ- ara (lndian Balsam) and depressrngly large quantities of Heroclenm ntonlegtzzianum (Giant Flogweed).

Okehampton, North Detvn (VC 4). 7th - 8th .luly. Five membersassembled in the morning to conlb the hectads(10 km squares)requiring attention. One group had a particularly fine start, with over 100 speciesrecorded in a single lav-byt 4gu1n,the combination ofbase-rich and base-poor substrates,arable fields, woodlands, rivers and upland lead to some incrediblyhigh speciescounts, with over 330 speciesrecorded in one hectad(SX69) on the secondday. Aconitum napellus (Monk's-hood) was found on the bank of a stream near No(h Lew, Asplentum ohowttum subsp. lanceolatum (Lanceolate Spleenwort) on shaded walls in Belstone and Vertnica stztellala var villo.so (Marsh Speedwell) and Pinguicula lusitanica (Pale Butterwort) in damp flushes around Befstone Cleave. The number of introduced specieswas surprising.includingA.finulu.s ' rohert- .rll (Hybrid Monkeyflower), Persicariu campanulata (Lesser Knotweed). flarntnculu.slrngutr (Greater Spearwort)and('epholorrogigantea(GiantScaboius)Afinal surprisewaslitlpitrlr.r'rrrr.,,r(Rat'sTail Fescue)growing in the main Okehampton car park where rve nret!

Future Meetings Unfortunately, the turn out at meetings has proved somewhat variable. This is a great pity because,as you can see from the above accounts, they are very rewarding botanically. If you're put off by the thought ofrecordrng, pleasecome along to a local rrreetinganci have a go - there's no greater thrill than re-finding old records, finding new speciesfor the Vice-county, or in finding new sites fbr known rare or scarce species.All of these are likely to occur in under-recorded areas.Also, the evenlng sesslons, where the days difficult specimensare identified and interestingfinds discussed.are both very instruc- tive and enjoyable Renrember,too, that the meetines are open to all BSBI rnembersand attract both experts and beginners(there's no better way to learn) Everyone is welcome, regardlessofabilityl Many'thanksto all thosethat haveattended or help organisethese meetings so fhr Specralthanks are also due to the staffof the Scottish Natural Heritage of{ice in Barcaldine, near Oban, for the lift in their Land Rover to the ArdmeanachPeninsular on Mull

Workshops The first Atlas 2000 Workshop was held at the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens on l5th June. The meeting was very well attended, despite the Euro 96 match between Scotland and England on the same day. Participantswere treated to excellenttalks from Clive Jermy (('urer), Cameron Crook (Conif-ers),Allan Silverside(Mtmulus. .\piroea and Lupinus). Anthony Piggot (Ferns) and fuchard Bateman (.1)ctr,t.ylor- hrzn) Demonstrationsrvere also given of Oxulrs by N'lark Watson and of the ('arc.r Cornputer Key by 'hands-on Richard Pankhurst. Two sessions'allorved panicipants to exerr:iseIheir nervlv firund skills, which included thumping and sniflng conit'ers,and describing Dath,lorhiztt tlorver colours using the RHS Colour Key (which we were all keento purchaseat a cool I85). A toLrrof the gardenby Richar.d Bateman to see living Doctylorhizu allowed us to get out rnto the sunshineand rclundedof an extremely enjoyableday Thanks to all those who attended and to the speakers Particular thanks must also go to Mark Watson fbr his superb efforts in organisrngthe venue. Atlas2000 / Co-ordinator'sCorner II

The secondWorkshop was due to take place at the University of Reading on Saturday, September 7th. The speakersincluded: Clive Jermy (('arex), Tom Cope (Agrostis. Poo and Rntnrus), Jeannette Fryer (Cotoneoster), Clive Stace (.iuzcls), Cameron Crook (Conifers) and John Bowra (Oenotheral. A report will appear in the next Nerv.t

Next BSBI News The next issue of1y'el's will include reports ofthe final field meetingsI'll be leadingthis year and ofthe forthcomingAtlas 2000 Workshop. I also hope to includean artrcleaimed as'A BeginnersGuide To Recording', giving fulI details ofrvhat's involved, how to decide where to go and how to actually record species Ifyou've never been recordingbefore and aren't really sure whal's involved.this will be essentialreadingl I am working on a report on the stateofrecording in Britain and lrelandwhich shouldbe readyin time. This will illustrate which areas are in most need of attention and theretbre where we should be concentratingour efforts. As the project grows, I hope to provide you with more and more feedbackso you can seehow things are developing. In this way, our efforts can be co-ordinated to maximum effect Remember, if you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions.please let me know. Until next time, happy recording through the rest ofthe seasonl

TREVOR DINES, Rhyd y Furvch, Bethel, Nr Caernarflon,Gwynedd LL5-s -lPS Tel 01248 67078t) E-lVfail I0 [email protected]

CO-ORDINATOR'SCORNER

Introduction You may remember in my introduction in BiBl News'71, a long list of promises and intentions. And you are probably wondering what's been happeningand have I managedto meet these goals (ifany?) As it happens,bar a few hiccups here and there, I am more or less on schedule In fact, not only that. I have embarked on one or two tasks which were not initially intended. The main thrusts were (and still are) to improve the florv of data between BSBI and BRC and benveen BSBI and the Country Agencies and other organisationsinvolved with botany. This rvill largely be achieved by making more use of computers to transfer infornration and by regular liaison with representativesof the Country Agencies and other bodies such as BRC the Wildlife Trusts, Local Record Centres and NGOs such as Plantlife.

Computerisation So far, on the computer fron1,there are six newly computerisedvice county recorders.This resulted lrom a partiallysuccesslul grant applicationto the Country Agencies.Original)y, grant aid was sought for twelve computers to be distributed around England, Scotland and Wales (from the respectiveaqcn- ciesCCW, EN and SNH). As it turned out, only CCW was ableto contributein the end which resulted in six cornputersbeing distributed to Welsh recorders(some only aftera bit of coaxingl).Consequentll,, Wales is nor.valmost totally computerised! As for the other countries, English recorders will receive anothernine or ten computerssince English Nature has now come up with the readies Nor-thernIrish recordershave good supporl fronr the DOE(NI) and nrost (ifnot all) botanicalrecords are computerised through CEDAR, adminrsteredliom the Museunr of L.llster.But, to nry knorvledgethere is no immediatesource of funds for recordersin Scotlandor the Republicof lreland. This is uhere rnost effort rvill be concentratedfor the next f-ewmonths i2 Co-ordinator'sCorncr

Nevertheless,throughout the British lsles. 4'7o/oof vice county recorders are now computerised with another 14%osoon to be, or wanting to be computerised,and l3oh wanling their records computerised by a third party The remainder either don't want their records computerised fbr whatever rea- son.or didn't bother to returntheir questionnaires(no names.no pack drill - they know who they are!). With regard to those who want their records cotnputerisedby a third party, I have had a number of kind offers to help from BSBI memberswho are proficient with computers. Flowever, one or two more would be useful, especiallyin Ireland or Scotland. If you can help, please let me know Those of you who have already offered, I will be contacting soon and hopefully putting you in touch with a VC Re- corder(or two!) who needyour help,ifl haven'talready done so A list of BSBI Approved Software packageswhich are suitable for botanical recording has now beenproduced, details ofwhich canbe found elsewherein this issue(see pages 52-54;.

Networking The other main part of my role to liaise .,viththe Country Agencies and NGOs - has been a roaring successso far (well, at least I think so!). A recent claim in BSRI News that there were no botanists in English Nature can now be put to rest. There are quite a few! In fact a Botanical Service full (see page 25) I have had and will continue to have, productive meetings with two members of the Service in particular - both BSBI members and expenencedbotanists Ian Taylor and Simon Leach Wales has Ray Woods and Andy Jones and Scotland has Chris Sydes,all three full time botanists. Again, I have had several meetings (although perhaps not as many as I should) and this will hopefully help towards maintainingfairly close links between our organisations.Ireland is a bit more dilicult (the Irish Sea can seem like the Atlanticl) but this will soon be remedied. There have been brief, informal meetingsbut it is my intention to liaise more closely with the respectiveAgencies before the end ofthe year.

As Co-ordinator I have been enlisted onto the Plantlife Link forum which caters for a wide number of conservation organisationswho are involved rvith plants (in the broadest sense- i.e. including lichens and bryophytes) and has representativesfrom the Country Agencies, JNCC, WWF, NT, RSPB and a number of others. There has also been involvement in the Local Record Centre Millennium Bid and the National Biodiversity Network where the BSBI perspectivehas been put forward and exploratory dis- cussionsare underway regarding the Kew N{illennium Seed Bank with a view to possible involvement of BSBl membersin the collection of seeds(pending further approval by Council/Executive Committee of course). Involvemenl with the Red Data book project continues and of course, the Atlas Organiser and myselfare in regular contact to ensurethere is no duplication ofefibrt and that both our quests are in harmony towards the common goal.

Some other things An even more recent development, again a lesserpart ofrny role, is that I shall be aoting as the Public Relations officer (for want of a better term) for BSBL To that end, if members have any news items which they feel are worthy ofmore publicity, pleasecould they fonvard them to me, and in conjunction with members of Executive Committee - considerationwill be given to their releaseto the Media. The aim ofcourse is to promote the BSBI, especiallyamongst professionalbotanists and statutory organisations. There is also talk of a World Wide Web page being posted on the lnternet (the Botanical Society ofScotland and Linnean Society alreadyhave one!) . . . but that's another story.

Finally, partly relating to the last paragraph,I would like to hear lrorn anyone rvho rvould like to assist rvith publicity rvork and anyone rvho has experienceof producing web pages I rvould also like to hear fronr more computer enthusiasts,any left-handedbotanists, and, well, just about anyone really

CAMERON S CROOK, BSBI Co-ordinator, 8 Woodstock Close, Lostock Hall, Preston, Lancs ,l01353 PR5 5YY Telephoneandfax(01772) 316717 e-mail 1757@compuservecom Recorders and Recording

RECORDERSAN D RECORDING

AMENDMENT No. 2 to BSBI YEARBOOK 1996 VC Recorders Changessince Aprrl 1996. 10 Wight Dr C R Pope, 14 High Park Road, Ryde.Isle of \\'ight POil IBP 6l S.E.Yorks(as joint recorderrvith Dr F.E Crackles) N'lrP.J. Cook, l5 Park Avenue,Withersea. Huli. East Yorks t-iLIl9IJX H36 Tyrone We resret to announcethe death of N'lissD. Lamben We welcome thesetwo new recorders,and wish to record our gratefulthanks to Mr B Shepard.\'C' Recorder for Wight fbr 24 years.

DAVID PEARMAN. Records Commrttee

Panel of Referees We were very sorry to hear of the death of John Trist, r.vhowas our referee lor Rntmut fiorn 1979 to 1992. There will of course be a full obituary in Wat.tortict.but we shouid iike to emphasisewhat a significant contribution he made as referee during that period, rvhen he received a very large number of enquiries,and helped many members with their Bntmus problems. We rvelcome Allen J. Coombes as our new ()uercu.s referee l\{r Coombes is extremelv expert on oaks. rvhich are his nrain taxonomic interest at presenl He rvorks at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardensand Arboretum which holds the National Collection of oaks, and funhermore is the European representa- tive and Vice-President of the International Oak Society. His addressis . The Sir Harold Hillier Gar- dens & Arboretum, Jermyns Lane, Ampfield, nr Romsey, Hants SO5 lOQA We are also pleasedto welcome Dr Crinan Alexander of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinbursh as ref-ereefor,lerre,r'la, which has been rvithout a referee since Charles Jeffrey rvent to Russia. Dr Alexander can be contacted at Royal Botanic Garden, 20A Inverleith Rorv, Edinburgh EFI3 5LR Enclosed with this issue of ly'e]r.rthere is a booklet by Arthur Chater givins revised instructionsfbr the preparation of plant material for identrfication and storage. We do strongly recommend everyone pianningto send specimensto refereesto read this carefully and keep it by thenr fbr future refbrence Ifany refereeshave changed address- or are going to in the next few months - pleasccan they let me know so that we can be sure ofhaving the correct addressesin the next Yaorhu*.

MARY CLARE SFIEAJI-ANI 6] Westmoreland Road, Barnes, London SWl.l 9.RZ

COUNTY FLOR{S and CHECKLISTS Records Committee rvould be grateful if any member preparing such a publication would oontact the Secretary,Mr Davrd McCosh. Not only rvould the Committeelike to know rvhatwork is in progress. but it lbels it may be able to ofler advice if it is needed

NEW METHODSOF ASSESSINGTHREAT AND RARITY- A RESPONSETO DAVIDPEARMAN'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

Becausei was unable to attend the AGN'I in NIay, I \vas very pleasedwhen David Pearmansent lne the text of his presidentialaddress [to be publishedin the Feb. 1997 issueof Wtt/.vnia] This raisesissues about the evaluation of rarity, and I feel it may be useful to put David's ideas in context with those which have been evolving recently within the Jornt Nature Conservation Conrmittee. rn consultation with the BSBL Haling just retiredfrom the JNCC, I am atrleto wrjte not as a representativeof a statutory conservationagency but purely as a rnemberof the BSBI Recordcrsand RccordilgRecordcrsand Rccording

At the end of November 1994, the IUCN (World Consen'ation Union) officially adopted radically revised Red List criteria (IUCN Species Survival Commission, 1994) This posed a problem fbr the JNCC, which was in the processof producing the first Red Data Books for lichens and bryophytes and the third edition of the vascular plants Red Data Book, to which many members of the BSBI had already contributed. A choice had to be made between basing the forthcoming Red Data Books on the original IUCN categoriesand the traditionalceiling of l5 hectad(10' l0 km square)records in Brit- ain. or becoming the first country in the world to use the new criteria for a national Red List. The old IUCN Red List categoriesofExtinct, Endangered,Vulnerable and Rare are replacedin the new systemby the categoriesExtinct, Extinct in the Wild, Criticallv Endangered,Endangered and Vul- nerable.All other evaluatedtaxa are slassifiedeither as Lower Rrsk or Data Deficient. The new criteria assessthe risk of extinction using largely quantitative methods and the system is less subjective and more rigorous than the original one The schenie is based on specified threshold values of decline and/or small population size as well as on localiseddistribution and indicators such as habitat deteriora- tion, and the IUCN requires the qualifying criteria to be statedfor each assessment. Guidelines for the use of the nelv criteria at a national rather than a global level have not yet been produced by the IUCN and there was no guaranteethat the system couid be applied to the data currently availablefor British plants and animals. So a programme of testing was carried out on lichens, bryophi,tes, fungi, vascular plants and some invertebrate groups, to find out whether the new criteria were suitable for use within Britain. Somewhat to our surprise, they seemedto tvork well, providing 'gut the data were reasonabiy adequate. The results, by and large, tended to back up reactions' that some of the specieson previous Red Lists are not under significant threat. For vascular plants, about 309'oof the speciesin the second edition ofthe Red Data Book do not qualify for the Red List under the new system, the rejected speciesbeing largely lrom the old Rare category. The revised systenl is complicated and takes effort to understand and apply. Nevertheless,I feel that it is an advance on the old system becauseit is more objective and can be applied to a wide range of taxonomic groups rn a uniform way, rvith the results open to scrutiny This means that Red Lists are likely to be taken even more seriouslyby the scientific community. In September 1995 the Joint Committee adopted the revised IUCN system as the new standardfor British Red Lists. It was recognised that for birds, but not for less mobile groups, some adjustments were needed to allow for emigration and immigration. The Government has subsequentlyacknowl- edged the use of the new IUCN system for the forthcoming plant Red Data Books (Department of the Environment,1 996). [Jse of the revised system does not mean that localised specieswhich do not qualify for the Red List are forgotten. These are accommodated in two sub-categoriesof the IUCN Lower Risk group designedspecifically lor Britain - Near Threatenedand Nationally Scarce.Near Threatenedspecies are defined as those which, although not qualilying lor the Red List, occur in I 5 or ferver hectadsin Brit- ain. Accounts for all these species are to be included in the forthcoming Red Data Book of vascular plants. Speciesoccurring in l6 to 100 hectadsare classifiedas Nationally Scarceunless they qualify for the Red List. for instancebecause ofrapid decline. A further dimension is applied by the statutory agencieswhen assessingthe overall conservation value ofa species.European and global status and the significanceofBritain for the rvorld population areconsidered. in additionto nationalstatus. In his address,David Pearmanused a most evocative expressionfor the national hectad picture of 'increasingly the rarer species he says it representsa shroud becausethe dots are still there but the number of tetrads and populations inside each dot are diminishing'. This is just what the new IUCN system exposes.David suggeststhat assessmentsbased on hectad drstribution should be replacedby a Threat Index obtained by muitipiying two factors - deciine in the number ofhectads occupied and fre- quencyratio. The latter is the ratio ofthe number oftetrad recordsto the numberofhectad records, which gives an indication of population density. I agree that both frequency ratio and decline are useful indicators of threat, but I would prefer a Threat Formula to a Threat lndex, becausethe fornter is more transparent. An example of a Threat Fornrula for a particular speciesmight be N22 / T10 I -35%. q,here N is the number of recent hectad Recordcrsand Recordrng t5 records:T is the total numberol'recent tetrad records (or, whcn betterdata are available.the numberof I krn squarerecords or the nunrberofsites.l, -35% is declinein hcctaclrecords orcr a specifiedperiod (l km squarerecords couid be used when sufficientdata are available.an increascr'"ould be indicated as +35%). I finciit difficult to decidervhether equal r.veight should be givcn to decline.localisation and popuiationdensity (or lrequencyratio) as indicatorsofthreat, but speciescould be rankedfor ant'of' thesef-actors independently Becausethere are srmilaritiesin the criteriaused. the revisedIUCN schemeand a dcrelopmentof' the Pearmanscheme could, perhaps.be usedin parallel The new IUCN Red List systernis undoubtedlv here to stay, at least lor the foreseeablefi-rture. because it rs norv the oflicially recognisedinternational and national standard But for speciesin the Near Threatenedand Nationally Scarce categoriesa 'Pearman-type' schemecould come rnto its own as a methodof rankingspecies according to consena- tron needand refiningthese categories One of the coloursDavid nailedto the mast at the end of his addresswas a campaignto obtainsix figure gnd references,site data and population data for all our rarer plant species This. surely. should be a priority for both BSBI and the conservationagencies. Perhaps one wav ofgoing about it would be to set up an adequately funded National Threatened Species Unit, charged with the task of co- ordinating the sun,ey, rnonitoring and consen'ation ofall our rarer animalsand plants. Methods ofevaluating threat will continue to evolve, driven by fresh thinking lrom people such as David. Publication of the third edition of the Red Data Book of vascular plants will allow current methods to be examined and should encouragefurther debate. References Department of the Environment. (1996) Goternmenl respoilse to lhe (lK lJiodiversily Stecrirrg(irotrlt reporI on hiodit,ersiO. HMSO, London. IUCN Species Survival Commission (1991) I(I(N Rcd Li.sr ('u/egorie.;. A'; apprcvatl h) tha 'l}th. meeting of the ILICN Council, Gland, Switzerlond. World Conservation Union. Gland.

MARGARE-T PAI..-MEI, App]e Barn CotlaSe, Fotherin8iay: Peterborough PES 5JB

DESIGN OF FIELD RECORDINGCARDS

Now that the Atlas 2000 instruction booklet has been published,it seemsa good time to open a debate on the designoffield recordingcards. I wanl to explainwhy the London areashould be gracedwith its own regional card, and discover how other people's experiencecompares with my own My view, which was what led me to make a successfulcase fbr a card with fewer nameson, ls very much based on my own experiencemanaging the plant mapping schemewhich resulted in the London Natural History Society's publication l lora o-flhe London oreu (1983). The fieldrvork for this used a card based heavily on that for the BSBI's first national survey. It had a thousand closely printed names on it, and no space for any additions or comments I found that I had to undertake a lot of correspon- dence with field recorders, or, in the case ofthe dead ones, guess their intentions Had they reallv, lbr instance, seen Convcrllarl./ but not ('onvoltulu.s? Was Achillcu pl.tmicu a nativc occurrence or a double-flowered garden escape?Where had they found bee orchids? Someofthese needshave been met by doublingthe sizeofthe card The moderncards have plenty 'Continue of spacefor additionalnames and details,and could (but don't) say on separatesheet if nec- essary' However, I still think there are tvro reasonswhy it can be useful to have fewer nanresprinted. which are, therefore. more widely spread.

l. The risk ofaccidentallvrecording the wrong plantis reduced. 2. Thereare more occasionswhen one ofthe lesscommon speciescan only be recordedifthe recorder takesthe positivestep of writing in the namefor himsell,when thereis a reasonablechance that he might also supply the desired information about location, population size, etc.

RODNEY BLIRTON, SparepennyCottage, SparepennyLane, Eynsford, Dartfbrd, Kent DA4 OJJ Notes and Aflicles

NOTESAND ARTICLES

A'MISSING LINK' BETWEEN GNETALES AND ANGIOSPERMS?

The 130 million-year-oldfossils of what could be the world's oldestangiospermous flowering plant with gnetalianbranching have been found in the Weald Clay of SouthernEngland. The plant, lessthan 25 cm in height,grew at the heightofthe ageofdinosaurs in EarlyCretaceous times and was contem- 'Megalosaurus'. porary with lguanodon, Bary-onyx('claws') and The plant's fossil remains,in iron- stone,include stems, leaves and flower-like organs. The find was madeby a teamco-ordinated by Dr Ed. Jarzembowski,Keeper of NaturalHistory at MaidstoneMuseum, who says'nobodyexpected to find a small,fragile, wetland herb which is probablywhy it hasbeen overlooked for so long'. 'this Dr Una Smith, an American expert on Cretaceousangiosperms at Yale University, says is potentiallythe most excitingfossil plant found in SouthernEngland for nearly200 years'.The new planthas been named Bevhalstiapebja by Dr ChristopherHill, lormerlyhead of thefossil plants section at the Natural History Museum,London. The find hasprompted new field work in the Wealdof Kent, Surreyand Sussexwhich will take placeon October5th. A temporaryexhibition is currentlyon displayat theMaidstone Museum. i\ .!l -i"ri nt I ", ,rl l\ rt '\\ .|, llrr(1\ \ I iil' \ I ir"i

I i'i / t.,,r , i\ " r': :l(

ti \li'ir' \1"',n r/ /i !i

f.rrrrlhrrrrrcl rlrrrrr i

\.. / t/ / I \. ,,rtl,rirrflr/l,url . , '\/'/ ,j / +.,i 't li /;' - :.,t tr,tt li / /.., / i I i' \,:,r,ri,,(r,,,1

\1 ,ir :h.rot .houing t".t;. lrr.rrt lres, 'Lrrrl' arrl brrrcts.

Bevhal.:tiapebja - a new floweringplant? del. Biddy JarzembowskiO I 996

ED JARZEMBOWSKI,Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery,St Faith's Street,Maidstone, Kent, MEl4 lLH, Tel. 01622'754497 Notes and Artrcles t1

L,RTICAGALEOPSIFOZII: AN EARLY NORFOLK RECORD?

Menrbers may be interested Io read the article reproduced below which was written by the Norfblk naturaljst Ted Ellis (E AE ) in 1948 and published in his daily column for the [tostern l)oil.t' l)res.s I have no doubt that he is accurately describing ( lv1i16gdlg14t.si.f(tlto There are presently sel'eral colonies of the Fen Nettle at Wheatfen Broad. Surlingharn which is adjacent to Rockland Broad. Wheatfen is now a nature reserve, establishedin memory of Ted. and membersma1, like to know that the resen'e is open throughout the \,ear and that r,isitors are uelconre at anv time 'Landing on the south shore ol'Rockland Broad today. rve had to trudge acrossa stretchof' somewhatquaggy rond in order to reachthe wall which protectsthe grazingmarshes belond from flooding Parts of the rond shadedby lrees supportedthe growth of immensebeds of nettles.some ofwhich rverenearlv eight f'eethigh. and displaveda peculiarslenderness in all their parts. The leaf:bladesin some cases\\'ere six incheslong, on three-inchstalks and thc drooping green florver catkins had a loose, straggly appearance.I had conre across these narrow-leaved neltles in damp, shady plar'es befbre, but ne','er in such a vast and distinct assemblage The most interestingthing about them here \vas their almosl conrpletelack of the usual stinging hairs; the stems and the veins standing out on the lower surtacesof the leavesrvere very dor.vny,but true poison hairs were hard to find and even these did not seem to lunctron properly.The resultrvas that we were ablenot only to push our way through the junule without discomfbrt,but tbund w'ecouid handleand eraminethe plantsas fieell as if they had been deadnettles Probably the whole colony was in reality a single distinctiveplant which had spreadby meansofunderground shoots. BAE

LEVELSOF REPRODUCTIVEACTIVITY IN FERNS- AN UPDATE

In an articlein BSBINews 7l (Rushton,B.S. Levelsofreproductive activity in ferns pp. I l-12) I drew attention to the poor sporangialproduction in a range offern taxa, including l)ryrryteris spp. (Buckler- t-erns),Polys/ichtm seltferunt (Soft Shield-fern), Pollpodium vulgore (Polypody). I'hyllitt.: scolt4tctr- drium (Harl's-tongue). O.rmundo regali: (Roya1 Fern) and A.splcnrttm ril/o-milnriLt (Wall-rue) in various woodland sitesin Nonhern Irelandat the end ofthe hot, dry summerof 1995.I askedifany other BSBI membershad obsened a similar reduction. I receivedtwo replies which tell, more or less,the samestory

'l Tim Rich rvrote. have observedsinllar low levelsofspore productionin trvo speciesthis year (the onll, two investigated).

I Htmenophl,llunt /unhrigett.sc[Tunbridge FilmyJ'ernl very lew sporangia produced in 1995 comparedto 1994 in all populationsexamined in .SEEngland (cf. l;artt (iu:eltt lS.5l-63) Many patches were severel.v"droughted but none observed as vet rvere killed by the drou-qht,thev just curled and dried

2 Pol.tpodiun sy'sp 3/4 of specimensfionr the Ashdor'"n Forest flora area eranrined to count annular cellsin 1995had aborted many patcheswere curled and dried during the summerbut thev ail seerrr to have survived.'

'l Gordon Knight, commentingon his home patch in Haverfordwest.Dyled noted had rhc "feeling" this autumn anclu,tnter l9q5i'61 that the abundant(ontmon Polypodl U'o/.rlxxlttrn t'nlgural didn't It Nolcs and Anrcles

look the sameas usual It grows not just epiphyticallvon treeshere. but abLrndantlyalong hedgebanl:s. and the undersidesare usuallyconspicuous and colourful,the sori beingan eye-catchingorange. And it wasn't until I read your articlethat I realisedthat my irnpressionswere correct..... I had a closerlook at the many clumps of Polypody and yes. rndeed.many ol'the fronds haclnone or oni\,,a f'er.vsori I shcruldadd that areas of cliffwhere Heather f('altunu vulgurisl and/or Briicken ll'teridium utltril.inrrntl grow. also sullered badly last summer where the soil was shallow in the case ol'Heather, it became redr'bro,,vnand brittle,Bracken went its autunlnbro\,n prematurel\,.'

Whilst this rs a relativelysmall, though wide-spreadsample, a common pattornis begrnningto emerge At the end of the next dry sumnrer(writing in nrid-June,l-q96. it is clearthat Northern Irelandis heading for a very wet time this year!) it might be worth trying to do a nrore structured sun.ey r\ller all. it could be completedin the autumnrvhen other field rvork is be_uinningto mn dorvnl

BRIAN S RUSIITON, School of Applied Biological and ChenricalSciences, University of Ulstor. Coleraine,Northern lreland,B'l'52 ISA

DISCRIN{INATING NIT]NTJAT]S

[)uring the spring of 1995 I receiveda letter fionr Mrs Nornra Chapmanrvho is in chargeof Munl.jac studiesin Kings Forest.\rC 26. \\'est Suffolk, askingif I wouid vi-sitthe Forestat the,rpproprrrtcsea- son and meet with her helpers who had noticed that the N'lundac.whose main lbod during the w,inter months is bramble.appeared to eat the majoritv ofthe bushespresenl, whilst totally rgnoringcertain clumps.Somewhat sceptical, I duly met severaimembers of the N{untjacteam lastJuly (1995) arrdrvent to the compartments under scrutlny Sure enough, most of the clunrps had been completely de1'oliated as high as the Muntlac rvereable to reach,but certainclumps were compietelyuntouched. The eaten plants comprised mainly of an as 1'etunnamed mernber of the Gloup ('oryllt./ttlii plus small quantitlesoi lluhus lrnclleinnus, Il. da.syphylh,y and Il. polyunthemlr.s All of the untouched bushes r.vere of )1. ulmifolru.s During the following winter, whilst walking round a forest block in Tlretfbrd Forest, near the Nco- lithic flint minesat GrimesGraves. I cameupon severalblocks r.vith much evidenceof N{untjacdefolia- tion of bramble Here. the eaten species consisted of Il. lunditttu. ll onglot.untlit'un.s and ll. .saplenlriormlls One compartment with quantities of lluhu:; veslilusin had not been touched. Within a rveek, I received a package lrorn Norma Chapman with a primocane and leavesof R. r.c,r'/l/l.yfionr a compartnlent in Kings rvhich the Muntjac had not eaten,though everything elsc had been defbiiatecl I wonder if any other BSBI member has noticed defoliation of bramblesby N{untjaoin their areas. lf so, have they noticed any clunps NOT eatent Could they watch out lbr Munt.jacdefoliation this coming rvinter, and iftheV spot any thickets which rentain uneatenwhen everything else is defoliated. I would be interestedto receivesamples oithe uneatenclumps. All that is neededis a lengthof steir rvith two or threemature leaves, preferably in a paddedbag so as not to rvoundtlre postnriinl

ALEC BULL, Hillcrest, flast Tucidenham.Dereham. Norfblk NR2O 3JJ

WHENIS;\N ARABLE WEED EXI.IN(:T?

I read recently lhat Rupleurum roluniliJoltrtn (Thororv-r.vax)is now extinct in Britairr Is a plant that is an annualarable weed to be consideredextrnct becauseit has disappearedflom it's fbrrner haunts, presumablythrough changesrn agricultural practicet Any annual arablewecd is actLrallyat the niercy of thoseupon whose land rts haplessseed has landed. so, if it fbund an induigentland,.lvner, it might well still persist. Notes and Artlcles l9

Between 1982 and 1985. I grew something like l5 species ofrare arable weed for the Suffolk Wildlife Trust who were at that time intent on setting up rare arable weed plots on some of therr re- serves.The seed of most specieshad been obtained in small quantitv from the Cambridge seed bank Since 1985, I have shown admirable self-restraintand allowed as many ofthese plants as found the vegetablepatch and it's environs to their liking to grow a lew plants each to maturity each year, including a number of locally scarce speciesas well as the real rarities. Some have inevitably been lost, whilst one or two even failed to produce any viable seed in the first place Now, when I hoe the vegetables,I have to also care for the several plants of Brrplcurunt rotundi.folium. Ilanrrnctrlu.:crrt'ursi.s (Corn But- tercup), 7'orili.sarvensis (Spreading Hedge-parsley). Lhlariunella rimoso (Broad-fruited Cornsalad). Filago pyramidala (Broad-leaved Cudweed), Papaver argemoilc (Prickly Poppy) and l'. hy'hritlunr (Rough Poppy), Galiunr tricornulum (Corn Cleavers) and Legou.sicrhybricltt ( Venus's-looking-glass) to namebut a few. Ifanybody would like a pinch ofseed ofany ofthe above,and it hasnot all dropped by the time this appears,send me an SAE and I will see what I can do Pleasenote that the plants have maintainedthemselves for more than l0 years with only mrnimal help, so there may still be other pock- ets oftolerant gardenerselsewhere in the countryl

DIALECT PLANT-NAMES

The fbllowing continues from BSBI New.s7l a list of namescollected sinceJanuary 1992 'by Cuckoo - Hyacinthoide,shispanica. SpanishBluebell and Hyucirrlhorclestrtn-scripla, Bluebell old Scillonians'.[St Mary's, Islesof Scilly,May 1993] 'we ? Oxalis acetr.t.sella,Wood Sorrel: chewed green leaves of a ground plant, we called it cuckoo or spearmint'. [Nuneaton, Warwickshire, June 1994]. Cuckoo spit - Cartlamine pratensi.s,Cuckooflower. [Cinderford, Gloucestershire,November 1993] 'spotted Curl dodie - Dactylorhiza spp. and Orchis mo:;cula, orchis and purple orchis' . ILerr",ick. Shetland,March 19941 Cushion pink- Silene acaulis, Moss Campion. [Lerwick, Shetland,March 1994]. 'grew Cut-leaf Valeriana sp., Valerian. in our vegetable garden white-flowered valerian ... I well remember being told to rub the leaf into cuts and scratches,which I did'. [Chichester,West Sus- sex,July 19931. 'Heading Daddy drumsticks Armeria maritino subsp.ekngata, Long Thrift south down the Al we diverted to see tall thrift at Ancaster .. a local resident assuredus that the plants were known locally as daddy drumsticks' [High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire,January 1995] 'Cut Dashels thistles. dashelsin, June,it's a month too soon, cut in July, they are sure to die' [St Ervan, Cornwall, January 1994]. 'spotted Devil's mittens - Daclylorhiza spp. and Orchis masculo, orchis and purple orchis'. ILerwick, Shetland,March 19941. Devil's tree - Sambucusnigra,Elder.'flowers and wood ofthe elder bush not to be taken in the house, my grandmother always called it the devil's tree'. [Quinton, Warwickshire, October 1993] 'plantain Dobber - Plantago lanceolala, Ribw'ort Plantain flowerhead. heads are picked and the stems twisted under the head. and a quick flick and the dobber flies off, the longest drstance wins' [Chesham,Buckinghamshire, September 1 995] 'pulling Dog daisy Leucanlhemum vulgare, Oxeye Daisy. Somerset, l950ish. petals ol) a flower (e.g dog daisy) and saying"She loves me, she loves me not", etc.'. ILearningtonSpa, War-wickshire, January19931 'l was born in Lincolnshire68 years ago .. big white daisresby the roadside[were called] dog daisies'.[Wheatley, Oxfordshire, June 1993] Noles irnd ArticlcsNotesand Articles

Dog's dick - Arum maculalarr, Lords-and-ladies.Outskins of Leamrngton Spa, Warwickshire, 1940s 'cuckoo and 50s, pint in seedcaused great mirth amongstchildren as this was nicknameddog's dick and we thought it daringto look at one' [Aldershot,Hanrpshire. April 1994]

Thanks to Mildred Adams, Evelyn Braughton, Rhoda Bulter, Cyril Carnpion,A M. Clark. Margaret Lee, Elsie Olivey. Julia Ottery, JamesPartridge, Milly Pearsonand Alan Showler lor their contributions Further contributions and comments would be aooreciated

ROY VICKITRY,9 TerrapinCourt, Terrapin Road. London, SWlT SQW

FIVETYPES OF BEECHSEEDLING

On May 22 1996, members of the Salisbury Plain (Military) Training Area Botany Group noted five distinct types of Beech (l'upltts sl"lvatica) seedlingswithin the beech woods on Windmill Hill near Ludgershall. They were all quite common and some types were dispersedthroughout the entire u,oodland The types were as follows. I Albino seedlingswrthout chlorophyll,cotyledons cream coloured. 2. Radial striations lrom cotyledon stalks outwards, alternatingcream and green lines along veins. 3. Copper-beechcoloration of upper surlace o1'cotyledons. 4 Bright grass-greencoloration ofupper surlaceofcotyledons. 5 Glaucous blue-green coloration ofupper surlace ofcotyledons. There were few intermediatesbetween types 4 & 5. Types 3,4 & 5 grew on to produce adult-type Ieaves commensurate in colour with the seed leaves, but with the colour diflerences between 4 & 5 somewhat attenuated I have noticed distinctrvetypes of.iuvenile foliage in conifer seedIngs,especially blue or green fbrnrs of Lawson's Cypress (('hamuecyparis lawsrtnianu) and Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus torulo:;ci), seeminglydue to genetic segregation.Genetic variety would also seemto be the cause o1-thevariation benveen types 3-5 above. However, the albino beech seedlings(type l) failed to produce shoots and the striated ones (type 2) only produced sickly shoots *'hich soon turned brown and died. It is possible that types I & 2 resulted from the harsh prolonged cold North-easterly winds fronr Siberia in place of the moist Atlantic South-westerliesthat we used to experiencein N{ay befbre 1993, rather than genetic influenceswhich seem to account for the differencesbetween types 3, 4 & 5

JACK OLIVER, High View, Rlryl's Lane, l-ockeridge, nr Marlborough, Wilts SN8 4ED

DOG'SMERCUR}'WITH THE BLUES

During the spring of 1995 we noticed Mercuriali.s peretnr.s (Dog's Mercury) patches which had individuals which were entirely or partially indigo blue These plants graduall),wilted fhe attack was not conslstently on leaves at any particular level on the plant. but always rvhole leaves became blue. Ihe plants immediately alongside were not oflen afl'ected, and those on the edges of the clumps then seemedto be rather more likely to show rt than those in the centre.We assumedlor some time that this was due to spray damage, as the plants \l'ere on ditch sides and verges round agricultural fields whtch were being sprayedat the time. 'pernranent However, this year we noticed rvhal we dub the Quink' effect on young plants.still unfurling, and on those in woods f-arfronr fields. Far more individual shoots seem to be affected this spring, and aiso more standshave aflected members ln I993 and 1994 we had carrredout a short surveyofDog's Mercury in rvoods,but had not noticed any damage. F{ave we been unobsenant, or is this a relatively new disease,perhaps bacterial or fungal?We looked for sporangraor lesionson the plants,but didn't flnd any using simp)eexamination Notesand Anrcles 2l ofthe leafsurfaces.We havenot got the apparatusto section,stain and mount to seeinternal hyphae, if present,so rve can only conjecture The sporadicnature ofthe attack puzzlesus. as we rvould hare expectedthat a uhole clone rvould have succumbedto a pathogen Can someone more familiar with the plant supply an ansrver?

LIRSULA A BROUGHTON. Farthings'.Laver Breton.Colchester. Esser CO2 0PP B E. WRIGHT. 33 Estuary Court, Hunls Farm Close. Tollesbury. Maldon, EssexCNl9 8QZ

BOTANISTSAND BOTANY IN LITERATT]RE_ ]

'l Efizabeth Rich, of Mavfield, East Sussex. contributes a quotation from he ,Jottrnul: of l)tntth.t ' Il/ot'dsuorth rvhich shorvsthat William's sisterwas aware of one kind of nristakeof which botanists shouldbeware. In June. 1802.she wrote 'On Thursday morning Miss Hudson of Workington called She said "Ol I love flowers! I sou,' flowers in the Parks several miles from nrv home and my mother and I visit thern and watch ho\\ they grou," This may shorv that Botanistsrnav be often deceiveduhen thev tind rare tlorvers growing far a'waytiom houses.' In a very different journal I was delighted to discover a pleasantlittle sceneover a hundred years ear- iier SamuelPepys quite often met'Mr Evelings'- 1he estimablefellow-diarist and tree enthusiast. John Evelyn On November 5th. 1665 (at the time the plaguewas increasingIn many parts of "vhen London). Pepysvisrted Evelyn and they talked ofmany things, including botany 'He 'Flortr-rs (Evelyn) showed me hjs hvemalis",leaves laid up in a book of sereralplants. kept ' dry, rvhich presen'e Colour however, and look very finely, better than any herball Nothing,I suppose,like botanyfor taking one's mind offless pleasantthingsl

JACK SMITH. .18Dean Road. Handforth, CheshireSK9 3AH

BOTANYIN N{ODERNLITERATTIRE

InLenDeighton'sHopeoneofthespyhero'scontactsinEastGermanywasSarah'Shewasstudving plant biology and when she went offwith her friends, lracking down specimensof rare weeds and wild flo'rvers,I'd sometimes tag along rvith them It gave me a chance to get into parts of the East Zone ' 'rare fbrbidden to foreigners One rvonders what these rveeds' were. No doubt some kind of state secret. 'Liana Mr. Deighton'sbotany, unfortunately, is rathersuspect as a quote fromhisMumi.s/ashows and matted creeper strangled the trees and turned sreen as other tlngi |] in turn devoured them. l'hree thousand speciesin one square mile. orchids,bananas, poison vines. and wild rubber A botanical Junkl'ard.'

JOHN TIMSON, 5 AshleyAvenue, Flixton. Urmston, Manchester. N44 I 8TD

ROADSID[ COCTILEARI.4

On non-motorw'ay class roads and roundabouts, ('ochlearta (Scurvygrass)can be found on either side ofthe road. Its confinement,on motorways.to the centralresen'ation is easilyexplained it needsthe salt resulting from close proxinrity to speedingcar wheeis There is no last-nroving trafllc on the hard shoulder, so no salty spray zone. The same appliesto lay-bys, intirriating firr the botanist who $ants to get a close look at the plant!

N'IALCOLN{W STOREY, 43 Berry's Road, Upper Bucklebury.Reading. RG7 6QJ Notesand Articles

DANISH SCURVYGRASS

I have been following with interest the correspondencewhich has appearedfrom time to time in B,tRl News, concerning the occurrence of Cochlearia tlantca along inland roadsides. This spring, the plant has appearedon verges along the former section ofthe ,A5 (now re-classified as the B4380) where it passesthrough the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury.It also lines the verges of the A49 for several miles to the south of the town. In both localities the plant consistsof almost con- rrnuous stretchesforming a border ofapproximately 30 cm wide along the edges ofverges adjoining the carriageway, both of these roads are single-carriagewaysin the area. This is the first time I have seen the plant on these roadsides, although I frequently travel along the A49 and regularly use the B4380inShrewsbury.WA Leighton(1841)inhisFkraof Shropshire,describeditasgrowingonold walls and buildings in Shrewsbury and Oswestry, but when the Ecological Flora of lhe Shropshire Ilegion was published in 1985, Cochlearia danica was consideredto be extinct in VC40. Its present appearancefollowing the prolonged icy conditions of last winter, lends support to the theory that the spread of the plant results from the use of salt and grit on the icy road surfaces,and the consequentspraying ofthe grass edgesby the wheels ofpassing traffic. This does not, however, explain why the plant has never, as far as I am aware, made a previous appearancealong these particular stretchesofroads which are regularly saltedand gritted eachwinter.

STANLEYR'TL,RNER,2WestlandsRoad,Copthorne,.Shrew1brrrv.'StroPshire,SY3

COCHLEARIA DANICA ON ROADSIDES

Much has now been written about the inland spreadof ('ochlearia danica (Danish Scunrygrass)and its restriction to the central reservation of motorways and dual carriageways.However, a simple ecological explanation for its distribution appearsto have been neglected.With respect to environmentalfac- tors the central reservation provides a rather different habitat to that ofthe road verge beside the hard shoulder.Cars regularly pull offonto the hard shoulder and soft verges at the side ofmany major roads. The soil ofthe soft verges beside the road is therefore likely to show greater compaction and a greater tendency towards impaired drainagethan will be evident in the central reservation.This differencewill be amplified as on salted roadsidesclay minerals become increasinglysaturated with sodium ions from the road salt rather than the more customary calcium ions. Sodium ions have only a single chargewhile calcium ions have two. As a result, when clay minerals become saturatedwith sodium rather than cal- 'float cium, the clay platelets cannot bond together. Instead they about' separatelynot contributing to the crumb structure of the soil. Any compaction of the soil will tend to cause these loose plateletsto progressively act as plugs blocking up drainage pores in the soil. Thus, while the central reservation may remain a freely draining saline habitat particularly where gravel is added (see B.\81 News 69. l7-18), the verges at the edge ofthe road will resembleever more closely a salt-marshhabitat. ('och- leoria is typically associatedwith freely drained crevices rn cliffs and gravely and sandy maritime areas so its restriction to central reservationsis not that surprising.Further weight can be given to this argu- ment if we consider the other common maritime speciesof road verges,Puccinellia dislans (Reflexed Saltmarsh-grass).I'uccincllia frequently co-occurs with ('ochlearia but rs most abundant on the soft verges beside the road often in areas where the imprint of vehicular wheels are obvious. Since f irc- cinellia is essentiallya plant of the upper reaches of salt marshes,particularly where these are disturbed, this distribution also is expected and emphasrsespossible differencesbetween road verges and central reservationsin terms ofsoil compaction. There may also be a seasonaldimension to these distribution patterns. Winter is generally wetter than summer and as a result vehicular damageto the verges may be greater at this time. This would affect (-ochleorld most since it germinates in autumn and is dependantupon seed set in spring for survival. l)trccinellictwould be less physicallydamaged because it grows in the summer. Notesand Anrcles

If my suggestions are true, (ochlearia should occur in less compacted places in addition to the central reservation, sites such as raised road verges with curb stones. My own general observations suggestthat this is indeed the case but I lack quantitative data and have no inclination to seek proof of another kind by measuring soil compaction on the central reservation.

JOHN HODGSON, NERC Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology, Department of Animal and Plant Sci- ences,SleffieldUnlve1sltr. Sheffield Slu 2TN

HYBRID SCURVYGRASS (COCHLEARIA DANICA x C. OFFICII'{AIIS) BY SALT-TREATED ROAD

Both specieswere lbund on the sideof a main road nearFarningham, W. Kent on29/4194.In April this year I revisited the site and they appearedto have been largely replaced by a hybrid swarm with intermediate characters,as follows: height to 25 cm; flowers white 8 mm across, upper steam leaves ivy- shapedyet sessileand clasping the stem, basalleaves not i\y-shaped but reniform, stalked and cordate Another salt-derived species in the same area is Spergularia marino (Lesser Sea-spurrey),and a speciesofllnonium noI far removed from L. hyhlaeuz (Rottingdean Sea-lavender)may also be fiom salt there.

JOHN R PALMER, l9 Water Mill Way, South Darenth, Dartford, DA4 9BB

WHY DOESWILD TEASELTR{P WATER?

The leaf bases of Wild Teasel (Dipsacus Jullonum) form cup-like structures which collect rainwater The leaves are formed in such a way that when water overflows from higher leavesit is caught by a lower pair of leaves. This may be seenfrom the simple experiment of pouring water in the highest hol- low and seeing it trickle down filling up the lower hollows one by one. This structure and mechanism presumablyprovides some evolutionary advantageto the plant. Wild Teasel grows in a variety of habitats,but it does seem to prefer damp srtuations.The plant may simply gain some advantagern retaining rts own supply of water. However, it has been suggested that the insects that drown in the water are broken down by bacteria and the teasel obtains benefits lrom the nutrients released.It has also been pointed out that the water forms impassiblebarriers which 'fhe protect the plant from harmful visitors such as ants. (See Proctor & Yeo, I'ollitnlion of I'lowcrs, t9t3. p 145) The teasel is by no means always successfulin retaining water in the hollows. Water is lost due to the plant growing at an angle, windy conditions, hot and dry conditions or lack of effective leaf structure. In these casesthe plants are sometimesinvaded by ants. Teasel may ofcourse gain advantagesfrom a combination ofthe ways describedabove However. the evolutionary advantage of this structure does not seem so obvious as it does in the various structures that have evolved in many other speciesof plants. I ivould be interestedto know if anyone has done any researchinto this area ofstudy.

PETER C. HORN, 22 Jowitt Avenue, Kempston, Beds. MK42 8NW

CONTAMINANTS IN GRASS SEED

Graeme Kay's note (RSBI News 72) on possible sourcesof non-nativeMentho pulegium (Pennyroyal) was extremely well-timed. On 15 July Lyn White and I found this speciesin recently seededgrassland behind a seawall at Pawlett Hams, an area of coastal grazing marsh at the mouth of the River Parrett. Somerset (VC 6) The seawall in question was constructed in 1994 by the (then) National Rivers Notesand Articlcs 'realignment' Authority. an example of coastal carried out becausethe old seawall was eroding and in danger of being breached The new embankmentwas sown with a'standard'grass seedmix, but lessthan two vears later 'forili.s there are plenty of seawall speciesmaking an appearance.including abundant trilo.sa (Upright Hedge-parsley)and ?'rrfoliumsquomosum (Sea Clover) and, along the seaward'toe'of'the embank- menq Pardpholis strigosa (Hard-grass), Hordeum noriilum (Sea Barley), Seriphidiun marilimum (Sea Wormwood) and one or two plantsof Limoniumpt?centm (a Rock Sea-lavender).We were a bit sur- prised to find a few plants of Hordeum jubatum (Foxtail Barlev). T'rifolium hlhritlum (Alsike Clover) 'contaminants' and an (as yet) unidentitie

SII\{ON LEACH, EnglishNalure, Roughmoor,Bishop's Hull, Taunton,Sornerset. TAI 5AA

En*GLISHNATURE'S tsOTANICAL SERVICE_ TJPDATE

Furtherto Phil Horton's note rn lJ^\R./A'cl.s71, we thoughtBSBI memberswould uelcotne an update on English Nature's Botanical Service (fornrerly the Botanical Network.l. l{aving been instrumental in 'retired' gettingthe Serviceup and running,Phil from his co-ordinatingrole in the spring.and hasbeen replacedby Brian Johnson,based at our Taunton office. Brian is supportedhy a natronalnetwork ol advisers,as foilows. flowering plants- Simon Leacrr.Ron Porley and Ian Tavlor. conifers.ferns and fbrn allies - Rob Cooke, bryophytes - Ron Porley. lichens l'eter Lamblel. fungi Ted Green. fiesh- water algae George Hinton; marine algae(seaweeds) TeresaBennett; adviser on issuesallecting aquaticplants - Chris Newbold. In addition,all our Local Tearnshave statiattached to the Senice riho can advise colleaguesat a local level and assistrvith botanical specieswork (including carsework,Spe- ciesRecovery Projects and'action plans') The logisticsof runningthe Sen'iceare thr fiom stlaighffbnvard,but bl drawing on the e\perlise of a wide range of individuals rve hope we can gir,e a better serr"icethan rvould be achier,'edbl one 'specialist' botanical working on their own. Within the'vascular plants' sectionwe have divided up resl'onsibilrtiesas follorrs lan l'avkrr (al our Bakewell ollice) provides advice on licencesaft-ecting protected species. arrd reprcsentsEN on vanous committees,including the BSBI ConservationCommittee and Plantlife Simon Leach(rl'orking alongsideBrian Johnsonat Taunton) is involvedin the developmentof EN's speciesrnonitorinq strat- egy, providesinformation and adviceon the statusand conservatronofnationallv rare and scarcespe- cies, and representsEN on the Atlas 2000 Steering Group. Ron Porley (at our Nervbury oflice) is the contactpoint for adviceon plant translocationsand (re)introductjons,while over the comingmonths he will also be rvorking on the botanicalinput to EN's'Natural Areas'project. Rob Cooke (Peterbor- ough), as well as managingthe'Natural Areas'project, is EN's representativeon the Bntish Pteri- dologicalSociety. (All our vascularplants advisers are, incidentally, members ofBSBI ) All four of us have inputs into EN's SpeciesRecovery Programme, nranagedbl Roger N'litchell (Peterborough),and u,e also get rnr,olvedin site caseworkat the requestof l-ocal l'eams We tn to 'national' limit our involvementto those casesrequiring a perspective we consider.for eranrple. whethersites containing rare specresshould be notifiedas SSSIs,and, within areasalready notilied. we can advise on habitat and management requirements of key species.We also maintain links with the other country agencies,rvith JNCC and rvith variousorganisations and individualsconcerned r.,'ith the conservationof vascular plants 'other Amongst these organisations'the BSBI is of greal significanceOur understandingand appreciationoithe distributiono1'vascular plants in Enqlandrelies almost entrrely on locai and national suweyscarried out or supportedby the BSBI, and on the vast quantrtiesoffield datagathered bt BSBI members.The Atlas has been a cornerstoneofbotanical conservationtbr more than thirtv years (roll on 'regional' Atlas 20001),while county Florashave providedmuch-needed perspeotivesin helpin_rrLrs tcr definelocal conservationpriorities EN's rvork wili continueto draw on the wealtli of knor.rlcdgeand erperiencethat lies within the BSBI menibership.and in future rvt: will be seekingto develop and strengthenour linkswith BSBI at both local and nationallevels. For further detailsof the BotanicalSen'ice please contact Brian Johnsonat the addressbelcru'. tcr rvhomall generalenquiries should be directed Speciticenquiries can be sentltl the relevantnrenrber o1' Notesand Artrclcs staff Detarlsof EN's SpeciesRecovery Prouramme are available from RogerMitchell. English \alt:re. NorthminsterHouse. Peterborough, PEI lUA.

BRIAN JOFINSON& SIMONLEACH, English Nature, Rouuhmoor, Bishop'sHull, Taunton,Somer- setTAI 5AA Fax(O1823\ 272978

4-WHORL'POLYSTACHION' AND REtsRANC]HlNGtN EQUISETUIU PALLISTRE

On Jull l4 1996. membersof the Wilts. Botanical Societynoted sonreunusual rnulti-coned sterns of Marsh Horsetail (l:quisetum pulustre) in the Thatcham ReedbedsReserve, W of Reading. Almost 20 stemsin a 3 metre patch had extra cones to the normal apical ones, mostly in lll2.4 symile!rcAl whorls 'Ihe beneaththe apicalcone, at the tips of(usuallv) 7 branchesofequal length conesat the endsofthe whorledbranches were srnallerthan the terrninalones, mosth only 3-7 nrm iong The stentswere l0-60 cm high, and might possibly have derived fiom one rhizome r.vhichcan, in this specres,be more than 90 cm deep (Page 1982). Some i-ertileand some sterilesterns had sJightlyrebranched green branches, but not regularly or radially syrnrnetricallyorganised, as with the cones. Marsh Horsetail is very variable, much ofthe variability, such as branching,being nrainly envrron- rnentallvinduced (Page 1992) fhe Victorian naturalistAnne Pratt (1856e See also Freethy 1987) wrclte as follows 'There are some singularvarietres ofthis plant rvhich,horvever, appear to be clependenton soil and sftuation, and not to become permanent One fbrm has been termed poly'.stochiort ltar. poly.stut:hyumWeigeil. Instead of the one cone usuallv placed, in the ordinary forrn of the llorse- tail, on the central stem, severalofthe branchesofthe t\vo upper rvhorls terminate in cones,which are usuallydarker coloured than the commonercone, more compactin form. and appearinglater in the season'. 'polystachion'description Some of the Thatchamstems were therefbrmore extiemethan the olassical in three respects,which would have made them a r-rniquefind even for the nrr.lstdedicated Victorian lern {anatrc (see illu-stration page 27) Firstly',all the u'horled branch tips rvere synrrnetricalll,6o""0 secondly,3 or even 4 whorls could be involved;and thirdlv. on sonlestems the iarge apicalcone had just begun to form, being neither damaged, stunted. or over. One of us (JEO) has found single-r.r'horl 'polystachion' at Warnborough Greens.S of Reading (Hont.s.I.loru Ney.slcrter/9?-;) but the Thatchanr stenlswere more regularand impressire. 'polystachions' Before we found the rvith the young healthy apical cones, we speculatedalong the acceptedlines of reductionof apical,qrowlh dominance tbllo*'ing environmenlaldamage to the central cone. perhapsfrom the May frosts. However -1f.palu,slre as a speciessometimes has a tendencyto form 'var. lateraf cones (Rose 1989, Grose 1957). Grose describes pollslocltyzrr Weigel' as occurring in 15 sitesin Wiltshrreover 100 years.and seemedsceptical about attributin_ethe conditionto damagebe- causeit recurs,sometimes plentifully, in the samelocalities. He also describedcompound rebranching in Ii. pafuslre and Ii. orvensc (Common Horsetail), such plants norv being common enou-qhin Wiltshire to seriously undermine keys whrch use this f'eaturerthese plants keep keting out wrongly to l'.. s.y'lvalicum(Wood Horsetail), especiallywhen the rebranchingis regular. Avoiding an extreme stance,it seemsprobable from the above observationand records that there is a geneticpropensity, in some coloniesofN{arsh Horsetail.torvards'polystachion', whalever the envi, ronntentaltriggers. The same may apply to compound rebranchingin Cornnronand N{arshHorsetail, although shelter and shading versus exposure aiso seeni to rnfluencebranch fbrmation. These remark- able plants grew only one mile fiorn the GreenhamAtr Basel

References Freethy, R (1987) British I.erns Crowood Press,Marlborough. 'lhe Grose. D (1951) l"lora of Ll'illshirc Republished 1979 hy Wilts ,Archaeological& Natural His- torv Soc Devizes. Notes and Articles 27

Hant. & I.o.W.. Wildlife Trust Flora Group Newsletter, Autumn 1995 Page, C.N. (1982). The Ferns of Britain and lreland Cambridge University Press Pratt, A. (1855 or 6?). The Ferns of Great Britain antl their allies, lhe ('lubmosses, Peppenrorls ond Horselails. S.P.C.K., London. (See also Freethy above for an 1884 reference) Rose. F. (1989). Grasse.s, Sedges, Ilushe"s ontl [ierns of the Brilish Isle.t and N.LIt'. liurope Vicking/Penguin. Middlesex.

l'^ f ,.,//,/ //' I t'\. t\ \. \\ \

Thetop5whorlsofstemofE. paluslre,allbranchtipswithcones('polystachion').Otherstems sometimeshad the apical cone younger than the radially arrangedperipheral ones Drawing del Katy J Oliver O 1996

JACK OLI\ER, High View, Rhyl's Lane, Lockeridge, nr Marlborough, Wilts SN8 4ED MALCOLM STOREY, 43 Berry's Road, Upper Bucklebury, nr Reading, Berks RG7 6LQ ltJ Notesand Anicles

THE EARLIEST REFERENCETO BLA(:K POPLAR IN ENGLAND?

Recentlyre-reading the Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem (Dickins l9l5), originallvwritten more than one thousandvears ago. rt occurredto me that one parlicularstanza probably contains a descriptionofthe native Black Poplar (l'opulu.s nrgra subsp hetuli.fiIict) The tree is described as l'iritless but bearing oflipring from shoots or suckers,with beautiful brancheshigh at the top. laden with leavesclose to the \l:), 1'hepoem namesthe tree as'Beorc'. which, accordingto old glossaries.can meanbirch or poplar, but. as Dickins points out. the word'fhritless' no doubt ref'ersto the tree's inabilitvto regeneratefionl '. seed.and he quotesElwes (Elwes & Henry l913) who saysthat he has neverfound in Englanda poplargrorvn from seedeither naturally or by nursewmen'.Thrs. together vrith the emphasison height rn the poem. leadsDickins to concludethat the poenrrefbrs to a speciesofpoplar ratherthan birch. Dickins rdentifies the tree described in the poem as Grey Pop\ar (l'optrlu.s tunescens) rvhich he considers to be indigenous to England. However, there now seemsto be general agreemenl that the Grev Poplar is nol native to En{rlandbut rvas introduced(presumably at a rnuch later date than the poem), and/or is a hybrid betrveen the Aspen (Pr4tulus trentulo) and the White Poplar (l'opulus alba) Furlhermore, the White Poplar is ruled out as a candidate since rt is also regarded as an introduced species and in any case does not seem to meet the height requirements of the poem. According to ' \\'J Bean{Bean 1976)it is not seenmuch more than 50 feet high in Britain' Therefbrethere seemslittle doubt that the tree describedin this old poem is the Black Poplar, which, fbllowing the researchof E. Milne-Redhead and others, would seem most likely to be Popultts rrgra subsp helulifolio. This verv eariy referencenrust surely be of some interest to all those involved rn the history,conservation and fblkloreof thrssplendid native tree

References Dickins.B (1915)'Rutuc' & Henic l'rrms ctftha Old T'eutrnitl'eoplc.;. [:frves& Henry (1913).'l hc ] rce:; of Greul Britairt & Ireland. Ilean, W.3. (1916).'l rees & Shruh.sllard.t'nt the Briti,shI.sles

PETER C HORN, 22 Jowitt Avenue, Kempston, Bedford I\{K42 sNW

MORE ACHLOROPHYLLOSEEPIP,4CTIS IN SCOTLAND

Fufthertothenoteonchlorotic fiptpactt.:helleborittt,(Broad-leavedHelleborine)inBSl]lNev's12.35 (April 1996;, I have a sinrilarstory lrom the Glasgow side. Having read Jim Dickson's (no relation) marveflous book I'he wild.flou,er:; o/ ()lasgotr,, I decided to follorv up on one of his sites of l'.. hallehorine at a railwa! embankmentin the Maxwell Park area of the citv. I visited in mid-August 1994and found, as he suggested.several hundred along about 800 m and rvithin2 nr ofan iron railing fence,bordering the footpath. Among them, I found two plants one approximately 30 cm tall which, although still having purple coloration in stem and florets, appeared to have no chlorophyll. Tips of leaves and bracts were already shrivelling- and severalflorets had fbiled to open, ',vhichI assumcdwas due to the latenessin a very dry season.Close-up photographsofthe one lloret still open though not fully so, revealedappar- ently normal structures. These plants r.verewithin 5 cm of the fence's concrete plinth. Approximately 200 m further along, I discovereda group of 3 r'ariegatedplants about 40 cm tall at most, chlorophyll beingpresent marnly in the tips of Ieavesand bracts One of the stems$'as only 20 cm tall and had one floret open - similarlywithout chlorophyllbut flushedpurple in the hypoohile/ epichileregions. The florets of the two larger plants had opened earlier and were nor'" shrivellingll .sllrr I countedover 300 apparentlynornral plants in the rest crfthis colony Accessto photographwas limited through the fence being British Rail land and the only route in '"vasalong an electrified Notesand Articles

suburbanline. Permissionto enter the site *'as soughtfor the 1995 seasonbut a visrt in earlv August ibund only a smallerpopulation with no signof anv chloroticvariants Opinions sought locally concurred that these variants must have been a resull ofchemical spraying However. if this is correct. l.Whywerenootherr. hellchorineplants.manygrowingasclosetothefence,soallected? 2 Why rvere no other speciesalong the fence afiectedt 3. Why were the variegatedplants so far fiom the potentialspray range and,urouing amonssl apparentlvunafl'ected plantst I finally wrote to Dr John Richards of Newcastle University and his reply rs given belor.v 'Achlorophvllose Epipactis This is at least the tburth occasion on which I have been aware of achloroph_-vllose E.hellehorine.Thefirstreport,ofwhichIwasalsoshorvnpholoswasinShropshireIhar,ealso been told of plants in Devon I rnyself r,"'asfonunate to flnd several such plants on Olinrbos in Greece (about 25ok c>fthe population were so atlected). In addrtion, a local population ol E. phyllanthestends to be heavily',ariegated, and sonreindividuals hare fen'ilany greenparts I am sure that these plants result from mutations, probably under maternal (cytoplasnrie) control. It is strikinguitness to the role p)ayedDy the micorrhizain -suchplants that thev can reacir flowering size and apparently suffer little disadvantagecornpared to photosynthetic plants *hile fulfy saprophltic (as of course Neoltio or ('orullorhiztt alrvaysare) Thank you for your interestingcommunrcation, providing vet more evidenceofthrs interesting ohenomenon.'

Achlorophvllose L,pipaLti.\hellehorrrrc. iVlaxrvell Park, Glasgorv Photo R.D B Dickson (L-rI99.1

ROBn\r D B DICKSON, 2 Laure'v-Drive, Stranraer.Wigtownshire DG9 \HZ Notes and Articles

PERENNIAL FOXGLOVES

With referenceto Martin Cragg-Barber'snote in B.SB1News 12.33 (April 1996)on perennatingfox- gloves,I am indebtedto Knut Fagri of BergenUniversity, Norway, for the followingsummary of his paper'Fleririgerevebjeller' [Perennial Foxgloves] published in Blyttia38: 167-170(1980). 'Digitalis purpurea is usuallyconsidered a biennialhapaxanth, even iffloras are often rathervague aboutit. . two specimens[were] excavatedin Bergen,Norway, in the springof 1980.[One] specimenflowered in 1979and is apparentlypreparing another flowering for 1980.The [other] specimenhas flowered three times, and hasdeveloped a complicatedcaudex with manyadventi- tious rosettesapparently capable of continuinglife indefinitely.The earlydemise of hapaxanthic specimensmay be more dueto externalcompetition than to internalfactors unlikee.g. Angelicct archangelica.Digitalis seedscan lie in the soil for yearswithout losing their power of germination, comingup onlywhen the soilis disturbedso asto bringthem into the lightagain.'

EDITOR

MORE'BOTANISTLIVED HERE' PLAQUES

Followingthe noteson thesein BSBI News72 16,Alec Bull writesto let us know of the plaque'Sir J.E.Smith, Botanist and Founder ofthe LinneanSociety was born in thishouse 1759-1828'. The house 'Sir 'concealed wasthe GarnettWolseley' 37 MarketPlace, Norwich, and the plaquewas statedto be at the backof the building' The informationis from T'hePhques of Norwichby G. Solomon,Capri- corn Books, I 98I , but AJecsays, in reply to Dr Alan Woods (seeBSBI News72), that he hasfound no referenceto a plaquefor Sir WilliamJackson Hooker, although he was born in Norwichin 1785.Coin- cidentally,Peter Lawson sent details of two plaquesto theHookers or Kew, hewrites: 'Two plaquesmay be seenin Halesworth,Suffolk, mounted on eitherside of the mainentrance to Hooker House,Quay Street,(now a dentalpractice). They are circular,green in colour and readas follows. 1785 1865 l8l7 191I Curatorand first Directorofthe Succeededhis father as Director ofKew 1965 RoyalBotanic Gardens at Kew Sir JosephDalton Hooker Sir WilliamJackson Hooker OM CCSI CB FRS MD DCL LLD KH FRS LLD DCL Botanist The GreatBotanist Born in thishouse' Lived here Len Margettswrites with detailsof the plaqueto JohnGoodyer, pioneer botanist, on the wall of a housein Petersfield.The plaquereads'John Goodyer Botanist & Royalist1592-1664 lived here.' Len alsomentions'. . . thebeautiful stained glass window to WilliamCurtis, the earlyFlora-writer. The church,St Mary's, is down nearBattersea Bridge. There are also contemporary windows to Wil- liamBlake and J.M.W. Turner. Blake was married in this church,and his entryin the marriageregister is stillkept in the vestry.His windowcontains the well-known lines of Blake's': 'To seea world in a grainof sand And heavenin a wild flower, Hold infinityin the palmof your hand And eternityin anhour.' Mr B.E. Smythieswrites with a correctionto oneof the entriesin the lastissue. 'On page16, last two 'Is lines WALLACE spelledhis namesAlfred Russel not Russell' andasks the namewrong on the plaqueitself, or wasit wronglycopied by theplaque recorder?' Notcs and Anrcles il

N4rJ.K Jacksonhas also wrinen to point out that. 'Unfortunately 'Botanist a bit was left out in Lived Here' in R.\r91Ncu,.i 72. which had the eflect of mixing Robert Brorvn with CharlesDarwin lt should read: BROWN, Robert 1773-1838 (on sameplaclue as Banks). DARWIN. Charles... Robert Brown wrote one of the earliest floras of Australia, together rvith many other botanical rvorks. He also gave his name to the mo\enrentsof niicroscopicparlicles, known as lJrtnrttrtut mor.remeills. As Dar,'idAllen points out, Sir John Lubbock dealt rvith plantsas uell as insects.I hare recently come across referencesto botanical books written by him. including Rriti.;h Will l'kxars (18751 ' His plaqueis at 29 Eaton Place,SWl. rvherehe rvasborn

In ll'\RI Narrs 48 29 Paddv Reilly recorded the commemorative plaque lo honour Robert Llovd Prae- ger at l9 Fitzwil[am Square.Dublin. A photographshou,s the late Prof. David Webb unveilinsthe plaqueon behalfof the Dublin Naturalist'sField Club in 1987

N'IARY BRIGGS. President-elect

EC,OTYPIC DISTINC]TION IN HTNI#I RIA CILIOLATA?

Four or live years ago. Brian Wurzell gave me a plant of Harniaria ciliolata (Fringed Rupturervorr) from the Lizard. I collected another from the dunes ofW Guernseyand grew the two side by side in m1' rockery.The Lizard plant flourished,but all alongthe Guernseyone languishedI put a bit ofeach on a herbarium sheet,noticing the differences,and depositedit at BM. Since then the difference has increased.The Ljzard piant is lush green, the Guernsev one dead Both were subsp. cilictlala with the same chromosome number (2n:'72). unlike the Jersey polyploid, subsp ,suhciliata,which I think now may be lost Is this an example of an ecotypic distinction)

DAVID N{cCLINTOCK, BrackenHill, Platt,Severnoaks, Kent TN l5 8JIl

MISTLETOEIN BERKSHIRE& BTJCKINGHAMSHIRE

John Kiflick's note on mistletoein Oxfordshire(l),\Ill News12. 42) is interestingand on the uhole agreeswith my observationsfrom the next-door counties. Though I do not have complete figures for the whole of Berks (VC 23) and Bucks (VC 24) I searchedvery hard for ir in SLI/89 (centreclon High Wycombe,Bucks ) and in SU/8.8 (centredon Marlow, Bucks. with the Thamesflowing through it and Berks. to the south ofthe nver). In eachofthese l0 km squaresI have recordedmisrletoe (l'r.i- cum alhum) in 19 tetrads (and know of it in 29 more tetrads in Bucks ) so it is clearry more common than in Oxfordshire It is to be found on the samehost speciesand also,in Bucks. as a whole, on.4c.r- culus hipprtcaslununt,('arprrtus he/ulu.sand various speciesof ,4ccr, Jhllr and \'orhus. h is particularly abundanton the hybrid lime ('l'ilia / europoeo) Looking at the two l0 km squaresin questionthe data suggestsimilarities to those identil'iedby John but the likes and drslikesofmistletoe are so odd that I would hesitateto drarvtoo many conclu- sions However, my comments on his proposed fbctors are.- ( I ) Chalk. There appearsto be some correlation but the chalk is absentfrom my areasof hieh ground. Thus it may be that altituderather than soil type is the kev factor. (2) Towns. Mistletoe is definitelyassociated with the town of High Wycombe but this is becausea lot ofwritten appeaishave producedrecords ofpiants deliberatelyplanted on apple trees in glrdens Nolesand Artrcles

where they are not visible to the passer-by Many of the owners are very proud of them. Some such tetrads have only one record, whilst another may have 500 or more plants on 7)/lcr,which is a distorted form of recording. It is absent from several (high) villages where one might have expected to find it, indeed there are still 4 pots of honey on offer for anyone reportrng it from the villageof Lane End! 'water' (l) The Thames. I would alter this to since l,'iscumalbun is clearly associatedwith streams. rivers and lakes in this area. Houever, this could be, as in (l ), linked to the milder conditions in the valleys where the water is found It is common by the Thames at Marlow, yet suddenly stops as one headswest into the country, before turning up again at Henley Finally.I rvouldadd one more lactor to thoseofthe previousarticle.- (4) Old Estates There seemsa distinct associationrvith tlre parkland of old estates.where these have been planted with lime, as many have. They are frequently near water or have rvater as a f'eature, but not always. Some examplesfrom the three counties under discussionare Stonor Park, Bisham Abbey, Cliveden, Huntercombe Manor (Slough), West Wycombe Park, Hall Place (Beaconsfield). The Rye (High Wycombe) and Shardeloes(Amersham). Where did the young lime trees come fiome Were they deliberately'seeded'with nlistletoe?Thev often seem to be the centresfrom which mistletoe has expanded into adjacenttetrads. Can anyone throw light on the introduction of thesetrees into Britain?

ALAN SHOWLER, l2 Wedgwood Drive, Hughenden Valley, High Wycombe, Bucks FIPI4 4PA

SORBUSDOMESTICA L. - COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOCYAND HABITATS MORPHOLOGY

There is more morphological variation betweenthe threc c\tant sites of Sbrbls domestrcain Britain than the range found in Herbarium examplesofcontinental material. though this mav partly be attnbuted to collectors' traditronal sclcction of flowcring or fruiting stcms rather than the short-shootleaves used prrmarill, in the genus ,\orbu.t Short-shoot(ss) leavesrvere collccted lrom the thrcc native sites.from known and allegeddescendants ofthe singlctree in the Wvrc forest(considcred an old treervhcn dcscribed ln I 678. destrovedbv fire in I 862)and from a varictv of cultl'atcd plants. Fruit. when produccd.was also collected.The charactcristicbifid stipules 'wild' (GorstbergerI 980) n'erefound to be too inconsistentfor use.The plants(here refcrred to from westto east as phcnotl'pe(a) l4 plants, phenotype(b) 90 plants. and phenotype(c) 5-6 plants) differ in leaf size, leaflet number and the scalc and degreeof scrration (belorv). Phenotvpe(a) is distinct from (b) and (c) bv the narrow, fincly scrrated leaflets. Phenotrpes(b) and (c) are more ahkc larger leavcs rvrth broad lcaflets and ferver. distrnct scrratrons- but show differingleaflct shape and spacingalong the rachis.Phenotrpe (c) is distrnguishedb1 the prcscnccofa soft mucroat the baseofonc or both ofthe lowcr lcaflctsin approximatelr207ir ofss leavcsand a grcatcrproportion of long-shootleaves Comparisonofthc nativc phenotvpesuith an allegeddescendant ofthe Wyre forcst tree was made,the mag- 'Whiuy nrficcnt pvriform tree at the Oxford BotanrcalGarden. Although the Wyre plant, the Pear'. was unlikelv to hare been a rvild plant. it mal havc bcen brought into cultrvation from somc lost Brrtish population, rathcr than rntroducedfrom the continentas has beensuggested in the past.According to Lees(llt58) the Whitty Pear grur closeto a ruincdto$er or hermitagcand uas encloscdbv the rcmainsofa bank or rvall.Hrs list ofassocr- atcd speciesincludcs lZrccrrrum myrtillus (Bilberry) andI'yrola rolundi./itlia(Round-leaved Wrntergreen). not the cxpcctedassociates of a calcicoletrec. Onh' a fel' mrlesdounstream. holvcver- the Sevempasses high cliffs 'Bathed by thc water. and excepton its most precrpitousface, covercd with wood.' (Lees llt5lt). This sounds rrrorefike the nativc habitat for Sbrbas domestica,and hcrc also, the remainsofa celebratedhcrmitage. The Orford pvrifonn trce has no morphologicalnratch amongstthe native phcnotl'pes.Leaf form and par- trcularlvserration arc differentand high lsnticcldensrtr ofthe fruit is unlikc the fruits from phenotvpe(a). the onlr popuiationrcgularlr fonning fnrit thus far What is a surpriseis thc conrparisonu,ith another Wlrittv Pear desccndantat Arlel' House.also mcntionedBean (1980). onl,"- a felv kilomctresacross thc Scvcmfrom the Wyre forcst The plantgro*n from seedb1 Lord Mountnorrisin thc lll20s *'as rvindrocked in thc late l9ti0s and later cut dou'n. The e\tant trcc was grown from secdabout seventyyears ago and has thc preciseleaf morphologl of the latter and of herbarium matcrial taken from thc original Whittl Pear. but is unlikc thc Oxford pyriform tree. Cornparcdrvith thc *jld plantsa vcn' closemorphological match. though not cxact.was found rvrthphenotvpe Notesand Anicles ll

(a) Leafletform and serratronare renrarkabhclose rvhilc both samplcsdrffer fronr all other\cgclJtl\c matcrral availablefor study.Fruit are also alke in thc ven ferv lenttccls.but no closcrcornpanson rs possrbleuntrl fullr ripe fertile fruit are obtainedfrom plants ofphcnotlpe (a). The single mature frult collected from phenotl'pe (a) in l99l nas roughll pr,rifomr and seedless..S'orhl.r domesticaregularly producesfertile and infertile fruit in cultrvation.thc proportion apparenth not rvholh related to fertilisation.but also temperaturerelated. ln cold 1ears.or on plantsin cold, shadedsrtuations such as thc largetree at CroomePcrry Wood. Defford(VC -36).tlre ma;oritr of ?rrritare sccdlcss and uncharactenstlc. To comparetrees gro$ing on highlr calcareoussca cliffs subjectto enrrronnrentalc\trenrcs $rth a culti- vatedarboretum tree ma)' bq unlvrse.Leaf morphologvrvould be affectedb1 a variett of otherrnflucnces in both cases.No relationshrpcar be provenrvithout bringing the t\\o taxa into thc samoenvironmcnt This is currentlr in hand.Further biochemical cbmparison mav provcthe susprcionof a closcrclationship. but lhrs nlr\ bc nrore of interestto the historian than t]le botanist. Furthcrbotanical or historical*'ork. particularh rn thc vicinitt ofthe Wrre forcst-nrar explainrihr thcrc are drfferencesin fruit and lcaf-formbctl\'een thc t*o dcsccndantsofthe isolatcd\f'\'rc trec.as thc Oxford Dlant rs alsoapparentlv ofproven descent(Morrison 1982).

HISTORY It is not beyondthe realmsof possrbilitl'thatthc Wyrc treeor its forbearsongrnated in SouthWalcs. Thc Morras- tic Collegesof Llanilltud Farvrand Nant Carbanflourished for centurics.the comingand gorngof saints.ntrs- stonariesand thc leamedof the Dark Age uorld conncctcdlreland, Waies. Conlvall. Brittant and thc \\'clsh Marchesvia the onlv local naturalharbour - the localityof Phenot-vpe(a) With thc arrrvalof De Clarc lnd thc Normansiu 1090the cloistersofLlanilltud rvereplaced under the authoritvofthc nc* abbci on tho Sovcnrat Tewkesbun. It is unlikely that a missionan Celtic monk settledln the W1,reForest. plantcd a rrcc fronr fnrrt from the apothecarygarden ofhis belovcdCollege and that thc trcc survivedto thc l9th ccntLrnand that thc nuns ofhis cell could still be discemedby Edwin Leesin 1852.Horvever. the longnronastic liiston couldharc carncd thc cultivaticrnof u'rlddcnved,ibrbus clome sttca temporalh'andgeographicalh to urthin modenrtinres and to thc centreofan areaofanctcnt rvoodlandproviding, perhaps. a sprritualrefugc. as rvellas a botanrcalons. ronlenl- beringthat individualtrces may live to 1000 \'cars or more (Loudon.in Lindlel & Moorc. lttti4: R. Klunrpp. pers. comm.). The affrnit1,for herbal knorvledgcamong leamedmonks is rvcll knolvn. but is lirrthcr illustrated br thrsastonishing short entr)' tn'l'he Hrstory o/'the Rritons conrpiled bv thc Wclshmonk Nennrus (M. Krtclrenpurs conlm.): 'By is (Wvc). the rirer rvhrch calledGuor, ' applesare found on an a-slrtreeon thc dcclivltyofthc woodrvhrch rsncar the mouth of thcn\cr Written about 829, this long nrrthologicaltrec can only be lbrbr.r domesttctt-tbe combinaturnof prnnatelcavcs 'thc and apple- or pearlike fruit is unique. This is a very carll' plant record, and dcclivitv of the wood ncar thc mouthofthe river'is not only precisel-vthc habitatfor the species,but rs vorr closcto the localitvfor prcscnt phenoqpe(c), ifit is reasonableto supposethat thc plantgre* on the lorvTriassic shore rathcr than thc carbonif- erousllmestone cliffs upstrcam.Alternatrveh rt could bc quits accaptableto amcndthc translationto: Ncar thc river . . . . entranceto the river.' thcrebf implyingan cxtcmal localit-vil'ith the rrvernamc used srmpll,to provrde a localeon an othenvrse,ulon\mous Sevem shore. in uhrch cascwe mav be lookrngtodat at Nennius'trsc (sec 'upon Habitats. page 34). Another tianslation of the above finds the plant the highihorc'. The single trec (phrs suckers)in VC 34 hangsfrom a cliffofonlr'4 m and is the onll,plant so far found in an obviousplacc ofelsr access.Nemius' note indicatesfirstly that the plant rvassufficicntl-v rare evcn tlten to warrant a placc antong thc marvelsof Britain', and sccondlvthat if tlre monks of Glamorgancultrvatcd Sorbus domt.yttc.7. this was nol known to Nenntusor hts informers.If he collectedhrs infornrationfronr afar hc rvouldno doubt havobccn un- awarcof finer details;it rvouldbc most surpnslngif low[er monksdrd not take seedsor suckcrsfrom thrsnrar- vellous, fruit giving tree. The other trro sites wcrc also noted rn the past b)' anothcr lcamed Wclshman, lolo Morgannwg (Edrlard Williams, 1746-1826),poet. antiquarianand enthusiast.This eccentricand generallvunreliable s'itnoss to thc pastvirtualll'reinvented drurdism and dabbledin all sciences.He strovcto parnthis little comcr ofWalcs as a havenof cultureand naturalwonder far bevondthc truth. In l surver of his local parrshundertaken in about I 7ql and neverpublishcd eppears the follosing. 'Out of the rocks of the sca cliffs . . . rve find the Mountain Ash or Service Trec. u,rth oirutatoleaves likc thoseofthe Ash tree,growing in thc fullestexposure to the seaair. it is rentarkablethat rhrsvaflcrr ofscn- ice treeis not found . . . anlrvhereolse in the Vale of Glaniorgan. . . tho in thc hillv or northcnrpart of thc count] the rvoodsin mostplaccs abound rrith this trce'. Flers probablyreferring to .Jorhusdont<'.r'titcr in the first part of thrsparagraph hc dcscribcsonc nati] c localrt\ His later confusionwith S. aucupariais understandablegiven that the lattcr doesnot occur on GlamorganLras limestonesoils and the speclesu'ould have been unfamiliar. After hrsdeath nranv oflolo's botanicalobscn,atrons rveremerctlessly discredited. the abovc particularl)'so. and by somccmlncnt icicntist of thc last century'.It is grariirng thathc ma\ hatc becncorrcct on thrsoCcasron. Thi trmelldrscoren oflhrs crtrlcl br a locaihrsto- rian in I 993 further supportedthe grorving er idcncelhat S. donrcsttctLrvas far from being a rcccnt introductror) Thcrc ts also a possrblcold Welsh nanrcfor thc fn:rl elsorhercin thc rrritingsof Iolo Nlorgann*g Hc dc- scribesa locallr kno*n orchardtrcc rvhich*as clcaril l trpc ofWild Plurnor Bullacc.knorrn as the Crcgullor Notesand Articles

Creeglc.uhich grervclosr: lo S. domeslttaat stteZ. An Englishorigin for this narneis not apparcnt.but Welsh 'crarg' 'Lle' - rock.crag, and place,is quiteacceptable. The namccan also bc genitiveb-v posrtion suggesling a fruit ofarockvplacc'.WelshdiedoutbcforeIolo'sdavrnthispartoftheValcofGlamorgan.soitisquitepos- srblc that rvith the loss of meanrngthe name. aptlr appropriate for ,5.domestica, becametransferred to another fmit trcc partll as a result of rncreasingrnaccessibilitv of the former Another exampleof this tcndenc! rs readrll scenrn the sevcralrivcrs in Englandknorun as'Avon'. simpll'Ccltic (andmodem Welsh) for'rivcr'. the actual 'fuver namcslost ln the doublet Avon'

HAI]ITATS The thrcchabitats of.lbrbl.t domtttica prescntll'known arc highll spccificand analogous.I-ias Limcstoncrs a hard rock beddcdrith soft Rhaetrc{vpesaline siltstone (Neville George. 1970) rvhich allorvs rapid erosion.Anr, gorgesor inlandcrags formcd during the lastGlacial period *'ould havcrapidll dcgradedto a characteristicstcep slopc(Small. l97tl). unhkc the usualll'Carbonifcrous Lirnestone rcfuge habitats of Sorhusancr s.l. microspccies that haveendured. Ihe &trhus dotnesttcahabitats of phenotypes(a) and (b) are post-glacialsea cliffs protected fronr marincerosion bl alluvral rtvcrinedcposrts formed after land and sealcvels rcached approNimate equrlib- riunrin the Neolithrcperiod (North. 1955) The degraded.wooded cliffwest ofthc presentsitcs points to a gradu- allr incrcasingalluvial forcshoredcposited over a long period*hich. in historicaltrmes. has bcenmore or less continuallveroding. Thc cnduranceofthese foreshoresrs indicated.at srte I, bv thc presenceofan apparentll Bronzc Age barrow in the final meanderofthe nver, and sitc 2 thc lron prom- 'Ihese at by almost completclyentire Age onton, fort above. Hillforts. frequent from Sudbrook in the east to Dunraven rn the wcst shorvthe rapid crostonof Mesozoiccliffs in their incompleteness.About half of the originalform gcnerallyremains. The rapid cliff-wardadvance ofthe protectivepebble banks and their ageis particularlvwell indicatedwcst ofsitc I wherc soft peatyearl-v- post-glacial deposits arc beingso rapidlveroded by burrowlnginvertebrates and wave action that thcv must have been uncoveredb1- the rctreating alluvium in recent modem times. These dcposits contain thc leavcsof 7'ypha(Bulrush). rools of Quercus (Oak) and needlesof Pirias (Pines),though conspriuoush feu of the lattcr.and cxtend from about4 m belorvH.W.M M.T. dorvnto the lowesttide level.where onlv vestigesrcmain. Site 3 (VC 34) rs also a seachffprotected from crosionat presentbv alluvial saltrnarsh.The srngletrcc is hercrootedintoalowcliffofredTriassic'KcuperMarl'ltis.howevcr.atthefareastendofalong.30mhrgh cliffcappedbl'rvhitcliasandthelorvcstlevelsoftheLrasseriesThatthiscliff.nowerodingrapidlr'.onccwas defendedfrom erosion is indicated by massiveblocks of calcareoustufa lying rn the mud up to 15 m from the cliff base.Erosion at the cliffiop hasalso acceleratedas a resultof invasionby Ouarcuyr/cr. It seemslikcly that thc srngletree is all that remainsofa populationformcrii extendingalong this cliff. wlrich would approachthe localrtl-described bv Ncnnius(Wade-Evans 1938). These habitats havc providcd Sorbus domesticd with the abilit-vto remain a coloniser of soft impermanent rock tbcesas freshcliffbecame available by the continueddcposition ofalluvial foreshore.the rarity,ofthis pre- cisc formationis pcrhapsindicated b,v somc ofthe associatedspecics. S'cftoenrs nigricans (Black Bog-msh) occursclose to the treedescnbed abovc, its only localityin VC 34, and also occurswith phenotloe(b). oneof onl\ t*o localitiesin VC 41. Lrtltospermumpurpurocaeruleunt (Purple Grom*cll). lerv closelyassociated *ith .\orhus domestrcaon the continent(Ellenberg. l9tl8), is presentwith phenotypes(a) and (b), and onl_vin thescand a fc* similar habitats on the samecoast is it freouent. The friablenature of thc habitatsnot onll' holdslcsser colonisers at bay. but seemsto be phl,sicailyimpor- tant to the long term survival ofSbrba.s domestrca.Examrnation ofa variety oftrees in areasofdiffering ratesof 'climbs sub-aerialweathering shows that the plant doesnot so muchproduce suckers but back up its roots'.Old plants are graduall-vuneanhcd until ther.tip over. With the loss ofmeristematic dominanccsuckers arc produced from the higher rootstock. growing rapidly u'hile the bulk of the plant graduallv wanes. B.v the time the new 'knee' growlh reachesaverage stature it rs alreadvpartl\ cxhumedand bearsa moreor lessright angled as evi- 'knees- dcnce ofthc decavcdfonncr trunk. These arc found on the majority ofplants, large and small a:rd the proccssis easilvobservable at site3. ln eachsite everyindividual is morphologicallvidentical. u'hrle suckering is so densethat determinationof 'indrvrduals is usuallydiffrcult. In the sunevs evcry stemfrom groundlevel is counted.regardless of likely origin. Perhapseach populatron should bc countedas oneclonal plant. Only in site2 arethere isolated plants rvhich could haveorigrnated from sccd.In long isoiatcdpopulations ofanv organismthe trendwill bc towardsgenetic and morphologicaluniformrtv. (Briggs and Waltcrs. I 984). so perhapsthis is not simplythe resultof vcgetative reproductionfrom a srnglesurvivor. The rvide variatlon in leafform betrveenthe sites suggeststhat ifthere were genetic and morphological differences bctneen thc populationsat the point o[ isolation this has subsequcntlr becomcgreater as mutatronswould be different in each populatron and nervly'cstablished alleles nould not be transfcrrcd.(Alcock 1974).This suggeststhat thoughthe plantmay be maintainingvegetativelv at presentit must halc beensexual tn the pastover a long period.The prcsenthabitats may be the rcnmantsof largerbut still isolatcd populationsin the steeplimestone woodlands immcdiatell inland. ,\. domesltcais takenon the contincntas an indicatorof rehct sub-mcditerrancanthermophilous scrubland (Ellenbergl9lt8) espccialllrvhen associated *tth Ouercuspuhescens (Dormt'Oak.) often considered in habitats not srgnificantl.vmarntained bv humanactrvitv. to haveendured since the climaticoptimum. Northemmost popu- lationsoccur on steepsouth-facing slopcs held open by piccemcalscree fall and arc apparenllvvegetativo and non-fruitrng(Gcrstberger I 980). Notesand A(icles 'genctic ln order to test the hvpothesisthat the apparentlack of frurt nrrv be duc to $astrng. sclf- incompatibilrtlalnong a clonal population-or srmplvthc lack of a sultablepollrnator. pollcn *as takcn fronr plantsof phenotype(a) to phenotlpc (c) and both groupsselectivclv cross-polhnated. The resultssholcd that frujt formation is partly temperaturerelated. Self fcrtilised and cross fertilised inflorescencessuffcred thc sanrc fatc as controlmaterial, no fruithas formedat srle3. while the fc* frurt ibmredat silc I *erc ln thc hottestposr- tronson unfertilisedand unreachableinflorescences. Asecondancontroloffmitingistheannual appearanccofthcfi.rngal discase Icrlanrralrcrrprrnrc. rrhrchis kno$n to overwinterin leaf-litter(D. Rose.pers. comrn ) and infectsemcrging shoots and inflorcsccnccs.partrcu- larfr in dampsprings. The diseascis rare on Sbrblr.roucupond. despitc the densrtrof somcpopulations. ald thc frequentomamental use of this spccics.r'ct is prescntrn all threesitcs of ,\l drtmt'.sttcttand hasbcur obscncclat site I for over a decadc.Shaded plants or thoseon \\'cttor.gentler slopcs are badh affccted.\\hrlc plantsln thc hot. rain shadorved,and perhaps litter-free vertical areas groli ucll and do producc li'urt. Srgnrficantlr. L'.oucuparae has beenscen on the Arle-vtree. rvhile rnvcstrgations br David Roscshoncd no discascon othcr cuftrvatedtrees. If *ild,\. Jomeslicais partrcularlvsusceptible to Venturruin our maritimecltntatc thcn thts u'ouldrepresent an effcctrveedge-of-range control. and a fi:rtherfactor linritingthc spcciesto hot opcnhabitats In the continentalsummcr of 1995the plants\\'ere notabl) diseasefrec rn sites I and 2. and the fmits produccd rverefertile. Thc green.hard fruits of SorbusclomestiLo. unpalatable until sbcd.are adaptcdfor dispersalbr largcrhcr- btvorousmammals (Ka1. in Marshalland Gracc. 1992). To suncr thc rcsponscsof donrcsticatcdnranrnrals. rrpc unblettedand blettedfruit wereoffered to a selectionofareilable. well fed.farm aninrals.Grrcn thc likehhoodof acqurredfood preferencesin a regulardiet the resultsonll'shorv basic iike or dislike.Enough frurt uas prorrdcd to test rejectionafter initial acceptanceand retrieval bl scentfrom a distanccof 3 nr. Unblenedfrurt rvasinitialll'accepted bv horses(Welsh cob cross).shecp. cattlc and Spanrshfcral goats but re.lectcdafter a further quantrty by thc horsesand cattle. Blettcd fruit ofTcrcdto thc sarneanrnrals las rclcctedb\ all exceptthe goats.The strongsccnt ofthe blencdfruit scattcredon the groundsas rccognrscdbr thc horscs. consrderedat somelcngth- but no fruits were eaten.Sheep and cattlescemed to be completclrrndilfercnl to thc prcsenceofthc scatteredfrujt. Blenedfruit continuallyoffered to thc goatsresultcd in rejectronbr sonrc(four animalswere usedfor eachsample). When offcredto onulvorouspigs thc rrpc unbicttcdand blettedfnrrt lerc both accepted.as might be cxpected.Pigs (Englishand VietnamesePot-bellied) ucrc ableto dctcctthc sccntof thc bletted fiuit at somedistance, and an irregular trail was followed b-vone animal acrossopen ground Thoughan admrttedlllimited trial. the resultsshowed that the pungcntblettcd fruit. rihich sould bc depos- itcd on the groundbeneath a tree.\\,as unacceptablr marvkish to mostaninrals. but ras acceptcdand souglrtoLrt b1 the omrtvorousprgs. Seedsare ltkcl.vto be dcstroyedb1 herbrvorcschcrvrng a hard fnrrt- rvhercasthe so{i fruit. where acceptedwas seento be champedby the tongue and suckcd down. probabh leaving manr sccdsun- harmed.Ridler (1930) statesthat pigs destroythe great majorit! of sccdsduring digcstion.but thc rcnraindcr couldrepresent a reasonableagencv ofdispersal. Secds could also bc trappedin thc bristleofthclau or lcgs.Thc feasibilityoffaecal dissectionto determinethe proportionofviable seeduas considcredbut rclcctcd! That the Wild Pig is the primary dispersalagent for Sorhus dome:tica in casternAustna rvas confinucd rn April 1996(R. Klumpp. pers.comm.) Fradrich(1974) statesthat the EuropeanWild Pig. ,\tt.tscrofd. larours uoodlandand rioodlandbordcrs. and rrill establishan occasionalrefuge in secludedwoodlartd bordcrs particuiarh ifthcrc rs a potentialrrailorr present.Thev are not averseto a salinervallow such as mav be providedb_"- a saltmarsh.Thcv aro also rrrlhng irvimmersand havebeen knorvn to crossup to i km offresh or seawater (uithc Baltrc).lf Sorhustlontstttu drcl arrive in Britain during the climatic optimum,after the loss of the continentallandbridgc. br I manrmalagcnt ralhcrthan an avianone then the prg ma1,bcthc onll contendcrIt is possiblcthat \\'ild pigs drd disperscthc spc- ciesrvithin Britain. Prescntsites are all connectcdu'ith stccplvooded uild placesprovrdrng rtnglng tcrntor\ and the agilitl-ofthe pig. and its abilit),to maintainan openhabitat could havcbcen vital to thc survnal of thc spc- cies rvithin closcdwoodland. ln Europethe presentreduced range of thc pig usuallvscparates it from .\',rrblr.r Llonestico.rvhile in Britain. br' 1600.there rvere vcn fc* soulhofthc Trent (Dcnt. 1974) The chmatrchtston of southemBritain suggeststhat evenrvrth an effectivedispcrsal agcnt thc spccicsrs unhkclr to haverrurn[lrrred ttselfarvayfiom microclitnaticrefuges after tlie generalcooling ofthe Neolrthicpenod. and ccnainll not attcr thc further coolingof around 2500 b.p. The prescntTrue Sen'iccTrces. morphologicalh and gcncticallrdistrnct from onepopulation to the next.arc unlikelyto havcbeen the subjcctof attentionfronr a hungn rirld boar for a considerabletrmel It is thereforesuggestcd that the currcntsitcs are habitatsrvhich bccamc ar,ailablc for colonisationa consrd- crabletime ago and that for sucha dl'namicfonration to havcprovidod contlnuous opcn habrtat and rcnrainto- dar in threecases. is the rcsult ofa preciseconrbination o1'ecological factors uhrch rs ofvcn rarc occrlrrcnce and astonishinggood fonune In seekingothcr potentialcoastal habitats for .\ dontc.vttttthc drffcringrsoslattc hrstory.long-shore drtft. carly deforestationpattcms and populationdensitrcs. rcccnt coastal crosion and the drs- tributionofrocks strongll basic.frrablc enough to permit vegetativeregeneratlon vot not subJectto mayortalls. local climatc.aspect and competition(particularlv from contincntalalicns), all harc to bc takcn rnto consrdcra- tton Careful researchand ficldwork over the last lerv \ears has suggr:stcdthat S domcstrcars unlikelr to bc foundin habitatsu'here these factors are not Dresent. Notes and Arlicles / Consewation News

Finally, while associatedspecies like Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum (Blue Gromwell) and Buxus sem- pervirens (Box) are found inland in usually refugehabitats, neither carboniferous limestons nor cretaceousrocks seemto offer tle samepotential for vegetativeendurancc present on lias seacliffs. The powerful and acetic smell ofthe fruit, which one rvould expect to be readily formed rnland.would also draw attentionfrom somedistance. That all three present sites and the Wvre tree were all noted in the past n'ould indicate that though it $ould be thnl|ng to find nerl sites,records arc unlikel) to bc arrtvingin droves. Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank the following for their help in his researches:Jill Walker, Oxford Botanical Garden, Johr White, Westonbirt. Roger Turner and Ray Smith, Arle1, House, John Meiklejohn. Defford; Raphael Klumpp, Institut fur Waldbau, Wein, Germanl'; David Rose,Pathology Dept.. Forestry Commission,Alice Holt Lodge; Mark and Claire Kitchen, Colin Pascoe,Malcolm and Jill Robcrts, Philip Nethercott.Gill Barter. Arthur Chater,Warren Mill Farm Park and PeterMatthias. I should also like to take this opportunity ofthanking Dr Q.O.N. Kay for assistancesubsequent to the discovery and identificatronof Sorbu.sdomestica. References Alcock.J. (1974\ Anmal Behaviour.Sunderland. Massachusetts. Sinauer Associatcs 'l'he Amphlett,J. & Rea,C. (1909). BotanyoJ llorc^'ter.\hire.Comish Brothers, Birmrngham. 8ean,W.J. (191i0).Trees and shruhshardy in the Rrtttsh1sles. Johr Murray, London. Briggs,D. & Walters.S.M. (1984).Plant Variarionand Evolution.Cambridge Universitl'Press, Cambridge. Dent.A. (1974).Lost Beastsol Brirain. Harrap,London. Ellenberg,H. (l9ll8). ,'egetattonEcologt of Central Europe. CambridgeUniversity Press.Cambridge. Fradrich. H. (1972). Swinesand Peccaries, tn Gruzrmeki's Encyclopaediaof Animal Li/i. Van Nostrand. Gerstberger,P. (1980). Neue Merkmale zur Unterscheidungvon ,9orbasdomestico L. und Sorbus aucuparia L. Gottinger.floristische Rundbriefe 14. 1-5. Lees,E. ( 1858). Picture s ol Nalure.Worcester Naturalists' Club, Worcester. Lees,E. (1867).The Botany of Worcestershire.Worcester Naturalists' Club. Worcester. Marshall,C. & Grace,J. (eds.)(1992). Fruit and seedProduction. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. ' Morrison,M.M. ( I 982).Lookers Out of ll'ctrcester.rrire.Worcestershire Naturalists Club. Worcester. NevilleGeorge, T (1970).South Wales(British Regional Geologv). HMSO, London. North. F.J (1955).Evolution of the Ilristol Channel.National Museum of Wales.Cardiff Ridley, H.N. (19301. The Dispersal oJ Plants Throrghout the Ll'orld. Ashford. Reeve. Small,R.J. (19'78) TheStudy o.fLandforns. Cambridge University Press, London. Wade-Evans.A.W. ( 1938).Nennius' History ol lhe Bntons. SPCK, London Williams, E. (Iolo Morgannwg)(1793'/). Unpublished papcrs. MS formerlyat Foffnon Castle.now believedto be at NationalLibrary of Wales.C. Pascoepers. com.

MARK HAMPTON, 9 Burton Terrace, East Aberthaw, South Glamorgan CF62 3DIj

.: i:':'!:']::'!:r.'::]':'ji l':::' :'1i:::'i::':::i::::::r:::::::i]' ::::t::::::i:i:::::::::: :i:.i::.:i;i:r::;.::r:::::

CONSERVATIONNEWS

ALIENS ARE NOT AGGRESSIVE

On behalfofConservation Committee I have begun collecting from vice-county recorders the information they hold on potentially aggressivealien speciesand genotypes. This is one of the actions from BSBI's lle StrateEg' and Action Plan lor lhe ('on.scrvation of l/ascular Planl.s. So far I have received replies covering 36 vice-counties and they make very interesting reading. The information, although incomplete, is already being used by JNCC. They were delighted to hear of our initiatrve coming at just the right time to assistin formulating their ideason how to tackle the problems posed by alien species. As we thought, the data are patchy and may be unreliableowing to less thorough recording, making it diffrcult to decide if and where aliens pose a threat to our native flora. I have not fully analysed the information, but my initial impression is that there is very little to worry us! That is not to say that aliens are not widespread and in some casesforming substantialstands, but very few are reported as threatening scarce,native speciesor valued habitats The following comments illustrate some examples ofthe inferencefrom the replies to data. Notes and Articles

2cm

Sorbu.sdomesticd leaf silhouettes.A Srte I (VC 4l West), B Site 2 (\/C 4l East). C Site 3 ffC 3a), D Arley House, E Oxford Botanic Garden rlJ Consenation News/ Aliens

Elodea canaderr.rr.s(Canadian Pondweed) seemsto have settled into a niche, but [. nuttallii (Nut- tall's Pondweed) is increasing generally. Only three replies mentioned speciesthreatened as a result of spread of these two aquatic weeds. ('rassulo helm.sii(New Zealand Pigmyr,veed),on the other hand, is of concern in a number of counties, threatening populations of the plants of shallow margins and sea- sonally wet mud. Lemna minuto (Leasr Dtrckweed) is being found in many English and Welsh vice- counties.but so far does not seenrto be a problem Fallopralaponicc (Japanese Knotweed), Impatietrs glandulrfero (Indian Balsam) and Herocleum manlegdzzianum (Giant Hogweed) are widespread and apparently static but not threatening anything other than the scenery with the exception of the last. This is causing concern on the banks of large rivers in N England and Scotland and, as one recorder remarked,to the silly people who walk into it. I?hododendron ponlicum (Rhododendron) and (iaultheria shollon (Shallon) seem to be lairly static. They are either being controlled on reseryesor invaded areas have been written offas the damage is already done. (NB. I have had no replies from N. Wales and some other areaswith large stands). A tangential problem is posed by Spartina anglica (.Common Cord-grass) which is spreading In five vice-counties and may be a threat to Zosterd (Eelgrass), Salicornia (Glasswort) and Cochlearra dnglica (English Scunygrass). Is this an alien species,or a native which was a British endemicnot very long ago? We are very grateful to those recorders who have already responded to our request and I look forward to more replies as winter approaches.If any member would like to send information I will add rt to the database.We would particularly like to know of instanceswhere alien speciesare actually posing a threat, to what and how rapidly. The objectivesare to answer two questions. - are the'rvell known invadersactually causingsignificant damage to our flora? - are there other species,not generallynoticed, posing a potential problem nationally? If we are to make the best uses of our resourcesfor conservation,we should not over-react to anec- dotes. On the other hand, we must not be complacentand only substantiatedinformation (in contrast to ooinion)rvill enableus to steerthe rieht course.

ROBIN WALLS. l6 Leieham Vale Road. Bournemouth BH6 3LR

ALIENS

ALIEN RECORDS

No authority is given if the taxon is mentionedin Stace'sNew F.lora of the British 1sle.r,Clement & Foster'sAlien Plants of the British Isle.sor Ryves,Clement & Foster'sAlien Gras.sesof the Brrtish Lries.Arrangement is alphabetical,an * followingthe Latin nameindicates a taxonnew to Ciement& Fosteror Ryves,Clement & Foster.I would be delightedto receiveany alienrecords for inclusionin future issues.In generalall taxa not includedin Kent's List of Llo.scularPlants of the British Isles we eligiblelor inclusionbut othermore widespread aliens listed in thatwork maybe includedat the discre- tion of the VC recorderand the editor.Please ensure that all recordsinclude the detailsas setout below, especiallya mapreference, even ifonly to a hectad(10 km square). My thanksto Mrs O. Linford,John Palmer and A. Underhillfor supplyingthe followingrecords Acroptrtionrepert.s (Russian Knapweed) Still well naturalisedon a railrvaybank ad1acent to a minor road,SO/5 1 40, Herefs.(VC 36), Aug 1995,A Underhill Aesculusparviflora (BottlebrushBuck-eye). Several good patcheson churned-upwaste ground, Bow ArrorvLane, Stone, TQ/5 7, W Kent(VC l6), 7110190,J R Palmer Aethionenrasaxafile Weedon pavingstones, edge of theheath, Blackheath. TQ/3 7, W Kent(VC I 6) 5/6/84,J R Palmer,det. E.J Clement.Pre-1930 only in Clementand Foster. Aichry.somlaxum (Haw.) Bramw.x. Many plants on high Abbey wall ajacentto road, Tresco, SV/8914, Islesof Scilll,(VC lb). Oct 1993,A Underhill,det EJ Clenrents Alrens lJrunnera macrophylla (Great Forget-me-not). One plant on a streamsidebank near the mill E of Loud- ham Hall. TN'l/3I 54, E Suffolk (VC 25). April 1994. A Underhill Buddleja x veyeriantt. One well establishedbush adjacent to the rnain road bv Stratton. SY/65.9-.i. Dorset (VC 9), Aug 1995,A Underhill Ruddleja alternirttha (Alternate-leavedButterfly-bush). Very large quantity in natural woodland, Da(- ford N{arshes.TQ/5.6, W. Kent (VC l6), 2911011995.J.R Palmer. Formerly remote situation, difiicult ofaccess. only revealed.and partrally destroyed.by construction ofa new road ('henoyxlium hircurum (Foetid Goosefbot). Rubbish tip in the Atlas Stone Companv pit at Horns Cross,TQ/57,W Kent(VCl6),711090.JR Palmer,detEJ ClementFirstKentrecordfor29 'l years, with Capsicum annum. Carlhamus tmclorius, ageles palula and J,intorriun sttnt{tlrtnt (-urvovulus sohalius (Ground Blue-convohulus). Large patch on old garden bank. St N4artins. SV/g1 26, Islesof Scilly(VC lb), Oct t994, A. Underhill,det EJ. Clement. ('oloneqster lacleus (Late Cotoneaster) One bush on the roadside bank by the island at the junction of the A45lBl106, TLl82 65, W Sufiolk (VC 26). May 1994.A Underhill (-oloneasle/ zabelii (Pear-fruit Cotoneaster) Abundantly establishedon very old walls and banks, Gravesend,TQ/6 7, W Kent (VC 16), 2415119.J R. Palmer Tidying-up by the local council reduced its numbers considerablybut it is now on the rncreaseagain. ];rancoa ramosa (Bridal Wreath). One plant in dunes on Tresco, SV/89 14, Isles of Scilly (VC lb). Oct 1993.A Underhill But not found since 'lutea'*. Fritillaria impertalis L. One plant probably planted but seeminglyrvell establishedon side of minor road S of Chillesford,TNt38 5l, E. Suffolk (VC 25), April 1994 (ioillordto ' grandrflora (Blanket-flower) l\lany plants in a sandy grassy area at the back of a fenced buildingby the dunesat Brean village,ST/29.55, N Somerset(VC 6), Aug I995. A Underhill Hepatica transsilvanica Fuss* (Rumanian Liverleaf). Appeared spontaneously in several places rn newly spreadtopsoil; then persistentuntil now, at S. Darenth.TQ/5.6, W Kent (VC l6) l97l-1, J.R. Palnrer. L\olis tinL'toria (Woad). Abundant on spoil heaps at archaeological dig, near Sixpenny Handley. ST/999 148, Dorset (VC 9), June 1996, Mrs O Linford Appeared every year since 1992 Wcrad 'l had been grown as crop around Bridport in I 7th & Sth centuriesbut has sincedisappeared except as a casualgarden rveed (H.J.M Bowen pers. com ) 'fQi5 .lasminum humile f . hunile (ltalian Yellow Jasmine).Waste ground near Srvanley, 6, W Kent (VC 16), 1516195,J.R. Palmer Difficult of accessin bramblesand nettles,if a relic it is long- standing.Pre-1930 only in Clementand Foster,asvar. rewlutum. Lepidiun solivan, (Garden Cress). Six plants in car park at Shoreham by sea, TQ/23 04. W Susser. (VC l3), June 1995,A Underhill,det E.J.Clements. Limonrum laltfolium (Broad-leaved Statice) Widely naturalisedin grasslandbelorv Darenth Wood (in thegeneralareaof VaroHouse), TQ/5 7, W. Kent (VC l6),2/8/89, J R Palmer. Lonrcera inwtlucrata (Californian Honeysuckle). Shrubs growing at edge of woodland. 400 nr lronr road, near Drumsleet, NX/94 72, Kirkcudbrights (VC 7l), July 1995, A Underhill With lJerht'tt; gagnepainii (Gagnepain's Barberry).Thou-ehprobably originally planted both species are well established. 'Hose It4imulus " hurnelii (Coppery N'lonkeytlorver). in hose' variety, well naturalisedon a wet road- sidenear the roadjunction at Tushielaw,NT/30. 18,Dumfreiss (VC 72), July 1995,A Underhill Nolana pntslralo (Traihng Chilean-bellflower). Grassy verge outside houses, Tresco, SV/88.15, Isles of Scilllr(VC lb), Oct 1995.A Underhill Probablyplanted but spreadingrapidly, E J Clement Olearia solandri (Coastal Daisybush) Probably planted at edge of ooastal copse of ()lturru trot'.'t.\tt (Chatham Island Darsybush), St Mary's, SV/91 10, Isles of Scilly, (VC lb), Oct 19e5, A. Underhill, Knorvn here for at least l2vrs, det. E.J Clement. O.;teospermumjucundunt (Cape Daisy). Quantity in )ong rough grass and nettles by footpath. Hawlel, TQls 7, W Kent (VC l6), 216196,J R Palmer Perhapssorvn originally. or gardenthrow-out but looks established. Aliens

I'hotinia davidiana (Stranvaesia).On ruins of Collegiate Chapel of St John the Baptist, Chester, SJl4.6, Cheshire(VC 58), 2618189,J R Palmer (as var. undulata) l)rimula alpicola Stapf*. On W bank of stream a little N of the road, at Moulin, NNi944.593, Perths, 1417168,JR Palmer.det. D McClintock I'teris multtfida Poir. (Spider Fern)+. plants smother the top of a well in a public house near Beau- wo(h, SU/57.24,S Hants (VC ll), Nov 1995,A Underhill,det E.J Clements lkt.smarinu.s nf/icinahs (Rosemary). Abundant seedlings in gratings round trees, by the river near the Chester Boat Centre. SJ/4.6, Cheshire (VC 58), 2618189,J.R. Palmer. ('.o|oneasterhjelmquistii on rocks by the river nearby. Semperwrum endreantum.On overgrown remains of old walls, Hextable, TQl5.'1, W. Kent, (VC l6), 1317189,J R. Palmer. Anthers yellow, leaves glaucous green with no markings. Together with ,\. lectorunt var ulpittum in more abundance,which was also in long grass nearby. .\ilene coelr-rosea (Rose-of-Heaven) Remote plantation of new small trees east of Swanley, TQ/5.6 W Kent (VC 16), 2619190,J.R Palmer, det E.J. Clement; as was Phacelia campanularia (California-bluebell)found there on l/10/90, and (-yperus albq-striatus found 2l18/90. lntroduced with top soil from Surrey. The iong mixed list of interestingaliens which occurred at this site, some new to Kent, is worthy of a separatearticle. Solutum drflorum (Winter-cherry). Several plants growing in the General Flospital grounds in the centre of Birnringham, SPi07 87, Warks (VC 38), Dec 1995, A. Underhill With Hclichrysum petio- /are (Silver-bush Everlastingflower). Due to major reconstnrctionthese plants are probably lost. Sorharia sorbifolia (Sorbaria). One bush with many seedlingson the N side of the road by a minor roadjunction. TW34 46, E Suffolk (VC 25), July 1995,A Underhill Siorhuscrotaocarpa (Oange-berried Whitebeam). Regeneratingto some extent on road embankments nearLane End, TQ/5 7. W. Kent (VC l6), 2/8/89,J R. Palmer. Spiraea ,. fixii K. Koch ex Zab.*. Relic for 15-20 years near lone-defunct nurseries,Swanley TQ/5.6, W Kent (VC l6), 1996,J R Palmer 'lelragonitt tetragotuildes (New Zealand Spinach). Large patch by pathside hedge adjacent to crop fields,Tresco, SV/89 14, Islesof Scilly(VC 1b),Oct. 1995,A. Underhill,det. E.J Clements Ilnt.spermuntclalechanpii. Many plants growing on top of old walls in the Abbey gardens on Tresco, '94 '95, SV789 14, lslesof Scilly(VC l), Oct 1993, & A. Underhill,det E J Clements ('amponula allittriJitlia (Cornish Bellflower), Hieracium waldsteinii Tausch*, Hypericum coris L.*, H. olympicum, I'ueoniu mlokosewitshii Lom.*. Near Stow in the Wold, SPllg.27, E. Glous. (VC 33), 2214195& 3016195,A Underhill The plants grow on a roadside bank on the side of a main road, they originate from an ex-nurserymanwho used to throw any spare seeds from the nursery onto this bank at the end ofthe season15-20 yrs ago. Also 100+ Digitolis lutea andthree other speciesnot yet identified, det. E.J. Clements. Actt<:itr suligtttt (Labill ) H. Wendl. (Blue-leaved Wattle)*, Elaeagnus glabro, lrrica arbnrea (Tree Heath). Kunzea umhignu (Sm.) Druce+, Oxylobium lanceolatum (Vent ) Druce*, Pitktsporum ralphii. Senecio glastifolius (Holly-leaved Groundsel), Ilgni molinae (Chilean Guava), Zenobia pulverulertlct (Zenobia). Plants well naturalised in the woodlands on Tresco, SV/89.14, Isles of Scilly,(VClb),Oct 1995,A UnderhillWithmanyothernaturalisedspecies,all det.E.J Clement.

EDITOR

SOLANUM VERNEI

The superb illustration of Solanum t.'erneiby Annette Townsend on the front cover was originally intended to accompany my note,4ir invasive alien plant from Soulh America in Whilekntghts Park, ('.am- prt:; of lhe I/niver.sit1.,of Reodtng. which was published in IJSBI Neu,,r68 36-37, but, although a herbariumspecimen rvas despatched from Reading University at that time. it inexplicablyfailed to reach the Editor in Cardiff presumablylost in the post! However, this handsomeimmigrant is still with us in Ahens -tl

large numbers all over the Park and seemsquite happy to remain; it is even now (mid-July) putting on a grand floral display. For more details ofthe piant and the circumstancessurrounding its initial invasion. seethe above article

CAROL J. HORA, 5l Eastern Avenue, Reading RGI 5SQ

A RATHERDIFFERENT (AND OVERLOOKED?) ROCK-ROSE

Any Common Rock-rose with larger than normal flowers rs worth a second look. even if in natural vegetation, as it may be Helianthemum nuntmuluriuz subsp. grutrtliflorunt (Scop.) Schinz & Thell. lhis year I noticed a colony rvell estabiishedin an attractively vegetatedglade deep in Darenth \\'ood, TQ/s 6. W Kent (VC 16), 29/5196 Flowers 15 mm, leaves green on both surfaces,(long) hairs on upper leafsurfaces and marglns. sepalsglabrous between the ribs. Although a European native, it is likely to be a garden escapein the British Isles.A clue to the Darenth Wood colony was that the soil containeda quantitvof white sharp sand. (Refer F/oro Europaea and gardening books).

JOJINR, PALMER,le WaterMlll*url tor:n oa:enth:Dartfold, Kent, DA4 eBB

ESTABLISHEDALIEN PERENNIALSAND BIENNIALS IN A CHILTERN TETRAD

Following on my note on alien shrubs and trees in the Chiltern tetrad SUi74.98 and its neighbours (BSBI News 67 . 54-5), I thought it might be of interest to record the much larger number of alien perennialsand biennialsthat I have noted in the samearea here during the past 40 years Perennials Aconitum napellus (Monkshood) In Icknield Way hedge, Chinnor, since 1988 Allium paradoxln (Few-flowered Leek): In abandonedpleasance, Adwell, Oxon. since 1953 Armoraciq nrslicana (Horseradish). Well establishedpatch. road verge near Saundertonchurch. Druce in his Bucks Flora (1926) mentionsBledlow, but I havenot seenit there. Culyslegia pulchra (Hairy Bindweed). By Henton Wainhill Halt since 198 I ('olystegi.t silv.tticd (Larye Bindrveed). Chinnor, since 1954. ('enlranlhus ruDer (Red Valerian): On walls. High Street, Chinnor, and PrincesRisborou_qh Manor ('icerhita mocrophylla (Blue Sow{histle). Chinnor churchyard since I968, road verge, Sydenham. since1980. Colula squalida (Leptinella): Larvn weed at Drifts, Chinnor Hill, since 1954 Cymbalaria murali.r (lvy-leaved Toadflax). Not specially recorded, but occurs OakJey ( 1951), Priestend,Thame, and Princes fusborough. Dr.tronicumpardalianches (Leopard's-bane). In Bledlow by stream off West Street and by lcknield Way near a house; Chinnor Hill NR, by a house,Henrpton Wainhill, opposite a house. Eranthi-t hyemalis (Winter Aconite)' ln shelterbelt by 84009, Aston Rowant, oniy discoveredin I994 Erinus alpinus (Fairy Foxglove). External wall, Princes Risborough Manor House, since 1966 Erysimum cheiri (Wallflower). Walls in Tetsworth and Priestend,Thame, since 1950s. Euphorbio c.vparisstus(Cypress Spurge). Rough ground adjacentto school garden, well establishedin I 993 Euphorbia r pseudctvirgata(Twiggy Spurge). Railway bank E of PrincesRisborough, since 1977. Galanlhus nlvzrll.s(Snowdrop): Along footpath between Bledlow church and the Lyde. since 1960s Golanlhus plical?.s (Pleated Snowdrop). In abandonedpleasance. Adrvell, Oxon.. since 1975. (jeranrum entlres.sii(French Crane's-bill) (pure, not the hybrid) a clump at Gipsies' Corner, Cro',r'ell Hill. sinceat Ieast1964. Alrerrs

Henerocallis fulr.'zr(Orange Day-lilv) In hedge betrveenlcknreld Way and disused railway line, King- stonBlount, since 1980s. LamiLtstrumgaleobdolon subsp.orgerilatuiz (Yellow Archangel). by Icknield Way at Chinnor cricket field since 1917 and lust over the Bucks border by a house in Bledlow since 1988; also on roadside.Kingston Hill, srnce1987 Lurhlr'us lut(oliu.s (Broad-leaved Everlasting-pea).Railway bank. Chinnor, since 195.5,but apparently destroyedwhen station reconstructed, 1994. Lepulium draha (Hoary Cress). Two srtesin Chinnor since 1954, another by disusedrailway line close to station. Also by A40, Aston Rowant to Postcombe. Mentha ^ villosa nothomorph alopecuntide.s(Apple-mint). Well establishedclump on roadside hedge- bank,Andridge Common, Radnage,1993. l)entaglottis semperviren.s(Green Alkanet). Road rerge, Henton Wainhill halt, since 1992, also by Icknield Way, Chinnor and Henton Wainhill; on road bank, Hill Road, Chinnor, and in approachto disused Chinnor rarlway station. ln Bucks, by-road near Saunderton church, and hedge-bank of disusedroad near Thame by-passin Long Crendon parish. l)ilo.s:ella pruealltt subsp. thoumu,vzr (Tall Mouse-ear-hawkweed). Site of former Aston Rowant railway station, I 960, but no longer there. I).seudofumarialutea (Yellow Corydalis). Walls in Chinnor since l9-54. Pulmonaria offcinalis (Lungwort): Road verge, Oakley Hill, since 1958 Sedum album (White Stonecrop). By railway track, Wainhill Halt, Chinnor, since 1979, but recently 'tidied away' Sedum dasyphyllum (ThickJeaved Stonecrop). old wall near the Prebendal,Thame, since 1985. Senecrosqualidu.s (Oxford Ragwor-t).Chinnor cement workings since 1954 Solidago canadensis (Canadian Goldenrod). Chinnor Hill, 1954; Upper Icknield Way, Chinnor, not far from houses, 1993 Callow Down, Biedlow Ridge, Bucks, in hedge bank near former refuse dump S1'nph.t'tun , uplondiLum (Russian Comfrey). In quantity, roadsidesW of Sydenhamfor many vears; also on triangle at Towersey turn offChinnor to Thame road, 84445, and a clump in Church Lane, Chinnor. Tetragonolohusmarilinn6 (Dragon's-teeth). Roadsidebank, Fingest, Bucks, since I 962. l'eronica.filiformr.s(Slender Speedwell) Lawn weed at Drifts, Chinnor Hill, since 1954. l/eronitztpersicu (Common Field Speedrvell).Occurs but not speciallyrecorded. Lrincu najor (Greater Periwinkle). Verge of Icknield Way outside house, since 1954; and roadside outside house near Radnagechurch, Bucks, since 1954. Vinco minor (Lesser Periwinkle). Extensive colony in road hedge near Saundertonchurch, Bucks, since 1969; Icknield Way verge above Chinnor cement works, since 1980s, purple-florveredvar., extensive colony on road bank by housenear Radnage church, Bucks, sinceI 954. Biennials Linaria purpurea (Purple Toadflax). Chinnor cement works, since 1959, also in Church Lane, Chinnor Lunaria onnua (Honesty). Roadsidebank ofwood below Bledlow Ridge, Bucks, since 1985. Myosoti.s.sylvatico CV (Garden Forget-me-not). Well established,Stepping Hill Field, Chinnor Hill NR and elservherealong Icknield Way, Chinnor; also in setasrdefield, Crowell Hill, far from houses Shrubs Omitted from Previous Note Mahonie aquifolia (Oregon Grape). In hedge opposite demolishedhouse, Icknield Way, Chinnor, since 'tidied 1950s; and by footpath outside garden, Chinnor Hill, since 1960s but recently away'; one stunted plant on old railway track by' Chinnor cementworks. Rihes olpinunt (AJpine Currant). Road verge, Crowell Scrubs since 1980. Ruhus armeniacr.s(Himalayan Giant Blackberry): Chinnor, by pathway to allotments,first noted 1994. Symphoricarpos rivuloris (Snowberry). Large thicket, Chinnor Hill NR, originating in neighbouring garden,since 1965

RICHARD FITTER, Drifts. Chinnorllill, Chinnor,Oxon OX9 48S AIiens il NOTESON SOMEALIEN PLANTSAT THE TOWANS,WEST CORNWALL

New finds and changesin the status ofseveral alien plants in the l{ayle-Grvithian area over the past few' years necessitaterevision ofinformation given in the valuable reviews by Stace (1992) and Clement & 'Upton Foster (1994). Confusion has also arisen in the literature over the place names Towans' and 'Phillack Towans', possibly becausethe latter name appearson the l. 25,000 Ordnance Survev map but not the 1.50.000sheet. Vinca dffirmis (Intermediate Periwinkle) was found to be well establishedat the edge of Gwithian 'l Towans (SW580.411) on 5th October 1993.The plant is white-floweredand forms a patchabout l5 m acrosson rough ground beside a track, not far outside a garden The onh'other record ofthrs specres 'in the wild' in the British Isles appearsto be from W. Kent. Dichondra micranlha (Kidney-weed) has been recorded as a wool casual, but the only British localityat which it was persistentlyrecorded'in the wild'was on PhillackTowans (not'Havle Tow'- ans'). However, the last report ofit here that we have traced was in 1979. since rvhen the habitat has been radically disturbed, so it is probably now extinct. Auchusa azurea (Garden Anchusa) was establishedon disturbed areas in the dunes at Phillack Towans (not Upton Towans) sincethe l9l4-18 war. The lastcertain record rvasmade sometirne before 1976 and it now appearsto be extinct. Anchusa o.fficinalis (Alkanet) has also been establishedon disturbed areasin the dunes at Phillack Towans(not Upton Towans) (SW/56-.39-)since the l9t4-18 war. Fearsthat it is now extinctthere are unfounded since at least ten plants were found in both 1994 and 1995. Anchusa x baumgartneri (A. officirutlis x A. ochroleuca) (Yellow Alkanet) is rvell known at the Towans (Russell& Garratt 1976, Margetts & David 1981, Stace 1992, Clement& Foster 1994),although it occurs at Phillack Towans not Upton Towans as reported in most of the literature. It was still present in 1995, forming two substantialclumps on a sandy bank near to plants of A. ochroleuta The hybrids are probably fertile since they form some well developed nutlets. Anchusa azureo x A. ochroleuca was also listed for Upton Towans by Clement & Foster (1994' 248-9) but it was not seenduring 1994-5. This record rvas basedon an unconfirmed report, which was most probably an error for A. x btrumgartneri. Hence.4. anreo \ A. ochntleuca should be deleted from the British flora unless clear evidenceof its former occurrenceexists.

Acknowledgement We are grateful to Eric Clement for helpful comments and encouragementto publish thesenotes

References Clement, E.J & Foster, M C (1994) Alien Plartl.yof the British l.r/e.r BSBI, London Margetts,L.J.&David,RW.(198 l) AReviewoftheCornishFloral9S0 Pool,Redruth. Russell,J.&Garratt,B.E.M.(1976)Anchusa speciesatUptonTowans,Cornwall. ll/atsonio ll. l8l. Stace,C (1992) New Fktra of the Brilish l.sles Cambridge. *::*yl.DAVID T HOLYOAK, 8 Edward Street, Tuckingmill, Camborne, Cornwall TRl4 8PA

NOTESON PODOPHYLLUM(BERBERIDACEAE) AS POTENTIALBRITISH ALIENS

To date there is but one record of a l'odophyllum, I'. hexandrunt,und,er its synonynrl). emodr.as an alien,'constantfor sometimeat Charmouththough never flowering'(Meggison, 1958). This sounds like a gardenthrow-out - rather like a large clump of Dracunculusvulgari.s (Dragon Arum) that ap- pearedin a roadsidehedgerow along Queen'sroad, Beeston,some years ago. Afler producingits spectacularfoliage for two years, it disappearedas suddenly as it had arrived, Ieaving only a hole in the ground - presumablyrepatriated to cultivated statusl When in cultivation, P. hexandntm flowers freely and, being for the most part both self-pollinated and self-compatiblein the frequently cultivated forms, produces seed in quantity - the decorative interest provided by the large red lemon-shapedfruit being one reasonfor its cultivation. Ifleft to ripen and fall the fruit gradually decays.eventually releasingthe seedswhich germinate easily in the spring, thus producing seedlingsthat require at least four years to reach maturity. Germination is of interestin itsell It is of the pseudomonocotyledonoustype, in which the two cotyledons are fused along much of their length, forming a tube which the plumule ruptures laterally in order to make an appearance.At Notting- hanr such seedlingsare regularly seen each spring in the Pharmacy garden on the University Campus. The plants are long-lived and can produce clonal colonies of considerablesize after many years. The rhizome continuesto grow for about six years. after which the oldest part beginsto decay. Amongst the cultivated plants at Nottingham there appears to be a low degree of out-crossing, which is probably ef}'ectedby flies, since the flowers do not smell very pleasant.Artificial crossesbetween dissimilarlines can produce plants with aborted anthersand very lorv fertility. Podophyllum pehatum, the North American Mayapple or Wild Mandrake, does not seem to have been recorded as an escapeor alien in the British Isles. I find this surprising,since its thin freely branch- rng rhizome rapidly spreadsand builds up large clonal colonies In the wild, exampleswith over i,000 shoots are often encountered.The plant is capable of regenerationfrom small rhizome fragments and also reproduces by seed. Horvever, seed production both in the wild and in cultivatron ls uncommon. Many clones are selflincompatiblebut a lew are partially self-compatibleand may set some seed.Wher- ever two or more clones are grown in close proximity, such as at Nottingham, the frequency of seed production increasesdue to cross-pollination and consequentlysome self-sown seedlingsoccur. Vari- ous bees, ntainly Bomhus spp. (Bumble bees),have been seenoccasionally visiting the flowers. Recent studies in North America have shown that P. peltatum relies on other proximate nectar-rich flowering species,notably Pedicularts cqnadensis(Canadian Lousewort) to attract pollinators,which then apparently are fooied into visiting P. peltalum flowers (Laverty & Plowright, 1988). These pollinator attract- 'Though ing plants have been described as magnet species. Laverty (1992) comments rarely documented, this type of facilitative interaction between plants that are highly attractive to pollinators (magnet species),and co-flowering speciesthat are rarely visited by pollinators, may be widespreadin pfant communities.' Do we have any examplesin the British flora? The seedsproduced by P. peltatum are extremely sensitiveto desiccationand can not survive storagein a paper packet for more than a few days. Since usually only one clone is grown in a garden, and the odds are that it will be self- incompatible, seed is rarely produced. These factors may help to explain why P. pehatum rs not an establishedalien in Britain. IntheNetherlands,thecultivationofP. peltatum hasledtotheinadvertentintroductionofaNorth American fungus, S'eplollnto podoph.yll.ina which causes leaf blotch in P. pelhnm and now infects a number of other plants in Europe including, Populus spp., Sir/rr spp. and Prunus serotina (Gremmen, I987). It is not known if ['. peltatum is naturalisedthere. Two other I'odophyllum species,both lrom China, are occasionallycultivated - P. pleianthum and 'P. P. mairei Gagnepain, which the European (iarden Flora (3: 396) lists as t'ersipelle misapplied, not 'It Hance'. It seemsworth commenting on the statementmade under this entry that may be the same as the Chinese speciesnamed Dl,sosma l.ta),uensisYing'. An examination of representativematerial from the whole genus in the Sino-Himalayan region reveals that both D. tsayuensisYing, described from S E Tibet, and P. sikkimen.seChattenee & Mukerjee, described from Sikkim, are synonyms of P. aurantiocaule Hand.-Mazz., describedfrom Yunnan, China, which belongs to a different section ol the genus from P. versipel/e and its allies. This statementalso appearsto be the basis for the entry in the Index ofGarden I'lants (Griffiths, 1994 913) attributing a Tibetan distribution to P.versipelle 'P. Note too, that in this publication the specieshas become versipelle Hance', although the intended 'misapplied, plant is stifl the not Hance' taxon of the European Gqrden Flora, for which the earliest vafid name is P. mairei Gagnepain. (Confusion between P. versipelle and P. aurantirrcaule has ahis- torical precedent vfule Fischer, Kev' B ull . 1929. 249 & 193'1. 47 4.) Typical P. versipelle Hance is a rare Allens

plant of nlontaneforest in southernChina which is unlikelyto haveever been in cultivation.Similarly, I' aurantiocaule is very rare in cultivation at present, despite a possible attempted rntrocluction bv Kingdon Ward, who probablv collected seedfrom the Delei valley. Mishmi (now Arunachal pradesh)in 1928 Also in Grifiiths (199'1) on page372, the entry under l)tphllleitt-'l). plarmrhcr = /'ot14thy//t1n pleiarihum ' should be under a separate generic cntr\. I).t'.to.yrnaas l)1.,.so.;irtrpleitn/htr is Jviouslv intended Although frost hardy. P. plerlnthum and P. verstpelle are so rarely cultivated, slorv gror.vingand also se.lf-incompatible.that they are never likelv to becomc naturalised Horvever. lor 1,.htrtnrlrunt and I'. pellatum there remains a chance

References Gremmen' J (1987). Notes on the Mayapple and the life history of the fungus,\'eplorriiroptxlqilt.rllitrtr Mycriaxon 28(l) 255-256 Griffiths, M (1994) Index o.f Carden Plarrts RHS & N{acmillanPress. London & Basingstoke Laverty, (1992) T.M. Plant interactionsfor pollinator visits a test lbr the nra,r;netspecies ctlecr Oecologia 89 502-508 Laverty, T.M. & Plowright, R.C. (1988). Fruit and seed set in the Mayapple (potkryth.yl/rrmpaltdttrtn). influences of intraspecific f'actorsand local enhancementnear I'adictr/urt.scrrtnderrt^. (utt. ./. Rttt 66. t73-t'78 Meggison. D (l958) Report on f)orset natural history fbr I957 Botany. l)rrrc'.l)rt..set Nut. Hi.;t. Arc.h. Soc.19. 28.

('r- lt I'cn

l/1 'l)l'":7 ..)' ) ;* /./.---/ L--'' - > t- .F

Potlophyllum A-D l) hexcndrum, A & B, two adult leaf fcrrms.C, cotyledon shape D seedlingE P. peltutum. adult leaf Dei J M H Shaw.O 1996 JULIAN M.H. SHAW, Dept of PharrnaceuticalScrences, LJniversity ol Nottinghanr Nottinghanr NG7 2RD CYCLAMENREPAIVDUM IN ENGLAND

Cyclttmen repandum Sibth. & Smith is not rncluded in the ll,r/ of Vascular Plants of the British Isles (Kent I992).butisnotedasa'new'nameinthefloraoftheBritishIslesinr9..1B.LAb:;tracls,part25 (Kent 1995), based on records from Surrey. This would seem to be an appropriate place to list other sites.some ofthem recorded earlier. This N{editerraneanspecies is on the borderline ofhardiness in much ofBritain, but thrives in many gardensin the South, where milder winter conditions prevail. In a few localities, it has escapedinto the wild. and naturalisedcolonies may be found in South Devon, maintaining themselvesin native vegetation. and spreading by seed. Indeed. in one location Berry Head, near Brixham - where it is completely establshed. many hundreds o1'plants occur, scatteredamongst quarried limestone rock. Here it grows under young lrees with associatedHellehoru.s.foetiriz.s (Stinking Hellebore) in a site that echoes its natural habitat. ('. repandum may be told at once by its flowering-time - liom the end of March to the end of May There is a slight overlap with the flowering period of (i. corm - from January to April - but that species is distinguishedby its round leaves.Both C. repandum and C. c

Distribution VCl, West Cornwall severalplants in Tehidy Woods, Camborne(SW64), L.J Hill, 1978,in woods, Trelowarren (SW/72), L J. Margetts, 1982 VC3, South Devon. an escape outside gardens, Sharpitor. Salcombe (5)073), L.J. Margetts & LM Spalton, 1994, abundantly naturalised in light woodland, Berry Head, Brixham (S)V95), N. Smallbones, 1993, known here for several years; above Meadfoot Beach, Torquay (5)096), G F & M. Hawkins, 1988; severalplants in woodland near Ansteys Cove, Torquay (SX/96), field meeting, Devonshire Association, Botanical Section, 1995. VC5, South Somerset.well-naturalised rn woods aboveWest Porlock (SSi84), LP. Green, 1993; on wall and roadside, Stawley (ST/O2), M. Holmes, 1993 VCl7, Surrey well-naturalised on roadside bank, Ewhurst (TQ/04), R. & N.E. Sherlock, 1992; one plantin woodland.Walton-on-Thanres (TQ/O6), J E. Smithel a|..1994.

Key. I Flowers with auriclesat baseof corolla-lobes,flowering from August, November C. hederr/olium l. Flowers without auricles 2 2 Leaves suborbicular,flowering January- April C. coum 2. Leaves angled. flowering March - May ('. repandum

A fourth species,('. purpuroscens, is also hardy in Southern Britain, but is rarely grown,and has not been reported as a garden escape.

References Clement, E J & Foster. M C (1994) Alien plont.s of the Briti.sh1sle.r. BSBI, London Kent, D.H. (1992) Lt.stof the vascularplants of the fJritish Isles.BSBI, London. Kent, D H (1995) B.IiB.1. Abstracts, par't25. Margetts, L J & David, R W (1981) A reviev' of lhe ('ornish Flora, 19B0. Redruth Margetts, L J & Spurgin, K L (1991) I'he Cornish Florasupplement 1981-1990. St lves, Cornwall New.sletl.Atlas Fl. Somersel Project. 1994. Nen.sletl. Surrey' I.'1.(-ommrtlee. 1994 Stace,C A ( 199 1) ffew F l

LEN MARGETTS, l6 AshleighRoad. Honiton, Devon EXl4 8TD Al lcns !1

ALIEN PLANTS FROM YORKSHIRE

An unprecentatednumber of alienplants turned up in nrv part of Yorkshirein | 995 and the fbllorving hstsare liom ruo ofthe nroreinteresting sites Tip ne:rr Esholt SewageWorks SE/169.398 This tip, was discoveredby B.A. (Jesse)Tregale r,,hen he rvasrecording that tetrad and a nuniber of botanists went along to see what was there It is conrposedof plastic rubbish and gravel tiom the drainsof Bradford dumpedby Yorkshire Water - the only praiseworlhl thing thev've done this vearl One might expectAsian weedsin Bradford but thesewere mostlvMediterranean.

Alien plants found in 1995. ('orrurrtltunt sulir:unr,l..ruttltrutr hotrl:. llelil

lngleborough Hall, Clapham SD/718.695(lnglebor

1996 update.Dr Farrar,the presentowner of IngleboroughHall. kindll allo',veda f-ervol'us to revisit on 6th June. The Primulo on the scar was P. norgirrulu. Aruht,t ulpinu and'l huliLInillt trtltrilcgrfolirrnt were also present.Additional plants lound in w,oodland\\'ere Nd./.rrr.r. orLhtn .\iLulnnt.lluitnrlhamtrnr kam/.tchalicum, Gutneru ltuclond. Rogcrstu uescttlt.fislru,,\itturtrttinrtuttrcrtttclt.s..\)tt.;:tr ltulttrttlu and Acer tappadocicum. J')trrmerupalmotct rvasbeside the lake In addition to the plants listed, I rvas amazed to discover ('otrtlu .;quolrdcrrvell establishedon the edge ol'a moorland track north of Pateley Brrdge at SE,/192691 and lJurharau varrtu and.'lirliyr gas- rrcriunaon a roadsideat Gisburn,SD/830 495 on N4ay5 1995,but a year later the roadsidehad been takenor,er by nativedocks and thistlesand therervas no si,snofthe aliens

CONYZABILBAOANA J. R6my - NEW TO SOUTH HAI\IPSHIRE (\'C I l) ANI) TO BRITAIN

ln September 1992 a population nunrbering several hundred plants of mixed ('rttyztr specieswas dis- coveredon urban waste ground off Keswick Road rn the Woolston areaof Southampton One of the speciespresent r",as clearlv (-. canotlen.srs(Canaciian Fleabane), horvever. a second more robust species was definable.On the basisof a poor knorvledgeof the genus an initial identificationrvas made of ('..;ttnatrun:i.s (Guernsey Fleabane),r,hich could not bc confirmed bv matchrng against pre-ssed rnaterial The speciesremained unidentified until Septenrbel1994',vhen the original localrn uas shorvntcr Eric Clement.An identificationat the site rvasnot possible,but it rvasclearlv not ('..ttrntutrctt.si.s,although. ironically,one plant of that taxon r'"'asfound at the same site that day. From later literature V

[) B

Conyza bilbcunarr del P StanleyG) I 996 A - Female floret; B - Hermaphrodite floret, c - Achene, D outer involucral bract. [: involucralbract. F CaPitulum investigationthe specieswas found to match most closely C. bilbaoanq(l;'lora rf New Zeuland,Yol.4. C J Webb. et ul..1988) Since this original discovery the species has been found in a large number of localities within Southampton and as a single plant at a marina at Hythe on the opposite side of SouthamptonWater by Paul Bowman. (-. hilhaoana has invaded a wide range of habitats, and appears to be somewhat more thermophilous than ('. sumqtrensls and (-. canadensis.The origin ofthis fleabaneis open to conjecture, possible sources of introduction include the cross channel ferries, the container terminal or the round the world yacht race. Ailhough apparently unrecorded within Europe it is conceivablethat the species has been overiooked, especiallyin view of the superficial similarity to C. canadensr.r,bul the two species show no signs of hybridising in Britain. As this specieshas spreadwidely within the Southampton area, it is almost certain to have a meteoric spreadin southernBritain, parallelto that of C. sumalrenlti!t (more ofwhich was found in this area in 1994), but searchesby local botanists in nearby Portsmouth have, so far. only revealedcolonies of ('. surnutrensts The following description is based solely on the colony at Southampton, as is the accompanying drawing. Other populations may deviate in some details. Voucher specimenshave been deposited at RNG.

Stem. 75 cm tall although usually ntuch shorter, either single-stemmedor branched from the base, woody, ridged, becoming dark brown with red coloration at the axils of inflorescencebranches, hispid, hairs I mm with obvious bulbous bases, channelled on one side. moderately dense but sparsertowards base. Foliage. Stem leaves lanceolate,pinnate or more often serrate,up to 8 cm x I 5 cm, coarse fbrward- pointing hairs mostly confined to margin of leaves and to midrib. Upper stem leaves and bracts similarbut wrlh fewer or no serrations. Inllorescence.Inflorescence branches at anglesbetween 70o and 45o arising from top % of stem. Basal flowering brancheslongest, but not overtopping main axis Florets situated rather loosely on top % of branches. Capitula: Larger than C. cenadensis about 2 mm wide. Basal involucral bracts triangular-lanceolate with rather sparse short hispid hairs (scabrous), with broad pale margin and dark centre. Upper involucral bracts oblanceolatewith prominent pale margins, often with a reddishtip Florets. Outer florets female, initially off-white becoming red to purple later with ligule very incon- spicuous or virtually absent (<0 5 mm). Central florets hermaphrodite (or functionally male?), five-lobed, yellow. Achenes:Oblong-cylindrical with sparseshort hairs, pappus creamy-white.

With familiarity, this speciescan be identified at a distanceof many metres, and this can always be 'intermediate' confirmed by careful examination of the florets. A careful search for plants on several occasions has, to-date, proved fruitless lt rs difficult to believe that J.C. Baker was aorrect in Flora lJra:ilien.sisrvhere he sinks C. hrlhaoenq into a very variable, widely circumscribed,C conadenst.s.In Nerv Zealand, true ('. canuden.sisis a rare plant and it is the abundantC. bilhaouru that is known there as'Canadian Fleabane',it occurs throughout the South Island and rvasfirst recorded in 1855. 'Historia This South Anrerican specieswas origrnally describedby E J R6my in C Gay fisica de Chile', Rotantca 4.76 (1849) from near Valdiva in Chile and rvas named to honour a much talenred young Chilean called Biblao. I also occurs in Argentina, Brazil and probably elsewhereand is now a well establishedalien weed in SE Australia. New Zealand and California. Most N American literature 'bilboana'. curiouslymisspells the specificepithet as I am indebted to E.J. Clement lor both advice and information, and lor encouragingthe *'riting of tnrsaccount

PAUL STANLEY. 3l MoorgreenRoad, West End, Southampton,Hants SO30 3EB ConlputerB\1es

CON,IPUTERBYTES

BSBI RECORDER USERS

The latest Recorder Newsletter from JNCC provides a lascinating read Apparently, there are 2.302.645 vascular plant records held amongst Recorder users in Britain an incredible number when comparedto the 3,493,824records for vascularplants held by BRC (as of November 1995).What rs not known though is how many of these records are held by BSBI members nor indeed how many Recorder users there are in BSBI (although I do know which Vice-county recorders and one or two other memberswho are). Due to the Data Protection Act, JNCC have been unable to provide a list of Recorder users so it would be very useful if mernbersrvho use the packagewere to contact me. Perhapsit would be a good idea to set up a BSBI Recorder Users Group which would cater for the needs of the computerised botanist. What do you think? A further bit of interesting news from JNCC is that a Windows version of Recorder is expected in the next two years or so. I'm sure many current users will be looking forward to this with great antici- pation-lknowlwilll

Data Export In the meantime, I have been fiddling about with exporting data from Recorder and would recommend that the following procedure is followed for Atlas Records.

L Create an Active SelectList in the normal way

2. Looking in the Reports pull-down menu, select SpecialReports & Maps

3. In the next menu, scroll to the bottom and selectExport ASCII text

4. In the Window LRC Exoort. fill in the box as follows:

Table Name RECORDS Columns. Choosefrom a pop-uplist by pressingF2 andselecting the fields you wantby pressingreturn then F9. (you mayneed to select'**Choose from theFull Dictionary**',as not all datacolumns will be listedat first PressingF9 afterselecting this optionyou will getthe full list of availablecolumns in theRecords table) DOS File Name A.\E)GORT (or whateveryou choose) Format. ChooseSPECIAL CHARACTER DELINEATED (or alternately, GENEzuC SPREADSFIEETFORMAT) Delineator. Choosethe # symbol(the default is \). Thisisn't requiredfor Spread- sheetformat. Multivalues. ChooseFIRST VALUE ONLY 5. Finally press F9 to start the process.With large files this may take quite a few minutes. The data will be savedto the floppy disc.

Plant Status Codes With regard to the new Plant Status codes as published in the Atlas Instruction Booklet which went out with the last mailing, it will be necessaryto modi$ the Recorder Codes Table. To do this.

l. From the main Add/Edit Data menu- selectCodes. Computer Bytcs 5l

2. Add the following new Codesto the edit window Code G/AIIEN Label Alren Explanation. Type rn an explanationfiom the Atlas instructionBooklet then F9 to save Code G/CASU Label. Casual Explanation. as above F9 to save Code G/ESTAB Label. Established Explanatron. as above F9 to Save Code: G/Sf,RV Label. Surviving Explanation as above F9 to save Code. G,ryLANT Label. Planted Explanation as above F9 to save NB. The Indexes will need updating before these can be used; i.e. Utilitres/lndexes/Updatc Indexes/Codes(option2) 3. These codes are then added to records in the SeVStage i.ieldof the Records windou' Any members who want to do a trial export and send it to me for checking are very welcome to do so. I would be very happy to act as an intermediary for anv Recorder output, prior to sending it on to BRC Any other suggestionsregarding Recorder especially tips relatingto PlantRecording, rvill alsobe very welcome.

COMPUTER SPELI, CHEC]KERS

Computerusers like myself- educatedin the arty, lard-back60s and 70s and who consequentlyhave absolutelyno confidencein their own spelling will resortto the useof a SpellChecker rvhich comes suppliedwith a nurnberofpopular word processing packages. A numberofalternatives to speilrngsare offeredfor words which are not alreadyin the computer'sdictionary with somevery rnterestrng results! Forexample Peannan : Permian(l'r,e often thought of hin'las a bit of a fossil; JNCC : DLINCE CCW - COW(thanks to TrevorDines for thisone) Walpole : Wallop,Walloped (rvith all due respect, olcoursel) Ellis = Ellipse.Elvis (will this one be edited out? [not likely]) BRC = BRUCE,BBC oTBRA NGOs = Esos Anyonegot anyothers? i2 Conputer B\1cs BSBIAPPROVED SOFTWARE

We are now in a position to recomnrend software lor use in plant recording This has boiled dolvn to three recording packagesand one mapprng programnre and I have tried to summarisetheir capabilrtles. based on information sent to me by the developers,below. 1'he recording packagesare listed in alphabetical order rvith no preferentialtreatment intentionally given to any ofthenr. l. ADITSITE Yersion 3.0

Aditsite is a sophisticated but easy to use Wildlife Recording System that runs under all versions of Windorvsand usesMS Accessas its database.Sightings of speciesfiorn manv groups (includingbirds. insects,mammals, and all vascularplants) can be recordedrvith a simpleclick of the mousr.using one of the built-in specieslists A facility to view CD-ROM images (e g birds) is availableto aid rdentiilcation. British and lrish Grid Referencescan be entered at resolutionsfrom l0 ficure to 4 figure, DINTY and Quadrant.either directly or by clickingon a localitymap displayedon the screen Other fieldsrn- clude Locality, Vice-county, Date (in any format plus T for Today, T-l for Yesterday, etc.). Recorder, Frequency (individual count, DAFOR, DOMfN), and user-definedfields (including 7 recommendedfor BSBI r-rsers) Reports can be produced according to Species,Species Group. Date, Recorder and Locality. You can defineyour own Report Group to includespecies of specialinterest, and smallerlocalities can be linked together to create larger reporting areas.Select the Report Desrgn from a variety of options. or build your own style using the report generator. You can view reports on screenbefore printing them. and advancedusers can even build and use their oivn SQL queries Records and sightings can also be mapped and printed using the built-in Plotting facility, which allows the production of dot maps with either exact or grid-centred positioning of dots. Maps can also be createdusing a direct data link from Aditsite to DMAP. Sightings can also be displayedas Graphs in a variety ofstyles, with various data comparison lacilities and comprehensivestatistical analysis. l-or morc rttfornuilion. please contact. Adit Ltd, Tyn Rardd, Dwyran, Anglesey, Ll,6l 6AJ 'fel 01248 430075 Fax 01248 430771 E-lr,lail [email protected]

2. ERIC--A

ERICA is a biological recording computer databasefor both speciesand site based information. The emphasisis towards the storage of speciesrecords and the databaseis designed to deal with all taxonomic groups whether land, freshwater or marine. ENCA was written by Colin French and has been used 1br the past 8 years by the Cornish Biological Records Unit which now has in excessof I million records covering22,000 specieson computer of which half a million are vascular plant records. It has now been modified for use by BSBL This databaseis designedfor easy use, to ensureaccurate and eflicient data entry, to be capableof dealing with plants records no matter how complex and have tremendous flexibility in the r.vaythe records can be retrieved. manipulated and printed out. Furthermore, records can be exchangedbetween diflerent usersof ERICA and can be exported as delimited ASCII files ERICA can store a great deal of information additional to the minimum of. what. when. rvhereand by rvhom. information such as habitat, frequency, number of specinrens,source of record (i e. literature), status, stage, size olflower parts, habit and general remarks. To this end there are a number of data entry programs availableto deal rvith the multitude oftypes ofrecord. The retrieval of information is simple and rapid through the use of a nurnber of inderes including grid references,species, person, source and site. Once a set ofrecords has been selectedthey can then be usedto generatea wide varietyor reports,species lists or mapsusing DMAP lor instance. l:or more infitmulion contact the Co-ordinator, Cameron Crook. ConrpulerB\1es ir

3. RECORDER Recorder is a powerful, complex, biological recording tool developed bv JNCC and supported by Eng- lish Nature, ScottishNatural Heritage,DOE (Northern lreland),Countryside Council for Walesand the Wildlife Trusts [t is based on Advanced Revelation, a commercial database management package which provides a full range of databasequerying and reporting t.ools Recordercontains an extensivelist of British species(the full Kent List of VascularPlants plus a nunrberof Aliens), including status(RDB, Schedule8 etc ), biology and distributionand taxononric relatronships. it hasfull look-up facilitiesfbr vice-countynames and numbers,habitats (inciuding NVC and Cor- inne). abundance(DAIOR. DOMIN Braun-Blanquet etc.). full grid referencing(frorn 6 tigure dor.vnto tetradand l0 km square). There are full ret'erencingfacilities and an extensivebibliographv. Speciesentry is vta a numberofdift'erent screens: species can be enteredas singlerecords, as a list ofspecresfrom a field card or a multiplerecords ofa singlespecies l-ookup tahlesprovide infbrmation -fhere on synonymsand vernacular names and abbreviatedspecies names can be used for qurck entry rs also the facility to add speciesusing a record card iype checklist rvhich can be rnodified to region or coun!y. Repor-tscan be produced in various formats lrorn simple checkliststo tables and graphs of occur- rencesetc. and can be arranged by species,by site, by date or by recorder for example.Data can also be senlto the built in mappingtool, Plot5 or, r'ia linking software.to DMAP For Jirlher dettul.scontacr: Mrs Eva Leck, JNCC, Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough PEI IJY All three of the above recording packages are available from the BSBI at the rnuch reduced price of f50. To qualify for this special price. which is fttr BSIil nrcnthers only, they MUST be ordered through Cameron Crook. Pletse quote your memhership nunther when onlering.

1. DMAP for Windorvs Software for Distribution and Coincidence l\lapping. This is the standard mapping tool currently uscd by many BSBI members System Requirements: IBN{-compatiblePC'"vith 386 processoror better.running Windorvs 3 x, Windou,sN-I or Windorvs95 General Description: DMAP is a compuler program rvhich produces Drstribution N4apsor Coincidence N.{apsbased on data files containingthe digitisedfeatures ofthe areasto be nrappedand also the distributiondata tbr the speciesto be mapped.The data files can containco-ordinates as Grid References(kilornetres and metres) or as Latitude+Longitude (degreesand minutes). DMAP can be used as a stand-alonenrapping package or can be linked to a generaldatabase or biologicalrecording package which generatessome or all of the requir.eddata files Full detailsabout the datafile requirementsand how to createthc data filesare ql\.enuithin the DN,IAPHelp system Main Features: Can be usedat an) scaleofmapping Oflbrs a wide range of symbol types fbr displav of distributions Boundariessupplied lor the British Isles.north-west Europe, and the World (lorv resolulion) Additionalboundaries available, including lat/long boundaries fbr nrostparts of the World British, lrish, and UTM Grid Referencessupported User-suppliedtext can be displayedon maps. N{ultiplezoonr facility. Can displaydistributions at re-sampledscales High resolutionvector-dra*n nlapson high resolutionscreens and printers. Colour supponedon colour screensand printers I\,lapscan be exportedas WN{F, EPS and BNfP files,or via the clipboard(Edit/t'opv) ComputerByles

Simpledatabase program supplied with DMAP Utility programsupplied for usewith graphics(digitising) tablets Cost.!70 (A DOS versionis availablefor i45 but hasonly a few ofthe featureslisted above) l''ctrfurther deloil.sand availability,contact. Dr Alan Morton, BlackthornCottage, Chawridge Lane, Winkfield,Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 4QR, LIK.E-mail ajntorton@dmapcompulink co uk InternetWeb pages.http.//u rwv.compulink.co.uk/-dmap/ CAMERON S. CROOK, BSBI Co-ordinator.8 WoodstockClose, Lostock Hall. Preston,Lancs

USINGRECORDER FOR HECTADS. TETRADS - AND MANY OTHER THINGS ln BSBI News No'12 Alex Lockton reconrmendedan effective way fbr new users of RECORDER to establish a system to store and quickly retrieve plant records on a hectad basis by establishingeach hectad as a separate'Site'. His suggestionwould be very eflicient in retrieving records, providing that you are never likely to want to enter data from any other type of site, such as a local nature reserveor SSSI lfyou do, you might find yourselfhaving to nrake them all into sub-sitesofa hectad to avoid the 'hectad records being overlooked when you attempt to retrieve data from your special site'. Unfortunately his tip is oflittle use for those ofus who have tens ofthousands ofrecords already on RECORDER; many lrom local i.vildlifesites, others from I km squaresor corners of fields. Retriev- ing data held in this way on RECORDER can be a lengthy process;it used to take me about four hours to produce a hectad checklist ofplants for my county plant recorder. This time period has now been shortenedto halfan hour by creating extra indexes on the fields I want to select on, in this case, grid references For every map referenceyou enter, RECORDER auto- matically calculateswhich hectad. tetrad or I km square it falls into. This information is stored in the fields GET l0K. GET TETRAD and GET_IKM By indexing one or more of theseiields it is possible to speedup data retrieval considerably. The stepsto follow to build an index on GET,l0K are as follows.

Firstly, it is always a good idea to do a complete system back-up before rnaking changesto your programme.

Then within RECORDER go to AREV's main menu by typing [F5] then [F] 0l Follow the route DB Admin-Indexes-Btree At the Btree window selecttable name. RECORDS At Column Name press [F2] to list all Columns availablefor indexing. Selectthe coiumn you want to index,ie. GET_l0K 'Yes' At Indexing On select 'No' Keep casesensrtivity at

[F9] savesthe changes. and a prompt asks if you want to build the new index now, or later. With a databaseofsome 85,000 records on a slow 486, this takes about 30 minutes. So f'ar I have establishedindexes on both GET lOK and GET_TETRAD, but have not felt the need to index the GET_lKM field Also, the more indexesyou create, the more disk spaceyou need. Retrieving records is now much quicker than before, with a search for plant data from a single tetrad takrng just a few minutes. I hope this tip may be of use to anyone who already has data on RE- CORDER, or feels disinclinedto make a site lor each hectad.

NICK MOYES. Derbyshire Biological Records Centre, Derby City Museum, The Strand, Derby, DEI IBS

:.:':':'::':1!:':i':'::':.' j, jl.:' ]'r:,i';.:'!':|:'| Notjces(BSBI) / Reportsof recentconl-erenccs ilnd nlcclrngs

NOTTCES(BSBr)

AZORES FIELD N,IEE-TING June 2l to July 6 1997 Leader Arthur Copping

Three of the nine','olcanicislands are to visrteddurrng thrs BSBI lleld nrectin!..Sao l\ligtrel(7 rtisltts). the precipitousSdo Joree(4 nights)and Faial(4 nights).where a visit $ill be madeto thc BotanicGar- den. The total cost wiil be 3843. includingflights to and fiom London (r'raLisbon). ll & B in modest hotelsand inter-islandtransfbrs. The singleroom supplententis 1282. Bookings may be rnadeimrnedratelv to the leadera1 the addressbelol on a flrst conre.llrst sened basis.lvrth r",aitinglisr Nlarimum -uroupsize 12. Furtherdetarls u'ill be sent*ith the ackno*ledllr-tltenl of booking(s),or on request,follo*ing the receiptof a SAE.

ARTHUR COPPING The No1k, Blewers Green, Rcrdon, Dlss, Nortblk ll']l2 iSD

BSBITRIP TO N.I,.TTIRKEY JuneiJul-r'I997 [,eader: Dar id Pearrran -l Advance notice. I hope to take a small group to N E. ulkey fbr trvo w'eeksduring .luneor July nert vear at an approximatecost ofJ8l0. Severalpeople have alreadyexpressed an interestbut there rlight be a very f'er.r'places.If interestedplease write or telephoneimmediately DA\/ID PEARI,{AN, The Old Reclon. Frome St Quinton, Dorchesler. Dorst't [)l ] 0[JF Tel &Fax 0193583702

RIPORTSOF RECENTCONFERENCES AND N,IIiE-IINGS

ORCHID POPTTLATIONBIOLOG\': CONSERVATIONAND C'IIALLENCES CONFERENCE 23November 1995 This conference,held in the l,innean Society'smeeting room. attractedover eighty delegates,sorne contributors coming frorn as lar afleld as Canada and f:stonia. The conlerence tbcuseclon the biology and ecologyofternperate orchid specresContributors addressed twn nrajortherres. lonq tetnt trendsin populationdynamics and orchid consen'ation,and particularproblenrs assocrated r.r'ith the successlirl reintroductionof species.Many terrperateorchid populationsdernonstrlte nrarked fluctuiltions in sizc Part ofthis variation appearsto be reiated to their peculiar ecology, .,vhichinvolves an often prolonged initial subterraneanphase during which the germinatingseed develops a synrbioticfungal relationship Severalcontributors stressed the importanceof tlris sLrblerraneanphase of the orchid lif'ecvcle l-he etlectsofthis lonq pre- recn:itnrentphase are cornpoundedbr,'the apparcntlv capricioLrs behlriour of adult irlantswhich mav flor.versonre years.remrtin \L'setati!e in trthersr;,r sinrply nol aPpearal)o\t .'trroundat all tbr severalyears. Interestingly, arnong rrtany species the patternsofbehar.ioLrr sho*n hr ()1tht the individualsof a population are extremelvvariable For exarrplc, in populationsol .r'.s:pfu- grzlcs (Early Spider-orchid) and ()rchr,smilituris (N{iiitary Orchid) sonre individuals can be ertrenrelv fecundate.flowering virtually everv veer, while othersnray sun'ile lcrr nrany yearsbut never florver Exactll'rvhy some indilidualsdemonstrate such a ran-r:leo1-behaviour is as vel iargelvunknoun Other papersaddressed issues of speciesdistribution ancl facturs affcctrnsthe pollinationirnd reproductive successof plants One contnbutor drcrv attention tcl the fact that rlhrle not particularlyscarce in 56 Reports of recent conferencesand meetlngs

Britain, Dpipactis hellebctrine(Broad-leaved Helleborine) would not be considereda common rnvasrve weedy species. In Canada this species is considerably more abundant, occurring in similar sites as it does in the British Isles, yet it can also occur as a troublesome weed of garden lawns! During a very iively concluding discussion,the contentious issue ofdefining speciesrarity was raised along with the related issuesoftargeting limited resourceson the conservationand possiblere-introduction ofspecies. Should we as botanists be overly concerned about the fate ofspecies which at the limits oftheir distribution in Britain are rare or endangered,but common elsewhere?What did emerge clearly fronr the meeting was horv little we understandabout the ecology ofthis lascinatinggroup ofplants.

STEPHEN WAITE, Dept of Pharmacy. University of Brighton, Cockcroft Building, Moulsecoomb, Brighton BN2 4GJ

MEDITERRANEAN PLANTS 9th March 1996 About eighty members convened in the Plant Science Department of Reading University, where Dr Stephen Jury was, once again, our host and organiser. Lectures were given by Stephen and his col- league,Dr Jim D. Ross (both of whom have led Mediterranean field-work as part of undergraduate courses), and Dr .TohnAkeroyd, a free-lancebotanist, who is also very familiar with the Mediterranean flora. Stephen set the scene by describing the natural environnient and climate of tlie Mediterranean regions, and the main plant-communitiesin order oftheir altitude (as classifiedby the Spanishunder the - Montpelier School): Thermo-Mediterranean the lowest zone, frost-free, characterisedby Quercus cocctfera, Pinus hctlapensis, Chomaerops humili.s, etc., Mezo-N,lediterranean - the evergreen oak zone, - wilh Quercus ilex and Q. suber; and Supra-Mediterranean dominated by pine and prostratejuniper, with no trees or shrubs at the very top. 'mechanic'. Jim Ross (who introduced himself as a physiologist - a rather than a field-botanist) raised two very interesting points regarding Mediterranean plants. firstly, why are evergreen sclero- phytes the dominant vegetational feature in the landscape?One thought currently being developed is that nitrogen-availabilityis the prime deternrinantof the type of leaf produced. Plants grown with diminishing quantitiesofnitrogen have been found to develop fewer/srraller/tougherleaves. Jim explainedthis in simple terms, comparing fixed carbon to currency, and the building ofa leafto investment in a small company, which, after paying its building and maintenancecosts. has a profit to invest in further growth. The cost to a plant dependsupon ease ofacquisition ofthe raw materials.In Mediterranean soils (subject to frequent fires in summer and heavy rains in winter) nitrogen is scarce. and so the cost ofbuilding a leafis high. This expensiveleaf, therefore, must be long-living in order that the plant may recoup its investment. And to live a long time rt needs to be sclerophyllousin order to withstand wind, rain, heat, and drought. Hence the preponderance of evergreens in regions with nitrogen-poorsoils. The second point concerned the number of aromatic plants encountered in these regions. The leavesofthese plants contain essentialoils that are very expensiveto produce - so why produce them? The cost was compared to a life-insurancepolicy - the protectron necessaryfor the leafs long life. In the hot dry summers no water is available for grorvth, and so more carbon is produced than can be used. The extra energy is diverted and used to produce oils, and these have two advantages.they make the Ieafunpalatableto herbivores,and also form a protective coating round the leaf. Experiments have shown that the more a plant's groMh is repressed(by reducing water, phos- phates, nitrogen, etc.), the more oil is made. The amount of oil in the leaf varies with the amount of nitrogen. Oil, therefore, protects the initial expenditure. The morning session ended here, and everyone proceeded to the dining hall where an excellent repast had been prepared for us. When the meeting reconvened,Jim Ross took the floor once more to discuss the pressureson the natural Mediterranean vegetation from fires, deforestation, grazing, and development. He pointed out that deforestation (carried out in order to plant pine or other crops) Repons of recent conferences and nrgctings removes the natural vegeiation, which is well-adapted to fire. ln a fire the alien plants are destroyed, thus leaving bare soil that is soon eroded, giving indigenousspecies no chanceto recover. Grazing and fire need to be considered together. Although grazing controls the vegetation (marn- taining scrub rather than forest), it does not destroy it - many plant speciesrvithstand grazing. Develop- ment of camp-sites in valleys means less grazing there and, therefore, loss of control over the vegetation.If too much fuel buildsup, the burningis more intense:and tlre more fuel is consumed,the more nitrogen is lost to the system. Stephen Jury then took us on a pleasanttour of the peninsularin southern Sparn where the field- meetingsare held,with a look at the habitatsand flowering plantsthere He also touchedon the problems ofthe vast areas ofland now cultivated under plastic cover. e.g they require such large amounts ofwater that the water tables are sinking fast, also, there is inadequatecontrol ofpests and diseases, and so plants are drenched with chemrcalslong banned in the LK. Finally, John Akeroyd spoke ofthe new Habitat Drrective under the EU, and the hope that it offers for the future. Once again, our thanks are due to StephenJury for organisrngantrther most-interesting conference.

ANNE P. DALY, 698 Vicarage Road, Wollaston, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 4NP

GEORGE CLARIDGE DRUCE NIENIORIAL DAY l8th May 1996 The George Claridge Druce N{emoriai Day was held in Oxford on Saturday lSth May 1996 to celebrate the life ofa distinguishedfield botanist and Fellow ofthe Royal Society, rind to mark the offrcial unverl- ing of a new headstonein Holy'rlell Cenretery.The original monunlent'rvaslost rn the 1970's leaving the former Oxford Mayor's grave unmarked. The new stone was purchasedby BSBI, the cost of erec- tion met by subscription,and the day organisedby collaboration between The Ashmolean Natural His- tory Society of Oxfordshire, Oxford University Plant SciencesDepartment and Oxfbrd Llniversity Botanic Gardens. The day began in the Plant SciencesDepartment, where Dnrce artelactswere on displav in the Fielding-Druce Herbarium. These rncluded Druce s orvn copies of his Floras of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshireand Northamptonshire. letters relating to his changeofThe Botanical Exchange Cfub'sname,copiesof hiswill, oneof thetenvolumes of thel''loro(iruccohe acquired,andthealbum produced by his friends after his eightieth birthday. These were complementedby Harvey Dunklev's gift to the collection. a penknife and hand-lensgiven to him by Druce. The Curator ofThe Herbaria,Stephen Harns. gavea welcomeon behalfofthe Plant Sciences Department, a major benefactor of Druce's bequest.Camilla Huxlev-Lambrick then introduced the lecturers.The first was SerenaMarner, managerof The Fielding-Druce f{erbarium and librarian of The Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire, who spoke on [)rute ond'l'ht' .4.shmoleonNulurol Hi:;tctrySociety. She describedhow Dnrce and ProfessorLawson initiated The Oxfordshire Nalural History Society and Field Club in 1880. and the great extent to rvhich Dnri;e contributed to it writing minutesand reports,organising leclures and exhibitsand dealingrvith correspondenceWhilst he was 'I'he Mayor in 1901 this society was formally joined with the Ashrrolean Society in the Town tJall at Mayor's Conversazione'.In addition to his u'ork as Secretary,Treasurer and President,he gave 73 lecturesto the society including Christmas lecturesficr children nrost years The key speaker,historian ofscience, David Allen, gave a lecture entitled l)l/c., aruJthe hiodtver- sity of the Britishflora. Dr Allen was intrigued by two aspectsof Druce's life rvhich remain enigmatic How did the illegitimate son of a housekeeperrise so high in Oxfbrd society and how r,"'ashe able to bequeatha fortune worth (in modern terms) over a million pounds?Dr Allen then discussedvariation in the British flora and posed some questions.Why are sonrevariants clustered in particular areas?How do their characteristicseffect their distributiont The company then repaired to Holy.;vellCemetery, Druce's final resting place The site is managed by The Friends of Holywell Cemetery rvith rvildlife consen,ationadvice lrom the local wildlife trust, Reportsof recentconferenccs and nrectlngs

BBONT. Amongst the vetches,crane's-bills. grasses and daisiesare the sravesofseveral other Oxford notables,including the author of lllind in the Iltllov's, Kenneth Grahame.Druce's grave is in a tranquil spot at the south easterncorner ofthe cemetery.adjacent to the enclosingwall and trees rvhich provide afternoonshade Druce's mother,Jane, is alsoburied in the cemetery Making the unveilingspeech, David Pearman,the Presidentof BSBI, saidhe tbund it difficulttcr believe he was stood by the grave of a man who had inspiredhim in his formative years.He recalled collectingfloras, following Druce's tours through the BotanicalExchange Club and yearningto be a botanistrvho had'seen everything;every variety'. Hc expressedhis'enormous pleasure'in unveiling 'all the ner'vheadstone and thanked thosewho had madeit possible'. SylviaChandler. the -uranddaughterofa cousinofDruce, madean elocluentspeech to the company gatheredaround the grale. As a ten year-oldher invcrlvementwith plantsprompted her motherto tell her of Druce Throughout her life he knitted together her interestsin botany and family history. She visited Oxford last year but was dismayedto find the qrave unmarked and lost beneathhogweed. She 'lf concludedby quoting a studentrhyme. a plantbe ne'er so abstruse,send it alongto Dr Druce' The stone, lashioned lrom Jurassiclimestone from Druce's native Northarnptonshire,stands between pfants of (l.eraniunrx oxoltt{trum'Claridge Dnrce', and bearsthe inscription. GEORGECLARIDCE DRUCE I 850 1932 FLOREATFLORA The SherardianProfessor. Hugh Dickinson.then gave a guidedtour of Magdalen(the Oxfbrdcollege whereDruce was a fellow, the Unrversityhaving given him an honoraryMA and a DSc) includinga vier'vof the deerpark, the fritillaries,the cloisterand the interiorof the chapel.The day concludedin the Oxlord UniversityBotanic Garden where tea was kindly provided by the Horti Praefectus,Timothy Walker This providedan opportunityfor conversationand inspectionof the gardens.Prints of the 'Claridge paintinq(ieronrum r oxonianum Druce' by RosemaryWise were on saleto rajselunds for TheFriends ofThe BotanicGarden. The subscriptionraised on the daycovered the costoferecting the stone,leaving I84 in excess, whichrvill be put towardsfi:rther rnemorials to Druce.These rnay take the form of moreDruce days andthe commissioning of a custom-madebox to holdhis penknifb and hand-lens. A bookletcommemorating the dayis underpublication, price f.2.50 ContactDr CarmllaHuxley- Lambrick,Picketts Heath. fudgewav, Boars Hill, OxtbrdOXI -sEZ CHRISTOPHERHOSKIN, 2l HollyCourt, Frome, Somerset BAI I 2SQ

PAUL WESTIVIACOTTRICHARDS I908.1995 A Memorial Meeting, l4th July 1996

A gatheringof some 150 friendsmet in NewnhamCollege, Cambridge on a sunny l4 July to renrember and honour the life and achievementsof PaulW. fuchards(1908-1995) We heardcontributions covering many aspectsofPaul's expertise:as ProfessorofBotany at Ban- gor (UCNW), as an eminent Bryologist, as a world authority on tropical rain-forest, and as a writer of great clarity of so many publications. Piano quartets and a piano solo by a nephew provided musical interludes. From Max Nicholson (former Director General Nature Conservancy) we heard of Paul as an intrepid undergraduateexplorer in British Guiana on his first encounterwith tropical rain-forest. The importance of the non-academic side of student life was illustrated by Hugh Gilson (former Director of the FreshwaterBiological Station,Wrndermere)with an accountof his lifelongfiiendship rvithPaul and his botanistconremnoraries Reports of recent conferences and rn€ctings/ Fulure corfercnces and SvmDosra

Derek Ratcliffe (former Scientific Director Nature Consenancy) recalled his early davs of Re- searchin Bangor when Paul introduced him to the Sno*,donian alpine flora Rov Perry (President of the British Bryological Society) ourlined Prof fuchards' life-long srudy of bryophytes he was a member of what is now the British Bryological Society for 75 years, and his first paper on mosses published whilst he was still a schoolboy. His earlv ecological accounts of bryophyte conlmunttleswere lnnovative for the tirne. George Argent (Edinburgh R.B.G ) recounted hrs initiation into researchunder prot. Richards at Bangor,and his recali of Paul in tropicalrain-fbrest (at 100'Tenrp. and l00ozi,humidity) calmiy writing reports whilsr drinking hot tea Lastly Paul's grandson, Adam \\,hittle. gave us lamily remrnrscences. Paul fuchards was primarily _ _ an ecologist, he had helped start the Biological Flora of the British Isles.with accounts of ,htncus species.He was perhapsbesl knorvn world-rvide for his book T'hel'r.r4tt- cal Rain Foresl,the completely revised 2nd edition (published that day) u,as on display, alongside an exhibit of his cherishedKorup Reserveand Education centre in cameroon We remember Paul for his lack of self-importance,for his kindnessto student and statl-.and fbr his encouragement and hospitality we were acutely .ware of what we owed Paul and Anne over the years for myselfl looked b-ackto that first invitation given me nearly 60 years ago, on my first day as a student here at Newnham College.

ANN CONOLLY, 25 Brocks Hill Drive, Oadby, LercesterLE2 5RE

FTJTURECONFERENCES AND S}'MPOSIA

BIODIVERSITYIN scorLAND: status,trends and initiati'es 30 September-I October1996 RoyalCollege of Physicians,Edinburgh

This confernce will bring togetherresearchers, practitioners and policy makersin a commonfbrum Presentationswill provide an overviewof Scotland'sbiodiversity, nigirlighting what is specialabout nativescottish wildlife in a nationaland international context. Speakers writ alsoaddress the inroactsof managementand detail current conservation action. To obtaina bookingfbrm andfurther information please contacr. SHIELA WILSON. The BiodiversityUnit, Instituteof Ecologyand Resource Management, fhe LJni- versity of Edinburgh,Darwin Building. Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EHg:tJU Fax013l-662-04jg. e-mail.shiela wilson.@ed ac uk. For info. http//rwwved.ac.uk/-ebfs69/biodiv html

IOURNEES-DEBATSPAUL JOVET: Inventairesnaturalistes dans la ville 2l - 22 October 1996 Mus6umNational d.Histoire Naturelle. paris

This conferencehas been organised to honourthe memoryof Paul.lovet, in the 1,earof his centena' He was a greatfriend and supporterof the BSBI andwas for manyyears an honorarymernber of this Society For furtherdetails please qontact. ANNE-ELIZABETH phanerogamie-NATlN, woLF, l6 rue Buflbn F-75005paris Tel (l) 40 79 lj 60+ 3361 Fax (I) 40'7933 42 Requests/ Book Notes

REQUESTS

FLORA WANTED

To helpwith my work for Atlas2000, I am very anxiousto obtaina copy of Hart's Floru of Donegal eitherbv saleor on loan If anymember can help please contact

CALL FOR INFORMATION ABOTIT CASES OF PLANT POISONING

The purposeofthrs call for informationis to iniprovemedical and scientific knowledge about adverse healtheffects occurring after poisonings by plants,and to assistin the developmentofbetter strategies ior patientcare We are collectinginformation on incidentsof poisoningcaused by any plantsfound growingin Britain and Ireland,including native, introduced, ornamental, etc. We are interestedin re- ceivingany informationconcerning plant poisoningepisodes, whether or not adviceor treatmentwas receivedlrom a medicalpractitioner (GP, Casualty(Accident & Emergency)Department, etc.). If you havesuffered iiom poisoningor suspectedpoisoning caused by a plantwe r.vouldbe gratefulif you would respondby completingthe questionnaireenclosed with this issueof BJBI y'y'er'.sand returningit to Dr ElizabethDauncey. In addition,ifyou know ofanyonewho hasbeen poisoned please either send them a copy of the questionnaireor provideus with their nameand a contactaddress or telephone numberPlease provide as muchinformation as you can.Any informationwe receivewill be treatedin totalconfidence. Poisonousplants are heredefined as thosecausing deleterious effects on humanhealth Included areplants poisonous by ingestionor causrngcontact reactions such as skin irritation, phototoxicity or allergiccontact dermatitis. The informationthat we receivervill be usedin two ways.Firstly, the resultsrvill be collatedand publishedin a futureedition of RJr9,/Nau,.sSecondly, we intendto useany information obtained to help us producea revisededition of Poi.sonou.sPlant.s in Britain and lrelond on CD-ROM, a user-friendly computermethod of identi$ringover two hundredplant groups. This databasehas been produced and developedat Kew in collaborationwith theMedical Toxicologv Unit of Guy's& St Thomas'Hospital Trust

ELIZABETH A DAUNCEY andTIM G J RAYNER,Medical Botany and Mycology Unit, Centrefor EconomicBotany, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, fuchmond,Surrey, TW9 3AE.

BOOK NOTES

NEWSFROM OTINDLEBOOKS

We were askedby the husbandof a deceasedmember to disposeof her botanicalbooks at modest pricesto members.The collectionwas takento the AGM at Kew but a numberof out-of-printlocal Florasare still available. Ifyou areinterested in anyofthe followingplease let us know.

7he lt'lora oJ Sussex- Wolley-Dod [Reprint) (t20), WesrNorfolk I'lants'l'oday (L2); Flora of North- - ampton.thire Druce (t20), Flora of Stofftrdshire (f l0). ,4 f'loro of Shrop.s/rlra- Leighton [Reprint] Book Notes 6t

(f7 50). A Lisl ryf the Flowering Plonts and [''erns ol ('armarlhertshire (L3). Li.st of I'emhntke.shire Plants Rees (13), Plonts of lvlontgontcr.yshire Hignelt & Lacey (f2), 7he I''lora of W'e.stLturt:ushire - IReprint] (I7 -s0), 7'he l-lora of IVe.st)'orkshire Lees IReprint] (Il0). lhc lilrtra ol l'c'rtlt.shira White [Reprint] (f7 50), I'he Rotatti-ttin 5'l7e [Duplicated 1974] (12) Prices do not include postage

Mr\RGARET PERRING, Green Acre, Wood Lane. Oundle. Peterborough PE8 5TP

THE BYGONE BOTANISTS OF HEREFORDSHIRE

'l'he B1'goneRotanists describesthe exploration ofHerefordshire's flora durrng the last 200 years Each botanist's interestsand discoveriesare discussedin the context ofsocial and botanrcalhistory. from the rise of the Woolhope Naturalists'Field Club, the famous'fbraysamong the lunguses',the fleldwork tbr Purchasand Ley's FIora of 1889,to the time ofthe HerefordshireBotanical Societysince the Second World War. The article costs 1.3.75(incl p. & p.) from the llon. Treasurer,Herefordshire Botanical Society. Mrs Patricia Orme, The Green, Almeley, Herefordshire HR3 6PY Pleasemake your cheque payabletcr the'Herefordshire Botanical Society'. All proceedswill help detiay costs ofthe projectedHcre/ord- shire Plant Atlas.

N'IARK LAWLEY, l2A CastlevtervTerrace. Ludlorv SY8 2NG

NEW NATURALISTS FOR SALE

NEW Naturalistfirst editions,good conditionin originalwrappers. I A ('ouiltt) l'urr.:h,3J Opctt see- 2,36 - InseclMigralion,39 - Folkloreo;f Bircls. 4l - I)ragrnflies Bestoffer for eachvolume secures when received by Sept.3Oth I 996.

AI-,ANNEWTON, l0 TheFairways, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CVi2 6PR Tel 0)c)?.6426790

FLORA BRITA]VNICA: SPECIAL OFFER

I am rvriting to thank members of the BSBI for all the help they gave in the compilation of lilont ]lrt- totnica, which is now well into production,and is due to be publishedby.Sinclair Sler,enson on Octo- ber 7th The public contributions far exceededour expectationsin numbers, expertise and originality, and have made the finishedbook a much richer (and biggerl) volume in the process.We hope it will be a landmark in the understanding of human relationship with nature in this country. Those individuals whose contributions are quoted are acknowledged in the notes. l'-l<,traBritarnica is now being published at fi0 00, but we are able to ofler membersof the BSBI a f.5.00discount. To take advantageofthis offer. pleasecall 01733 i71999 after October 7th quoting FLORtoorderyourcopyof l'loraRrilanricaatL2500withfreepostage&packinglfyouhar,'eany queries,please contact Emma O'Bryen, Publicity,on 0l7l 619 0098

RICHARD MABEY. c/o Reed ConsunrerBooks Ltd.. N'lichelinHouse. 8l Fulham Road. London SW] 6RB 62 Book Notes

WELSH FERNS 7th EDITION _ DELAY l'his book, which was due for publication in July, will now be published some time in the autumn. The delay has been causedby various ongoing lactors which have arrsensince the pre-publicationoffer went out, and which are out ofthe control ofthe primaryconrpiler Sincereapologies to all thosewho have orderedthe book.

GEORGE HUTCHINSON (& p p. B A THOMAS) , Dept of Botany, National Museum & Gallery of

BOOK OFFERS FRONTDEPT OF BOTANY. Nl\{W. CARDIFF

Dueto priorityfor storage,the followingbooks are being offered at reducedprice, which includes p&p Chequesshould be madepayable to NationalMuseums and Galleries of Walesand sent to Book Offers,Department of Botany,National Museum & Galleryof Wales,CardiffCFl 3NP [not to the bookshopl NaturalHisktryof flurdsey PeterHopeJonesPp 149 inc illus & photos 1988 12.00(hardback) l|ildFlowcrs-aphotographicguideD &M ParishPp. I68.all colourphotos.1989. 12.00 (paperback). l;lotreringPlants of lilule.s.R G Ellis Pp.338. including 1028 l0 km squaredistribution maps 1983. 15 00 (hardback) Intlcxto ('live Stuce'sNetu Fktra of theBriti.sh /.r1e.i. R G. Ellis Pp l l0 1993.tl 00 (paperback) 'l he (ommon Grountl of llild and ('ultivatvd Plants EdiIed by A. Roy Perry& R GrvynnEllis Pp 166 figsand 4 colourplates I10 00 (fromf25. paperback)

GEORGEHUTCHINSON, Dept. of Botany,National Museum & Galleryof Wales,Cathays Park, CardiffCFl3M

JAPANESEKNOTWEED CONTROL MANT]AL

A comprehensivemanual dealing with the managementof Japaneseknotweed is in preparationand shouldbe available rn late 1996 for approx.!15. Forfurther details and order forms please contact.

GILL GILES, ICOLE, Departmentof Geography,Loughborough University of Technology,Lough- borough,Leics LEll 3TU.Tel 01509223030; Fax.01509 260753; e-mail: [email protected]

THE FLORA OF THE EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE: SPECIAL OFFER

Dueto storageproblems, The LlniversityofHull Pressis reducingthe priceofcertain ofits publications 'l including he Floro of the East RidingoJ York.shireby Dr Eva Crackles,first publishedin 1990 This 271page hardback Flora. wrth 8 pagesofcolour plates. is nowavarlable lor !15 plus12 50p.& p (half theoriginal price of130). Please send orders to. l\fiss J M SMITH, Assistant Registrar, The University of Hull Press, Hull HLt67RX Tel 0l482 465322.Far 0l.182465936 Reportsof Field Mectings - I 99-5

REPORTSOF FIELDNIEETINCS - I995

Due to pressureof work. Dr B S. Rushtonhas resignedas editor of Reportsof Field \lcetings and the following Reports r.'",illbe the last under his editorship Ilrian will continueto act as Rtceiving Editor for l|/al.sonioand I thank hirn for his valuable contribution to BJBIAzy.r' Lrntil a successorrs anoointect Reportsshould be sentto the Editor ofB.\81,\cvs.

TISBURY. WILTSHIRII (VC 3) lst APRIL

Some 40 membersand tiiends met a1 TrsburyBR stationat ll.O0 a.m. fbr a spring wildflorverr.r'alk 'cloudy The weather was rvith sunny inten'als'.but becanrervarmer and sunnierthroughout the dav Alier admiringCommon Whrtlowgrass(l'.rt4thila vannt) on ballastin the stationlbrecourl. te headecl cross-countryto Castle Ditches.arr Iron Age hill-fbn On a roadsideue saw the rvoodltrnciecotvpic variant oflr"r-leaved Speedwell (I'entnica hederi/blia subsp.lutot'un), rvrth nrore toolhed Iea\es and darkerlilac-blue flou'ers The sunkenlane up the slo,restowards the fort yreldc'da qood sh6rvuf ( orn- mon f)og-violet (l'rolu rivrniun), Primrose (PriutrlLt t'ulgurt.s)and Wood ;\nentune (,4ttottrtttt'tte nto- ro.rc), and fine patchesof Moschatel (.Atloxomoschtttellitn). On the slopes of the hill-fort \\,e saw the trrst Greater Stitohwort (Stalltrriu holo.sttLr)and e\en the odd Bluebell (Hyucirttfutides non-.;criplcr) We descendeda steep valley to Srvallorvclill, rvhererre ate our picnicsor took refreshmentin the garden of'The Royal Oak'. Opposite-leavedGolden-sarifiage (('hry.so.spleniunoppo.titi.foliun) grew in damp grassland in the village. After lunch rie adnrirecla 'fhen healthy stand of Barren Strawberry (Pcttenlilluslerilr.s) in the plant-richchurchyard we pro- ceededover the hill, descendingby a precipitousslope. to Ansty.the banksbright rvrthcelandines Besidea lanein Ansty lve found a good populationof LesserCelandine (llutrrnttnlrr.t./itrair subsp cr1'socephulu:;\.the eastern Mediteranean variant of this polvniorphic species.de.scribcd bl Petr.r'S.-ll onlf in 1991. This robust variant has flowers l-5 crr across,fbrtile fruits and no arillan hulbils We then crossedan interesting area of unimproved meadow. r.vithl\4arsh Marigold (('ultlttt 1rultr.str'l.r)conl- ing into flower, thence through heathy scrubland and clor.vna sunken lane, where we szlrvmore Barren Strawberry and the white variant of Sweet Yiolet (L'ntu txkrultr var Lhtnelontnt) The final walk back to the station was, alas,beside improved agricultural land ',vitlrflrv flowers At the station.many ofthe party dispersed;a hard core. alier relreshmentat'l'he South Western'continued in carsto West Tisburr. The day closed with a ',,isitto the garden where I have rry oflice, by kind pernrissionof N'[r and Mrs M.J Hodges.An adjacentcopse holds a thlivrng populationof at least l5 plantsof Green Helle- bore (Helleborus viridis). While rve were photographinqthis, and also obserling a bat llving irr the warm eveningsunshine, the party ivasjoined by Abby the Tabby - who ioves compan\,and does not like to mrssout on anvthing!All admiredboth bat and cat \\'e finishedrvith a look irt a south-facing bank of unimproved pasture behind my oflice, rvhere rve found leaf rosettes of Nleadorv Saxiliage (Sctxifragagranuloru) which flowers here in lVlal We admired the vierv olunspoilt valley and rvood- land before the party broke up to go home. A fi:w diehardsretired for lurther retieshlnentat'1he Beckfbrd Arms'.

J AKERO\.D

GLOL.ICESTERSHIRECOTS\\'OLDS (\/CC l.l & 14) 7rh N1AY

That Gloucestershireis rnostfbrtunate in havingtire country's largestpopulatiLnt of I'trl.tttttlluvtl4un.\ (Pasqueflower)at BarnslevWarren cannotbe denieclIt would havebeen all too easl'to take the partv to the honeypot but what would havebeen the use'Where would havebecn the senseol'achievement? We wantedto comparethe county'smost southernzrnd northern sites particularly as tlrefeu.as a lack ol' Reponsof Ficld N{eetrngs- I 995

recent information on the southernnlostlocalitv and u'e had available2.5 or so keen pairs ofeyes It was arranged for the party to meet at Rodborough Conrmon (VC 31) This is pan of a large complex of Jurassiclimestone grasslands overlooking the tive valleysthat make up Stroud. It is under the care of the National Trust and was at thc tinre or" the meetins being proposed as a Special Area of Conservation. The canarv yellows and electric blues of vast mats of Hippocrepi,; comos1l(Horseshoe Vetch) and I'ttlygctlu culcqrea (Chalk Milkrvort) drew the pafty on to the valley sides.there to find a ferv srunted bushesof ,lrnryteru.sctnnnruni.s (Comnron .luniper) of a size you might just turn your foot on and wonder. rvhen you looked back, what might have been the cause ()rr:/ri.rmust:ulct (Early-purple Orchid), in grcat abutrdance,hardly got a look in as the partl had got on to its collectiveknees in the greatPasque- flower hunt lt shouldbe explainedthat Rodborough'shillsides were at the time ungrazedand in danger of becorningcornpletely engulfed bv that botanistsbogey grass Bratli_ypoditrmputttatum (Torgrass) At trrstnothing was seen Then, at last.a non-florveringrosette rlas lbund. Could it be? Could it possibly be'\'esr Then anotherand at lengtha total of.{7 plantsofwhich only three had, or had had flowers. The action required was obvious and it is encouraging to hear that the National Tmst norv have it in hand to give the area ofthe colony a good hard gtaze A. lot more ground rvasthen coveredin not tinding the two other historiccolonres on the common. Still it was encouragingto seethat the Pasque- flower maintainsa toe-holdin this its most rvesterlysite in Europe,and, yes,you can all now shadein the open circlern your copiesol ,\turte I'lunl.tin Britoin. -fhe weather being hot (well it rvas I c)95aller all), most of the party appreciatedthe rest that the -50knr drive nofth to the second srte allowed U'ith the cxception of a couple '"r'hohad succumbedto the siren call of the honevpot site we learnt later that even there the flowering had been poor - the group reassentbledby Hornsleaso"r'Rouglts(\'C 3l), an areaofoolitic grasslandin privateo*,nership. It is an unusualsite in the Cotswoldsin so much that it is flat. In the pastthe areahad beenworked for lintestonebut this industry had long sinceceased and the surl'acervas well-vegetatedand now grazed by sheep Il quickll'becameobvious that the seasonivas generallypoor for Pasqueflowersas fbr.vbloonrs were to be seenwhere there had been many the previous year. Diligent searchingdid however locate 'l'ephroscri.s a colony of ittlegrifolio (Freld Flearvort) which had not been seen recently. Many species including I'olygulo tulcctreu \\ere conrmon to both sites. There',vere here however a number of taxa not prevrously obsen'ed in the south It was of special intcrest to see the snou w'hite carpets ol&rrl- frttgu pTomtlata (lvleadorv Sarilrage) rvhich is entrrely absent from the central section of the Cots- wolds. The late discovery of the nationally scarcelllitnrtu.tiu h.l.hritlu(Fine-leaved Sandrvort) provicled a last sublime dehght and then lve were awav to the lbur corners of the Kingdonr and home Our thanksgo to co-leaderN'like \\'ilkinson of EnglishNature fbr his assistanceand supportand fbr arranqingaccess to HornsleasorvRoughs

THE BL;RREN, CO CLARE (\'C Ft9) t5rh - iTrh tvlAy Leaders.Sylvia Reynolds and CharlesNelson -fhe Burren field meeting was arranged at the requestof the then Hon General Secretaryof the BSBI, l\4at' Briggs, lvho f'eltthat BSB.I membersin Brrtarnshould be given an addedattractive incentive to atlend the Dublin AGN'I on l:lth-l4th N4ay 1995. Following the successfuland enjoyableAGM and associatedfieid meetingled bv DeclanDooguc to l\.lalahideCastle and the north Dublin coast,approximately 50 membersheaded west. Sincethe ficld nreeting."vasheld during the working week, only l0 lrrsh mernbers were able to attend However, we were verl pleased that about 40 British and one Slredishmember came to the Burren.the Ilon Treasurer,Mike Walpole,and his wif'eArn visitingthe areafbr the first tttne. On Mondal'and fuesdav,nrembers were taken to the site of lhe controversral Interpretlvecentre, lhe turlough and lirnestonepavenrent at Mullaghntore.the coastal Poulsallagh.and 'green walked the roads on Black Head and above Fanore. On the final day, we visiteclthe cliffs at Slievecarran,arid then the lake in ['oo]e Park and Carry'12p6Wood in south-eastGalrvay Nlore detailed RcponsofFrcld Nleetrrrg: lo',i - accountsofthis field meetinghave aireadr beenptrblishcd in lrt:lt JJrlutticrrl,\'t'rrr { l'196 No 6 -17-50) and ll'otsonia( 1996.2l I5i-15-1) Chris Prestonbrought the nerr field cardsto the.{G\,I. and,{11l.\l(/(//i *'as siren a doublelaunch in Ireland- first in a Dublin saltmrrrshb1,the outgoing President.Frrrnklvn Perring. and then at ( oolc Park bv Mary Briggs Apart liom the people rvhoseheip has been acknouledgedin tire other acc()unts.I r.rouldIikc tcr thank N{ichelineSheehy Skef}ington. Chair ofthe Clornnritteelbr Irelandat that tinre.lbr co-leadinqon the flnal day after so ably organizingthe AGN{ in Dublin

:}!f

The Hon. Treasurerpaying homage to the [nsh O|clrid (Naolrirc,umuctthtlu) Photo Ct)S Reynolds1995

SYLVIA REYNOLDS

THE CFIEVIOTAND NORTHUMBERT-ANDCOAST(\'('r,s; 24th- l5tir JL,NE

The thick cold mist gave a disappointingstaft tr-rthis nrcetinsrlhele l(r mentbcrsand {ucsts lllet to see someof the more interestingplants of the Cheviot SSSI Maps and sitedescriptions tirr the nreetrngson both days had been provided b-vEnglish Nature and parking pernlts anclpernrrssion tirr the ( her..rot vrsithad beengranted by CollegeValley EstatesThe Warden,N'lr L Hardr. \\'asone of the parry We were fortuna(ein havingthe Nonhumberlanclccluntl recorderProlessor (i { Suann t() Ieadus to the mostbotanically interesting part of the Bizzle From Dunsdalerve r.r'alked up the Bizzle Burn u,hichhad cut a narrow grassyvalley lhrough the blanketpeat anclthe sandvsorl overlr ing the .{ndesitt Trlo small flushes at thc foot of the vallev httclNurthctrrrnt o.s.sifrugtrtrt(Bot.'\5p66,1"1.1 . l.)ro:cnr rolunLltfolia (Round-leaved Sunderv), l)it(t.\'l()rltizo /rrr'lrvr (Contnron S1>otted-orchid1.I'cdictrlurit pu luslri s (Marsh Louservort)and (' uI I ho 1ru | t r.: tr t.r(N1ar sh-nrarisold ) Reportsof Field Mcetings - I 995

In the blanket peat on the rvay up the hill we saw lv4elamp.vrumprul(n.\c (Common Cow-wheat). Iirtophorum angustifolium (Common Cottongrass), f'accrnium myrlillu.s (Bilberry). l)olygala vulguris (Common Milkwort) and (ialiun saxtttrle(Heath Bedstrarv). 'l'hymus In the tinv valley we found polytrrchus (Wild Thyme), SaxiJraga stelluris (Starry Saxi- frage). (-hr1'xt.ytlenrum rpgtsilifuliunt (Opposite-leaved Golden-saxilrage). I'role rtvintana (Conrmon Dog-violet). L'eronica heccahunga (Brooklime). Cystopleri.s./rugiii.r(Brittle Bladder-fern1and ('r))pto- Ll'ummu crr.rpa (Parsley Fern). On reaching theBizzle we climbed up the steep sidesand on small ledgesfbund an enormous van- etv of pfants from Pinguicula vulgaris (Common Butterwort). Epilobium bnome.sccns(Nerv Zealand Wiilowherb). Valerrona dioica (Marsh Valerian) and Saxtfroga hypnoides (Mossy Saxifrage) in the flushes to the indicators that the area had once been wooded such as Anemonc nemorosct(Wood Anemone). Angeltcn sylveslri.s(Wild Angelica). Mercurioli,s perennis (Dog's Mercury), [,rimula wrl- grtrr,r (Primrose), Phegopteris conneclili.s (Beech Fern) and Gymnocarpium dryopteris (Oak Fern). We 'l'rollius also saw sonie attractive clumps of europeeus (Globeflower), Sedum villosum (Hairy Stone- crop) and Myosotis ,stolonifera (Pale Forget-me-not) and the shrubs Rosu pimpineilifolia (Burnet Rose), R. mollis (Downy Rose) and Salix myrsintfolra (Dark-leaved Willow). Due to the poor visibility the party returned early and severalpeople went to botaniseat Hethpool Linn, where, in the dry rocky areas Helianthemunt nunrnularium (Common Rock-rose), Scleranthrtt annuus (Annual Knawel), Aphanes arvensis (Parsley-piert) and Thymus polytrichus were found. In the wet stream bed MSosotis secunda (Creeping Forget-me-not), M. .scorpioicles(Water Forget-nie-not) and M. laxa (Tufted Forget-me-not) were found growing in close proximity with Montia fontano (Blinks), Menthct aquolico (Water Mint), I/eronica Lotenatcr (Pink Water-speedwell) and.Ratnutculu.s hederaceus(hy-leaved Crowfoot) close by. On the Sunday, twelve people gathered to look at the rich dune vegetation at Cocklawburn Dunes. At this point on the coast the limestone outcrops and there is the ruin of the old lime kiln with the old waste heaps still present.Many of the plants were in flower and this SSSI was probably seenat its best botanically.Anchusa arvensis (Bugloss), Geranium sanguineum (Bloody Crane's-bill) andLotus cornt- culatus (Common Bird's-foot-trefoil) provided bright colour. Amongst the many plants seen were Anthyllis vultreraria (Kidney Yetch), Catapodiunt rigidum (Fern-grass), Ononis repens (Common Restharrow), Leontodon hi.spidus (Rough Hawkbit), Gentianella amarella (Autumn Gentian), Thalic- trum minus (Lesser Meadow-rue), Astragalus danicus (Purple Milk-vetch), ltchiutn vulgare (Yiper's- bugloss), Honc'kenya pepbides (Sea Sandwort), Alt'iplex prostrala (Spear-leaved Orache). T'ripleuros- pe rmum marilimum (Sea May"weed) and Ligusticum scolicum (Scots Lovage). In the waste pool was i\tlamogelon peclinotu:t (Fennel Pondweed) whilst in the grassland were some fine Listera cordata (Lesser Twayblade) and Ophioplktssumvulgatum (Adder's+ongue) and by the path side we saw Z.;. tium barhanrm (Duke of Argyll's Teaplant) and Conium maculqtum (Hemlock). We ended the day by' eramining the edge of an adlacent cultivated field for arable rveeds Iinding Papaver duhiun (Long- headed Poppy), ()eranium pusillum (Small-flowered Crane's-bill), Ani.santho sterilis (Barrcn Brome). ('urtJuus lenuiflonrs (Slender Thistle). Anthri.scu.scuutali.s (Bur Parsley) and Artlium ntinu.t (Lesser Burdock)

APPLEBY, WESTMORELAND (VC 69) ITth - ISth JUNE

Ten members met in good weather in Appleby on lTth June to explore the hawkweed llora of the surrounding area The plan was to concentrateon the low ground on the Saturday and to set aside Sunday fbr investigationof the upland limestone.Our first visit was to a railway bank near Appieby where there w'as a large colony of Hieracium scolosliclarn, an introduced hawkweed which had formerly been reported tionr lhis site as H. muculqlun From there we explored a seriesof railway banks and roadside walls towards Long Marton finding H. diaphanum and H. ocuminotum in severalplaces and, on one rvall only, a lbw plants of H. diaphanolrle.r. A further colonl'of H. scotosttclum \.\,asseen at Lone ReportsofField Meetings - 1995 6',7

Manon. where there was a good stand of Bromopsts erecto (UprighI Brome) on a railway bank We then moved south of Appleby and examination of various railway bridges and embankments,inter- spersedwith picnic lunch in full sun. produced several sites for H.sublepistr-riclc.s.This is a member of Section Vulgata with multiple. very glandular small heads and hitherto has had relatively lew northern records. By now it was mid-afternoon and it was decided to round offthe day by visiting a known site of H. hypochaeroides. a most attractive plant oftmestone rocks. This involved an approach over some uninspiring moorland to the head of a steep gill south of Kirkby Stephen.whrch was lined wrth a prom- ising assemblageof calcicolous speciessuch as Prinula.furino.rzr (Bird's-eye Prrmrose) Unfortunately the late seasonmeant that no plants of Hieracium were visible even in bud On Sunday we met in idyllic conditions at Dufton a few kms north of Appleby where a track goes off to join the Pennine Way. There was much evidence of other hikers as our party set off up the hill towards the main limestone scar. We were soon well strung out and while the rest were catching up a splinter group inspected a small crag at the entranceto High Cup Nick. We had had some concern that at this height the hawkweeds might not yet be in flower but were delighted to find several plants in peak condition, which were later identified as H. glantlulice;.r.s,a local species of the northern lime- stones.The party had now regrouped and moved offalong the scar towards the west, finding scattered plants of .V.pellucidum and H. decolor, the latter in an alarming range of leaf forms as well as a good show of Thalictrum minus (Lesser Meadow-rue) in one spot. One shady crevice yielded a plant with leafshape typical of1L auratiflorum, but having pale yellow flowers and untypical hair coverrng on the involucres, which raises doubts about earlier reports of that speciesfrom this locality An intereslins fern collected above Great Rundale Beck later proved to be Polypodium:t nt.vttoniee, the hybrid between P. vulgare (Polypody) and P. interlectum (lntermediate Polypody). A successful day was rounded offby finding in a lane on the walk back to the cars lrom Knock ('umpunula rhomhortluli.t (Broad-leaved Harebell) which had been reported prevrously from the area. The meeting achieved its main aims of offering an introduction to some of the typical hawkweeds of the area at the same time as giving members a chance to meet others sharing an interest in the genus and rve were fortunate in having ideal conditions in which to do it

NORTH EAST GALWAY (VC Ht7) l6th JULY

Inthe Botanisl in lreland Praeger dismisseda large swathe of territory in east Galway and Roscommon as'indeed the least interesting region and most monotonous, in the whole oflreland'. It was the fate of this vice-county recorder and six other botanists from Galway, Belfast and Dublin to confirm the truth of this sweeping assertionin the course of perhapsthe only wet day of last summer. Despite a small and diminishing human population, drainage, the use of artificial fertilizers and the replanting of old estate woodlands with sitka spruce, have greatly reduced the extent of natural or semi-natural habitats in north east Galway. Previous field work in 1994 had shown however that some eiskers or ridges ol glacial gravel still retained an interesting flora including Et1uiselunthyemule (Rough Horsetail), I'lcut- lago maritima (Sea Plantain), Anl.ennorio dioica (Mountain Everlasting) and Seslerto cuenrlea (Blue Moor-grass). The intention of the field trip was to examine further eiskers in the country south of Bal- lygar, having assembledat that village on Sunday morning, July l6th. The day started with a short visit to the banks of the river Suck, where L1'simochicrnuntmularia (Creeping-Jenny)was found. The record was ofinterest as the speciesis rarely seenin the better known western part of the vice-county. Three eisker sites were visited, but unfortunately all were very disap- pointing. Dense brambles or the all too familiar emerald green of heavily fertilized pasture showed that the sites retained little of interest. Some consolation for a dull day was the finding of L'uct:iniunroxy- coccos (Cranberry) in a roadside cut-away bog. The group broke up around 4 o'clock, their respectfor Praeger's intimate knowledge of the Irish countryside even greater than it was at l0 o'clock that morning.

C. RODEN Advertlsenrents

ADVERTISEMENI'S

BOTANY TOURSOVERSEAS (Ledby BSBI N4embers)

Date Destination Leader

March 13 - 22 Rhodes Tony& SylviaKernp March22 - 3l SouthernCypnrs NIaryBriggs April2 - 12 Crete Mary Briggs April8 - 23 SouthernTurkey Tony& SylviaKemp April26 - May l0 Dominica Mary Briggs May 24 - June7 Romanra Tony & SylviaKemp May 25 - June3 Slovenia N{aryBriggs June9 - 23 Wengen, Switzerland Mary Briggs June26 - July8 Eastern P.vrenees PeterJepson July8 - 22 Western Pyrenees AllanCoornbes July24 - August 3 Obergurgl, Austria Mary Briggs JanuaryI 988 Malaysia Johnfuchards Botanicaltours for I 987 alsoarranged to. N{orocco,Andalucia, The RockiesColorado, Clorfu and Costa fuca For furtherdetails please contact'

CAROLIIIE COTTON, Cox & Kings Travel Ltd , Gordon House, l0 GreencoatPlace, London SWIPIPH Tel 0l7l 87i 5002

Date Destination Leader

JanuaryI9 - Feb. 5 Mount Kenya Michael Jones

For furtherdetails olease contact:

MICHAEL D JONES, 308 Springfield Road, Stoneygate,Leicester LE2 IBA

WILD FLOWER HOLIDAYS in 1997 (Home & Abroad)

7-21 Feb. Tenerife Laurel.pine forests and 9-23 March SouthernIsrael DcadSea area to coastalzone Eliat 8-22 April Crete Tulips. Orchids& Spring 6-13-20May Turkey One/tworveeks for Anatol- flo*crs ian Springflowers l7-25 June The Burren lreland'slimcstone rioh l6-26 July The DolomitesOver 6000'up rnN plantarca ltaly April to Sept.Local botanicaltrips in Britain Holidavstake time to organise.Please enquire early

TONY TITCHEN, Wild Flower Holidays,29 Nore Road,BRISTOL. Avon BS20 9F{N Tel 0l275-848629 Fax 01275-843143 Advenlsemcnts/ Corrective Centre WILDLIFEIRRVEL ffi EXPERTGUIOES, EXCITING WILOLIFE. FRIENOLYAND CONVIVIALCOMPANY CONCERN FOR THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT. COMFORTABLEACCOMMOOATION ANO TRAVEL

ANDALUCIASpring bulbs and other wild flowers . SIKKIM& N. INDIAWildlife & walking CRETE Wild flowers . CRETE Painting, floweE & birds . CYPRUSBirds & wild flowers W. IRELANDThe Burren . GREECEMount Olympus . PYRENEESBirds & wild flowers ST PETERSBURG & THE ARCTIC ' SOUTH AFRICA Wild flovvers W. AUSTRALIA Wild llowers . CYPRUS Autumn bulbs

LEADERS INCLUDE: JIM BARROW, JEFFERYSOSWALL, ERIAN GALE, RICHARDHOBBS, PENNY MUSTART,CHARLES NELSON,JOHN & JANE PAIGE, FRANKLYN& MARGARETPERRING

For newsletter and brochure contact: WILDLIFETP.AVEL Green Acre, Wood Lane, Oundle, Peterborough PEBsTP Tel 01832 274892 Fa\ 01832 274568

CORRECTIVECENTRE

CORRE('T NANIE OF WILLOW ln my note on'Sorne Willorvs fiom a LeicestershireQuarry, VC 55. 1993-l995 in rg.\'R1,\'gv.r 72. 6i. the .lalrx pentdndra mentioned should have been given as a queried rdentrficatron Catkrns have now been collected and the willow identrfied by R.D. N'terkleas the hybrid Solix laurirm (,\'.trtrcratt ^\.phvlicifolio) S. penlandra should therefore be removed from the list

EDITH FIESSELGRE,A\'ES, 28 Woodlands Drive, Groby, LercesterLE6 OBQ

.DLiEL'CARRIAGEWAYS

In RSRI Nelt.i 71. 25 (January1996) there is a gem of a misprintr,"'hich leads me to ask

Are' duel' carriagervaysrvhere'road ra_qe' anlagonists light it out''

DUGGIE KENT, 75 AdelaideRoad, West Ealing,London W l3 gED Stop Prcss

STOP PRESS

ANNUAL EXHIBITION MEETING. LONDON I996

Your notice and booking form for the Exhibition Meeting is enclosedin this mailing, and the Meetings Commrttee has asked me to send a specialwelcome to first time exhibitors. We would like to encour- age any member rvho has not before brought an exhibit, but who has during the year found or noted plants. or comments on plants, of interest to consider an exhibit. You will see from the notice that Roy Vrckerv can arrange for specrmensto be borrowed from the herbaria of the Natural History Museum lbr an exhibrt if this is helpful. Referenceto the Report of the I 995 Annual Exhibition Meeting in BSIII Nev.s7 2 60-73 (April I 996) will show the variety of subjects chosenfor the I 995 meeting. We hope too lbr exhibits on any significant plant projects currently in progress, and we also welcome reoent publications by members, we are of course counting on our regular exhibitors and look forward to seeingthem again this vear on November lOth. l\,1ARYBRIGGS. President-elect

NOTESTO CONTRIBUTORS

My thanks to all who send in typed copy. but don't forget that hand-written copy is still accepted.If vou do type future contributions it will be a great help if you follow sorne standard conventions by looking at past numbers of Neir.s.For instance,titles of papersand author's names are always in CAPI- TALS and English names are always given (except sometimesin long lists). If sendinghard-copy (i.e. a computer printout or typescript) keep your formatting to a minimum, don't put Latin names in ilalics or underline them (they are more difficult to scan in successfully).lfsending a computer disk, pleasedo include all formatting and state clearly on the disk label what word-processing package you are using and enclose hard-copy as well. If sendinga fax, pleasepost the original as well, faxes are very difficult to scan correctly. Articles can also be sent by E-marl at [email protected]

EDITOR

Thc Editor G*r'nn Ellis can be contactedbv phone on 01222-49(t012or E{nail at paellis(r4nrsn.com

Anicfcs can bc Fa\cd to the Editor on 01222-196012

All text and illustrations appearing in -8.!B-I/{ars and its Supplements are copyright and no reproduction in any firrm ma1 be mtrdc without rvritten pcrmission from the Editor.

Offers and specirl tcrms applr onl\ to rncnlbcrsof the Socielyand copiesare not ilvailablcon an exchangebasis.

EJlJ/,\'cwr (ISSN 0109-93()X)is publishcdbv thc Botanical Societ\ ofthe British Isles.

Enqurricsconccrning thc Socict\'s activltlesand rncmbershipshould be addressedto: Tlrc Hon. Gcncral Secrctan. c/o Dcpt. of Botrn\. The Natural Iliston'Museum. Cromlell Road,London SW7 5BD.

Camcra readv copr produced bl Grv.vnn Ellis and printcd b1 J. & P. Davison, 3 James Place, Treforcst, Pont- rpridtl, Mirl Glamorgan CF37 2BT (Tel. l)1,1{3-.10{)585) Contcnts

Continued lrom back cover

Natf IIS ANI) AItllCI-IlS (continued) Ecotrpic dlstinction tt I I ernt ori a ctlt o I qlq l tl Mistlctoc in Bcrkshirc & Buckingharnshirc rl Sorbu.rdotnesltcq L. Conlparati\c nrorphologr and habitats t2 Morplrologr t2 Hislon lj Habitats.... t+ ( , rNSll{Vn Il' ,N NIU S t5 Aiienstre rot irBBres5i\u r5 ^I II NS lt AlrcrrRccords It .\,tlanutttv'rnet ..... -10 A rathcr differcnt (and overlooked'l)Rock-rose Establishedalien perennralsand biennials in Chiltern letrad -ll Noteson somealien plantsat the Towans.West Corn$all ... li Notcs on -l'odnplullnr (Bcrbcndaccac)as potcntial Brltish alicrs "11 ('.vc/anenrepandun in England Alien plants from Yorkshire ,li C'on.yzahilbaoona J. Remv - ne$ to South Hanrpshirc("'C I I ) and to Britain -lt L TJNIPI.ITLRBY'l-l S ]l) BSBI Recorderuscr5 .. .. i(i CorrrprrtcrSpcl I Clreckcrs 5l BSBI rrpprorcdsoflrurre 52 ADITSITE Version.l 0 ... i2 ERICA )2 RECORDER 5i DMAP for Windorrs i1 IJsing Rccorderfor Hectads.Tetrads - and man\ othcr things il Nr 'TT(I:S I BSDT) 55 AzorcsFicld Mcctirrg . 5i BSBI trrp to N E. Trrrker .. 55 I{lll)ORl S OF I€CDNI CONI'EI{LNCHSA}iD MlrlillN(is 5i Orchid PopulationBiolog\: Consen,ationand challenges . . Mcdrlcrrancanplanls :; GeorgeClaridge Druce Memorial Dal 57 PaulWestmacott fuchards 1908-1995 ...... 5X I]IJTURDCONFERENCES AND S\A'fl'OSLC 59 Biodiversitv in Scotland:status. trends and initiatives 59 Journees-DebatsPaul Jovcl: lnventairesnaturalistcs dans la villc .. .. 59 lu QIrES 1s ()ll Flora slntcd an) Call for information about casesol plant poisoning . . . . (il, ij' xlK NTITFS (){) Nsrs lronrOundlc Books (il, 7'heB.vgone Botanists oJ llere./brd.yhire ... Nerr Nlturalrstsfor Salc Flora Britann!cq. Spccial Offcr ... .. 6l W'elshFern.r 1lh Edition dclar, 62 Book offers from Dept of Botanv. NMW. Cardiff . 62 JapaneseKnotrveed control nranual 62 The Florq of lha Eost lliding of I'orkshire . Special Offer . . . . . 6) IiLPORIS O! FILLD Mlrhl'tN(lS - 1995 61 Tisbun.Wiltshrre rVC 8) 61 GloucestershireCots[olds (VCC 3] & l1) ..... 6t Thc Burren. Co. Clare (VC H9) . ()l The Cheviot and NorthumberlandCoast (VC 6lt) (r5 Appleb)'.Weslnorcland (VC 69) .. ... 6(, North East Galrvav(VC H l7) . . (,1 AI )\4TRTISFMENTS ()x Bolan\ Tours Orcrscas (rli t trRt

ONTENTS

ADMINIS'IITA''ION : Officcrs and Counctl fronr Nlav 1996 2 Deadlinc for contribu(!onsfor B.\ti-l,\r'tt.r74 I iJI,\RY It)lla)l{nI -l fhanks + \es Anrsl .l \cu Book :l Contactingthc Editcl + lnscnsrr itlr llrisis'rrc 4 A N(tfll lROM fllL I'RllSII)flNl-i:llIlCl' 5 Congraluliilior\ 5 Irr\lcnronarn 5 CrantArord 5 Vrscrrlarppca) 6 PastHon Gcn.Scc. s Tril P S...... b NLW ll()N GIIN S1-(1. MINI l'l{OIrII.ll 6 j\Tl AS 2{r0o 7 Rcpon 1 It s FrrllStcam Aherd' 7 Atlas OrSaniserChangc of Addrcss .. 1 SomeThoughts on Recording 7 Thc rrchesthcctadl .8 Allas 2(r1il,Pilbltcit\ .8 E-nratlUsr'r: t5 Allas 2{xxrFrcld M(ciln}j\ lt FiltrrreMeclings l0 Workshops t0 Ncxt BSBI Ncus ll L ( )-,JRI)JNn l()l( S ( OR\lll{ ll Lrtroductior: l) Cornputerrsrtior... lt \ctuorking t2 Sunteothcr lhrrtgs t2 t(j ( oRljljRSnND ld ! { rRI)lN(, l3 Amcndmcnt No. 2 to /i,\/J/ l'eur llook l196 t3 YC Rccorders t2 Prnel of Refcrccs l2 County Floras and Checkhsts t2 Nely mthods ofasscssingthreat and ritritv - A resportseto David Pcarnrar's PresidcntialAddrcss l2 Design of field rccording cards . . . l5 tl s ANT)AR LIiS l6 N( I I-1( 'i6 A lvtissingLink bctscenGnetrlcs and Arrgiospernrs.) . ... ('rtic;t galeopsiJiha. an earll Norfolk recordJ . l'l Levcls of rcproductlvcactrvit\ in t-erns- ar updata l1 Drscrinrirratrng Muntl:rcs l8 When rs an arablcweed e\lincl'l .. .. 18 Draleclplanl-nirrnc\ l9 Frre trpcsofbccch sccdling 2tl Dog s Mercun' \rith th€ blucs 2t) Botanistsand Botan\ in litcrature - -i 2l Bolrnr rn illodcflllrtcrirlurc .. 2l ',,, Roadsidcr ,rrl.nrr,r 2l DarrrslrScunrgr;rss 22 (.ochIcorto durticu on roadsrdes 2) ' Hvbrid Scumgrass l('o<.hleartadonu,t ( . ollir:ittaltj) bv salt-trcatcdroad .. .. 21 Whl doesrvild Teaseltrup \tatcr.' 23 Conmntinrntsrn grasssecd 23 EnglishNaturc s BolilnrcalScnice npdrlc 25 -l-whorl pol\stachton and rcbranchrngit l:tluisetrunltolu.slr,. 26 The earlrcstrcfercncc to Blrck Pophr rn England r 28 More achlorophyllosc!.ptpttclt.s tn Scollrrtd . 2ti PcrcnnialForglorc. 30 More Bolanrstlivcd licrc-plaqucs t1 Continuedon rlsrrlchack r ovct