Dorset Heath 2017 No 8 Spring 2017 The Dorset Heath Newsletter of the Dorset Flora Group Bob Gibbons he Dorset Flora Group AGM at the Dorset Last year I went out on a hunt in early April for the Wildlife Trust’s Headquarters back in November elusive Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem and was delighted to seems a long time ago. The meeting was again discover it in a wood in north Dorset. The key to finding Ta thoroughly enjoyable affair with plenty of good this little plant was to look out for its bluebell-like conversation and an excellent talk by Tim Bailey on leaves with their distinctive tubular tips, rather than the Dorset’s carnivorous plants – it seems that some of the exquisite pale yellow-green flowers (see photo below), species, particularly the bladderworts, can be fiendishly which are not always present. Later in the season the difficult the identify! Talks by Robin Walls, Ted Pratt and plant all but disappears, which underlines the fact that John Newbould provided a good summary of the work if you are doing some woodland square-bashing for the the Dorset Flora Group has been involved in during 2016 BSBI 2020 Atlas you need to visit sites at least a couple and also some of the highlights of the botanical year. of times in the year to record the full range of species. This issue of Dorset Heath includes their reports. I hope that many of you will be helping with this Many thanks to Amber Rosenthal and the Dorset important project this year, as we are entering the Wildlife Trust for allowing the DFG AGM to last few seasons. be held its offices. Thanks also to Peter and At the end of this issue you will see that Margaret Cramb for once more provided a we are again holding a series of events for suitably testing quiz. Wild Flower Week at the end of May and After yet another winter with next to no beginning of June. Thanks to Ted Pratt for snowfall, Spring is fast approaching. I organising this popular programme. We hope everyone is keen to get out and also have a good range of field meetings, enjoy Dorset’s wonderful flora. Although including some workshops planned, so most people think first of the county’s do register your interest. magnificent displays of coastal and I look forward to seeing you over the meadow plants in high summer, there is coming season at the various meetings. much to excite the keen botanist early in the Good plant hunting! season. Andrew Branson Andrew Andrew Branson 1 Dorset Heath 2017 Dorset Heath 2017 Vice-county Recorder’s notes for 2016 Robin Walls Atlas 2020 the most attention: Purbeck and the coastal squares. e are nearing the end of the recording period The systematic recording in west Dorset and around for the BSBI’s Atlas 2020 project. It is clear that Crossways is evident from the yellow and orange dots. the centre and north of Dorset are where we In fact, I expect every monad in Dorset to have over 200 Whave most monads (1km grid-squares) with no records species making the many green dots stand out as under- (Fig. 1). We will be organising some recording days up recorded. Because of historic county boundary changes, there this year, but meanwhile please venture ‘up t’north’ there are two areas that are also being covered by other when you feel the need to look for plants. If you don’t vice-counties. Bournemouth and Christchurch are in have the time for longer than the briefest of visits, please South Hants, vice-county 11. Currently, Hampshire is stop the car when driving through - ten minutes in a being more intensely surveyed than Dorset. The dotted layby listing what you see will almost certainly make a extension to vice-county 9 in the west is now in the big difference to the coverage. If you are lucky you might administrative counties of Devon and Somerset. The find something spectacular (see below). recently published Flora of Devon has covered the Devon Looking on the positive side, the squares that have part and I understand Somerset botanists are recording records are shown in Figure 2. The colour coding the northernmost parish in this area. indicates the number of taxa recorded. As is often the Figure 2 Numbers of plant species recorded since case, the richest areas of the county have received 2000. These maps do not show the latest records. To check Figure 1 Squares with no post-2000 records. the current state for any grid square look at Living Record or DERC ask the recorder for the square. DERC 2 3 Dorset Heath 2017 Dorset Heath 2017 Some interesting finds in 2016 be expected to move around into any disturbed, sandy ore sites for Bolboschoenus laticarpus, the soil and is well worth looking out for when you are in club-rush recently recognised as present in suitable habitat. Like the two species in the previous Britain as distinct from the Sea Club-rush paragraph, this in not a maritime species as such, but it MB. maritimus, were found by Fred Rumsey and Helena does like to be where it can smell the sea. Crouch on the R.Cale in the upper Stour catchment. These finds complement the first definite identification Carolyn Steele and I searched several sites for Yellow of the species by Andrew Branson in 2014 and reinforce Centaury Cicendia filiformis (and Pillwort Pilularia my view that any stand of Bolboschoenus in fresh water globulifera) for PondNet, with limited success. It is a plant should be checked as a possible for B. laticarpus. Please that has good and bad years, so it is not safe to make collect ripe fruit for critical examination. any deductions from a single survey. This is not an easy plant to find, but well worth the effort since it is classed Charles Whitworth has found a new site for Little-Robin as Vulnerable (Red list for England 2014) and declining. Geranium purpureum. It was found on the north-west It is one of the suite of species specialising on winter-wet side of Weymouth, which is more inland than the better hollows (typically wheel ruts) on heathland. Often found known sites along the old railway line. On a water with Allseed Radiola linoides, which is also vulnerable but sampling day around the National Trust land around more frequent and conspicuous (see photo below). Golden Cap, we came across the scarcer of our two small clubrushes, Slender Club-rush Isolepis cernua, again at a A rush that can easily be overlooked in stands of more inland site than is typical. Jointed Rush Juncus articulatus is the Blunt-flowered Rush J. subnodulosus. As a component of fens, in our The Jersey Cudweed Gnaphalium luteo-album is dubiously county it often indicates more base-rich water, which, native in Dorset, but it is legally protected. It has long in a heathland environment, should trigger a search been known on a fenced-off munitions waste tip at for other scarce plants. Jim White found a stand near Holton Heath and more recently along the track near the Scotland Farm with Black Bog-rush Schoenus nigricans, station, it has now been found further up Station Road by another species of similar significance, although more Mandy Marler. This may be a re-discovery because Lynne conspicuous and probably commoner in our area. Farrell had told me she had seen it in this area many years ago. I failed to find any three years ago, when On the Atlas 2020 recording day at Ashmore we were advising Wessex Water on its conservation during their delighted to find a small patch of Meadow Saxifrage work on the sewer installation. As an annual, it can Saxifraga granulata in the churchyard. Particularly Yellow Centuary growing with Allseed. Robin Walls 2 3 Dorset Heath 2017 Dorset Heath 2017 Heath Lobelia. Sugar Hill Aboretum. Robin Walls Sugar Hill Arboretum pleasing was that it had clearly been recognised as worth his Forestry Commission arboretum near conserving because the mower had carefully avoided Wareham is looking a lot more inviting after our the patch. Meadow Saxifrage may have been more working party with the Forestry Commission widespread formerly, but we now seem to be down to Tvolunteers in January. Much of the brash and fallen only five areas in the county where it may be found in timber has been cleared into piles to decay or be small groups. Unlike many of the other plants mentioned removed and some of the weedier trees have been felled, above, this is a ‘proper’ flower, very attractive and easily making the wood more open and easier to walk around. spotted in May. Importantly, all the specimen trees have been numbered Heath Lobelia and Ted Pratt has located them all and recorded the he good news for Heath Lobelia Lobelia urens is ten-figure grid reference for each. FC’s Matt Parrott has that the developers taking on the after-use of the named them and given us the list (contact Ted or me if large quarry at Crossways, Habitat First, are keen you would like a copy). By the summer we hope the FC Tto restore substantial areas to prime habitats. The main will have made name plates, at least one per species, function of the site is as holiday accommodation – rather which we will attach to the trees. There could not be luxurious by the sound of it – and they want the houses a better resource for anyone wanting to improve their set in quiet, attractive countryside.