B&BC Botanical Society Newsletter - Issue 2 (2015)

8/20/2019 B&BC Botanical Society Newsletter - Issue 2 (2015)

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2015 was another fantasticand busy year for the Society …so we thought we would put together

another issue of the newsletter, with this

year’s highlights.

We hope you enjoy reading through it

and join us next year for more recording!

Newsletter Issue 2 | Autumn/Winter 2015

In this Issue:

Sutton Park Flora - The first season of recording

Plus other highlights from 2015 including

site visit reports from:

Clayhanger SSSI | Daw End

Branch Canal | Fens Pools

Smooth-stalked Sedge (Carex laevigata)

Sutton Park July 2015

SAVE THE DATE!The 2016 AGM will take place on

Saturday 27th

February 2016at 11am

Winterbourne House and Garden,University of Birmingham,

58 Edgbaston Park Road,

Birmingham, B15 2RT.

Note: entrance to Winterbourne Garden

will be free for this event!

Hope to see you there!

Other dates for your diary:

Provisional Field Recording Dates 2016

23/03/2016 30/06/2016

07/04/2016 05/07/2016

16/04/2016 03/08/2016

26/04/2016 13/08/2016

09/05/2016 25/08/2016

20/05/2016 09/09/2016 01/06/2016 19/09/2016

11/06/2016 30/09/2016

21/06/2016


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2 │ B&BC Botanical Society Newsletter Autumn/Winter 2015

FENS POOLS15TH July 2015

We met Anne Daly, our leader for the day, outside the

warden's base at the junction of Pensnett Road and Bryce

Road in Brierley Hill, and after negotiating the busy B4179, we

headed off along the section of canal known as ‘Wide Water’

in the direction of Fens Pools. The typical vegetation along

the canal towpath comprises Field Maple, Hazel, Alder,

Rowan, Guelder-rose, willows and some very large poplars,

and in one spot a large Crataegus pedicillatus Cockspur

Thorn , the first of many interesting plants we were toencounter during the day.

Moving on from where the canal ends we headed along the

main path, keeping Grove Pool to our left and Middle Pool to

the right, and leaving this path onto a smaller path, we made

our way to the “Perry Ponds”, a group of small ponds named

in honour of the late naturalist Alan Perry, one of the two

local men (the other being Brian Jones) who had the vision of

saving the Fens as a nature reserve, and started the Pensnett

Wildlife Group, without which the reserve may never have

been created.

The ponds were originally excavated to provide a cluster of

breeding ponds for amphibians, and in particular, for the

large population of Great Crested Newts that Fens Pools is

renowned for. The typical vegetation in and around the pond

margins included Eleocharis palustris Common Spike-rush ,

Myosotis laxa Tufted Forget-me-not , Juncus tenuis Slender

Rush , Elodea nuttallii Nuttall’s Waterweed , Ceratophyllum

emersum Rigid Hornwort and in each of the small ponds we

encountered a submerged aquatic not found in the others.

The first pond contained a colony of Zanichellia palustris

Horned Pondweed and a small amount of Lagarosiphon

major Curly Waterweed, the next held Potamogeton

berchtoldii Small Pondweed and in another, on drying out

mud, mixed in with Callitriche sp. was a small-flowered

Crowfoot with capillary leaves only which we tentatively

determined as Ranunculus trichophyllus Thread-leaved

Water-crowfoot, a plant previously not recorded in

Birmingham and the Black Country so we were very pleased

when it was later confirmed as this by John Hawksford, BSBI

Recorder for Staffordshire.

Once satisfied that we had recorded everything from the

Perry Ponds we continued along the main path towards the

cindery mounds where Cerastium arvense Field Mouse-ear, a

low-growing, early-flowering perennial has been known fromfor many years. In Britain this rather large-flowered, native

Mouse-ear is frequent only in the east of England, and as far

as we are aware the only extant Birmingham and Black

Country site for this plant is here at Fens Pools. Several plants

were soon located although, as we expected they were well

into seed at this time of the year.

Moving on in the direction of the ridge and furrow meadow

we passed more Slender Rush. This increasing alien rush is

relatively tolerant of trampling and is often found along path

edges.

The “Perry Pond” containing Ranunculus

trichophyllus Thread-leaved Water-crowfoot

Ranunculus trichophyllus Thread-leaved Water-crowfoot


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On reaching the ridge and furrow meadow, known locally as

“the bumpy field” because the ridges and furrows of a by -

gone agricultural system are still very evident in places, it was

noticeable that there were far fewer ponies here since the

clampdown by Dudley Council on stray horses. For many

years this meadow has traditionally been a favourite spot for

locals to graze their ponies and with very few animals herenow the long-term effect this will have on the flora in this

area remains to be seen. Ophioglossum vulgatum Adder’s-

tongue fern has long been known from this meadow and at

one time was relatively easy to find. In recent years heavy

grazing from tethered ponies has all but eradicated it from

the open parts of the meadow so a challenge was put out to

the group to see who would be the first to find an Adder’s-

tongue. After several minutes of searching the honour went

to Paul Reade who discovered several plants tucked well in

amongst bracken, one of the few places that the ponies tend

to avoid. A closer inspection revealed this to be quite an

extensive colony which extended well into the bracken

thicket.

From here we made our way up the bank which brought us

into an area of short, open grassland where lunch was taken

seated on the brickwork remains of a building that once stood

here. Suitably refreshed we set off in the general direction of

Russells Hall Hospital, following a well-defined track which

soon became wooded on both sides. In the half-shade at the

side of this track were four flowering Verbascum lychnitis

White Mullein plants, somewhat of a rarity elsewhere in

B&BC. The scrubby woodland here also contains many

naturalised Cotoneasters, the most frequent of them being

Cotoneaster rehderi Bullate Cotoneaster. Others Cotoneasters

found here include C. horizontalis Wall Cotoneaster , C.

franchetii Franchet’s Cotoneaster and C. simonsii Himalayan

Cotoneaster. Skirting the metal-railed fence enclosing a

factory, and descending a slope towards a wet area, we

passed a colony of Sambucus ebulus Dwarf Elder on both

sides of the path whose flowers were just beginning to open,

and a little further on, we encountered a fine specimen of Athyrium filix-femina Lady Fern growing next to a patch of

Osmunda regalis Royal Fern, another local rarity.

Time constraints prevented us from exploring the large area

of open grassland that opened out before us, so reluctantly

we started to make our way back, pausing briefly to admiremore White Mulleins and a small colony of Oenothera

cambrica Small-flowered Evening-primrose in a clearing just

off the main path. As we headed along the top of the bank

overlooking Fens Pool we could not resist stopping once again

to admire the colony of Inula conyzae Ploughman’s-spikenard

growing on the top of the bank overlooking Fens Pool , and

yet another of the many intriguing plants found at this site.

Besides the plants Fens Pools are rich in other wildlife and

during our visit I noted Ringlet, Painted Lady, Small

Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Large Skipper, Large White,

Common Blue Damselfly and Broad-bodied Chaser.

Two further visits were made to Fens Pools later in July and

many more species were added to the list for this site. Our

record sheets have been submitted to EcoRecord and to John

Hawksford, the BSBI recorder for Staffordshire and will form

part of the BSBI database for Atlas 2020 which will provide:

Maps for both native and introduced taxa

Interactive maps able to display frequency and

distribution at a variety of scales

Analyses of changes, summarising the state of the

British and Irish flora in 2020

Should anyone wish to become more involved with recording

for Atlas 2020, information on how to do so can be found at

http://www.bsbi.org.uk/atlas_2020.html

Mike Poulton

Sambucus ebulus Dwarf Elder

Osmunda regalis Royal Fern

http://www.bsbi.org.uk/atlas_2020.htmlhttp://www.bsbi.org.uk/atlas_2020.htmlhttp://www.bsbi.org.uk/atlas_2020.html


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4│ B&BC Botanical Society Newsletter Autumn/Winter 2015

12TH

September 2015

Although it was a rainy Saturday morning there was quite a

good turnout. We started at the car park for Park Lime Pits at

SK032001, and recorded a section of the Daw End canal going

north.

Where we first encountered the canal there was a low, rather

bare bank and we suspected that a seed mixture had been

applied. There was much Leucanthemum vulgare Ox-eye Daisy,

a strangely coloured Malva moschata Musk Mallow, a single

flowering plant of Centaurea scabiosa Greater Knapweed and a

lot of Daucus carota Wild Carrot. There was also much Galium

album Hedge Bedstraw, which also might be an introduction.

However this is a limestone area and all of these species have

previously been recorded from this or neighbouring squares.

The towpath was studded with the flowering rosettes of

Scorzonerioides autumnalis Autumn Hawkbit, distinguished

from Crepis capillaris Smooth Hawk’s-beard by the relatively

narrow terminal lobe to the leaf and the feathery (i.e.

branched) hairs which make up the pappus (or parachute) of

most of the fruit. Crepis capillaris is usually taller with a leafy

stem but can be rosettiforme when grazed or mown and was

also recorded here. Strangely, we did not record the other

common rosettiforme ‘dandeliony’ plant with a branching

inflorescence, i.e. Hypochaeris radicata Cat’s-ear, which usually

had hairier leaves and also has yellow, tongue-like ‘receptacular

scales’ mixed with the florets in the flower head.

As always, Senecio jacobaea Ragwort was present, but also two

very similar members of the same genus. Senecio aquaticus

Marsh Ragwort, with larger ray-florets and a less dense head

than S. jacobaea and with the leaves less divided and with a

much larger terminal lobe was quite frequent. Also present

was Senecio erucifolius Hoary Ragwort, a plant of limy soils,

where the stem leaves are much more regularly divided into

narrower lobes than in S. jacobaea. Usually the leaves are much

hairier beneath than in S. jacobaea, but this feature was not

pronounced here. Later I was able to ascertain that the fruits

were all shortly hairy, even those derived from ray florets,

which confirmed S. erucifolius.

DAW END BRANCH CANALWe also had fun with Willowherbs! We saw five species,

including both of the ones with spreading hairs: E. hirsutum

Great Willowherb and E. parviflorum Hoary Willowherb. The

latter has much smaller flowers, a less shaggy and more plush-

like hairiness on the stems and leaves which do not clasp the

stem at the base. Both of these have flowers with deeply lobed

stigmas, as does E. montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb, which

lacks the spreading hairs and had more clearly stalked leaves.

The stems of E. montanum are covered in tiny glandular hairs –

they glisten if viewed against the light with a hand lens – which

is also true of E. ciliatum American Willowherb, but in ciliatum

the stigma is club-shaped. E. obscurum Short-fruited

Willowherb has the same club-shaped stigma as ciliatum, but

has no glandular hairs EXCEPT on the sepals. Often these hairs

do not look to have glandular heads and appear as tiny

spreading hairs. In E. obscurum, the leaves are usually narrower

than in E. ciliatum. I tried to make some of the E. ciliatum into

E. roseum Pale Willowherb, because of the pale flowers and

longer-stalked leaves, but looking at the seeds with a x20 lens,they were covered in neat rows of papillae, which meant it was

E. ciliatum. We also didn’t see E. tetragonum Square-stalked

Willowherb, which lacks all spreading and glandular hairs. It

can often be picked out at a distance by its narrow leaves and

long fruits compared with other similar species.

In B&BC (but not here) there is also E. palustre Marsh

Willowherb, which is much more confined to semi-natural sites

than the others. It is glandular-hairy, and has very narrow

leaves, the fruits turn outwards in a very characteristic way. If

in doubt, it can be distinguished from the other generallyglandular willowherbs with a club-shaped stigma with a x20

lens, since like E. roseum the seeds lack the distinct rows of

papillae. The seeds do however have a prominent appendage

at one end. These seven are all the willowherbs so far recorded

in Birmingham and the Black Country. There are however

hybrids….!

I have summarised these differences at the end of this report.


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In the stones of the canal column we came across a large,

broad-leaved sedge, which we suspected as being the rather

ruderal Carex pendula Pendulous Sedge at first, but the leaves

were too small – 0.5 rather than 1.5 cm across and the ligule1.5 cm rather than 4 cm long. Later we found it flowering and

it had the closely-clustered female spikes and sharply pointed

bracts and utricles of Carex pseudocyperus Cyperus Sedge, not

a common plant but commoner here than the typical canal-side

sedge Carex otrubae False Fox-sedge (which we also recorded).

Unexpectedly, there was also quite a lot of Carex remota

Remote Sedge in similar positions – it is normally a plant of wet

woodlands. We saw several ferns – both Asplenium ruta-

muraria Wall-rue and Asplenium trichomanes Maidenhair

Spleenwort were found, mainly on the bridges.

There were only four submerged or floating-leaved aquatics

recorded, but 13 emergents, including Acorus calamus Sweet-

flag, vegetatively rather like Yellow Iris but with leaves scented

when crushed and with one margin of the leaf undulating. And

Butomus umbellatus Flowering-rush with its narrow, spirally-

twisted emergent leaves. Also both Sparganium erectum

Branched Bur-reed and Sparganium emersum Unbranched Bur-

reed, the latter with largely floating leaves and emergent

unbranched inflorescences. Also Alisma lanceolata Narrow-

leaved Water-plantain – we argued about the leaf shape, but

we found fruiting material in which the short styles were clearly

set close to the apex of the achenes, which differentiates it

from Alisma plantago-aquatica in which the style is longer and

set half way down one side of the achene.

The 15 marsh species included the beautiful alien Impatiens

capensis Orange Balsam – smaller and (hopefully) less invasive

than Impatiens glandulifera Indian Balsam, the classic

Scutellaria galericulata Skullcap and the deadly Oenanthe

crocata Hemlock Water-dropwort.

Also the Bur-marigold with pinnately-divided leaves was the

alien Bidens frondosa Beggarticks with the apical lobe of the

leaf with a distinct wingless stalk and barbs on the edges of the

achenes (NOT the bristles) backward-pointing.

This species seems to be largely replacing Bidens tripartita

Trifid Bur-marigold along our canals. B. tripartita has the apical

lobe of the leaf scarcely stalked and the barbs on the achenes

forward pointing.

There were large numbers of grassland species including the

hemiparasite Odontites verna Red Bartsia and a good range of

hedgerow species including Viburnum opulus Guelder-rose and,

near the bridge over Daw End Lane, a large scrambling rose

with large panicles of small flowers which might have been

Rosa multiflora Many-flowered Rose but needs to be looked at

at flowering time in July. Another big group was the ruderals,

especially the perennial weeds, contributing 33 species.

The canal was quite cloudy and opaque and we recorded few

submerged aquatic species, but apart from that, the canal

corridor is very rich in species: we recorded 137 and we never

got beyond the SK0300 square. Richard Orton recorded

Humming-bird Hawkmoth. At the end we walked back down

the canal and, as always, recorded more species we missed the

first time!

Ian Trueman

Carex pseudocyperus Cyperus Sedge

Impatiens capensis Orange Balsam

Bidens frondosa Beggarsticks


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√ = present ± = more or less.

Note that all species except possibly hirsutum and parviflorum have at least some appressed hairs on their stems and

other parts.

E. lanceolatum Spear-leaved Willowherb has not been recorded in B&BC but there are rare records from neighbouring

areas. It has the key characters of montanum but narrower, more elliptical leaves (broadly ovate in montanum) with

petioles 4-10 mm (2-6 in montanum).

Many hybrids occur, they are not all that common and are usually robust and partly sterile and characteristic of

frequently disturbed habitats.

hirsutu

m

arviflorum

montan

um

ciliatu

m

roseu

m

obscurum

etragon

um

palustre

Stigma lobed (not club-shaped) √ √ √

Stem with spreading non-glandular hairs √ √

Stem with glandular hairs √ √ √ √ √ √

Sepals with glandular hairs √ √ √ √ √ √

Seed with extra appendage at hairy end √ √

Seed with papillae on ridges

(not uniformly papillose) √

Leaf petiole 2-15mm (0-4 mm) √ √

Leaf decurrent and ± clasping stem √ ± ±

Appendix | Erect species of Epilobium in B&BC.

Flower buds of E. obscurum (above) and

E. ciliatum (below)

Seeds of E. ciliatum Seeds of E. roseum


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15TH

September 2015

Ian Trueman, Mike Poulton, Jane Hardwick and Yoke van der

Meer visited this site in SK0304 on 15th September 2015. The

purpose was to check old records for Oenanthe fistulosa

Tubular Water-dropwort, which was last seen there in 1990. In

late August 2006 ICT and Eleanor Cohn did a rapid botanical

survey of the site and the 2015 visit also gave the opportunity

to monitor change there. A full record was made of the plant

species we encountered.

The site was entered from Bullows Road, under the bridge at

SK03450490 which carries the mineral line which defines the

north west margin of the site. The bridge still bears plants of

Asplenium trichomanes Maidenhair Spleenwort as in 2006.

As we emerged into the site, four ravens took off and spent the

entire day complaining about our presence.

CLAYHANGERThe pasture was being grazed by a small number of friendly

horses and is currently somewhat undergrazed. The pastures at

this point are pretty wet, with numerous ditches, Ranunculus

flammula Lesser Spearwort and Senecio aquaticus Marsh

Ragwort. We noted seedheads of Dactylorhiza Marsh-orchids

and assume that D. praetermissa and D. x grandis are probably

still present here as previously. In rather drier areas we noted

Euphrasia cf. nemorosa Eyebright and Ononis repens

Restharrow. The latter seems to have spread down off the

mineral line where we recorded it in 2006. There is quite anextensive seasonal pond at circa SK033047 which seems now to

be totally infested with Crassula helmsii New Zealand

Pigmyweed, which also extends as a dominant almost wherever

there has been standing shallow open water in the pasture.

We moved westwards on to the main coal spoil tip at SK032046

and found Aira praecox Early Hair-grass, Aira caryophyllea Silver

Hair-grass and Nardus stricta Mat-grass as in 2006. We also

note both rosettiform and leafy-stemmed Hieracium spp.

There is still much open vegetation on this spoil tip, presumablykept open by drought and nutrient poverty.

Asplenium trichomanes Maidenhair Spleenwort

Crassula helmsii New Zealand Pigmyweed


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Beyond the spoil tip we headed south towards the second,

lower mineral line which (we think) forms the southern

boundary of the SSSI.

The damp pasture between the spoil tip and the southern

mineral line at circa SK031044 had Hypericum tetrapterum

Square-stemmed St. John’s-wort, Carex nigra Common Sedgeand Epilobium palustre Marsh Willowherb, an over-recorded

species but its long, narrow, linear-lanceolate, nearly sessile

leaves and its nodding flowers were conclusive here. The

mineral line still bears Viburnum opulus Guelder-rose, but at

least some of the Rosa Rose plants present had glandular fruit-

stalks and slightly hairy leaves and we thought that they were

Rosa canina x R. rubiginosa the hybrid between Dog-rose and

Sweet-briar.

The main subsidence pool lies alongside the mineral line and

still has a dense (possibly denser than in 2006) reedswamp with

much Schoenoplectus lacustris Common Club-rush.

We looked for Oenanthe fistulosa but found none. The tall

swamp vegetation now comes right up to the bank of the

mineral line where there is a lot of Crassula helmsii although

we did also see Achillea ptarmica Sneezewort, Caltha palustris

Marsh-marigold and, much to my surprise, an abundance of

Bidens cernua Nodding Bur-marigold, last seen at this site in

1986. In 2006 we only saw Bidens tripartita Trifid Bur-marigold,

which we did not see in 2015.

The pool tails off at the eastern end into a ditch, which was

where I saw most of the Oenanthe fistulosa in the 1980s. Again

there was none to be seen in 2015 although the vegetation is

quite diverse.

Jane and I quartered the extensive pasture east of the pool

looking for the site’s principal pasture rar ity Cirsium dissectum

Meadow Thistle, but in 2015 we found only a single patch,

about 20 metres across, at SK03710464. In 2006 we recorded itin several patches as far south as SK03600448. In 2015, as in

2006, we also noted much Succisa pratensis Devil’s-bit

Scabious, Comarum palustris Marsh Cinquefoil and Sanguisorba

officinalis Great Burnet, also much Agrostis canina Velvet Bent.

However the pasture as a whole is a little undergrazed with

much Juncus effusus Soft-rush and Juncus acutiflorus Sharp-

flowered Rush.

Meanwhile Mike and Yoke scoured the pool margin but did not

find O. fistulosa. They did however get a good haul of

uncommon species: Hippuris vulgaris Mare’s-tail, Equisetum fluviatile Water Horsetail, Rorippa amphibia Great Yellow-cress,

Veronica catenata Pink Water-speedwell (with its fruits swollen

with a weevil Gymnetron villosulum) and Silene flos-cuculi

Ragged-Robin.

Viburnum opulus Guelder-rose

Bidens cernua Nodding Bur-marigold

Veronica catenata Pink Water-speedwell

(with its fruits swollen with a weevil Gymnetron villosulum)


9/26


There was much Crassula helmsii , which has maybe taken over

the bare draw-down zone where Oenanthe fistulosa might well

have to establish itself from seed. Several other important

axiophyte plants from this zone which were present in 2006

were not seen: Lythrum portula Water-purslane, Triglochin

palustris Marsh Arrow-grass and Veronica scutellata Marsh

Speedwell. This is quite worrying, although still present were

Myriophyllum spicatum Spiked Water-milfoil and, with a few

flowers, Ranunculus peltatus Pond Water-crowfoot,

distinguished from Ranunculus aquatilis Common Water-

crowfoot by its larger flowers with more overlapping petals

with pear-shaped nectar pits and slightly less divided laminar

leaves. Particularly striking were huge stands of flowering

Succisa pratensis and many fruiting spikes of Dactylorhiza.

One key plant in the reedswamp of the main pool is the

Cyperus –like Bolboschoenus. This has been identified as

Bolboschoenus maritimus Sea Club-rush, which is the only

species of the genus mentioned in Stace. However in the new

Shropshire Flora a similar plant at two sites is named as

Bolboschoenus laticarpus. Using a key by Hroudova et al.

(2007), on the basis of perianth bristles being persistent in fruit,

a fruit quite strongly triangular in cross-section and a smooth

and shiny fruit coat rather than one with a highly visible

polygonal network as is found in B. maritimus, the plant at

Clayhanger is probably B. laticarpus, but I will have to get an

expert opinion.

We did not have time to do much more and headed diagonally

across the mire to the entrance bridge, where in 2006 we saw

much Lythrum portula; this time we saw only Crassula helmsii

in suitable hollows. We were too late to do the sedges properly

but saw Carex nigra Common Sedge, Carex flacca Glaucous

Sedge, and were able to add Carex demissa and Carex panicea

to the 2006 list, due to late second flowering.

We also noted a area of drier, spoily pasture at circa SK036045

with much Centaurea erythraea Common Centaury and

Leontodon saxatilis Lesser Hawkbit, also the waxcap Hygrocybe

conica, Blackening Waxcap.

Mike photographed a Dragonfly which was later confirmed by

Richard Orton as Aeshna mixta Migrant Hawker. He also

recorded the fungus Bolbitius titulus (=Bolbitius vitellinus)

Yellow Fieldcap on and around dung in the pastures. Those of

us who had not seen the site before were rather taken aback by

its botanical richness despite the excess Crassula.

We did not have time to go under the second bridge and look

at the wetland between the main mineral line and the A4124,

nor did we look at the pools area south of the SSSI, which had

been recently constructed in 2006. We hardly touched the

northern half (or two thirds) of the site and think that this

whole area ought to be subjected to a much more thorough

and detailed survey.

Ian Trueman

Aeshna mixta Migrant Hawker

Bolboschoenus maritimus/laticarpus Sea Club-rush


10/26


2015 - The first season of recording

1. Wednesday 25th

March

We held our first field meeting at Sutton Park on this day. It

was well attended, although Westwood Coppice proved less

than exciting. There were some areas of native Hyacinthoides

non-scripta Bluebell along the perimeter path and a few small,

non-flowering shrubs of Prunus cerasifera Cherry Plum - the

latter of which we suspected are bird-sown. The woods are a

plantation mostly of Oak (we will have to decide which when

we have leaves!) and pine - Pinus sylvestris AND Pinus

nigra. The latter seemed mostly to be the very long, pale

leaved Pinus nigra subsp. laricio Corsican Pine , although we

thought a little of the shorter-, darker-leaved Austrian Pine

subsp. nigra was present, also one rather beautiful Pinus

pinaster Maritime Pine - we didn't really get even any fresh

leaves of this, but John and Monika Walton looked at the cones

and checked out the rather elderly fallen leaves against

Poland. There is very little field layer - some old thinnings have

generated (in SP0895 NE) some bramble patches including

what appears to be a very vigorous completely thornless plant

which we must look at again later in the season.

Rather more interesting than Westwood Coppice was the large

scrape in SP0896SE, created last year where there had been a

sewage spill. There is a lot of re-colonisation, and we expect

some new records, but it was too early to get a full

list. However there was quite a lot of a water-crowfoot, most

of which was clearly Ranunculus omiophyllus Round-leaved

Crowfoot which even had a few flowers, small (petals mostly 5-

6 mm) but nothing like as small as in Ranunculus hederaceus

Ivy-leaved Crowfoot where petals are typically 2.5 - 3.5 mm

long. This is a good record - omiophyllus just about hangs on in

the roadside ditch by the Banner's Gate car park and has

reappeared in quantity across the path from Little Bracebridge

pool following the introduction of the ponies, but we

SUTTON PARK FLORAwere in danger of losing it in the Park before that at its only

recent station in B&BC.

We returned to Banner's Gate and survivors went to look for

the winter-annual Cerastium semidecandrum Little Mouse-ear

in the fairly open grassland SE of Longmoor Pool, but the

season is not very well advanced and we could only find

possible leaf rosettes. Danny Squire pointed out a quarried

area by the road which will be worth looking at a little

later. We 'admired' a VERY prickly-leaved Sitka Spruce in that

area. Paul Reade pointed out a plant of Asplenium trichomanes

Maidenhair Spleenwort on the bridge below Longmoor Pool -

this is a newcomer to the Park, only recently recorded on one

of the railway bridges. Nearby was a population of one of the

broad-, green-leaved Snowdrops, which Paul later identified as

Galanthus woronowii Green Snowdrop.

We were also pleased to see a little lichens sub-group sprang

up and started work with us on the 25th!

2. Tuesday 7th April 2015

From the car park at Four Oaks Gate (where there was a single

plant of Iris foetidissima Stinking Iris) we headed west across

two quarter monads (SP1098NE, SP1098NW, despite ICT

getting very confused about which ones we were in), across

woodland with extremely poor field layers, poorer even than

Westwood Coppice. Although there were occasional patches of

bryophytes, no native Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell was

seen. The woods are mainly Oak (probably including Sessile orHybrid Oak) with Birch (as much Downy as Silver Birch). Even

Brambles and Bracken were mainly confined to the margins of

clearings. Only Dryopteris dilatata Broad Buckler-fern and,

rarely, Deschampsia flexuosa Wavy Hairgrass seemed able tocope.


11/26


These woods also included abundant and extensive wet

patches, equally barren and pretty disturbed, although a little

vegetation appeared in clearings, and included one or two

slightly better species such as Ficaria verna subsp. fertilis Lesser

Celandine.

In SP1098NW we hit a huge open area, where massive amounts

of Gorse has been removed (mostly Ulex europaeus Common

Gorse, from the remnants which were flowering), with a

mountain of debris still awaiting removal. The result is quite

promising, with considerable young Calluna vulgaris Heather,

some Ulex gallii Western Gorse, Carex pilulifera Pill Sedge etc,

but also much Bramble and young Birch.

From SP1098NW we headed south into SP1098SW into

woodland much more clearly mature plantation, with Larch,

Spruce, Scots and Black Pine, also Tsuga heterophylla Western

Hemlock-spruce, of which only Picea abies Spruce appeared tobe regenerating from seed. The field layer was no less (or

more!) devoid of a field layer. Eventually we approached the

northeast corner of Bracebridge Pool in SP 0998SE and enjoyed

the richer poolside vegetation, but postponed detailed listing

until later in the season. Once again we found both Ranunculus

hederaceus and R. omiophyllus, respectively Ivy-leaved and

Round-leaved Water-Crowfoots, both in flower. We followed

the path back into plantation along the eastern side of the pool,

noting the odd plant of Hard Fern Blechnum spicant in the

incised drainage ditches in SP0998SE, and a gigantic-leaved and

–flowered Caltha palustris which looked distinctly

domesticated in the edge of Bracebridge Pool when we briefly

moved back through SP1098SE.

After a few lingering glances at the refreshments on offer at the

Boathouse Restaurant we paid our respects to the Druid’s Well

and investigated the shallow-soiled banks around the car park,where there is much Parsley-piert (known to be Aphanes

australis Slender Parsley-piert from a previous visit).

In the sandy banks to the north of the road by the car park

there was the basis of a U1 Festuca ovina – Agrostis capillaris-

Rumex acetosella grassland, where at last we found quite an

amount of Cerastium semidecandrum Early Mouse-ear in

flower, easily recognised from the combination of glandular

hairs and bracts with scarious tips. There was also material of

the larger, darker Cerastium glomeratum Sticky Mouse-ear,also glandular but without the scarious bracts.

We then plunged north back into the woodland, which was

dominated by Birch, suggesting degenerate heath. Danny

suggested that the birch came in after fires had destroyed the

heath here in 1976. Eventually we struck (or rather squelched

into) the Gum Slade path, lined by many beautiful mature

oaks, spared in the last major timber extraction early in the

20th C due to not then being considered worth felling. The

field layer continued very poor. We were shown the levelled

area which is all that remains of the Mayor’s Arbour, at justabout the highest elevation in the park and once with

incredible views but now surrounded by tall Holly and Birch.

3. Thursday 16th April 2015

Eight of us explored Streetly Wood and its environs, starting

from Streetly Lodge (SP0898SE). In fact the Lodge is outside

Streetly Wood, as defined by the deer fence banks pointed out

by Danny. Nevertheless we found the odd patch of Circaea

lutetiana Enchanter’s Nightshade, which is sometimes an old

woodland species but often something of a weed, close by the

car park but also deeper into the wood.

Generally there is the usual vast excess of Ilex aquifolia Holly

under the Oaks and Birches (both Birches), with a few Acer

pseudoplatanus Sycamore etc, and we saw also a cluster of

Apples, mostly sufficiently hairy to be classified with Malus

pumila but at least one sufficiently hairless and rather spiny as

to suggest Malus sylvestris. Around the car park, we also found

a plant or two of Veronica hederifolia, we thought subsp.

hederifolia, Ivy-leaved Speedwell - this is apparently an unusual

record for the Park! We were also slightly surprised to see

how, despite the usual barrenness of the field layer, the odd

plant of Vaccinium myrtillus Bilberry gets well into the

woodland.

We moved east as far as the railway and then south, where

some scrub has been removed from the edge of the wood and

where Calluna vulgaris Heather grows and Molinia

caerulea Purple Moor-grass is already starting to green up,

even though we are still in early spring. We plunged back into

the wood: Danny pointed out the signs of the Roman Road and

we crossed the extant road as far as the Golf Course margin

without seeing much of significance.

Ranunculus omiophyllus Round-leaved Water-crowfoot

(near Little Bracebridge Pool)


12/26


Along the road, there was quite a bit of Hyacinthoides non-

scripta Bluebell in the edges of the clearings, along with some

aliens such as a probable neophyte Hypericum. We felt the lack

of Mike Poulton and must identify it later! Lucy Bastin had

emailed to say that we might still find the elusive Melampyrum

pratense Common Cow-Wheat around these clearings; none

was seen but it might have been too early for this

annual. Danny tried to find a single specimen of Corylusavellana Hazel, which is known from this area and is

remarkably rare in the Park but we must have missed it.

Eventually we emerged westwards from Streetly Wood into

SP0998SW and into quite a fine mire, with Eriophorum

vaginatum Hare’s-foot Cottongrass as well as Eriophorum

angustifolium Common Cottongrass and two distinct patches of

Vaccinium oxycoccos Cranberry, not to mention Erica tetralix

Cross-leaved Heath etc. We must explore this mire in summer

but it was well worth a visit even so early. We saw Small

Tortoiseshell and Peacock Butterflies, Honey Bees and Drinker

Caterpillars. And a frog! We returned along the railway margin – much planted with Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine and busy with

goods trains.

4. Wednesday 22nd April 2015

This expedition started from the Blackroot Bistro, offering the

possibility of bacon butties and other delights. We headed up

the eastern side and then the northern sides of Blackroot Pool

in SP1097SE with little to see along the banks planted with

Black and Scots Pines, except for a patch of what appeared to

be Stellaria pallida Lesser Chickweed on steep bank under

pines. Yellow-green, already in fruit, but with a few flowers.

Later the flowers proved to have 0 petals and 1 stamen, the

calyx was up to up to 3.5 mm in fruit, smaller in flower. Seeds

from one capsule circa 0.9 mm in length.

Somewhat disturbed by the considerable amount of traffic on

the railway line to our left, we suddenly started to glimpse

white flowers through the trees to our right. We descended

into a perfect Alnus glutinosa Alder carr which has developed

on a miniature delta which has formed where the Blackroot

stream enters the pool. It was full of Anemone nemorosa

Wood Anemone in full flower, but there was also the large

yellow flowers of Caltha palustris Marsh Marigold, Athyrium

filix-femina Lady-fern, still completely without green leaves,

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium Opposite-leaved Golden-

saxifrage, Valeriana dioica Marsh Valerian, Carex paniculata

Greater Tussock-sedge and a shrub understory of Viburnum

opulus Guelder-rose.

Moving away from the lake, the vegetation seemed to become

less base-enriched and a Sphagnum lawn with much Purple

Moor-grass developed, with much more Betula pubescens

Downy Birch in the canopy.

A Horsetail, almost certainly all the hybrid Equisitum x litorale

Shore Horsetail previously recorded all along this stream, was

starting to grow and will later be prominent.

Eventually we were able to cross the stream and headed west

across heathland in SP1097SW. First we had lunch in the

woodland margin and were able to familiarise ourselves with

Carex nigra Common Sedge, with its terminal male spike, andits lateral female spikes made up of flowers each with TWO

stigmas, which divides the small nigra group from the rest of

this type of sedge (subgenus Carex) in which the female flowers

have THREE stigmas. In the other type of sedge (subgenus

Vignea) as in Carex paniculata, the male and female flowers are

intimately mixed in a branched inflorescence and the female

flowers ALWAYS have two stigmas. We also noted several

plants of Blechnum spicant Hard-fern in the northwest-facing

stream banks.

Crossing the heath, the vegetation included acid mire to the

north with Erica tetralix Cross-leaved Heath, bothCottongrasses Eriophorum angustifolium and vaginatum, and

an abundance of berries: Vaccinium myrtillus Bilberry, V. vitis-

idaea Cowberry, V. oxycoccos Cranberry and Empetrum nigrum

Crowberry. The Cranberries were ripe enough to sample -

pretty tart but quite pleasing! Tell me where else you would

find this richness in the English midlands!

Further west we crossed the bank delimiting Upper Nut Hurst,

which proved to be the usual Oak woodland with a denseunderstory of Ilex aquifolium Holly. One or two clearings had

allowed something of a grassy field layer to develop in places,

but there was also much planted Larix decidua Larch and the

occasional Picea abies Spruce.

We eventually moved south and east back into SP1097SE and

followed the western shoreline of Blackroot Pool. Mostly this

seemed transitional between the two types of wet woodland at

the northern end, but a bit more trampled by anglers and quite

treacherously swampy in places. Ian was of the opinion that

the slightly blue-green little sedge here was Carex canescens

White Sedge which is also known from Bracebridge Pool.

Eriophorum vaginatum

Hare’s-tail Cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium

Common Cottongrass


13/26


Later its clusters of neat little pale spikes will allow a definite

identification. Stace describes this plant as ‘absent from most

of central England’.

We finished by crossing the dam at the southern end of the

pool. Much timber has been felled here to protect the dam,

which has allowed Caltha palustris Marsh Marigold to flower

profusely but we also noted several weedy plants including the

seedlings of Impatiens glandulifera Indian Balsam. Matthew

valiantly pulled quite a few up and it must be a priority to clear

this later since it threatens the wet woodland to the north of

the pool.

5. Thursday 14th May 2015

This was forecast to be a very wet day and although perhaps

not VERY wet it was wet enough to curtail activity. Our party ofeight decided to explore the woodland beyond the railway from

Blackroot Pool.

In SP1097SE, from the car park we headed east across an

unpromising-looking piece of grassland which proved to be a

very unspoilt patch of Nardus stricta Matgrass acid grassland

(U5 Nardus stricta – Galium saxatile grassland in the National

vegetation classification) with Juncus squarrosus Heath Rush,

Galium saxatile Heath Bedstraw and several grasses just

starting to flower including Festuca filiformis Fine-leaved

Sheep’s-fescue, a species distinct from Festuca ovina Sheep’s-

fescue, with finer leaves and spikelets (flower clusters) smallerand almost or quite without awns. This seems to replace

Festuca ovina in the park. Also Poa humilis Spreading Meadow-

grass, distinguished from Poa pratensis Smooth Meadow-grass

by its fine hairs where the leaf blade meets the sheath and with

both glumes of the spikelet with three nerves. The new BSBI

Grasses Flora (Cope & Gray) says that the fundamental

difference is that humilis has culms often solitary at the nodes

of the rhizome and only 1-3 branches at the lowest node of the

panicle. There was much Luzula campestris Field Wood-rush

AND the less common Luzula multiflora Heath Wood-rush, a

larger plant in which the filaments of the stamens are up to

twice as long as the anthers (more than twice as long in L.campestris). There were also large dense patches of the

handsome sedge Carex binervis Green-ribbed Sedge, which

specialises in heaths in places going from wet to dry. The dead

part of its leaves are a very characteristic russet-brown.

Most of this heath is actually in SP1197SW and we must look at

it again later in the season.

Eventually we hit an area of Oak-Birch-Holly woodland, in

places a bit richer in the field layer than some we have seen,

with quite a bit of Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell but more

of H. x massartiana, the hybrid of H. non-scripta with H.

hispanica Spanish Bluebell.

Compared with the native Bluebell, the hybrid H. x massartiana

has broader leaves, a less one-sided and more erect

inflorescence and flowers in which the ‘bell’ opens grad ually

into the free parts of the petals. In the native H. non-scripta

the leaves are narrower, the inflorescence is one-sided and the

flower more nodding and with a more tubular form with the

free parts more recurved.

There is a track running between the heath with an interesting-

looking Dandelion in which none of the exterior flower bracts

are re-curved as they are in most of the common

species. There was also some patches of bare, sandy and

gravelly banks with Plantago coronopus Buck’s-horn Plantain

and a few plants of Cerastium semidecandrum Little Mouse-

ear.

We then crossed the railway bridge, which had several

Asplenium scolopendrium Hart’s-tongue growing from the

mortar on the one side and followed the road in the edge ofthe park with a smattering of non-native species to the east

including a huge patch of the alien Lamiastrum galeobdolon

subsp. argentatum, Yellow Archangel with its prominent white

patches on most leaves, and an impenetrable thicket to the

west.

This track eventually joins the road which leads from Blackroot

Road back to the car park; we followed this (avoiding the cars)

and saw more aliens and some nice mossy banks and then

turned north at the next junction back into SP1097SE along the

metalled road which runs for more than a kilometre along the

eastern margin of the park. There are many intriguing areas ofwet woodland along this road, mostly with Birch and Salix

cinerea Sallow and Salix caprea x cinerea (the latter lacked the

strong ridges under the bark of second-year twigs found in S.

cinerea) and a little Alnus glutinosa Alder.

We got as far as SP1097NE along this road, and noted Primula

vulgaris Primrose in both quarter tetrads. This has not been

recorded in the Park since Bagnall’s days and we could not

decide whether it is re-colonising from the gardens of the

adjacent houses beyond the Park wall. Some of the more

intrepid among us penetrated deeper into these wet

woodlands and found more Primrose, also much Chryospleniumoppositifolium Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage, what

appeared to be the same Equisetum x litorale we found the

other side of the railway, big patches of Hydrocotyle vulgaris

Marsh Pennywort and a large sedge, not large enough to be

Carex pendula Pendulous Sedge, which we were hopeful would

turn out to be Carex strigosa Thin-spiked Wood-sedge, an

ancient woodland indicator and not previously recorded in the

Park. We agreed that these undrained areas are potentially

slightly hazardous and made the rule they should not be visited

alone.

By this time we were cold and wet and decided to continuefrom this point on our next visit.


14/26


6. Tuesday 19th May 2015

Another wet day with a smaller team: Mike, Jane, David &

Ian. We started in SP1097NE and re-examined the sedge in the

mire by the metalled road. Mike had had a look at a specimen

we collected last time and we were now much less sure it was

Carex strigosa. Both Ian and Mike took further samples but in

the end we have decided we must wait until the fruits mature.

Here quite a large area of wooded mire stretches along the side

of the road and 100 m or more into the wood. Thinnish Birch

(both spp.), Willow (mainly Salix cinerea Grey Willow) and Alnus

glutinosa Alder. The flora was rich – we added Athyrium filix-

femina Lady Fern, three times-pinnate, translucent leaf stalks

and generally fragile appearance at this time of year, a good

range of old habitat flowers such as Angelica sylvestris Wild

Angelica, Caltha palustris Marsh-marigold, Comarum palustre

Marsh Cinquefoil, Galium palustre Common Marsh-bedstraw,

Lysimachia nemorum Yellow Pimpernel, Menyanthes trifoliata

Bogbean; Ranunculus flammula Lesser Spearwort, Silene flos-

cuculi Ragged-Robin, Stellaria alsine Bog Stitchwort, Succisa

pratensis Devil’s-bit Scabious and Viola palustris Marsh Violet,

the uncommon shrub Frangula alnus Alder Buckthorn.

A delightful place but you need agility and good wellies! Carex

nigra, Common Sedge was now in full flower and the two white

stigmas in each female floret are very clear (three in most

similar sedges). In some wooded areas Molinia caerulea Purple

Moor-grass: is currently showing small round tussocks of broad

bright pale green leaves, surrounded by the white dead bases

of last year’s leaves. All this is really mostly just to mention the

axiophytes, but also a few aliens penetrate the mire, incuding

scattered Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora Montbretia (even in the

wet) and one plant each of the shrubby Cotoneaster rehderi

Bullate Cotoneaster and Fagus sylvatica Purpurea Copper

Beech (both not obviously planted). Eventually our way was

barred by a fence to confine the ponies. Beyond that, an

existing clearing had had much encroaching scrub removed and

had been quite closely grazed by the ponies.

This area must be looked at again in summer: it was too soon to

do the grasses properly, but in some slightly poached areas the

fine-leaved, sprawling Agrostis canina (fairly long, triangular

pointed ligule) were mixed with the coarser less-

branched stolons of the commoner Agrostis stolonifera (long

blunt ligule).

We noted a small Carex pilulifera Pill Sedge with downy utricles

and a distinct notched beak as we moved west on to a dry ridge

(an earthwork, known as the ‘ancient encampment’), planted

with Pinus nigra and much colonised by Betula pendula. Here a

simple heathland with much Calluna vulgaris Heather

predominated and we passed into SP1097NW, where we found

the little winter annual Aira praecox Early Hair-grass and many

non-spiny Ulex gallii Western Gorse seedlings in amongst the

Heather on the south west slopes.

Further west we descended to the railway margin where there

were further mires with Juncus acutiflorus Sharp-flowered Rush

(unlike Soft-rush, it has true leaves which are hollow and have

tranverse septae at intervals. It is larger, taller, more erect and

forms more continuous stands than the similar Juncus

articulatus Jointed Rush), more Viola palustris in flower, and

another unidentified sedge like a very narrow-leaved Carex

acutiformis Lesser Pond-sedge which must also be investigated

when in fruit. There was some pretty clear Hedera helix subsp.

hibernica Irish Ivy on the railway bank but out of reach. We

then entered the well-known mire at Pool Hollies, once

renowned for much Drosera rotundifolia Round-leaved

Sundew, but recently almost bereft of it. We saw none, but

may be too early. We found Juncus bulbosus Bulbous Rush in

flower and located the well-known patch of Vaccinium

oxycoccus Cranberry. We were far too early for a full survey and

must return. At the north west end this site is bounded by a

considerable stream, and we noted Caltha palustris, Mentha

aquatica and a large expanse of Menyanthes trifoliata in flower

and more Comarum palustre and also Equisetum palustre

Marsh Horsetail (in which the central hollow in the stem is

much smaller than the surrounding ring of hollows as well as

the Equisetum x litorale Shore Horsetail with its large central

hollow and quite easily collapsible stems which we had been

seeing all day.

Aira praecox Early Hair-grass

Equisetum x litorale Shore Horsetail


15/26


We had collected several pieces of this to make sure it was all

the hybrid and none was Equisetum fluviatile Water Horsetail

and will report back on this later . We would have liked to

follow this stream further into the woodland but time was

pressing and we decided to retrace our steps a little, cross

under the railway and follow the track on the north side of the

pool back to Blackroot Pool and the car park.

7. Saturday 30th May 2015

Seven of us started from the car park above the Boathouse

Restaurant. We had another look at the sandy banks across the

road from the car park where we found Cerastium

semidecandrum Little Mouse-ear. By now the annual grasses

Aira praecox Early Hair-grass and Vulpia bromoides Squirreltail

Fescue were in flower and we were able to confirm Aphanes

australis Slender Parsley-piert. We were particularly pleased tofind some tiny plants of Filago minima Small Cudweed, first

seen by us in 2005 and last seen here by Brian Laney in

2010. We crossed the road and walked down across the heath

towards the railway. There were some signs of scrub clearance

here in recent years and we saw most of the common

heathland plants including Danthonia decumbens Heath-grass.

Several moths were easily disturbed in the Bracken. Mike later

identified photographs as Petrophora chlorosata Brown Silver-

line, whose caterpillar food is Bracken.

At the railway we skirted the well-known Drosera rotundifolia

Round-leaved Sundew mire which we investigated lastweek. Again we failed to find any Drosera, but the Vaccinium

oxycoccus Cranberry was now in full flower.

We crossed the stream and found ourselves in quite an

extensive area of deeply shaded mire, with many drainage

channels cut towards the stream well in the past. It was

reasonably species-rich although we didn’t see a lot new. We

then followed the stream back to the boathouse and the

Bracebridge Pool dam. We proceeded clockwise around the

pool from here, where we saw quite a few youngish

Whitebeam Sorbus saplings which we thought were probably

the Sorbus eminens found mainly the other side of the

Boathouse although these were clearly not old, planted

trees. There was also a small sapling of Lime Tilia x vulgaris

under a bench. None of us remember seeing this except as a

planted tree. It won’t survive for long where it has sprung

up! We didn’t see any possible mother tree either.

We spent a little time examining the railway bridge flora at

SP099978 and saw the three plants of Asplenium trichomanes

Maidenhair Spleenwort which Peter Coxhead found last year

and the masses of Oxalis acetosella Wood-sorrel huddled at the

base of the bridge walls and nowhere to be found in its rightful

place in the wood! However mostly we examined the lake

margin flora, with its reedswamp full of flowering Menyanthes

trifoliata Bogbean with its usual accomplice of Comarum

palustre Marsh Cinquefoil. The swamp was strongly dominated

by the alien Acorus calamus Sweet-flag with its characteristic

leaves very much like those of Iris but paler green and with a

distinctive crimping of parts of the leaf margin.

However there was also plenty of Carex paniculata Greater

Tussock-sedge tussocks and stands of Typha angustifolia Lesser

Bulrush, Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris and Equisetum fluviatile

Water Horsetail (with an even larger central canal and much

less well-developed whorls of branches than the E. x litorale

down by the railway), also some small patches of Ranunculus

lingua Greater Spearwort which is so common on Little

Bracebridge Pool.

We only found one or two patches of the Utricularia

Bladderwort which floats between these plants around

Bracebridge Pool and one patch of Carex rostrata Bottle

Sedge. Most interesting were the wooded mires just inland

from the reedswamps: dominated by Sphagna and quite

treacherous underfoot. They were noted for considerable

amounts of Carex canescens White Sedge , now very scarce in

central England and now far enough into flower to be beginning

to be satisfactorily identifiable. At the northwest end of the

pool these areas become much more extensive and richer in

species. There was much Valeriana dioica Marsh Valerian still

in flower, many sedges and Dactylorhiza Spotted-orchids still

not identifiable to species, fertile Equisetum palustre Marsh

Horsetail and large stands of Anagallis tenella Bog

Pimpernel. We rejoined the path, just where it joins the main

path from the railway bridge to Little Bracebridge Pool and we

will continue from this point at a future visit.

7. Tuesday 9th

June 2015

Just five of us this time – hope we are not wearing people out!

– set out around the northern edges of the Bracebridge pools.

We parked west of the railway line, and crossing the railwaybridge we noticed a striking specimen of the fungus Laetiporus

sulphurous Chicken of the Woods on a standing dead tree.

Carex paniculata Greater Tussock-sedge


16/26


We finished exploring the wet woodland west of Bracebridge

Pool, eventually emerging south of Little Bracebridge, where

the Menyanthes trifoliata Bogbean was still flowering and the

sedges such as Carex echinata Star Sedge are starting to flower.

The Carex canescens White Sedge, found last time all along the

western side of Bracebridge Pool, reaches as far as the Crassula

helmsii New Zealand Pigmyweed-infested margin of LittleBracebridge. Silene flos-cuculi Ragged-Robin was starting to

flower on the north shore and also the uncommon Veronica

scutellata Marsh Speedwell.

Throughout this area there was much incontrovertible

Dryopteris carthusiana Narrow Buckler-fern. Compared with

the much commoner Dryopteris dilatata Broad Buckler-fern, D.

carthusiana has narrower, paler fronds with completely pale

scales and clusters of shoots borne on a branched rhizome

rather than a single large ‘shuttlecock’. We have been seeing

many specimens with a bit of a mixture of these characteristicsand we need to collect material with developed sporangia,

since the hybrid between the two is not uncommon and pretty

sterile with poorly developed spores.

We decided not to enter the wonderful mire by Little

Bracebridge – we think we have recorded it very well already –

and spent some time examining the triangle of wetland

between the railway line and the paths from the bridge and the

tunnel. This had become dominated by willows which have

been kept cut back in recent years. The willows are a motley

crew – we thought that apart from Salix cinerea, both Salix

aurita and Salix purpurea were represented, at least as hybrids,

but it is quite difficult to identify suckering willows.

This area is clearly the stronghold of Myosotis secunda

Creeping Forget-me-not, quite different from the Myosotis laxa

Tufted Forget-me-not, which has a population within the

Bogbean stands of Little Bracebridge Pool.

M. secunda has spreading hairs all the way up its stems (only

adpressed ones in M. laxa) and the flowers are distinctly larger

(not however as large as those of M. scorpioides Water Forget-

me-not) and a different shade of blue. M. secunda is in most of

the ditches in the triangle. We didn’t find it anywhere else in

the Park in the Flora survey (Readett had it only in SP1096, but

‘frequent’ there), nor did we record it anywhere else inBirmingham and the Black Country and it is largely absent from

the east midlands.

After lunch we entered the wet woodland north of Little

Bracebridge Pool and attempted to find our way through it to

Bracebridge Pool. There is what appears to be a canal

connecting the two pools, and adjacent to this is a wide zone of

Alder/Birch woodland with an understory of Carex paniculata

Greater Tussock-sedge set in more-or-less continuous

Sphagnum lawns with Carex canescens.

Very beautiful, but difficult to traverse. Never come in here (or

into any of the lake margin mires) alone!

Away from the ‘canal’ the tussocks thin out and a more varied

vegetation, with patches of Filipendula ulmaria Meadowsweet,

Juncus bulbosus Bulbous Rush and dense patches of Viburnum

opulus Guelder-rose seedlings (but no adults?), crossed bynumerous trickles (some with extensive iron bacteria) and, alas,

a HUGE patch of Impatiens glandulifera Indian Balsam. It may

just be controllable but another season will probably make it

ineradicable and likely to spread throughout the mires.

We found our way to the lake margin reedswamp, which is as

elsewhere on the lake but with oodles of Carex canescens and

quite extensive Carex rostrata Bottle Sedge. Close by the track

and the ‘beach’ there is a nice flush with Potamogeton

polygonifolius Bog Pondweed. The patch of Ranunculus

omiophyllus near the seat could not be found this time, butthere was still plenty of Ranunculus hederaceus and also

several plants of Myosotis secunda, so that is still in at least two

Carex canescens White Sedge

Myosotis secunda Creeping Forget-me-not


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different sites in the 1 km square. We revisited the gigantic

Caltha palustris Marsh-marigold by the lake and Mike took

some photographs. We made a few records of ruderals on the

dam, crossed the railway by the Oxalis acetosella, then crossed

the first unimproved acid grassland, then the ploughed

grassland back, past graceful black cattle, to where we could

see our cars.

9. Monday 15th

June 2015

Just Ian and Mike this time. We spent some time trying to find

the fern Adder’s-tongue which Brian Laney found in the area of

grassland at SP0934397876, but to no avail. A hard plant to

spot and already well grazed this year. We then covered the

area between Streetly Wood and the railway line – this includes

a lot of fragments of squares and we also wanted to check theCotton Grass/Cranberry mire which we recorded on 16

th April

for sedges, but we didn’t add a lot. We then re-checked the

clearings along the metalled road for Melampyrum pratense

Common Cow-Wheat, but it is still elusive. Mike confirms that

the big St John’s-wort Hypericum we found in one of the

clearings on 16th

April is not H. androsaemum Tutsan but needs

flowers for a definite identification.

From there we went under the railway through the tunnel

which emerges by Little Bracebridge Pool. Just to the

southwest of this tunnel is quite a nice little mire with someCarex paniculata Greater Tussock-sedge tussocks and more

probable hybrid Horsetail Equisetum x litorale. There was a

single spore cone which we took to check for spore viability,

which turned out to be fully fertile, so here there is obviously E.

fluviatile. Just through the tunnel we climbed on to a high

mound of what must be railway spoil to the left of the path. It

was planted with a range of now mature trees including Tilia x

vulgaris Lime.

At the far end we descended into a large area of mire, which is

the continuation of the mire by Little Bracebridge Pool. Notquite as good as that, it nevertheless contained large

populations of many of the choice species found there, such as

Pedicularis palustris Marsh Lousewort, Anagallis tenella Bog

Pimpernel, Valeriana dioica Marsh Valerian and a good range of

sedges, although we did not see Carex hostiana Tawny Sedge

nor Pinguicula vulgaris Butterwort. Probably most significant is

the extent of the Cirsium dissectum Meadow Thistle

population. Also there was so much Devil’s-bit Scabious

present, that it will look splendid later on if the ponies allow it

to flower. We also found an area with many little mounds –

possibly originally grazed tussocks of Molinia caerulea Purple

Moor-grass or even ant hills (probably too wet for the latter),

most of which were covered in dense stands of Scutellaria

minor Lesser Skullcap, and we were impressed to find that we

were at the exact grid reference for this species given by Brian

Laney, who noted how rare it is in v.c. Warwickshire when he

found it.

Although this mire area has developed quite a lot of scrub it is

still very special and extends the tiny special area west of Little

Bracebridge Pool a further 200 metres west. This is a very

significantly large area of high quality mire! In the other

direction it extends well down the western flank of Bracebridge

Pool. Although the ponies were much in evidence, this area is

much more difficult of access and much less visited by people

than the area by the pool with Carex dioica Dioecious Sedge

and Pinguicula vulgaris Butterwort.

On our way back, a Blechnum spicant Hard Fern was discovered

on the bank of the stream and as we passed by Little

Bracebridge Pool we noted that the Campanula tracheliumNettle-leaved Bellflower is still growing out of the bridge

concrete at it was ten years ago. We also noted more Myosotis

secunda Creeping Forget-me-not and flowering stands of

Nasturtium sp. Watercress; no seed seemed to be developing in

the latter: probably this is the hybrid N. x sterile. It took us

some time to find Montia fontana Blinks in the stream – it

seems to be getting scarce.

10. Wednesday 1

st

July 2015

Six of us assembled in the Blackroot Bistro car park, and after

the traditional bacon butty set out south across the acid

grassland which we crossed from west to east on the 14th May.

Further south it includes areas of scrub as well as grassland and

it is not quite so interesting. We didn’t see any Carex binervis

Green-ribbed Sedge for example, although there was a

reasonable haul of lime-haters such as Calluna vulgaris

Heather, Carex pilulifera Pill Sedge, Luzula multiflora Heath

Wood-rush and even Danthonia decumbens Heath-grass.

When we hit the relevant car park, we headed west in thedirection of Keeper’s Pool and hit an extensive mire north of

the fenced area adjacent to Park House.

This was mostly occupied by a tall herb community, rather less

acid and less nutrient-poor than many we have explored in the

Park, with much Glyceria fluitans Floating Sweet-grass, It was

however quite rich in species, and, noting that we need to

explore the fenced area eventually, we recorded Dactylorhiza

praetermissa Southern Marsh-orchid and Carex pseudocyperus

Cyperus Sedge – one of the larger sedges with leaves 5-12 mm

wide and a characteristic Cyperus-like clustering of the singlemale and long-stalked female spikes. Also, what appeared to

be yet more Equisetum x litorale.


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Further west we reached Keeper’s Pool, which had a modest

submerged aquatic flora, mostly of Potamogeton crispus Curled

Pondweed. There is some wet woodland west of Keeper’s

Pool, mostly pretty impenetrable, and a fairly species-rich mire

with Carex echinata Star Sedge extends quite a way further

west beyond Keeper’s Well. We went further west than we

intended and crossed the usual field-layer-free woodland ofLower Nut Hurst as far as Blackroot Pool before we found our

way back.

Some of us decided to check the sedge in the wet woodland

north of the railway at SP10709753 which we found on 14th

May and thought might be Carex strigosa Thin-spiked Wood-

sedge. Both Mike and I had looked at the early-flowering

specimens on that date and had eventually decided it was most

likely Carex laevigata Smooth-stalked Sedge and this is what it

turned out to be. We had one previous record from the park, a

single depauperate specimen by a ditch further north in the

same area and were very pleased to find much better and more

abundant material. It had been last recorded by Bagnall in

1868 in SP0997 and is otherwise almost unknown in the

midlands east of Birmingham.

11. Tuesday 4th

August 2015

Eleven of us started from Little Bracebridge Pool and re-visited

the pink-flowered Scutellaria minor Lesser Skullcap mire visited

by Mike and Ian on 15th

June which was first refound by Brian

Laney in 2009. It should be noted that Scutellaria galericulata

Skullcap will occasionally throw pink- rather than blue-flowered

forms and pink Skullcaps should be looked at carefully

especially if the habitat is wrong. The flowers are larger, and

the corolla distinctly bent, in S. galericulata. The Scutellaria

minor was abundant and in full flower in the mire at Sutton

Park and looked particularly fine where it completely occupied

a series of small mounds.

This time, these were definitely identified as ant hills by Peter

Coxhead, who secured some specimens which he later

tentatively identified as Myrmica scabrinodis, not recorded in

the Park since the 1904 VCH (and not absolutely certainly from

the Park then). He will ask Steven Falk for a definitive

identification.

This is one of the richer mires of the Park, with much Anagallis

tenella Bog Pimpernel, Carex echinata Star Sedge, Cirsium

dissectum Meadow Thistle, Pedicularis palustris Marsh

Lousewort or Red Rattle, Triglochin palustris Marsh Arrowgrass,

Valeriana dioica Marsh Valerian and Veronica scutellata Marsh

Speedwell (the latter in a dryer place than one usually sees it).

Strangely, no Carex hostiana Tawny Sedge or Carex dioica

Dioecious Sedge, or Pinguicula vulgaris ‘Common’ Butterwort.

We found Scutellaria minor well into the scrub which surrounds

these more open mires (also the clusters of orbicular leaves ofViola palustris Marsh Violet) and suspect that the scrub is

advancing. This area is clearly liked by the Exmoor Ponies (who

may be eating the Meadow Thistle flowers: we saw many

rosettes but no flowers) and Peter pointed out that they do not

appear to graze off the Birch which are the most aggressive

woody colonists.

Carex laevigata Smooth-stalked Sedge

Scutellaria minor Lesser Skullcap - 3rd

August

Scutellaria minor Lesser Skullcap -24th

August


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We attempted to leave these mires to the northwest parallel

with the railway but were repulsed by a whole series of ditches.

Eventually we retreated back (only a little muddy) almost to

Little Bracebridge Pool (seeing quite a lot of Frangula alnus Alder

Buckthorn on the way) and then headed north-west towards

Streetly Clumps through extensive heathlands and heathy

grasslands which were only modestly diverse botanically.

Sadly the most interesting feature is a modern ditch (probably

designed as a soakaway from the Park margin, which displayed

Aira praecox on its edges and a new record for the Park,

Epilobium roseum, on its banks. There was much of the

nitrophyll Persicaria maculosa suggesting sewage pollution.

Eventually we reached Pony-proof fences and saw how the

ponies are limiting the dominance of Molinia caerulea Purple

Moor-grass. We found the Roman Road and were introduced to

its features by Mike Hodder.

We crossed the railway line and saw the whole structure of the

Roman Road including its marginal ditches and the series of pits

dug for the gravel which makes the road, at one of the best sites

to see them in the Park Who could fail to be moved by the sight

of these borrow pits, dug by hands so long ago and still visible in

the landscape!

Botanical group pause for lunch in Lesser Skullcap site


20/26


12. Thursday 13th August 2015

Although much of the land near Town Gate and the Visitors’

Centre is heavily-used and closely-mown grass, fragments of

semi-natural habitat remain, notably patches of acid grassland

with Danthonia decumbens Heath Grass, Festuca filiformis Fine-

leaved Sheep’s-fescue, Nardus stricta Mat-grass and Juncussquarrosus Heath Rush. At this time of year, much grassland is

dotted with the yellow capitula of Scorzoneroides autumnalis

Autumn Hawkbit and that was the case here today. This

‘dandeliony’ plant, with its branched inflorescence can look

similar to mown or cut-down specimens of Crepis capillaris, but

the latter has leaves with a broader terminal lobe and the

pappus of the fruit has simple rather than feathery hairs. Both

are of course distinguishable from the equally common

Hypochaeris radicata Cat’s-ear since they lack the yellow,

tongue-like scales mixed with the florets. We followed the path

through scrub (with a single plant of Cotoneaster dielsianus) to

Park House.

The flora around Park House and in its orchard is human-

oriented and not very typical of the Park. Perhaps the most

interesting species seen was Calystegia sepium Hedge

Bindweed, easily separated from Calystegia silvatica Large

Bindweed by its smaller flowers and the fact that the pair of

green bracts at the base of the flower do not overlap, so that

the sepals can clearly be seen between them. This is,

remarkably, the first record from the Park although the larger-

flowered C. silvatica is known to occur here. Also seen between

here and the padlocked entrance to the Park fenced reserve is

one of the large-leaved Cotoneasters, Cotoneaster rehderi .

The reserve is quite a large enclosure of wet woodland

provided with ponds and a network of fairly substantial streams

derived from Blackroot Pool. The woodland is a little more

botanically interesting than some in the Park, with much Alnus

glutinosa Alder, some Populus tremula Aspen and a little

Frangula alnus Alder Buckthorn. There is a patchy field layer,

including Blechnum spicant Hard Fern, Circaea lutetiana

Enchanter’s Nightshade, Filipendula ulmaria Meadowsweet,

and Hypericum tetrapterum Square-stalked St. John’s-wort and

we even found two plants of Ruscus aculeatus Butcher’s-broom

(presumably introduced, and previously recorded in the

grounds of Park House, but thought lost).

The larger pond was full of Nuphar lutea Yellow Water-lily with

some Elodea nutallii Nutall’s Pondweed beneath (the leaves

were too narrow and pointed for it to be Elodea canadensis

Canadian Pondweed). The other pool has a large, broad-leaved

sedge, which judicious use of binoculars allowed us to identify

as Carex pseudocyperus Cyperus Sedge (we did manage to find

a plant not growing in treacherous-looking bare mud to confirm

this identification later).

Note we previously saw it just outside this fenced area on 1st

July.

We moved downstream and by the cattle grid at the Toby

Carvery we noticed a patch of large, Sow-thistle-like leaves.

The inflorescences were well into fruit, which did not allow us

to know even the flower colour. Later, Poland suggested

Cicerbita macrophylla subsp. uralensis Blue Sow-thistle. It will

need to be checked next year in flower.

There is much mown grass in this part of the Park which offers

plenty of space for the casual visitor to relax and unwind. We

continued downstream and noted a modest set of trees and

shade-tolerant wetland species, even including Carex

paniculata and the large-flowered Senecio aquaticus Marsh

Ragwort.

Around Town Gate there were a few ruderals uncommon in the

Park such as Hordeum murinum Wall Barley and even Picris

echioides Bristly Oxtongue, and so back to our entrance point.

In returning the key to the Visitors’ Centre we checked a rocky

slope close by with what appeared earlier to be Spergularia

rubra and found that its characteristic bright pink flowers were

now open. Quite common in the Park it is rare in the rest of

B&BC.

13. Tuesday 25th

August 2015

This is a record of the first of four visits to the Longmoor Valley,

all starting from Banner’s Gate car park.

On 25th

August about a dozen participants crossed the main

mire between the car park and Longmoor Pool. The land here

is initially dry to damp heathy grassland with Calluna vulgaris

Heather, Agrostis capillaris Common Bent, Nardus stricta Mat-

grass and Deschampsia flexuosa Wavy Hairgrass prominent

and occasional patches of Vaccinium vitis-idaea Cowberry but

rapidly gets wetter, with Erica tetralix Cross-leaved Heath,

Molinia caerulea Purple Moor-grass, Dryopteris carthusiana

Narrow Buckler-fern and a good range of Juncus rush species

Calluna vulgaris/Ulex gallii heathland - Longmoor Valley


21/26


and, in the wettest places, both Eriophorum angustifolium

Common Cottongrass and Eriophorum vaginatum Hare’s-tail

Cottongrass. Also even Vaccinium oxycoccus Cranberry and

Viola palustris Marsh Violet start to appear. We were too late

in the year to get a full impression of the sedges and we will

have to return earlier next year.

The land became increasingly crossed by anastomosing ditcheswhich were more and more difficult for us to cross, especially

since the cattle had danced about in many areas. The ditches

seem to be associated with patches of Birch-Willow scrub

(mostly Betula pubescens Downy Birch and Salix cinerea subsp.

oleifolia Grey Willow). Eventually we reached the edge of

Longmoor Pool, with some indicators of increasing bases and

fertility such as Myosotis scorpioides Water Forget-me-not and

Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass among some Carex

paniculata Greater Tussock-sedge tussocks, also the beautiful

alien Mimulus guttatus Monkeyflower. Species recorded

suggested, locally, base-rich but fairly nutrient-poor conditions

such as are associated with particular high plant diversity.

Choice species present in these patches included Comarum

palustre Marsh Cinquefoil, Menyanthes trifoliata Bog-bean,

Hydrocotyle vulgare Marsh Pennywort, Triglochin palustris

Marsh Arrowgrass, Valeriana dioica Marsh Valerian and Galium

uliginosum Fen bedstraw (the latter usually easily distinguished

from the more widespread G. palustre Marsh Bedstraw, which

lacks the sharp points to the leaves and has a much less rough

feel).

We tried to work our way northwards along the lake margin

and got pretty wet and muddy. We had to retreat quite a way

back from the pool before we achieved our aim and discovered

the relatively low-lying mires, probably produced by peat

cutting long ago, which are the refuge of Parnassia palustris

Grass-of-Parnassus.

Just before seeing that plant, we encountered a population of

Euphrasia Eyebright in flower. Later John and Monika were

able to confirm it as E. micrantha, the first Warks record for 55

years. The Parnassia mires are not ones to be entered without

great care and probably not at all when Parnassia is not in

flower since then the plants are almost invisible. On this

occasion it was well in flower; something like 30 flowering

plants being observed although there were too many of us to

allow a proper assessment. It was flowering rather earlier than

the early September which is most usual here. It grows with

Valeriana dioica, Galium uliginosum and (less closely)

Eleocharis quinqueflora Few-flowered Spike-rush, which is

easily told from even extremely-dwarved Eleocharis palustris

Common Spike-rush by its less than ten florets in the spike andthe three, rather than two stigmas.

In this general area we also recorded Anagallis tenella Bog

Pimpernel, Pedicularis palustris Marsh Lousewort and

Pinguicula vulgaris Butterwort. Earlier in the year an

impressive range of sedges can be added to this list and also

the pretty white flowers of Sagina nodosa Knotted Pearlwort.

We returned briefly to this area at the end of the session on the

3rd

Sept and recorded one last flower of Sagina nodosa and a

further 50 inflorescences of Parnassia and the remnant of

fruiting inflorescences of Carex diandra.

Erica tetralix Cross-leaved Heath

Galium uliginosum Fen Bedstraw – Longmoor Valley


22/26


A little work with the BSBI New Atlas of the British and Irish

Flora will soon show you how scarce is this assemblage and

many of the other species listed here away from the Derbyshire

limestone and the hills bordering Wales. Some reappear much

further east in the Fens, some not at all. These vegetation types

have been annihilated in the central lowland midlands except

here in Sutton Park, which is practically the only place whichshows that they ever used to grow away from the uplands.

Even here there is a tall, dense barrier of Epilobium hirsutum

Great Willowherb between these mires and the stream running

into Longmoor Pool, suggesting that highly fertile water

sometimes flows past close by, and only a few centimetres

below, the base-rich and nutrient-poor mires. Also bordering

on the Parnassia mires, close to where the stream enters the

lake, is a huge, sprawling, and probably expanding rhizomatous

shrub, the alien willow Salix eriocephala Heart-leaved Willow.

14. Thursday 3rd

September 2015

Eight of us headed northwest from Banner’s Gate car park to

re-examine the area which had been scraped as part of the

remediation of the sewage pollution incident. We were

encouraged by an email from Mike Smith, who had visited the

park recently with Martin Rand, the Recorder for South Hants,

who had been very impressed, compared Sutton with the New

Forest and noted a population of Persicaria minor Small Water-

pepper in the scrape. None of us really knew Persicaria minorand at first we were confused by the presence of extensive

populations of Persicaria hydropiper Water-pepper and

Persicaria maculosa Redshank.

Eventually Mike Poulton realised that the plant we were

looking for was superficially much more similar to P. maculosa

than to P. hydropiper , despite its name, with the inflorescence

much more rounded, denser, more discrete and pinkish than

that of P. hydropiper , although a size smaller than that of P.

maculosa. The leaves are also much smaller, without the black

blotch and almost linear in shape. Once we got our eye in, we

realised that P. minor is abundant almost throughout the

scrape.

We think that the most likely reason for its appearance here is

that it is present in the seed bank, since there ar

Documents

B&BC Botanical Society Newsletter - Issue 2 (2015)