BSBINews - BSBI Archive - Botanical Society of the British Isles

48 Field meeting reports: 2009 - Parsonage Moor and Dry Sandford Pit (v.c.22) /
Nidderdale (v.c.64) and Wensleydale (v.c.65)
Parsonage Moor and Dry Sandford Pit, Berkshire (v.c.22), 27th
June
The surface geology of the Cothill region, west
of Abingdon, consists of Jurassic "coral rag"
overlying deposits of oolitic sandstone. At
Parsonage Moor, digging of post-glacial peat
deposits has allowed a base-rich fen to develop
within more acid surroundings, while at Dry
Sandford, quarrying activity reached the water
table in some places, resulting in a mire fed by
calcareous springs surrounded by species-rich
grassland. Both sites are SSSIs and BBOWT
reserves. On an oppressively warm day 17
members explored their remarkable flora with
John Killick, the Recorder for Oxfordshire,
who lives nearby. We donned wellingtons to
wade through Parsonage Moor in the morning,
while after lunch we visited Dry Sandford Pit
in the company of Steve Grigson, the volunteer
warden.
Parsonage Moor immediately yielded one of
its iconic species, Schoenus nigricans (Black
Bog-rush), together with funcus subnodulosus
(Blunt-flowered Rush) and Oenanthe lachenalii
(Parsley Water-dropwort), the latter rarely
found so far inland. Where the ground was not
submerged, Pedicularis palustris (Marsh
Lousewort) and Anagalis tenella (Bog Pimpernel)
were in flower, and Pinguicula vulgaris
(Common Butterwort) in fruit. These species
are quite rare in central England. Among the
sedges were Carex distans (Distant Sedge),
C. pulicaris (Flea Sedge) and C. rostrata
JOHN EDGINGTON & JOHN KILUCK
(Bottle Sedge), while searches of drier ground
yielded Cirsium dissectum (Meadow Thistle)
and Serratula tinctoria (Saw-wort). A good
find was Eriophorum latifolium (Broad-leaved
Cottongrass), easily distinguished from
E. angustifolium by its rough peduncle. We
failed, however, to find totally convincing
specimens of Dactylorhiza traunsteineri
(Narrow-leaved Marsh orchid) which has been
recorded here.
Previous reconnaissance had located two of
Dry Sandford Pit's specialities, Triglochin
palustre (Marsh Arrow-grass) and Equisetum
variegatum (Variegated Horsetail), so the afternoon
began by going straight to these, trying
not to damage the fragile calcareous mire
where they grow. This was dominated to a
remarkable extent by the massed flowers of
Epipactis palustris (Marsh Helleborine) - over
10,000 plants at the last census - and dense
colonies of the stonewort Chara hispida. This
and other stoneworts also grow at Parsonage
Moor, as does Potamogeton coloratus (Fen
Pond weed) , found in a nearby pool. Like the
Equisetum, its nearest stations are over a
hundred miles away. Specimens were taken of
a Polypody that looked suspiciously like the
hybrid Polypodium xshivasiae, before the day
ended with tea under the shade of the largest
bush of Berberis vulgaris (Barberry) any of us
had seen.
Nidderdale (v.c.64) and Wensleydale (v.c.65) 4th - 5 th July
PHYL ABBOTT, LINDA ROBINS ON & KEVIN WALKER
Even at an altitude of 400m at Greenhow in
Nidderdale, we soon realised we were in
dockland. Right by the parking area were
several examples of Rumex longifolius
(Northern Dock). While driving to the site
from the south, several of us had noticed
R. pseudoalpinus (Monk's Rhubarb), with its
broad cordate leaves. Both species have large,
sturdy heads of flowers and fruits. As we
entered Duck Street Quarry, a disused
limestone quarry, now a privately owned nature
reserve, the first plant we examined was the
glabrous Lady's-mantle easily identified as
Alchemilla glabra. Later we found large leaved
A. xanthochlora, with hairy petiole and leaf
undersurface and with pointed leaf lobes, and
the smaller A. filicaulis ssp. vestita, with
rounded leaf lobes. The numerous Listera
ovata (Twayblade) made it difficult to spot the
far less frequent Coeloglossum viride (Frog
Orchids) lurking amongst them. Bill helped
with the hawkweeds, most of which were forms