2005 - Whitby Naturalists

Bittcrcress should be called 'Popprng Cress' because as a weed in my
garden the seedpods explode as I pull the planr up and scatter the seeds
far and wide ready for next year.
On the same walk in Forge Valley, we passed the ruins of Ayton Castlc
where in the nearhy ficld were a feu' specirnens of Meadow Saxiffage
{Sraifraga grw,**l"ata) with irs lovely pristine white flowers about 20 to
30 mrn across. Latcr, growing on the limestone walis of the village of
\ilest Aytrrn, we saw a c.lose reiative, Rue-leaved Saxifrage (Saxifraga
tridactylites). The flowers of this plant are oniy about 5 mm across with
notched petals but the plarnt is easily recbgniscd by its three-lobed stem
leaves from which it gers its scicntific species name - tri-dactyl * three
fingered. The plant oft.en ha.s a reddish look to its stcm and leaves,
presuinably becausc the red anthocyanin shor,vs through in its very dry
habitat. In West Ayton it shares the walls with a more prolific planr,
Common \Uhitiow-grass (Erophila vema) which has flowers of a simiiar
size but has most obvious and attractive seed cases which split to show
a septa like rniniature Honesty piant.
1 l-rad to change the waik that i led this year at the trast noment. My
reconnoitre, a few days beforehand, showed that lviay Moss (said to tre
one of the largest hanging-bogs in England) was exceptionally dry and
there was no sign of my target plant, Bog Rosemary (Andromed.a
palifoiia). Tree-felling nearby may be involved in the lower water level
but my concern was for the safery of the $oup as the bog had dried into
grassy hummocks likely to cause ankle damage. Instead we went tc)
Sand-dale to see the Fiy Orchids (Ophrys insectifera) and weren't they
splendid? In perfect condition for photography. On a later walk, one
of the photographers reminded me of the great advantage of digital
c.ameras; he had taken over 20 shots which allowed him to choose the
best fcw and discard the rest at no extra cost. The walk up to Sanddaie
had been particularly rich in wild {lowers such as Common
Rockrose (Haliar*lwmLltn TLLln;'rnulanwn), Common S torksbill (Er'o dium
cicat ariwn), D ove' s - foo t Crane's - b lll (G er aniurn mollej and Fid dleneck
{Ansinckia nticrantha). This latter plant is aptly named because the
tiny yellow flowers are in a tcrminal cluster on the stalk, which is curlecl
back like the top of a violin.
33