the Forth Naturalist Historian - Forth Naturalist and Historian ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

68 G. H. Ballantyne His first excursion was to Callander Crags, where he found two species new to him in a living state. The number of new species was increased by subsequent walks, causing him to comment that the Crags were “exceedingly good bramble ground”. He also explored the immediate countryside around the town and went to the shores of Lochs Venachar, Lubnaig, Earn, Tay and the Lake of Menteith, and, albeit briefly, further afield to Oban, Balloch and the Edinburgh area. At several of these localities he came across brambles he was unable to name, while confirming the identities of some that he had seen in a pressed state. Specimens of those that he had difficulty with were subsequently sent to the leading German batalogist of the day, Dr W. O. Focke, so that by the end of 1896 he had names for most. However, bramble nomenclature was still in a very muddled state then and it has taken a long time to sort out just what Rogers did and did not find. This is not a criticism of him, for he was a first-class observer and interpreter as his Handbook of the British Rubi (1900) shows, but a reflection on just how difficult it was to assign meaningful names then. Although I first visited the Callander district in search of local brambles in 1981 and the Stirling area in the late 1980s, it was not until 1998 that I was able to follow in Rogers’ tracks to any extent. A full hundred years has seen many changes, of course, with much habitat loss, but with the exception of the first four species in the following list there were probably as many bushes around as in Rogers’ day, if not all exactly in the same stations. Brambles are pretty resilient and liable to persist for long periods! The Crags were an immediate success, as had been the case with Rogers: on my first half hour’s walk I saw no fewer than nine species, followed by a further five not long afterwards – a large total for a Scottish site. With the facility for much faster travel than in Rogers’ time, I was able to add to that figure from the various lochs in the vicinity, so that in a single day I came across as many species as he had in about a week. A visit to Killin (Mid Perth, VC 88) confirmed my suspicion that, despite Rogers’ implication to the contrary, the west end of Loch Tay was not good for brambles, although I did have the satisfaction of clearing up a longstanding query over the identity of ‘R. macrophyllus’ (q.v., below). Loch Earn proved much more productive, with a total of 14 species; the contrast between the comparatively developed north shore and the single track south side (except near St Fillans) was marked, with the latter presumably being not too dissimilar to what it was like when Rogers explored it. What he called R. britannicus now R. pictorum Edees was very showy in several parts round the loch. A third trip, to the Lake of Menteith and Aberfoyle and thence to Loch Lubnaig and Balquidder completed my 1998 retracing of Rogers’ footsteps although of course I could not go to exactly everywhere he went. These later outings added fewer new species, naturally, but verified several of Rogers’ finds and elucidated the identities of others. Coupled with my previous Stirling visits I was pleased to refind nearly all his species and, in time and with help, to establish the precise identities of most. During the twentieth century, and particularly in its second half, there have been many alterations to the names of the brambles on the British list. This has been due both to research demonstrating that a lot of continental names had
Brambles of the Trossachs and Stirling 69 been incorrectly applied and thus needed to be rejected, and to the naming of a considerable number of new species. As these changes make it difficult to reconcile the nomenclature used by Rogers, the accompanying list is arranged in the same order as he employed in 1897, with his names followed by the current ones used by Edees and Newton (1988) in bold type. It should be noted that in Rogers’ time the concept of a “species collectivae” was prevalent, i.e. the lumping together under one name of two or more, not necessarily closely related, taxa. There are several examples in the list of these aggregate names. SUBERECTI = subgenus RUBUS This group combines the characters of rasp (R. idaeus L.) with those of the non-glandular groups of the true brambles, notably the Silvatici, and are usually associated with moors and heathy ground. They are much diminished of late. R. fissus Lindl. = R. scissus W. C. R. Watson: “Locally abundant in open heathy places”; as these have declined very considerably, this species is now found in only small quantity, although widespread. By south side of Loch Earn; east side of Loch Lubnaig; etc. R. suberectus Anders. = R. nessensis W. Hall: “Nowhere seen in any great quantity”; still between Strathyre and Loch Lubnaig, by the lochside; and near Loch Tay, by Pier Road at Killin. R. plicatus Weihe & Nees: Although described as “fairly widespread”, in 1998 only a single stem was seen, by the south road of Loch Earn at the caravan site. R. rogersii Linton = R. fissus Lindley: “I think the most abundant and most conspicuous suberect bramble in W[est] P[erth]”; now much reduced owing to loss of habitat. Only the odd bush in 1998, as at Bracklinn Falls car park and by Loch Venachar. In contrast to Perthshire, Rogers did not see any living bushes of any of the series Suberecti in the Stirling area, although had he had time to go to Flanders Moss or other comparable spots he would probably have found them as plentiful. He had seen dried specimens of R. scissus and R. nessensis from the county. (R. latifolius Bab.: see Caesii/Corylifolii at end.) Series RHAMNIFOLII “More than half of the Rhamnifolians known for Britain occurred in the localities I visited, and many of them in great quantity”. One hundred years on, the figure is now about a quarter. Several of those noted by Rogers still grow abundantly. [R. incurvatus Bab.: Although Rogers said he found “well marked examples” by L. Earn, in his Handbook (1900) he states “I cannot recall having seen this
Page 1 and 2:
Volume 22 the Forth Naturalist and
Page 3 and 4:
THE WEATHER OF 1998 S. J. Harrison
Page 5 and 6:
Weather 1998 5 May Warm and mostly
Page 7 and 8:
especially over the Carse. Although
Page 9 and 10:
1991 -0.98 Below average 1992 -1.04
Page 11 and 12:
Weather 1998 11 Figure 1 Monthly ai
Page 13 and 14:
Weather 1998 13 Figure 3 Profile of
Page 15 and 16:
Forth Naturalist and Historian, vol
Page 17 and 18: efore, but we have produced for the
Page 19 and 20: Bird Report 1998 19 Month 1996/7 19
Page 21 and 22: Bird Report 1998 21 BLACK-THROATED
Page 23 and 24: Bird Report 1998 23 over Stirling a
Page 25 and 26: Bird Report 1998 25 C 2 Gartmorn 15
Page 27 and 28: Bird Report 1998 27 1 L.Dochart 29
Page 29 and 30: Bird Report 1998 29 Dunmore 18 Oct
Page 31 and 32: Bird Report 1998 31 REDSHANK Tringa
Page 33 and 34: Bird Report 1998 33 WOODPIGEON Colu
Page 35 and 36: Bird Report 1998 35 S 20 Killin 2 A
Page 37 and 38: Bird Report 1998 37 F 63 Falkirk 28
Page 39 and 40: Bird Report 1998 39 GREAT GREY SHRI
Page 41 and 42: Bird Report 1998 41 LINNET Cardueli
Page 43 and 44: Forth Naturalist and Historian, vol
Page 47 and 48: Wallacebank Wood 47 Before work on
Page 49 and 50: Wallacebank Wood 49 Breeding birds
Page 51 and 52: Appendix SCOTTISH WILDLIFE TRUST FA
Page 53 and 54: Hedge Woundwort Stachys sylvatica L
Page 57 and 58: Dragonflies of the Forth Area 57 at
Page 59 and 60: Figure 1. Sympetrum striolatum (Com
Page 63 and 64: Falkirk District Plants 63 Poa subc
Page 65 and 66: Falkirk District Plants 65 Petasite
Page 67: Forth Naturalist and Historian, vol
Page 71 and 72: Brambles of the Trossachs and Stirl
Page 73 and 74: Series RADULAE R. radula Weihe: As
Page 75 and 76: Brambles of the Trossachs and Stirl
Page 81 and 82: Wallace Oak: Supplement 81 1771 The
Page 83 and 84: Wallace Oak: Supplement 83 the boxe
Page 85 and 86: Wallace Oak: Supplement 85 1814 At
Page 87 and 88: 1866 “Captain Stobo MP is to send
Page 89 and 90: Wallace Oak: Supplement 89 of a ‘
Page 91 and 92: Appendix Wallace Oak: Supplement 91
Page 95 and 96: grass as the tenants preferred. The
Page 99 and 100: Sir George Harvey 99 It was through
Page 101 and 102: Sir George Harvey 101 Harvey and ot
Page 103 and 104: Sir George Harvey 103 Figure 5 Fami
Page 105 and 106: Figure 10 Boy Restraining Dog - Qua
Page 109 and 110: Sheriffmuir Atlantic Wall 109 lengt
Page 111 and 112: Sheriffmuir Atlantic Wall 111 assoc
Page 113 and 114: Sheriffmuir Atlantic Wall 113 Figur
Page 115 and 116: Sheriffmuir Atlantic Wall 115 Figur
Page 119 and 120:
Stirling, 70 years ago 119 the pend
Page 121 and 122:
Stirling, 70 years ago 121 quality
Page 123 and 124:
Stirling, 70 years ago 123 restrict
Page 125 and 126:
Stirling, 70 years ago 125 Riversid
Page 127 and 128:
Stirling, 70 years ago 127 in my ea
Page 129 and 130:
executed at the Old Bridge or the C
Page 131 and 132:
Stirling, 70 years ago 131 high bus
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Bridges of the Forth 135 All of thi
Page 137 and 138:
Bridges of the Forth 137 Elegant as
Page 139 and 140:
Bridges of the Forth 139 passed by
Page 141 and 142:
Bridges of the Forth 141 an ordinar
Page 143 and 144:
Bridges of the Forth 143 been incor
Page 145 and 146:
Bridges of the Forth 145 Editorial
Page 147 and 148:
Braco: Ardoch Bridge Knaik NN 837 0
Page 149 and 150:
Forth Figure 5 Alloa Rail - after
Page 151 and 152:
Figure 13 Old Bridge, Callander. Te
Page 153 and 154:
Figure 18 Bridge of Devon, Tullibod
Page 155:
show all

the Forth Naturalist Historian - Forth Naturalist and Historian ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?