Shropshire - Botanical Society of the British Isles

SitesIf you calculate the number of rare nativespecies ever recorded at each site in the county,Bomere Pool (SJ4908) comes out top of thelist. Analysis of tetrads gives the same result,so this is not just an artefact of site recording.Bomere Pool is (or was) a truly extraordinarysite, with a large mesotrophic lake surroundedby fen, mire, ancient woodland and calcareousgrassland. Among the rarest plants found therein the past was Rannoch Rush Scheuchzeriapalustris.Water quality in the mere has remainedremarkably good and it is now the only naturalwater body left in lowland England with anative population of Floating Water-plantainLuronium natans. It is probably the bestpreserved of all the meres, with Six-stamenedWaterwort Elatine hexandra also still present.At nearby Shomere Pool (No. 13 on the list,but in a different tetrad) there is abundantMarsh Fern Thelypteris palustris and RoyalFern Osmunda regalis. The Bomere/Shomerecomplex is privately owned and managed as aleisure activities centre, which seems to haveserved it well, but there is no public accessexcept by permission.The Mere at Ellesmere (SJ4034) was,historically, almost as rich a site as Bomere,coming second in both the site and the tetradlists. Its most important feature was thepresence of an extensive raised mireimmediately adjacent to a base-rich lake. It,too, once had Scheuchzeria palustris andLuronium natans. The construction of theMontgomery Canal in about 1800 wasprobably what triggered its destruction, withthe drainage of The Moors and the stabilisationof the water level to prevent flooding. There isnow very little to be seen at The Mere,although Needle Spike-rush Eleocharisacicularis still survives on a part of the shorethat is privately owned. Much of the lake andits surrounds is managed by Shropshire CountyCouncil and is open to the public, but itsmanagement is neglected and the remainingareas of good habitat have turned to scrub overthe last thirty years or so.Shropshire’s best sites for rare speciesNo. of rare speciesEver Now1. Bomere Pool 29 32. The Mere, Ellesmere 28 23. Wyre Forest 23 104. Cole Mere 22 45. Wenlock Edge 21 66. Crose Mere 18 57. The Long Mynd 16 78. Titterstone Clee 15 109. Brown Moss 14 410. Rednal Moss 14 011. White Mere 14 412. Montgomery Canal 13 213. Blake Mere 12 114. Shomere Pool 12 315. Earl's Hill 11 716. Hencott Pool 11 317. Shawbury Heath 11 018. Wem Moss 11 319. Berrington Pool 10 320. Blodwel Rocks 10 421. Clarepool Moss 10 122. The Stiperstones 10 3The Wyre Forest (SO7576) is an extensive areaof woodland and grassland straddling theboundary between Shropshire andWorcestershire. Although the larger part is inthis county, most of the nature reserves andseveral of the more interesting plants(including Narrow-leaved HelleborineCephalanthera longifolia) are on the other side.Most of the Shropshire parts have beenafforested with conifers, although some goodstands of ancient woodland remain, and thereare currently plans afoot to restore much of thearea to broadleaf woodland. Among the raritiesthat can be seen in the Wyre are Soft-leavedSedge Carex montana, Mountain MelickMelica nutans and Wood Crane’s-billGeranium sylvaticum. Because it is such alarge area, it does not figure so highly in themap of tetrads.Cole Mere is now a country park, managed bythe County Council, and there is good publicaccess to the entire shoreline. Its chief claim tofame is Least Water-lily Nuphar pumila at itsonly native site in England. Unfortunately, overthe last thirty years or so the edges of the lakehave become wooded, and the water-lily is nowRare Plants of Shropshire 13