Shropshire - Botanical Society of the British Isles

Canal at Ellesmere (SJ4034) in 1841. Theseboth seem like ruderal habitats, too. In 1856George Jorden listed it as a plant of the WyreForest (ca. SO7376), but that could have beenin Worcestershire. In 1880 Beckwithdiscovered it on the High Rock, Bridgnorth(SO7293), where it has subsequently been seenby Stan Turner (1967), Winifred Hutton (1975& 1985), and Joan Brown (1991).Beckwith also recorded it at Rindleford Bridge(SO7395) and at Birch (SJ4033) in the 1890s.Diamond was the first to record it in thevicinity of Baschurch (SJ4221), which couldhave been a reference to The Berth (SJ4223),where William Phillips found it in 1892, and itwas subsequently seen by Pat Parker in 1983and 1991. Parker also found it in a green laneat Stanwardine in the Fields (SJ4124) in 1982and 1991.There are two other recent records for thecounty: Paul Bell recorded it at HawkstonePark (SJ5729) in 1987, and John Clayfielddiscovered a small population at Dudmaston(SO7491) in 2000.43210987Astragalus glycyphyllos2 3 4 5 6 7 8Astrantia major L.AstrantiaNeophyte. Rare.Audrey Ashwell in 1992. It appears wellnaturalised here and in Beechfield Dingle(SJ3005), where it was first recorded by RegHarrison & Llewelyn Lloyd in 1954, and wasmost recently recorded by Dave Buckinghamin 2000. It is not generally considered a nativespecies, but whether it was introduced by theRomans or more recently is a matter of debate.It is also recorded as an obvious garden escapeat a few other localities in the county, and isnow widely established throughout Britain.Baldellia ranunculoides (L.) Parl.Lesser Water-plantainNative. Extinct (1996).This is one of the most rapidly decliningspecies in Britain, having disappeared frommost of its range in the lowlands over the lastcentury or so. In the New Atlas C.D. Prestonattributes the loss to the cessation of grazingaround shallow water bodies. In Shropshire itused to occur around most of the meres. Inabout 1800 Edward Williams found it atBerrington Pool (SJ5207), Betton Pool(SJ5107), Bomere Pool (SJ4908), Hencott Pool(SJ4916), and in ditches at Hordley (SJ3830)and Newport (SJ7419). Leighton (1841) saw itagain at Berrington Pool and Hencott Pool, andlists records for Cole Mere (SJ4333, A.Bloxam), Haughmond Hill (SJ5414, Leighton),Kynnersley (SJ6716, R.G. Higgins), Lilleshall(SJ7315, R.G. Higgins), Shawbury Heath(SJ5420, E. Elsmere) and The Mere atEllesmere (SJ4034, A. Bloxam & F.Dickinson).R. Anslow listed it as a species of the WealdMoors (ca. SJ6717) in 1865, and in the 1880sWilliam Beckwith found it at Berrington Pool,The Mere, and White Mere (SJ4132). The lastrecord for Berrington Pool was in 1907, whenMiss H.M. Auden reported it there. The sameyear J. Ramsbottom found it at Brown Moss(SJ5639), which is the only site it has beenseen at since. There are records by Miss H.M.Bigwood (1956), Sinker (1961), Keith Bell(1975), Walker (1985, 1993), Trueman (1987,1992, 1996), Perring (1993), Jean Hooson(1994) and Sarah Whild (1995, 1996). BrownMoss is now ungrazed and overgrown, and theBaldellia, like many other rare species, hasgone from there.Astrantia was famously found at Stoke Wood(SO4280) by Arthur Aikin in 1824 – the firstBritish record. It has subsequently beenrecorded there many times, most recently byRare Plants of Shropshire 25