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Warwickshire Flora Group

BOTANY MEETING

5 Feb 2006 at the Warwickshire Museum

Lunch

Introduction           Steven Falk

Veteran Trees                   Steven Falk (Slides?)

Tea Break

New Webmaster, an invitation ….  Pam Copson

Projects For 2006   James Partridge  

Concluding Thanks James Partridge

SPRING 2004 NEWSLETTER

BSBI Recorder James Partridge, 85, Willes Rd., Leamington Spa, CV31 1BS

Tel. 01926 427452 Email jmpart85(at)yahoo.co.uk

RECORDING IN WARWICKSHIRE The Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) has appointed me the Warwickshire (VC 38) recorder in succession to Pam Copson. I’ve been going through the individual plant records (Pink slips) which have accumulated , to make sure they have all been entered in the files kept at the Natural History Section of the Warwick Market Hall Museum (a task which John Bowra used to do—he is greatly missed). These plant records are then filed in the Site Files in the Ecology Department in The Butts by Jane O’Dell. Your finds get preserved in two places, therefore.

‘TOP 10’ RECENT RECORDS I’ve made an entirely arbitrary and personal list : Aconitum napellus (Monk’s hood) Long Compton P.J.Marriott; Blysmus compressus (Flat-sedge), Ilmington, Steve Garnett; Convallaria majalis (Lily of the valley) Hoar Park wood David Porter; Dactylorrhiza incarnata, D.praetermissa, and (probably) their hybrid D.x wintoni, (Early, and Southern, Marsh-orchids), Depper’s Bridge, D.Cole & L.Slack; Equisetum sylvaticum (Wood horsetail) Snitterfield, Lorna Dudley; Juncus tenuis (Slender Rush), Binley Bog, Pam Copson; Silene noctiflora (Night-flowering Catchfly) Walton, Harold Roberts*; Smyrnum olustrum (Alexanders), Brinklow, Sue Scott; Torilis nodosa (Knotted Hedge-parsley), Wolfhamcote, John Roberts. Vicia lathyroides, (Spring Vetch), Binley, Michael Senior.

*HAROLD A ROBERTS It was with great sadness that we heard of Harold's death early this year. His contribution to field recording began with the Computer Flora Survey in the 1950s and he had contributed much valuable work both in the field and processing survey records in the museum over all the years until Pam retired in 1999. Arable Weeds also formed the core of his professional work at the National Vegetable Research Station Wellesbourne, where he made major contributions to the study of weed germination.

BSBI LOCAL CHANGE PROJECT I hope you’re participating in the BSBI Local Change project in the seven VC38 sites.

They are the same squares used for the BSBI Monitoring Scheme in 1987/8. Each square has a coordinator who would welcome your help, or come along to some of the Group Visits when I hope we will do some collective recording. We start at 2pm Promptly and finish at 4pm approximately with a short discussion about our finds and perhaps a brief refresher on plant identification , bring your problem plants.

SQUARE

CO-ORDINATOR

GROUP VISIT (date, meet spot)

SP25J, Snitterfield

James Partridge

23rd May St.James’ church Snitterfield, SP 218.600 (just north of tetrad).

SP25W, Walton,Wellesbourne

John Roberts

30th May ornamental bridge, Walton Hall, SP284.525

SP28A, Hampton-in-Arden

Barbara Davies

11th July details to follow…

SP28J, Maxstoke

David Porter

20th June Junction of Castle lane/Coleshill rd., Maxstoke, SP231.881

SP58A, Churchover

Jane Sells

27th June

SP28W, Allesley

Michael Senior /Sue Scott

4th July

SP25A, Atherstone-on- Stour

Lorna Dudley

18th July

I’d like to receive your own Local Change Spring lists before the end of May. Please cross off the plants which you have refound on the lists for each site of the 1987/8 records. The site co-ordinators have a copy of the 1987/8 plant lists, which can be copied, to be used during plant-hunting. If necessary, I can supply copies.

Good hunting! James Partridge.

 

 

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Ongoing Arable Weed Survey. The BSBI has set up a network research project (which means every county does its bit and the whole combined into a British picture). This is low-key and everlastingly on-going. Gill Cole is co-ordinating this for us.

ARABLE WEED SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS

1. Choose yourself an arable field to survey. The fields must contain (or have contained recently) some interesting/rare/diverse weeds.

2. Check that no-one else has chosen the same field and post or email the details to James for inclusion here. ! (Those already registered are : Walton Hall Drive SP 287540; Elmhurst Farm SP447843)

3. Ask the farmer if you may survey it in 2002 and also some future years.

4. Make a full list of ALL weeds growing in the crop (excluding, or adding in separate list, those species spreading in from adjacent hedgerow, grassland etc). Give DAFOR (dominant, abundant, frequent, occasional, rare) rating for each; date(s) of survey. Visit once or more if you think it will add species.

5. Identify the crop, make a sketch plan of field or area surveyed. Send to Gill Cole by email or post.

 

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A County Flower for Warwickshire

This is a Plantlife initiative.

Voting closed on 31st October 2003 and the result was announced in May 2004.

The final choice for Warwickshire was

Honeysuckle

 

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