65 years of natural colonisation and natural woodland expansion at Monks Wood. Entirely self-sown by Jays, thrushes & wind; zero management: no planting, thinning or fencing. Oak-Ash canopy and Hawthorn-Blackthorn understorey dominate. Roe deer, Muntjac, Grey Squirrels haven't inhibited it.
Two of Ingleborough’s finest flowers from today: Bird’s-eye Primrose Primula farinosa just coming into flower and a very early flowering Yorkshire Sandwort Arenaria norvegica subsp. anglica. Both on Sulber Pasture with Ingleborough brooding in the background.
Fritillaria meleagris naturalised at Aubert Ings SSSI near to Cattal
Tulipa syvestris naturalised on the bank of the River Nidd at Aubert Ings SSSI Cattal
Dead stem of Heracleum mantegazzianum
Seed of Heracleum mantegazzianum
Annual pilgrimage to count Fritillaria meleagris at Aubert Ings SSSI, Cattal where it appeared c25 years ago. Numbers now c250. Tulipa sylvestris seems to be spreading too as has the statuesque Heracleum mategazzianum which is now well established all along the River Nidd downstream of Knaresborough
As we were passing Wordsworth’s Point on Ulswater today we thought it would be rude to not stop and pay our respects to the Wild Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus). And a few nice ones in the cottage we were staying in too…
A view through blossoming fruit trees towards an old stone farmhouse built of mellow Oxford Stone. In the pearly sky the first swallows dart about.
In the orchard
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
(The Farm, 1958)
What a joy to celebrate the county #flower of #Hertfordshire in my @theguardian.com country diary today.
#naturewriting #countrydiary
Purple Toothwort Lathraea clandestina by the Oak Beck Harrogate. A parasite of roots of trees, in this case Salix x fragilis
Caucasian Pennycress Pachyphragma macrophyllum along the Oak Beck Harrogate where it originated from RHS Harlow Carr
American Skunk-cabbage by the Oak Beck, Harrogate. This originated from RHS Harlow Carr
Paper in British and Irish Botany on the waterborne spread of ornamental plants from RHS Harlow Carr
Some non-natives along the Oak Beck, Harrogate yesterday: Purple Toothwort, Caucasian Pennycress, and American Skunk-cabbage. These spread along streams from RHS Harlow Carr. Our paper in British & Irish Botany discusses their spread and implications for management of invasives in gardens.
Definitely a more dynamic system! We saw 100s of metres of snuffle lines in a wood in Norfolk…
Lovely!
In today's @theguardian.com country diary, Susie White checks out Newcastle's urban plants with James Common, whose new book - Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside - is out today! commonbynature.com/urban-flora-...
@bsbibotany.bsky.social #countrydiary #naturewriting
Take some climbing ropes. It’s very steep and slippy!
Doesn’t seem to be as it completes its lifecycle before the Impatiens takes off. My observations along the Ure suggest that it is usually in areas where the Impatiens has to recolonise due to flooding so keeps its numbers down although obvs it may have simply gone from majorly infested areas
Here in Yorkshire we’re about 2-3 weeks away from flowering
In London for a few days a bumped into Mediterranean (Roman) Nettle Urtica membranacea in Walthamstow. Not a species I’ve seen before but unmistakable with those long linear inflorescences! #urbanbotany
I noticed that too. Mackenzie Crook is a birder / really good bird artist with a nice picture in the BTOs Red 65? I wondered about contacting him about doing a follow on based on a botanical club (rather than Detectorists). I wonder which society he might choose? Material would be similar!
Snowdrops and crocuses appear through light snow on rocky ground
“Snow has fallen again, as it will sometimes do in February”
What to Look for in Winter, 1959
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
Writer: EL Grant Watson
To me a more important point about reintroductions is that they shouldn’t divert our ambition/attention from conserving what we’ve already got. That is more mundane day-to-day work/less attention grabbing but absolutely vital not least so introductions have healthy ecosystems in which to thrive.
One of best sites I know is a drumlin that was unsuccessfully ‘gripped’ for drainage. SWO regenerated in huge numbers on the overturned mineral soils. Similar habitat on Straloch Moraines in Scotland (but more natural disturbance there)
I think maybe a bit more complicated than just grazing. To me this seems more an early successional species adapted to raw mineral soils in the Arctic (moraines, eskers, exposed riverbanks, etc. mires/flushed grassland is the nearest we have these close quickly in absence of disturbance (grazing!)
It is an increasing garden escape in northern England and spreading by bulbils along rivers where it can form very dense stands on sandy riverbanks disturbed during winter floods. Along the Oak Beck where this study took place there are 10s of 1000s of plants and it seems to be increasing each year
Been listening to Cinder Well all day. The same happened to me with Johnny Flynn and The Detectorists…
Aconite-leaved Buttercup Ranunculus aconitifolius along the Oak Beck
Purple Toothwort Lathraea clandestina
American Skunk-cabbage Lysichiton americanus by the Oak Beck
Coralroot Cardamine bulbifera by the Oak Beck
The escape of ornamental plants from large gardens can pose a threat to native species and habitats. Here we provide evidence for this in riparian habitats near to Harrogate UK and discuss the lessons for managing potentially invasive species in gardens.
britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bi...
Our Biological Flora on Wood Crane's-bill is out in @journalofecology.bsky.social. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... A team effort w/ @ruthsk.bsky.social @sandravarga.bsky.social @spp-rich.bsky.social @duncanwestbury.bsky.social, irina Tatarenko & artist Lucy Hulmes on pen and ink.
Bishopthorpe Parish Council want to sell a small wildlife oasis hosting rare wildflowers like Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem to a developer. This field belongs to the people of Bish who cherish its wildlife. Please sign this petition to stop them doing this. Thanks 😊 c.org/syGKBRcGBY
Painted in 1913, Paul Nash gave this picture the ultimate simplicity of a title, 'A Drawing.' The elm trees marked the boundary of his family's home at Wood Lane House, Iver Heath in Buckinghamshire. Trees always held a spiritual quality for him.
I love that such a rare bird was secondary to the plant!
Male Holly has been flowering here in Northern England for a few weeks; lots of trees have buds that have yet to open. Apparently not uncommon to have a second flowering late in the year but the first time I’ve noticed it
Surely ‘normal for Norfolk’? 🤣 That’s a term I use a lot in our household!
We're hiring!
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Manage our @daera-ni.gov.uk-funded Botanical Skills Training Project?
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bsbi.org/botanical-sk...
