Having recently experienced too much heat on our meetings we were pleased that it looked rather dull, possibly even predicting rain, so 11 of us set off from the disused quarry car park with light waterproofs in our baggage. Our venue was a slight change of programme as the prolonged dry weather had made the Water Sinks area devoid of most interesting plants. Not so the board walk. It was abundant with colour and different common late summer species such as Angelica Angelica sylvestris, Devil’s Bit Scabious Succisa pratensis and Marsh Cinquefoil Comarum palustris. The Common Reed Phragmites australis was beautiful and we were delighted to see the flowers of Sawwort Serratula tinctoria, as we had seen it in bud at Waitby Greenrig. The flowers are thistle-like, a deep pink.
Common Reed Board Walk. Photo: Christine Bell.
In a habitat such as this we always have discussions about the marsh plants because we are not so familiar with them. We identified the Marsh Willowherb Epilobium palustre, the Lesser and Marsh Stitchwort Stellari graminea and palustris and the Fen Bedstraw Galium uliginosum.
Highlights were finding the Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia and Cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccos on the shorter turf, and re-finding the diminutive Common Wintergreen Pylora minor, a plant we rarely see. There were still a few spikes of the lovely Bog Ashphodel Narthecium ossifragum, and there were groups of Grass of Parnassus Parnassia palustris.
So while inevitably at this time of year, many plants were past their flowering time, we had had a thoroughly enjoyable botany meeting.
Christine Bell.
