BSBI Summer Meeting: fabulous botanising that you'll never forget!

Bookings have now opened for the 2025 BSBI Annual Summer Meeting which moves around the regions of the BSBI - this year it is being held in Melrose in the Scottish Borders. This is the BSBI's big field meeting of the year and it is always billed as a great opportunity to see some fabulous wildflowers in beautiful habitats in the company of friendly botanists. But what if you've never been to such a full-on event before: is it worth diving in or will it all be a bit intimidating?

Last summer, self-taught botanist Mandy Forde bit the bullet and booked for her first-ever Summer Meeting. Here is Mandy's account of how it went:

"When I first saw the Summer Meeting advertised it immediately sounded like an ideal opportunity to observe plants in an interesting location as well as having the potential to see plants endemic to the Channel Islands. But the panic soon set it when I considered who else would be attending, professional ecologists, County Recorders, people who could identify any sub species at 20 paces. Then there was the apprehension over Latin names. “I don’t think you’d like it” a friend who is a professional Botanist told me, “it will all be in Latin”. In 2014 I could only identify four wildflowers, but ten years on although completely self-taught I’m quite proud of how much botanical knowledge I’ve gained.

Eventually I plucked up the courage and booked.

The first day after meeting at the hotel we conducted an afternoon survey of urban plants growing in pavement cracks and walls en route to the Guernsey Museum and Herbarium with Chenopodium ficifolium (Fig-Leaved Goosefoot), Geranium purpureum (Little-Robin), Orobanche hederae (Ivy Broomrape), Trachelium caeruleum (Blue Throatwort) and Potentilla recta (Sulphur Cinquefoil) all recorded.

A survey was then carried out in Candie Cemetery where our finds included Hypericum humifusum (Trailing St John’s-wort), Asplenium adiantum-nigrum (Black Spleenwort) and a plant I found which had many debating it’s identity until it was later identified as Nothoscordum x borbonicum (Honeybells, image on left). The gravestones also provided many lichens for enthusiasts to identify.

The first evening gave an opportunity to socialise with a lovely meal at Les Cotils, a Victorian manor house, which was followed by talks from Lindsay de Sausmarez, Head of the Committee for Environment and Infrastructure and Jim Robinson, Director of the Environment.

On the first full day my chosen excursion was to the Orchid Fields at Les Vicheries, expertly led by Dr Tim Rich. The star of the show being wonderful displays of the stunning Anacamptis laxiflora (Loose-flowered Orchid, image on right) a Channel Islands rarity of wet meadows which is found on less than 25 known sites. Also abundant were Dactylorhiza fuchsii (Common Spotted-Orchid), D. maculata (Heath Spotted) and D. praetermissa (Southern Marsh) as well as suspected hybrids. Most of the fields had Oenanthe crocata (Hemlock Water-dropwort) which was being successfully ‘managed’ by a multitude of Deprassaria daucella caterpillars. Other wet meadow species included Parentucellia viscosa (Yellow Bartsia) and Ranunculus flammula (Lesser Spearwort). Trifolium glomeratum (Clustered Clover) was spotted after lunch which was followed by a delightful field where we encountered multiple Ophioglossum vulgatum (Adder’s-tongue). 

We then wandered along inland lanes surveying the shaded hedge banks finding Asplenium obovatum ssp. billotii (Lanceolate Spleenwort), Umbilicus rupestris (Navelwort), Sedum rupestre (Reflexed Stonecrop), Fumaria capreolata (White ramping-fumitory), Azolla filiculoides (Water Fern) and Briza maxima (Greater quaking-grass). I also took the opportunity to photograph insects during the surveys and at La Pomare I found of three small caterpillars which were too small to identify in the field, but with later research turned out to be early instar Emperor Moths.

A welcome chance to sit down in the evening after a busy day’s botanising brought an informative talk by Richard Hocart on the work of the Societe Guernesiaise.

My second day’s excursion was to Lihou Headland for a coastal heath survey led by BSBI’s Jonathan Worthington, which started like many botany surveys do with the group taking about 30 minutes to leave the car park where the botanising had begun with some vigour. It ended up being a day of multiple interesting Fabaceae including Trifolium ornithopodiodes (Birdsfoot Clover), T. glomeratum (Clustered Clover),T. occidentale (Western Clover), T. scabrum (Rough Clover), T. subterraneum (Subterranean Clover), T. micranthum (Slender Trefoil),Vicia lutea (Yellow Vetch), Medicago polymorpha (Toothed Medick), Lotus angustissimus (Slender Bird’-foot-trefoil) as well as Polycarpon tetraphyllum (Four-leaved Allseed), Myosotis ramosissima (Early Forget-me-not), Malva pseudolavatera (Smaller Tree-mallow), Conyza sumatrensis (Guernsey Fleabane) and my first sighting of the gorgeous Silene gallica (Small-flowered Catchfly, image below right) which was observed in two colour forms.

Our lunch stop at Le creux es faies (The Faries Hollow) provided my interesting insect of the day when I was really pleased to find three Graphosoma italicum on Smyrnium olusatrum (Alexanders). The striking black and red Mediterranean Sheildbug is now well established in the Channel Isles but didn’t reach mainland UK until 2020 with still only a few records reported. Many other coastal species were spotted but since I live by the coast myself their presence didn’t seem as worthy of note to me due to their familiarity as the species I’ve quoted above.

The evening talk by Angela Salmon, Director of Guernsey Conservation Volunteers was a fascinating insight into the society's gallant efforts to attempt to eradicate Allium triquetrum (Three-cornered Garlic) and Carpobrotus edulis (Sour Fig).

My third day’s excursion was to survey beach habitat from Rousse to Grande Havre with expert identification led by Dr Tim Rich and John Poland. My first sighting was a fascinating fungi growing on a rotting boat in the car park, which I think was Pseudohydnum galatinosum. Interesting plants of the day included all three colour forms of the delicate Silene gallica (Small-flowered Catchfly), Spergularia bocconei (Greek Sea Spurrey), Trifolium suffocatum (Suffocated Clover), large clumps of Salpichroa origaniflora (Cock’s-eggs) pointed out by John Poland, Cataponium ssp rigidum (Fern Grass), Gnaphalium undulatum (Cape Cudweed), Oenothera stricta (Fragrant evening-primrose), Rumex pulcher (Fiddle Dock), beautiful Matthiola sinuata (Sea Stock) as well as the deeper purple flowering M. incana (Hoary Stock, image below left). We then headed inland to find Salvia verbenacea (Whorled Clary), Trifolium ornithopodiodes (Fenugreek), Fumaria capreolata (White Ramping) and F. bastardii (Tall Ramping-fumitory) thankfully expertly identified by Tim and an interesting find of Scorzonera humilis (Viper’s Grass) on a damp roadside verge where more Anacamptis laxiflora was swaying in the gentle breeze.

Thursday evening was a visit to the National Trust property Les Caches where the Societie Guernesiaise delighted us with a traditional Guernsey meal of ‘Bean Jar’ followed by Guernsey ‘Gache’ with lovely local ale and cider.

The final morning offered the opportunity to branch out by ourselves to visit habitats we’d not had the chance to see earlier in the week.  I was extremely lucky to find myself with local County Recorder Helen Litchfield who led a fantastic 5 hour expedition to many sites where Lynne Farrell, John Poland and myself were expertly shown plants and insects we would probably have searched all day to find ourselves, but of course Helen knew exactly where to look, right down to the exact centimetre. Highlights were Polygala serpyllifolia (Heath Milkwort), Cicendia filiformis (Yellow Centaury), Ornithopus pinnatus (Orange Birdsfoot), Hypericum humifusum (Trailing Toadflax) and Hypochaeris glabra (Smooth Cat’s-ear) at Fort Doyle. We then saw a large number of fabulous Orobanche purpurea (Yarrow Broomrape) at Grand Havre. On then to Port Soif for a delightful display of Ophrys apifera (Bee Orchid) and Anancamptis pyramidalis (Pyramidal Orchid), Geranium columbinum (Long-stalked Crane’s-bill) and the fantastic Bupleurum baldense (Small Hare’s-ear, image below right). 

A detour to an inland lane followed where Helen showed us Asplenium x microdon (Guernsey Fern) which had thankfully been saved from strimming unlike the fate of the rest of the hedgerow. Then on to the cliffs at Les Tielles where we hoped to see the rare butterfly Melitaea cinxia (Glanville Fritillary). Right on cue they began to fly past us and obligingly landed long enough for us to get some great photographs (image below left), a habit butterflies aren’t usually that willing to undertake. Cytisus scoparius ssp maritimus (Prostrate Broom) was also seen as well as Euphorbia portlandica (Portland Spurge), the rare Viola kitaibeliana (Dwarf Pansy), Hypericum linarifolium (Toadflax-leaved St John’s-wort) and Lotus subbiflorous (Hairy Bird’s-foot trefoil). I also managed to photograph two mating Andrena agilissima (Violet-winged Mining Bees) another insect local to the Channel Islands which I was really pleased to see.

What a truly wonderful final day for which I’m so grateful to Helen. I honestly don’t  think I’ve ever encountered so many first time sightings or said ‘wow’ so may times in one day!

Even the coach journeys each day provided glorious displays of Gladiolus illyricus (Wild Gladiolus), Allium ampeloprasum (Wild Leek), swathes of Lagurus ovatus (Hare’s-tail), Malva arborea (Tree Mallow) and Echium pininana (Giant Viper’s-Bugloss aka Guernsey Rocket) - not your everyday bus botanising species.

What an interesting group of people to spend time with, glorious weather, beautiful habitats, some rare insects and of course the abundance of plants, many of which I’d never even heard of and undoubtedly would never have seen had I not travelled to Guernsey and been in the company of such experts both local and BSBI Summer Meeting attendees. As expected recording was mostly in Latin, but people were helpful with providing English names.

So, after the initial apprehension, was I glad I attended? It’s an unequivocal ‘yes!’ from me after a fabulous five days of botanising that I’ll never forget. Now there’s the mammoth task of entering all my sightings onto iRecord.

If you’d like to follow my antics as an amateur botany, fungi, entomology and bird recorder on the Isle of Anglesey I document many of my finds on Bluesky and on Twitter including regular Sunday night participation in #WildflowerHour. Plus if anyone would like information on where to botanise on the Isle of Anglesey I’d be more than happy to help you plan your visit and can even offer bespoke Botany or Birding tours".

Huge thanks to Mandy for this account of her first ever Summer Meeting and for the lovely photos (all taken by Mandy) which illustrate this blogpost - and for the offer to help wildlife lovers plan their trips to Anglesey! 

If you've been hesitating over whether or not to book for this event, maybe Mandy's account has reassured you that you'll be made very welcome and you'll have a fabulous time? Head over to the Ticket Tailor page to find out more about this year's Summer Meeting; you'll find a detailed programme, information about accommodation and a booking link. We'd love to see you there - and if you're coming along for the first time, we'd also love to publish your account of how it went!