British & Irish Botany: issue 3.3 published

Snake's-head fritillary
Image: P. Stroh

We've just pressed 'publish' on the latest issue of British & Irish Botany, BSBI's online, Open Access scientific journal. 

This issue features ten papers, starting with a report by BSBI Head of Science Kevin Walker on the lovely Snake's-head Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris. Kevin's blogpost about this iconic plant, as part of our Wildflower of the Month series during lockdown, proved very popular and in this new paper he analyses its occurrence in different habitats and discusses its claim to native status. 

Next up we have a paper by Michael Braithwaite about the discovery of the local flora as reflected in BSBI vice-county datasets. Michael uses Berwickshire, where he was County Recorder for many years, as a case-study and his account makes fascinating reading for all botanical recorders in the run-up to publication in 2022 of our next plant distribution Atlas. 

Mayweeds on Orkney
Image: J. Crossley

Also in this issue we have a report on Sea Mayweed, Scentless Mayweed and their puzzling  intermediates in Orkney; and Mick Crawley considers the dramatic recent increase in abundance of Rat's-tail Fescue Vulpia myuros as a weed of winter wheat-fields - he reports on a long-term experiment at Silwood Park, Bucks. to discover what extent this increase is due to no-till cultivation, or to herbicide-resistance, or to autumn cultivation coupled with warmer winter weather.  

Authors of BSBI Handbooks have been busy too: Mark Lynes describes three new species of Lady's-mantle Alchemilla from northern Britain, ahead of publication, probably next year, of his long-awaited Alchemilla Handbook; and three new species of Dandelion are described by John Richards in the run-up to publication of his new Field Handbook to British and Irish Dandelions, due out next month. BSBI members should watch out for the special members-only discount offers on both these books.

Hepste Hawkweed
Image: T. Rich

Over to B&IB Editor-in-Chief Ian Denholm to tell us about the four remaining papers in this issue:

"Within the family Polygonaceae, Redshank Persicaria maculosa and Pale Persicaria P. lapathifolia are both common in Britain but subject to confusion through over-reliance on flower colour as a distinguishing feature. Michael Wilcox reviews contrasting taxonomic treatments and provides guidelines for rationalising considerable variation within the Pale Persicaria ‘complex’.

"Tim Rich continues his survey of the status of Britain’s Hawkweeds (genus Hieracium) with a report on Hepste Hawkweed H. apheles - an extremely rare endemic restricted to five plants in a single locality in the Brecon Beacons. This is one of several endemic taxa with a threat status of ‘critically endangered’ according to IUCN criteria, safeguarded to some extent by the deposition of seed in the Millennium Seed Bank.

"Finally, Clive Stace and Duilio Iamonico resolve issues of species typification within the genera Vulpia and Atriplex, respectively".

So, another jam-packed issue with something for everyone. British & Irish Botany is free to read (and free for authors to publish in) and there's no log in required - just head over here to start enjoying the latest issue and then why not browse our archive? We are now accepting submissions for the fourth and final issue of this third volume, due out in December - why not get in touch if you are thinking of contributing?

Plant monitoring on Mull: September report from BSBI President Lynne Farrell

Ro Scott helping Lynne mark out her
NPMS plot on Mull
Image: L. Farrell

Last month BSBI President Lynne Farrell was on South Walney, escaping the heat and looking at coastal plants. 

So where is she this month? On another island? Yep! 

Over to Lynne:

"I’ve been busy both in the field and in the office over the past month. In my vice-county, Mid Ebudes, I have re-recorded my plots on Mull for the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS). 

I set my plots up in 2016, shortly after the Scheme started. 

Tunbridge Filmy-fern
Image: Jonathan Keefe

The NPMS is one of the major projects to which many BSBI members have been contributing. If you would like to get involved, click here to find out if there is a square near you.

I have also been checking a few of the rarer species localities including the Tunbridge filmy-fern Hymenophyllum tunbrigense. Wilson's filmy-fern H. wilsonii is much more common but there are only a few sites for H. tunbrigense, although both have a similar distribution mainly along the western coasts of Britain and Ireland. 

Tunbridge filmy-fern - yes, the spelling is different in the Latin and common names - was first found in Britain in Tunbridge, Kent, hence the name.

The WILDGuides book Britain’s Ferns by James Merryweather came in useful as the photographs are excellent, so encouraging people wishing to learn more about these attractive species. The only drawback is that the pages are not waterproof. 

The location of the filmy-fern, at
the base of a Birch tree
Image courtesy of L. Farrell

However, the publication has been awarded the Presidents’ Award this year - this is the annual prize awarded by the Presidents of the BSBI and the Wild Flower Society. 

You can see more about the previous winners here.

James wanted us to see the beauty of this group of plants and to encourage us all to enjoy and easily identify them. Other books provide more detailed text, which complement this volume. 

Back in the office I have been writing my annual Message from the President for the new BSBI Annual Review, which will be mailed out to members inside the September issue of BSBI News and will be on the website soon after.

I've also been attending a meeting of the Board of Trustees and other Committee meetings, and planning for the BSBI Annual Exhibition Meeting and AGM in November. 

So, a busy month!"