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!"