BSBI Summer Meeting: Report from Day Two

Silene nutans seen at the ASM
Image: L. Gravestock

Here is the latest report from Jonathan Shanklin, organiser of this year's BSBI Annual Summer Meeting, on Day Two of this five-day event:

"The weather forecast changed overnight, and leaving Cheshire in the morning things looked ominous for our excursion - lashing rain and strong winds. 

"In the event we only had one sharp shower during the day lasting a few minutes, but the strong winds continued throughout the day.

Botanists at Graig Fawr, ASM 2017
Image: L. Gravestock

"Our first destination was Gronant dunes, mid way between Prestatyn and the Point of Ayr. 

"The party split into two groups, one going west lead by Emily Meilleur, the County Recorder for Flintshire, and I led the other group going east. 

"My group had a short walk before they could start recording in the monad, but then set to with gusto, eventually recording around 150 species. 

Ian Woodward (BTO) braves the
elements to photograph Sea Holly
& Portland Spurge
Image: J. Shanklin

"Notable for the environment was Filipendula vulgaris, but there were plenty of more expected species such as Vulpia fasiculata and Oenanthe lachenallii. 

"We could have found much more but had to return to the coach in time to get to our afternoon destination.

"Graig Fawr, a limestone escarpment was our target, with three groups, Emily taking one along the disused railway line, now a foot/cycle path, BSBI Welsh Officer Polly Spencer-Vellacott taking a group to the top, and I took a group to the middle ground. 

"I think I drew the short straw as the others had Epipactis atropururea, Veronica spicata, Juniperus communis, Helianthemum oelandicum and other goodies. 

Botanists at Prestatyn Dunes, wrapped up and
undaunted by the "Summer" Meeting weather!
Image: L. Gravestock

"My group did find some nice grassland species, with Briza media, Helianthemum numularium and others now under threat in England but still common enough in Wales.

"Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, the Welsh AGM and a toast to John Topp, who very kindly bequeathed a sum of money so that botanists could have a drink on him at the Welsh AGM. 

"But before the reports from the BSBI Welsh Officer, the Chair of the Committee for Wales and the editor of the Welsh Bulletin, there was a rather special announcement..." 

Click here for a hint as to what that might be about - and watch out for the next blogpost!

Helianthemum oelandicum at Graig Fawr
Image: L. Gravestock

BSBI Summer Meeting: Report from Day One

Orchid (Heath or Common Spotted?)
seen on Day One of the ASM
Image: K. Tucker

The BSBI Summer Meeting has now started and organiser Jon Shanklin will be sending us daily reports. Here is his report from Day One: 

"Wales welcomed us with its wet side, which rather influenced the afternoon options. A small party did venture out, recording a host of urban species, including Deutzia cf scabra, which was identified using John Poland & Eric Clement's Vegetative Key and later confirmed by John himself as the correct deduction on the basis of its stellate hairs and hollow stem.

"Meanwhile the organiser was logging people in, and noting their changes to recording availability in the second half of the week. 

"As David Earl was one of the ones who went out walking, the indoor session turned into a talk by Jonathan Shanklin on Scientific Discovery from the Great War to the Antarctic Ozone Hole. 

Jon S. giving his talk
Image: P. Spencer-Vellacott

"The first part featured botany in nearby Llandudno, whilst the second part covered climate change as well as the ozone hole. The botanical section was extended almost at the last minute, with the discovery of a family album of pressed flowers, which record the plants in the neighbourhood of Llandudno between about 1890 and 1905. Even a quick glance at the album has shown that many are earliest records for Wales! 

"The Stamford Gate has made us very welcome, quickly observing that we chatted in small groups and so quickly re-arranging the seating in the dining room to tables of four and six. 

Red Valerian seen on Day One
Image: K. Tucker

"After dinner we re-convened, first to have a short briefing on recording and safety in the field (download the BSBI guidance on Safety in the Field from the Field Meetings page), then to hear David Earl on brambles. He had specially focused on Flintshire species and took us through some of the commoner ones, then showed us a new key that he had been developing (note that the key only seems to work if you are using Google Chrome as your browser). 

"It required a bit of trial and error for an imaginary specimen, but got us to Rubus armeniacus for a real one, and very quickly took us to Rubus effrenatus, only found in Flintshire on Hope Mountain, which had been sampled the day before.  

"Tomorrow promises better weather and the chance to explore Gronant dunes and the limestone crags of Graig Fawr.

"The image on the left is of one of the plants in the book - a new hectad record and the earliest date for it in Wales. Note that Viola curtsii is now Viola tricolor subsp. curtsii."

Thanks Jonathan, let's hope the weather improves for all of you tomorrow!

Countdown to the BSBI Annual Summer Meeting III

Waun-y-Lyn
Image: J. Shanklin

A last update from organiser Jon Shanklin before the BSBI Annual Summer Meeting (ASM) starts in the morning:

"Yesterday for a bit of relaxation prior to the ASM I headed for the south-west corner of Denbighshire, which is in need of Atlas 2020 records. The Met Office had promised a shower or two in the afternoon, and whilst there were indeed two, they were so light that I didn't even need my waterproofs. There were several plants that I never see in Cambridgeshire, and particularly noteworthy were Teesdalia nudicalis and Jasione montana.

"Today was also a fine day, but the morning was taken up with a spot of gardening, as well as ringing the bells at the local church. In the afternoon I went for a stroll around a location that I can see from the bathroom window - Hope Mountain (289m). The southern part is in one of the under-recorded Flintshire tetrads (143 species, 66% refind rate), so I hoped to add a few more records. In this I certainly succeeded, finding another 95 species. 

Melampyrum pratense
Image: J. Shanklin

"One interesting one was the alien Briza maxima, which I found in the village of Cymau. In the country park of Waun-y-Llyn, at the top of the mountain, I was pleased to find patches of Melampyrum pratense, which my mother had found there in 1964. Hopefully some of the recording groups will find this during the week.  

"By coincidence whilst I was out, I received a text from my sister saying that she had found some treasures. I had no idea what these might be, but on my return she showed me a collection of books of pressed flowers, one of which contained a pressed "Cow slip", that I had found at Cymau in May 1961. My first record in the book seems to be a plant that I had found when I was just five years old! This however wasn't the best of the treasures, but I will reveal that at the ASM!"

Countdown to the BSBI Annual Summer Meeting II

Antennaria dioica - one of the plants
 we hope to see at the ASM
Image courtesy J. Crellin/Floral Images
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/page.php?
taxon=antennaria_dioica,1

The other day, I managed to speak to Jon Shanklin, BSBI's Hon. Field Meetings Secretary, who is organising this year's BSBI Annual Summer Meeting (ASM) in Flintshire and asked him how things were going. Here's what he told me:

"The countdown to the ASM is ticking away relentlessly - has everything been organised?  The bits that can be organised seem to be in order, though I'm sure I've forgotten several things, but there are two big items that cannot be organised - the weather and the participants.

"The weather is now coming into range for the forecasts, and they suggest that we may get some dry days, but there will be some wet ones too, and it will be cooler than of late.

"I've had a chance to practice wet weather recording using waterproof recording cards and these work very well, though checking IDs is a problem - best to take a sample for later study. 

"Where the participants want to go on the recording days and who they will go with is perhaps like herding cats and almost the hardest part of organising the meeting. 

Helianthemum oelandicum - another of the plants
 we hope to see at the ASM
Image courtesy J. Crellin/Floral Images
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/page.php?
taxon=helianthemum_oelandicum,1

"I've created a spreadsheet of possible combinations, but can almost guarantee that it will get completely re-written as soon as the participants begin to arrive.  

"This year the ASM includes the Welsh AGM so there is another reason to come along - a chance to drink a toast to Commander John Topp, who made a bequest so that everyone attending the Welsh AGM has a complimentary drink!

"We also have a special event this year - the giving and receipt of the Presidents' Award, a joint award between the Wild Flower Society and the BSBI. We'll be telling you who is the well-deserved recipient after the event, but if you want to be amongst the first to know, you will have to come along to Flintshire!"

Help requested from BSBI botanists

Calling all BSBI botanists who are also interested in gardening - your help is requested please. Over to Biology student Lana:

"For my final university project I have been working with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to determine which pests and diseases are considered to be most problematic in UK gardens - something for which I need your help!

"I have produced a survey to document the opinions of UK gardeners and would be incredibly grateful if BSBI botanists and gardeners alike could take only 5-10 minutes out of your day to let me know what you think the most problematic pests and diseases are in your garden/allotment. 

"The survey is designed so that gardeners of any level can fill it in, from experts to complete beginners.

"If you're feeling extra generous, please forward the survey link to your friends and family or anyone you think may be interested too.

"Here's the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/thegardensurvey 

"I hope you have a lovely day and thank you in advance for your help!"

BSBI botanists were incredibly helpful last year when Oli asked you to help with his powdery mildew survey so I'm hoping that you will now rise to the challenge again and be able to help Lana with her survey. Thank you in advance for your help.

Last few spaces on Kerry BSBI event

Booking for this year's recording extravaganza on the beautiful Dingle peninsula in the west of Ireland closed yesterday (officially) but if you missed out, don't despair! I was just chatting to BSBI Irish Officer Maria Long and ace botanist Rory Hodd of Rough Crew fame - Rory is organising the event - and I asked how bookings were going.

As you'd expect, there has been huge interest in this event which runs from 1st - 5th June. 35 people have already booked, but the good news is that there are two twin rooms left unbooked at 'base camp' for the Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights.

Maria said "I'm so excited about the #KerryBSBIevent. We'll be spending five days recording in one of my favourite places in Ireland, the Dingle peninsula. It's just stunning down there and has it all - amazing beaches, formidable mountains and rarities galore. We already have 35 people attending but still have two twin rooms available at base camp' (Harbour House Guesthouse). I wonder who'll be filling those spots? Will it be you?" 

Well if I wasn't working that weekend then yes, it would be me! But as I can't make it, one of you lucky people can go instead. Please email Rory as quickly as you can and book your space at the recording event of the year. I'll be following the action on Twitter and trying not to be too jealous!

Review of a training course on grasses, sedges and rushes

Dominic demonstrates grass characters
Image: R. Mabbutt 

BSBI member Richard has sent us a review of a training course he attended recently for grasses, sedges and rushes. Over to Richard:

"This is the year I've decided to tackle my Achilles heel; grasses, sedges and rushes. 

"I needed some kind of foundation course, so I followed the links on the BSBI Training page and found a one-day course run by the Species Recovery Trust on 'Early Season/Vegetative Grass and Sedge Identification'. I had already seen a video on YouTube by Dominic Price (the tutor) about grasses and was impressed, so I booked.

"The day started at Old Sarum, Salisbury with Dominic talking us through the vegetative properties of five grasses, showing us the characters to look for. We then had to find these five species for ourselves, and talk through the characters we found. For me this was a little difficult and I found three out of the five but fumbled at naming them.

"Next up was a slightly different area that was banked with completely different species, and this contained the three oat grasses. I did a little better this time and managed to name three out of the five - like anything in botany, practising over and over again is necessary to nail it. My confidence was gaining a little.

Lying down to inspect the "lawn"
Image: R. Mabbutt

"We then moved on to what just looked like lawn, and following our tutor’s example, we all lay down for a good inspection. I was surprised at just how many species were there. Much discussion was had and we bombarded Dominic with questions, all of which he answered.

"After the grass introductions we were split into groups of three and given a little patch to name the species. It was only about 4 square metres and we managed to find and name eleven species. I felt a little better working with others: our pooled knowledge worked well as we bounced thoughts and ID tips off each other.

"A quick stop for some ice cream and the rest of the afternoon was spent doing little patches in different areas, seeing just how many species could be ID'd.

Specimens for examination
Image: R. Mabbutt

"All in all I came away with a fair few pointers and a completely different insight into the world of grasses and sedges. I’ll be putting what I learned into practice when I’m out square-bashing for Atlas 2020 and surveying my NPMS squares. 

"I also have a four day grass/sedge/rush course with Mark Duffell (Field Studies Council) booked for July, and I’ll be attending Mike Porter’s Sedge workshop on 10th June, so I’ll be looking forward to passing on some useful ID tips to beginner botanists on the Botany for Beginners course. I attended the course last year and, as promised, I’m back again this year as a ‘Botanical Buddy’ (a volunteer assistant tutor). I’ll keep you all posted on how I get on with grasses, sedges and rushes this year!" 

Thanks Richard, looking forward to the next instalment of your mission to get to grips with grasses, sedges and rushes.