Kirkcudbrightshire Botany Group at Trostrie Motte Farm, 5th July 2024
A group of 10 of us assembled at Trostrie Motte Farm by kind permission of the owners. The part of the farm that we particularly wanted to survey was the low-lying basin containing the loch, together with the adjacent areas of tall herb fen and wet woodland. All the areas we recorded lie within the monad NX6657.
The tall herb fen area contained a rich mix of flowering plant species including Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis, Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, Devil’s-bit Scabious Succisa pratensis, Common Knapweed Centurea nigra, Water Mint Mentha aquatica, Marsh Thistle Cirsium palustre, Common Marsh-bedstraw Galium palustre, Fen Bedstraw G. uliginosum, Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata, Common Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii and Marsh Violet Viola palustris. We were particularly pleased to find Whorled Caraway Trocdaris verticillata, a local speciality. Brown Sedge Carex disticha was frequent in the sward. There was a scattering of scrub including Grey Willow Salix cinerea and Downy Birch Betula pubescens. A willow specimen thought to be Dark-leaved Willow Salix myrsinifolia has been sent to the willow referee for checking.
We then went in search of the loch itself which was hidden from view behind an area of wet woodland. This woodland contained a wonderful tangle of fallen dead branches (ideal for invertebrates and nesting birds) and a colourful display of Marsh Hawk’s-beard Crepis paludosa together with Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Yellow Iris Iris pseudacorus, Remote Sedge Carex remota, Enchanter’s-nightshade Circaea lutetiana, Polypody Polypodium vulgare, and Wood-sorrel Oxalis acetosella.
Walking further south, we discovered that access to the loch was much more easily achieved by following a stream downslope through open woodland. The loch has a delightful fringe of White Water-lily Nymphaea alba and Yellow Water-lily Nuphar lutea while the edge is lined by Common Club-rush Schoenoplectus lacustris, Common Reed Phragmites australis and Slender Sedge Carex lasiocarpa. Adjacent to the loch on the west side is a splendid open area of mire vegetation in which we were delighted to find an abundance of Lesser Tussock-sedge Carex diandra. Other notable species here were Star Sedge C. echinata, White Sedge C. canescens, Marsh Lousewort Pedicularis palustris, Marsh Arrowgrass Triglochin palustris, Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata and Marsh Cinquefoil Comarum palustre.
Lastly we walked north towards the edge of Culgaigrie Loch, most of which is under separate ownership. As we crossed the pastureland, David spotted a single plant of Salad Burnet Poterium sanguisorba subsp. sanguisorba a rare plant in Kirkcudbrightshire, found at only two other places. This is a typical plant of calcareous soils, for example on the southern chalk, and its occurrence here is rather a puzzle, but nevertheless pretty special!
We were also surprised to find a single plant of Ragged-Robin Silene flos-cuculi with double flowers, something none of us had seen before. It appears that this variant is uncommon – there have only ever been five records of it on the UK database of the Botanical Society for Britain and Ireland, none of which were in Scotland. The other most recent record was from Anglesey last year.
We were able to access a short stretch of Culgaigrie Loch, which had a dense growth of Common Reed Phragmites australis together with a good stand of Lesser Pond-sedge Carex acutiformis. This latter is quite local in Kirkcudbrightshire, so this was another a good record. Indeed we recorded ten species of sedges during the day, which is an excellent number and underlines the quality of the habitat here.
Other taxa which we came across during our visit were:
Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus and Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, both breeding.
Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia and Red Sword-grass Xylena vetusta caterpillars
Straw Dot Moths Rivula sericealis
Sac Spider (Clubiona sp.)
Common Frog Rana temporaria
Both Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella and Variable Damselfly Coenagrion pulchellum
Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus and Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina butterflies
Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator
One last plant record was Chicory Cichorium intybus, found where we parked our cars at the farm buildings. This beautiful blue flower occurs as a relic of cultivation or, more recently, it is sown as part of a forage crop. It hasn’t been recorded growing as a wild plant in Kirkcudbrightshire since the 1960s.
This proved to be an extremely interesting and enjoyable visit; we recorded 143 species in the monad. The fen, loch and woodland habitats are very rich botanically and were in excellent management condition to maintain this interest. A particular highlight was the open mire on the west of Trostrie Loch with such an abundance of Lesser Tussock-sedge Carex diandra.
Special thanks to the landowners for allowing us to visit and to all the group for their company and observations.
Sarah White
