Kirkcudbrightshire Botany Group at Kippford, 29th December 2024 (New Year Plant Hunt)

The stormy weather meant that we had to rearrange the meeting at short notice, and despite the forecast promising a dry day and even some sunshine, it was disappointingly damp and drizzly. Nevertheless, an enthusiastic group of nine of us gathered at the Kippford Community Hall car park and worked our way from there along the road by the shore. We decided to use the BSBI app to record our results so that they could be added to the live national results, but Val very efficiently completed the usual record card as back up.

Our first and most abundant flowering plant was of course Daisy Bellis perennis, with the grass in the car park displaying a good scattering of open flowers. There was also a fine bank of yellow Gorse Ulex europaeus behind the loo block and Annual Meadow-grass Poa annua along the base of the wall, with an occasional anther showing that it was actually flowering. Still in the car park, Groundsel Senecio vulgaris and Dandelion Taraxacum agg. were quickly found.

We spread out along both sides of the road and the next plant was Field Forget-me-not Myosotis arvensis growing with Scarlet Pimpernel Anagallis arvensis, the latter sadly not in flower but the presence of fruits showed that it had been so until quite recently. On the wall above, Malcolm found at least 4 specimens of Rustyback Asplenium ceterach, a great record as this is an uncommon fern in VC73.

Our next group of plants prompted some discussion about whether they should be included. A beautiful Pot Marigold Calendula officinalis was flowering behind a parked car at the foot of a garden wall, but we concluded that it ‘counted’ as it had obviously seeded itself there. Flowering Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens and Petty Spurge Euphorbia peplus were in a gardened area, but obviously wild plants.

At the road edge were Shepherd’s-purse Capsella bursa-pastoris, Thale Cress Arabidopsis thaliana, Wavy Bitter-cress Cardamine flexuosa and Hairy Bitter-cress C. hirsuta, the two Cardamine species separated on the number of stamens, 6 for flexuosa and 4 for hirsuta. Separating these involved hands-and-knees inspection and a good lens!

At this point we were just outside an inviting-looking coffee shop and as the drizzle continued we ‘stopped the clock’ on the three-hour recording slot and enjoyed hot coffee, scones and cream.

Afterwards we looked at a huge bank of flowering Ivy, with much of the growth on the ground and many of the leaves showing the characteristics of Atlantic Ivy (broad leaves >8cm, lobed <half-way to base, stellate hairs lying flat). However, the hairs were white not yellowish-brown so it was recorded as Hedera helix s.l.

We now had to walk further along the road to find new plants, but there was Ivy-leaved Toadflax Cymbalaria muralis in flower on top of a hedge followed by a single plant of Smooth Hawk’s-beard Crepis capillaris. Ross then spotted flowering Wood Sage Teucrium scorodonia, evidently not commonly found on NYPHs as the app asked us to supply a photograph to support our ID.

We looked on the shore with the hope of finding Common Scurvygrass Cochlearia officinalis but no luck. However Catherine found Sea Mayweed Tripleurospermum maritimum with a single flower head and there were a few Snowdrops Galanthus nivalis under the wall of one of the houses where they appeared to have seeded themselves naturally.

We had almost run out of time, but we had reached the Tree of the Year 2021, a gnarled Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, braced against the wind and weather which stands at the edge of the shore. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-59650448 So we paid our respects to this iconic tree and had our group photo taken by a helpful passer-by.

One always spots new plants by walking back the same way, and this time it was Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum and Greater Periwinkle Vinca major which caught our eye.

We also met a resident of Kippford who expressed interest in joining our group.

The final total was 22 species and we were surprised and pleased to have found so many. However, at the same time, we are only too well aware that finding too many plants flowering at this time of year is a warning sign of climate change and worrying news for our flora in the long term.

Many thanks to everyone in the group for coming along and making it such an enjoyable and productive meeting. Thanks too to the photographers: Catherine, Theo and Malcolm.

 

Sarah White

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