Dumfriesshire Botany Group at Warb Law, 17th May 2025
A small group of four met on a warm day at the bottom of the track up to the Warb Law transmitter. While Warb Law is not very high at 275m it is part of the complex of steep hills around Langholm and is prominent in overlooking the town. Most of these hills are still predominantly open sheep and cattle pasture. A current challenge at Warb Law is a proposal for extensive commercial forestry planting. There is a local campaign to oppose this.
Our square for the day (NY3583) was mostly the north slope of Warb Law rising up from Wauchope Water and the Langholm Lockerbie road. The slope is mostly grassland turning into blanket peat near the top but with several flushed areas and some open natural woodland. There are a couple of rock exposures.
We spent quite a bit of time initially recording on the disturbed area at the bottom of the track and also along the road on the verges and beside the Wauchope Water though access to the latter was limited due to fencing. Given the diversity here we had recorded 70 taxa before we went through the gate onto the hill. Most of these were common woodland or burn side plants or those of road verges and open disturbed ground. It is always nice to see Large Bitter-cress Cardamine amara and Wood Stitchwort Stellaria nemorum which are both components of damp shaded woodland and stream sides. Otherwise in this early hot dry weather the Red Campion Silene dioica was well in flower alongside the Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Wild Garlic Allium ursinum and Greater Stichwort Stellaria holostea together were making a colourful show.
As we headed up hill we initially followed a small burn that had cut quite a substantial gully. The terrain was steep with exposed rock and required care. Despite the dry conditions there was still a trickle of water. This had a good cover of mature trees and so conditions were humid and although under-grazed there was a good assemblage of plants that like such conditions. So for example we saw Upland Enchanter’s-nightshade Circaea x intermedia, Beech Fern Phegopteris connectalis and Oak Fern Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Woodruff Galium odoratum and the nice grass Wood Melick Melica uniflora. This is not a common grass in east Dumfriesshire and this is only the second record for the NY38 hectad since 1896.
We emerged from the top of the gulley and out into more open woodland on a flushed slope. The key feature here are a series of stands of mature Alder Alnus glutinosa. These clearly attract hole nesting birds and we could hear redstart calling as we found a spot for lunch. Luckily the heard of cattle grazing here passed below us without coming to see what we were up to.
This part of the slope is flushed, with drier areas of acid grassland, stands of Bracken and wetter areas with Rush and Sedges. The latter are a bit richer and maybe slightly calcareous. In the acid grassland there was Tormentil Potentilla erecta, Carnation Sedge Carex panicea, Blaeberry Vaccinium myrtillus, Pill Sedge Carex pilulifera and Mat Grass Nardus Stricta. Among the plants in the more enriched flushed areas were Glaucous Sedge Carex flacca , Downy Oat-grass Avenula pubescens, Spring Sedge Carex caryophylla, Fairy Flax Linum catharticum and Marsh Valerian Valeriana dioica. It was too early for other sedges, orchids or for eyebrights.
This kind of slope, with some flushing and cover of scattered trees and some bracken has been the kind of place where the little fern Adder’s-tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum has been found in recent years in the Langholm area. So we had a good look for this but without success.
Moving to the top of the hill takes you into blanket bog where a very few specialist plants can be found. While very dry given the conditions we did see Cranberry Vaccinicum oxycoccus and Hare’s-tail Cottongrass Eriophorum vaginatum amongst the Heather Calluna vulgaris and the Purple Moor-grass Molinia caerulea.
On the eastern rim of Warb Law hill overlooking Langholm there is a small rock outcrop. This is just large enough to allow limited trees and ivy to avoid the grazers. The rocks were very dry but offer a niche for Wild Thyme Thymus drucei, Bitter Vetch Lathyrus linifolous, Mouse-ear-hawkweed Pilosella officinarum and Burnet Saxifrage, Pimpinella saxifraga. Maidenhair Spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes subsp quadrivalens was very dried up.
A nice find in the short sward here was Mountain Pansy Viola lutea.
Amongst other things on the slope back down the hill we found Bog Asphodel Narthecium ossifragrum, Lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica and Marsh Arrowgrass Triglochin palustris.
A final challenge along the trackside was Artic Eyebright Euphrasia arctica. It looked dwarfed in the dry conditions.
The total number of records made was 180.
Chris Miles
BSBI county recorder for Dumfriesshire VC73 – see bsbi.org/dumfriesshire
