Kirkcudbrightshire Botany Group at Dunmuck, 24th May 2025
We visited Dunmuck by kind invitation of Laura and Alan Jones. It is a 90 acre farm on the western slopes of Criffel which their family have owned for over 50 years. There is grassland, two lochans, young broadleaved and commercial woodland on a largely acidic granite bedrock. Laura and Alan seek to restore and maintain the natural wildlife habitats alongside traditional low intensity farming.
We spent a very enjoyable day exploring the grassland areas of the farm, the rocky course of the burn and the lower lochan. On a return visit two days later, Bob, Laura and I looked in more detail at the upper lochan and associated wet grassland.
On our initial walk up from the farm we found a lovely range of woodland plants along the wall and by the burn including Bluebell Hyacinthoides non scripta, Enchanter’s-nightshade Circaea lutetiana, Wood Anemone Anemone nemorosa, Red Campion Silene dioica, Pink Purslane Claytonia sibirica and ferns such as Broad Buckler-fern Dryopteris dilatata and Lady Fern Athyrium felix-femina. We were particularly pleased to find a small patch of Sweet Woodruff Galium odoratum and one of Sanicle Sanicula europaea, both usually more indicative of calcareous substrate. The most prominent grass was the early-flowering Sweet Vernal-grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, now joined by the slightly later flowering Smooth Meadow-grass Poa pratensis and Rough Meadow-grass P. trivialis.
After lunch we walked to the lower lochan which had been artificially dammed many years ago. The water level was low and the exposed mud had been almost completely covered by an extensive growth of Marsh Pennywort Hydrocotyle vulgaris. We also noted Water-pepper Persicaria hydropiper, Round-leaved Crowfoot Ranunculus omiophyllus, Water Forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides, Water-plantain Alisma plantago-aquatica, Lesser Marshwort Helosciadium inundatum, Amphibious Bistort Persicaria amphibia, Branched Bur-reed Sparganium erectum and Common Spike-rush Eleocharis palustris. The water surface had an extensive growth of Broad-leaved Pondweed Potamogeton natans. Sand Martins Riparia riparia were feeding over the water and Bob showed us a Water Scorpion Nepa cinerea and Horse Leeches Haemopis sanguisuga.
The upper lochan and its associated wet grassland proved to be very interesting too. On his initial visit, Bob found Whorled Caraway Trocdaris verticillata and White Sedge Carex canescens, both species which are indicative of a good semi-natural habitat. This lochan had been more recently excavated than the lower pond, however, the adjacent grassland was found to be particularly botanically rich, with a total of six species of sedge including Pale Sedge Carex pallescens, Bottle Sedge C. rostrata and Common Sedge C. nigra, as well as a good range of flowering plant species such as Devil’s-bit Scabious Succisa pratensis, Tormentil Potentilla erecta, Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis and Wild Angelica Angelica sylvestris. One sedge that we found was too immature to ID with certainty and will require a later visit. There were also rosettes of spotted orchids, not yet in flower, although the transversely-elongated spots were indicative of Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii. The water surface had a beautiful display of Cape-pondweed Aponegeton distachyos, presumably planted, as well as Broad-leaved Pondweed Potamogeton natans, Bog Pondweed P. polygonifolius and Water Horsetail Equisetum fluviatile.
This is a tiny umbelliferous plant with underwater thread-like leaves and broader laminar leaves where it projects above the water. We didn’t see the flowers in the field but after a couple of days in water at home the flowers and laminar leaves appeared.
This was a very enjoyable visit, and we were very pleased to find a good number of interesting and less common plants. We recorded 100 species in NX9258; 66 species in NX9259 and 40 species in NX9358. I am keen to return to look at the hay field before it is cut, hopefully see the orchids in flower and to identify the immature sedge by the upper lochan.
My grateful thanks to Laura and Alan for their generous hospitality and to those who came along to the meeting for their company and excellent plant spotting.
Sarah White
