Kirkcudbrightshire Botany Group at Mossdale, 6th June 2025
A group of eight of us met in Mossdale to be greeted by clouds of midges! This hastened our departure from the car park and fortunately, as we emerged from under the trees, there was enough breeze to disperse them.
The old railway line has a mix of interesting plants, both on the gravel of the track bed and on the grassy bank sides. Among the former were the first few Eyebrights Euphrasia agg. of the season, Parsley-piert Aphanes agg, Lesser Trefoil Trifolium dubium and Squirreltail Fescue Vulpia bromoides. Along the banks were several fern species including Lemon-scented Fern Oreopteris limbosperma, Broad Buckler-fern Dryopteris dilatata and Lady-fern Athyrium filix-femina. Sedges included Common Sedge Carex nigra, Pill Sedge C.pilulifera and Glaucous Sedge C. flacca (‘floppy flacca’ with the pendulous lower female spike). Grasses included Heath-grass Danthonia decumbens and Red Fescue Festuca rubra, together with both Field Wood-rush Luzula campestris and Heath Wood-rush L. multiflora. Other notable plants here were Bitter-vetch Lathyrus linifolius and Smith’s Pepperwort Lepidium heterophyllum (the latter having been previously recorded here by Bob). The grassland beyond had both Germander Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys and Heath Speedwell V.officinalis together with Bulbous Buttercup Ranunculus bulbosus, instantly recognisable from its turned-down sepals.
A little further on our path crossed an acidic ditch with Bog Pondweed Potamogeton polygonifolius, Water Horsetail Equisetum fluviatile, Star Sedge Carex echinata, White Sedge C. canescens, and Bottle Sedge C. rostrata. The adjacent area of bog had some good stands of Bog Myrtle Myrica gale as well as Common Cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium, Hare’s-tail Cottongrass E. vaginatum, Cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccus, Common Deergrass Trichophorum germanicum and Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia.
It was time to stop for lunch and we chose a dry rocky ridge from which we enjoyed Skylarks singing over the adjacent grassland, sadly now prepared for tree planting. Afterwards we decided to try and reach the southern shore of the loch which didn’t look too far away, although a direct route was impossible because of the holes dug for tree planting. We diverted briefly along a wet track into an adjacent woodland and were rewarded with a single plant of Whorled Caraway Trocdaris verticillata, a nearby singing Tree Pipit and an Adder which gave us great views because it was temporarily caught up in some grass leaves before it was able to wriggle free.
As we approached the loch Jim spotted a large plant of Royal Fern Osmunda regalis on the other side of the outflow channel and unreachable from where we were. So we decided to double back to the car park and approach it down a fence line from the roadside. This proved a very successful strategy, and we duly obtained a grid ref and photo – a star find and a new Osmunda site for Kirkcudbrightshire!
This was a very productive and enjoyable day. We recorded 97 species in NX6670 and 102 species in NX6570. Special thanks to all who came along and for your contributions.
Sarah White
