Kirkcudbrightshire Botany Group at Boreland Burn, 22nd May 2026
A group of 9 of us gathered at the farmyard at Boreland of Southwick by kind permission of the owner. Our task was to record NX9260 which had only one previous flowering plant record.
It took some time to progress beyond the farmyard because there was so much of interest growing around the old buildings. There were several garden escapes including Himalayan Honeysuckle Leycesteria formosa, Fuchsia Fuchsia magellanica, Cotoneaster Cotoneaster agg., Soft Lady’s-mantle Alchemilla mollis, Butterfly-bush Buddleia davidii and Montbretia Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora. In addition there were plenty of ruderal species including Changing Forget-me-not Myosotis discolor and Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill Geranium dissectum. In a patch of wet ground we found Marsh Foxtail Alopecurus geniculatus and Brooklime Veronica beccabunga.
As we recorded here, there was constant activity from Swallows Hirundo rustica obviously nesting in the barns and a Garden Warbler Sylvia borin singing nearby.
At last we decided we must tear ourselves away and walk further up the glen to look at the woodland. Just beyond the cottages there was a mature canopy of lime Tilia sp., Beech Fagus sylvatica, Wych Elm Ulmus glabra and Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa with Great Wood-rush Luzula sylvatica below and the burn tumbling over moss-clad rocks. Unfortunately, the very steep sides of the burn made it difficult to access but there was plenty of woodland flora to see easily along the track including Golden-scaled Male-fern Dryopteris affinis, Lady-fern Athyrium filix-femina, Three-nerved Sandwort Moehringia trinervia, Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Yellow Pimpernel Lysimachia nemorum,and Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta.
Further up the glen the woodland became scrubbier with birch Betula spp. and willow Salix spp., Bird Cherry Prunus padus, Rowan Sorbus aucuparia and the verges of the track produced a good number of species including Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra and Star-of-Bethlehem Ornithogallum umbelatum s.l. A flowering male Holly Ilex aquifolium produced an overwhelming fragrance as we passed.
We stopped for lunch at the top cottage and then went on through the gate to the top edge of the monad through open rough grazing with Heather Calluna vulgaris, Purple Moor-grass Molinia caerulea, Bog-myrtle Myrica gale, and Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus.
Walking back down gave a second chance to add species we had missed and we spotted a few leaves of Whorled Caraway Trocdaris verticillata. Simon made a foray down the bank and came back with a Fumaria specimen. This was later confirmed by Tim Rich as Purple Ramping-fumitory F. purpurea, a Rare Plant Register species in VC73 with only a handful of recent records and a great find. A lovely Slow worm Anguis fragilis had stopped on the track, perhaps hoping for some sun to warm up and as it seemed reluctant to move, we took some photos and left it alone.
Finally we paid a second visit to the area around the farm buildings and walked to the southern edge of the square. We added Rough Chervil Chaerophyllum temulum to our list as well as Atlantic Ivy Hedera hibernica with its large leaves, lobed less than half way and yellowish-brown hairs below, possibly another garden escape here. There was also an unwelcome patch of Japanese Knotweed Reynoutria japonica.
This proved to be a very interesting monad with a great mix of plants, and we ended the day with 160 species.
My thanks to those who came along for their company and excellent plant spotting skills.
Sarah White
