Field Meeting Report, 9 June 2022
Stonepit Hill and Nova Slack, Sledmere
After a cold, late Spring the dearth of plants in flower in this upland Wolds valley was perhaps to be expected, but careful searching and vegetative ID skills yielded a reasonable variety of chalk grassland flora. No searching was required to locate the energetic and very vocal herd of cows in one part of the site – they found us!Perhaps the most interesting record of the day came early on, when a few plants of a small, pale-leaved, white-flowered umbellifer were found on an arable field edge on Stonepit Hill. The first impression was of Cow Parsley which had been affected by weedkiller, but close inspection revealed the characteristic spiny fruits of Bur Chervil Anthriscus caucalis. This plant has been recorded from only four sites in vc61 this century, though formerly more widespread.
Rohan Lewis, 16 January 2023
Photo credit: NBN website – Malcolm Storey
A well-attended meeting in bright spring sunshine began with a walk across the West Park – sheep-grazed and nearly all grass – then a circular walk around the North Lake. Water plants there included Water Horsetail Equisetum fluviatile, Rigid Hornwort Ceratophyllum demersum and three pondweeds Potamogeton natans, P.pusillus and P.crispus. The marginal vegetation on the east side showed signs of excess nutrient enrichment, but Common Spike-rush Eleocharis palustris (top) and a single plant of Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata were found on the western side, with a large stand of Greater Pond-sedge Carex riparia near the central bridge.
This 1-km length of road verges, on either side of a single-track road on the top of the Wolds, is managed by East Riding Council as a Local Wildlife Site. Despite frequently having to move aside to allow tractors to pass, we managed to record 98 plant species typical of chalk grassland and hedgerow. 19 of these were grasses, including Downy Oat-Grass (Avenula pubescens), Crested Hair-Grass (Koeleria macrantha) and, in a field-margin, the distinctly uncommon Ripgut Brome (Anisantha rigida), spotted by Peter Cook (photo 2). A single bush of a deep pink, glandular dog-rose noticed by Bill Dolling had features of both Rosa sherardii and R. caesia,and might have been the hybrid, previously recorded in the area by Crackles. The adjacent field-margin provided another unexpected find – a small colony of Venus’s Looking-glass (Legousia hybrida) spotted by Gabrielle Jarvis (photo 1).
This herb-rich meadow, managed for hay since at least mediaeval times, has been designated a SSSI on account of its wild-flowers.With the summer drought now well advanced, all trace of spring flowers such as Adderstongue Ophioglossum vulgatum and Brown Sedge Carex disticha was gone. Many Summer flowers such as Pepper Saxifrage Silaum silaus were also over, the predominant colour being purple from a mixture of Lesser Knapweed Centaurea nigra and Saw-wort Serratula tinctoria.
In response to a request from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, we visited this reserve, consisting of five fields of relatively unimproved grassland and including a pond and a tiny copse, and were able to supply them with an up-to-date plant list.
Balkan Spurge Euphorbia oblongata
A small group, depleted by a combination of Covid and other commitments, explored the nontidal part of the Hull River and adjacent drains and dykes. Floating Water Dropwort (Oenanthe fluviatilis) was flowering in some quantity among the boats moored at Bethell’s Bridge (photo), while in the Scurf Dike flowers of Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia), Marestail (Hippuris vulgaris) and both Branched and Unbranched Bur-Reeds (Sparganium erectum and S. emersum) stood out above the various submerged aquatics. Ray Goulder’s expertise was invaluable in identifying the latter which included Pondweeds Potamogeton lucens, P. friesii and P. crispus as well as Fan-leaved Water Crowfoot (Ranunculus circinatus).
The excursion, led by Sonia Donaghy, was to the western end of this large reserve.The alien Pirri-pirri-bur (Acaena novae-zelandiae), introduced by servicemen from New Zealand during the second world war, is now present on many of the tracks and in wooded areas, spread by grazing sheep which can accumulate large balls of the hooked fruits on their fleece (photo top).Pillwort (Pilularia globulifera) was seen thriving around two of the small ponds, and in one small area of heathland Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) was in flower (photo).