One Day in June contd...

In a previous post I mentioned the visit to the parish by the Yorkshire Naturalist’s Union in 1946 and the depressingly long list of birds recorded then that no longer breed.

On the plant side I anticipated a similar modern dearth but having the benefit of an expert, in this case Linda - the local recorder for the Botanical Society of the British Isles, we turned up quite a few of the species recorded then, albeit now restricted to the small patch of fen in the Magic Garden and the nearby ‘Rich Ditch’, an unspoiled area along the How Beck.

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These two remnants are separated by a single field, just think of the possibilities if they could be joined….

Species found included good areas of Skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata)...

 

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

 

and this lovely little Square-stemmed St. John's-wort (Hypericum tetrapterum)

 
 

Along with Thalictrum flavum (Common Meadow-rue), Carex riparia (Greater Pond-sedge), Carex rostrata (Bottle-sedge), Carex disticha (Brown-sedge), Carex acuta (Slender Tufted-sedge), Valeriana officinalis (Common Valerian), Phalaris arundinacea (Reed Canary-grass), Persicaria amphibia (Amphibious Bistort), Alisma plantago-aquatica (Water Plantain), Epilobium hirsutum (Great Willowherb), Scrophularia auriculata (Water Figwort), Sparganium erectum (Branched Bur-reed), Apium nodiflorum (Fool’s Water-cress) and Eupatorium cannabinum (Hemp Agrimony).