WFS Meeting Arnside and Silverdale April 15th 2006
Sesleria caerulea (Blue Moor-grass - normal)
Helleborus foetidus (Stinking Hellebore)
Viola rupestris (Teesdale Violet)
Sesleria caerulea (Blue Moor-grass white form)
Viola hirta (Hairy Violet)
Carex ericetorum (Rare Spring-sedge)
Arnside Knott
From the sea front we started to climb towards through Arnside and from there onto the hill (Knott) itself. A roadside verge became our object of study trying to determine whether or not the Cardamine sp had 4 anthers which would make it C. hirta (Hairy Bittercress) or 6 which would make it C. flexuosa (Wavy Bittercress). This sounds straightforward but sometimes two of the anthers are small and easily missed and on other occasions the flower appears to have 5 anthers which tells you nothing.
The trouble with this kind of intense botanising is that it can look quite suspicious to passers by or in our case the owner of the house outside which the verge was situated. We tend to pore over little plants with forensic concentration giving the impression of detective investigating a crime scene. As usual the enquiring house owner could scarcely believe so many adults could be concerned with such detail on so insignificant a plant.
A short way into a field and we were shown a stand of Helleborus foetidus (Stinking Hellebore) which one of number swore blind was not there in 2005 when he went to look for it. I can well believe it for at the site where I normally see it growing it rarely stays in the same place for two years - in other words this so called perennial can behave very much like a biennial.
This is the sort of area where you can commonly find Sesleria caerulea (Blue Moor-grass) a rare early flowering grass of the Northern Limestone regions. The mature flowers have a blue tinge to them but catch the flowers head emerging from the sheath as in the photo and you'll soon see why it has the name Blue Moor-grass. It really is this steely blue colour. Then Julie hunted down the white form of Sesleria caerulea which is not only without any trace of blue but somewhat bushier as well.
The views from the side of the hill across the River Kent estuary were stunning in the hot spring sunshine and we were rewarded with three more excellent plants just before taking lunch at the top of Arnside Knott.
The white form of the Viola rupestris (Teesdale Violet) grows on Arnside Knott and is much earlier flowering than either those on Ingleborough or on the fells of Teesdale. This year however they were only just beginning to show in mid April and not a single one was fully out.
In the same few square metres were Carex ericetorum (Rare Spring-sedge) and Viola hirta (Hairy Violet). The Hairy Violet is another early flowerer and is often out just after the very first violet of spring: Viola odorata (Sweet violet) - and before Viola reichenbachiana (Early dog-violet).