Assynt Meeting June 18th to 22nd 2006

Silene uniflora Silene uniflora(Sea Campion)

Ajuga pyramidalis Ajuga pyramidalis(Pyramidal Bugle)

Carex binervis Carex binervis(Green-ribbed Sedge)

Gymnadenia conopsea ssp borealis Gymnadenia conopsea ssp borealis(Fragrant Orchid)

Pedicularis sylvaticum Pedicularis sylvaticum(Lousewort - the pink flowers)

Rosa spinosissima Rosa spinosissima (Burnet Rose)

The Coastal route - point of no return

At this stage we hadn't caught a glimpse of the enemy although we had to be prepared. There was a breeze which he doesn't like but the air was damp and the dark clouds looked a little like evening was coming early which is when the dastardly bounder likes to take his first victim.

The Captain suggested we nonchalantly continued on our way pretending to admire the views and study the flowers.

Rocky coasts like this one have many flowers which aren't that special if you're keen on rarities but they do often have plants in wonderful positions such as some Silene uniflora (Sea campion) we found on a high ledge mixed with Armeria maritima (Thrift).

There were orchids all over this grassland the commonest being Dactylorhiza maculata (Heath spotted Orchid). This one was so common that I completely forgot to photograph it. Very soon we discovered an orchid which we hoped would be here. In the far north the commonest form of fragrant orchid is Gymnadenia conopsea ssp borealis which has indistinct lateral lobes on the labellum.

We had also hoped to find the northern version of the well-known woodland flower: Bugle. We did find a couple of plants of Ajuga pyramidalis (Pyramidal Bugle) but they were well over. This gave us the impression that even in a year when there was a very cold spring, this plant flowers in May and possibly late April. During the few days we were here we found several of these plants in fruit. A better vernacular name might be Hairy Bugle because that is the feature which strikes you immediately rather than any obvious pyramidal shape.

Fine stands of Carex binervis (Green-ribbed Sedge) grew on the cliff top and further along in a small valley a few flowers of the Burnet Rose now known as Rosa spinosissima rather than the old name still often seen in books and the official BSBI lists: Rosa pimpinellifolia.