Holy Island Meeting July 15th & 16th 2006
Geranium sylvaticum(Wood Crane's-bill)
Carex pallescens(Pale Sedge)
Senecio sylvaticum(Heath Groundsel)
Cryptogramma crispa(Parsley Fern)
Cirsium heterophyllum(Melancholy Thistle)
Mimulus x robertsii(Hybrid Monkeyflower)
Cheviots afternoon July 16th: The Bizzle Crags
After lunch the short ascent to The Bizzle crags yielded a quite different flora from the lower parts of the valley.
We quickly came across Geranium sylvaticum (Wood Crane’s-bill) and some fine clumps of Phegopteris connectilis (Beech Fern). Further up there were tufts of Carex pallescens (Pale sedge) with its crinkly bracts and Empetrum nigrum (Crowberry) without fruit or flowers were found flowing over the rocks of the crags.
One plant which surprised many was the plentiful Mercurialis perennis (Dog’s Mercury) associated by many with woodland but quite often found in shady positions in the hills. There were also quite a few clumps of Primula vulgaris (Primrose) indicating that this area would be interesting in Spring too.
A little further on one or two fine examples of Cirsium heterophyllum (Melancholy Thistle) were found and very high up and completely inaccessible, Elizabeth spotted a pink flowered Rose of some kind in full flower.
On the way back to the main car park we stopped at a bridge to see a Mimulus which had been identified as Mimulus x robertsii (Hybrid Monkeyflower) growing on the river gravels. This identification caused some consternation as the flower we saw looked nothing like the illustrations in one of the floras we had brought. As we found on the Teesdale meeting of 2005, Mimulus is not an easy genus to separate into its constituent species as there are other garden varieties which can be found growing wild.
Other species at this site were an unknown mint possibly a Mentha spicata group species and Senecio sylvaticum (Heath groundsel) and a Galeopsis sp (Hemp nettle) not yet in flower.
Altogether this had been a superb two day meeting in glorious sunshine with two totally contrasting sites very well researched by our leader Elizabeth Herd who received sincere thanks from all the members of the group.
Peter Llewellyn July 2006