London Meeting June 30th to 2nd July 2006

Rubus loganobaccus Rubus loganobaccus(Loganberry)

Rumex cristatus Rumex cristatus(Greek Dock)

Euphorbia pseudovirgata Euphorbia pseudovirgata (Twiggy Spurge)

Colutea arborescens Colutea arborescens (Bladder Senna)

Philadelphus x virginalis Philadelphus x virginalis(Hairy Mock-orange)

Prunus domestica ssp italica Prunus domestica ssp italica(Greengage)

Vitis vinifera Vitis vinifera (Grape-vine)

Cichorium intybus Cichorium intybus (Chicory)

1st July : Mudchute Park

The weather during this WFS meeting was of two kinds: hot and very hot. A cloudless sky in the morning suggested that this was to be a very hot one. Our first site was in Mudchute Park which entailed a journey in the Dockland light Railway past some of the more spectacular developments near canary Wharf and suchlike.

Mudchute Park got its name from the use the land was put to when Millwall docks were being built. Building spoil was dumped there and later silt dredged from the dock was also dumped on the land. For years there was no public access but now it has been acquired for public use. More can be learned about this place from the Mudchute Park Web site.

We walked on a high embankment or dyke and found Rubus loganobaccus (Loganberry) in fruit in the scrub by the path. This proved difficult to photograph but not because of wind or light but because WFS members attempted to eat them all. A mock-orange had hairy leaves on the underside and so was identified as Philadelphus x virginalis (Hairy Mock-orange).

One of the specialties of this area is the very conspicuous clumps of Rumex cristatus (Greek Dock) which was nearly all in fruit. Nearby an uncommon Prunus: Prunus domesticus ssp italica (Greengage) was found in fruit and in several places along the route clumps of the very attractive Euphorbia pseudovirgata (Twiggy Spurge) were in full flower.

To my surprise (as a northern botanist) we also came across a thriving Vitis vinifera (Grape-vine) covered in clumps of embryonic grapes having just finished flowering. There was also a lime tree (Tilia sp) of some kind with flowers on but we were unable to identify it properly.

A little further along the same embankment was a shrub which has always been one of my favourites: Colutea arborescens (Bladder Senna). the flowers are always attractive but the huge inflated seed pods are what this plant is known for.

Cichorium intybus (Chicory) is a plant I associate with late summer and would tend not to look for it until mid July to august but here it was just past its best, the hot weather having brought everything forward.