1995 Berwickshire 23rd to 25th June Main Meeting
The meeting started on the evening of Friday 23 June when we met at the Buccleuch Arms Hotel at St Boswells and were introduced to each other. The leader Michael Braithwaite then gave us a talk on the topography of the county and the geology and ecology of the areas we were to visit next day. He also gave us a splendid show of slides to give us a feel of the country and some idea of the plants we might find.
Next morning we again met at the Buccleuch Arms and proceedings started with Michael showing us a fine poppy specimen to test our knowledge. It was Papaver dubium ssp. lecoqii - the poppy with yellow latex. As we went along in the minibus that Michael had arranged for our transport each day, he commented on the landscape, its geology and flora. Our first stop was at Greenlaw Moor, a wide expanse of rather featureless-seeming moor. We were, however, at once guided to two little flushes rich with moorland plants of which Blysmus compressus, Valeriana dioica and Parnassia palustris were just three. Beside the road was a wide patch of Lamiastrum galeobdolon ssp. argentatum which has become a widespread national weed. Our next stop was at St Abb's Head - a coastline of magnificent cliffs and gullies topped by short turf spangled with flowers and coloured pink with sweeps of Armeria maritima. Plantago maritima and Plantago coronopus knitted themselves together with numerous grasses to make the fine turf, and of the grasses perhaps Koeleria macrantha should have a special mention. Erica cinerea was growing on the cliff tops and Michael told us that in the past the heather had been much more widespread but that heavy grazing had almost wiped it out. With the management of grazing now being practised it is hoped that heather may be enabled to return. Helianthemum nummularium was flowering in profusion everywhere. Although rather late in the season for it, a few plants of Astragalus danicus were found in flower and the quantities of Minuartia verna were a delight. Ornithology came near to superseding botany at one point where on the cliffs kittiwakes and puffins, and far out to sea gannets, proved an added attraction. Lepidopterists also had a look in for a Northern Brown Argus was seen on vegetation beside a valley floor loch.
Away from the cliff tops an area of scree provided us with Torilis nodosa. After a picnic lunch, our last call of the day was at Fishwick on Tweed. A steep grassy bank going down to the river gave us, among much else, Trifolium striatum, and at the river's edge there was a rich variety of water plants, Acorus calamus and Carex acuta to mention but two, and in the water we found Potamogeton lucens and P. perfoliatus, and also several Ranunculus species. Still by the river, two last finds Origanum vulgare and Cerastium arvense ended a most enjoyable day.
Our second day started again with a meet at the Buccleuch Arms and once more Michael tested our knowledge, this time with Rumex longifolius. The day was sunny and hot and when we stopped at a burn near Lauder, the dappled shade of its wooded banks was a pleasant hunting ground where we found Festuca altissima and Carex muricata ssp. lamprocarpa. However for most of us the special find was one plant of Crepis mollis already in flower among a good colony in bud. Our next stop took us up a dale where we found large clumps of Mimulus x burnetii by a burn and in a damp area near by a scattering of Sedum villosum. Our. last call of the day was to Longmuir Moss, a wide stretch of bog where we found many sedges and bog-loving plants. Carex diandra was of particular interest. On a grassy hillside nearby, the finding of Botrychium lunaria was a fitting end to another splendid day.
We have to thank Michael and Paddy Braithwaite for their excellent organisation of the meeting.
PERSIS AGLEN