2002 Co. Waterford Ireland June 7 One Day Meeting
Four of us met on a sunny day, beginning on the coast in search of Carex punctata(dotted Sedge) and Asplenium onopteris (Irish spleeenwort), which were soon found on the cliffs of Muggort's Bay. Also on the dripping cliffs we had Osmunda regalis (royal fem) and Asplenium marinum (sea spleenwort). As we were such a small group, I gave the three members the choice of where they wanted to go in the county and what plants they wanted to see. Our next stop was at Ardmore to see Rosa pimpinellifolia x R. rugosa (bumet x Japanese rose), its beautiful deep pink flowers growing next to a very old ruined church. Found by myself in 1997, this is believed to be the first record for the hybrid. We headed to the River Blackwater valley. As it was still low tide we stopped to see little egrets wading on the mud flats, now a common bird in the county. On the roadside walls Polypodium cambricum (southern polypody) grew in abundance along with Orobanche hederae (ivy broomrape). Our destination was to see Trichomanes speciosum (Killamey fern). Two clumps were seen growing on rocks next to a stream, with Dryopteris aemula (hay-scented buckler- fem) nearby. The Killarney fem was first reported from this site in 1832 with a scattering ofsightings up till 1908. I re-found it in 2001. Dungarvan was our next port of call to see Geranium purpureum (little robin), which is widespread on the town walls there and on waste ground we had Fumaria purpurea (purple ramping- fumitory).
After lunch we looked at the Clodiagh River where Leucojum aestivum ssp. aestivum (summer snowflake) can be found by the thousand. Luckily for us it was still flowering. There were a few clumps oiErinus alpinus (fairy foxglove) on Portlaw Bridge, which we parked by. Tramore Burrow, a large area of sand dunes, was our last stop for the day. After a long search we managed to locate Asparagus officinalis ssp. prostratus (wild asparagus) in its most westerly site in Ireland. Also seen were Ophrys apifera (bee orchid), Vulpia fasciculata (dune fescue) and Rumex acetosa ssp. hibernicus.
An enjoyable day finished with the group having a Chinese meal in Tramore. PAUL GREEN
Paul Green will be leading another meeting to Co. Waterford in 2003. An unforgettable chance to see this area with its County Recorder. Full details in the Spring 2003 magazine
PAUL GREEN