2002 Oxford, Sydlings Copse 28 July One Day Meeting
For the Oxford meeting on July 28th, eight members met at the BBOWT Sydlings Copse reserve, having come from as far a field as Colchester and Stockport. Our walk down to the reserve took us along a sandy field edge, which yielded a fine selection of weeds, including Papaver argemone (prickly poppy). Sydlings Copse has a rich variety of habitats. The limestone grassland gave us an instructive opportunity to compare Thymus polytrichus (wild thyme) with T. pulegoides (large thyme), as well as yielding Astragalus glycyphyllos (wild liquorice); the woodland contained Campanula trachelium (nettle-leaved bellflower); and the fen provided Anagallis tenella (bog pimpernel).
After lunch we moved onto Port Meadow, to examine the plants of the Thames' backwaters and floodplain. The highlight perhaps was Limosella aquatica (mudwort), but there were many other good diary fillers, including Trifolium fragiferum(strawberry clover), Oenanthe fistulosa (tubular water-dropwort) and Acorus calamus(sweet-flag).
We ended the afternoon by driving to Godstow Nunnery, at the other end of Port Meadow, where Aristolochia clematitis (birthwort) was just in flower. This finished off a hot sunny day, with us all gratefully retreating to a nearby pub for a well-earned drink!
ROGER HEATH-BROWN