2003 Staffordshire 5th to 6th August Main Meeting
In the middle of a British heatwave a stalwart band of keen botanists donned sunhats and applied liberal amounts of sun cream and met at Wetton Mill in the Manifold Valley. The field meeting was one of contrasts, led ably by Staffs v.c. recorder, John Hawksford. The first day was spent in the limestone dales and upland moorland to the north of the county, whilst on the second day we explored canals, ruderal sites, heathland and a disused quarry in the centre of Staffordshire. We had a few problems to contend with, enthusiastic road gritting activities causing lane closures and recent gentrification of verges and canal towpaths. However with John's meticulous planning, organisation and humorous anecdotes we overcame these minor difficulties and experienced two very full days of fascinating field botany, with emphasis on roses, willows, pondweeds and hawkweeds.
We visited thirteen different sites on the first day! At Wetton Mill we walked past the famous 'Ceterach Rock' with only a few plants of Ceterach officinarum (rustyback) surviving out of arm's reach - a sad story, but Ribes alpinum (mountain currant) was thriving - the core of its distribution being Staffordshire. Nearby on another rock face Sedum telephium (orpine) was almost in flower. The first rose of the day was Rosa caesia ssp. caesia (hairy dog-rose) a most common species here. At Ecton and Ape's Tor John highlighted details of the geology especially the extreme folding and faulting of the famous Ecton limestone and showed us an entrance to the old copper mines.
Diagnostic features of the following roses were discussed - Rosa canina x R. caesia= R. x dumalis, a Rosa mollis hybrid (a soft downy-rose hybrid) and Rosa canina(dog-rose). Other noteworthy plants were Sagina nodosa (knotted pearlwort), Rubus saxatilis (stone bramble - at its only known site in Staffordshire today), Euphrasia nemorosa, Minuartia verna (spring sandwort - an amazing story about this species - one plant in 1970, twelve plants in 1980 and now about a thousand - all growing in an open, flattened area), Saxifraga hypnoides (mossy saxifrage - on a damp rocky outcrop), Sanguisorba officinalis (great bumet) and some hawkweeds (Vincent Jones identified many of these during and after the visit). These included Hieracium sabaudum, H. acuminatum, H. subcrocatum (this is the only Staffordshire member of the Sect. Foliosa and is a rediscovery of Edees' records, the last of which was in 1964).
Moving onto several hedgerow sites brought Rosa arvensis x R. canina = R. x irregularis, R. caesia ssp. vosagiaca x R. canina = R. x dumalis, Salix cinerea ssp. oleifolia (rusty willow), Salix cinerea x S. aurita = S. x multinervis - a very common hybrid in Staffordshire and S. caprea x S. cinerea = S. x reichardtii. We reached Swallow Moss on the moors and it was time for lunch, but no respite, for growing in a ditch edge near our boots was Rhinanthus minor ssp. stenophyllus (yellow-rattle) - the details between the two common subspecies were explained. On a quick walk around this wet moorland area, notable species were Alchemilla glabra, Platanthera bifolia (lesser butterfly-orchid), Listera ovata (common twayblade), Narthecium ossifragum (bog asphodel), Carex echinata (star sedge), C. pulicaris (flea sedge) and C. ovalis (oval sedge). Most of these were in fruit. I was intrigued to see Pucanellia distans (reflexed salt-marsh grass) and more Sagina nodosa (knotted pearlwort) along the road edge.
Several more roadside stops brought Salix viminalis x S. caprea = S.x sericans (a constant hybrid - thank goodness!), a good stand of S. pentandra (bay willow - a beautiful willow with glossy leaves), Rosa canina x R. mollis = R. x molletorum (with curved and straight thorns), Cicerbita macrophylla (common blue sow-thistle - well naturalised), Alchemilla xanthochlora and finally a huge, well established patch of Rumex pseudoalpinus (monk's-rhubarb) - formerly used by northern farming communities for medicinal and veterinary purposes, but only in a third of its sites today. Our last port of call was along a lane at Wetton to recap on roses! We added Rosa caesia ssp. vosagiaca (glaucous dog-rose) and R. canina x R. sherardii = R. x rothschildii. As we climbed higher we had a splendid view of Thor's Cave and a little after found Alchemilla filicaulis ssp. vestita and Hypericum montanum (pale St John's-wort - its only site in Staffordshire).
On the second day we spent some more time exploring ruderal and canal sites at Brownhills, Pelsall and Laney Green. A huge patch of Lepidium ruderale (narrow- leaved pepperwort) was spotted along with the odd plant of Hieracium salticola (a local Birmingham hawkweed). The Wyrley and Essington Canal water and margins provided some exciting finds - notably Myriophyllum spicatum (spiked water- milfoil), Ceratophyllum demersum (rigid homwort), Lemna minuta (least duckweed – the common one now), Bidens frondosa (beggarticks - increasingly common along the canals in the Midlands), Sagittaria sagittifolia (arrowhead - very common here), Impatiens capensis (orange balsam), Alisma lanceolatum (narrow-leaved water- plantain - John pointed out the differences between the leaf shapes and fruit features of this species compared with A. plantago-aquatica), Butomus umbellatus (flowering rush - still flowering!) and last but not least the pondweeds. Potomogeton perfoliatus (perfoliate pondweed), P. lucens (shining), P. pectinatus (fennel - fine leaved, but relatively quite stiff), P. natans (broad-leaved), P. pusillus (lesser), P. berchtoldii(small) and P. friesii (flat-stalked). We added to our willow list, Salix viminalis(osier), S. cinerea x S. viminalis = S. x smithiana and S. alba (white willow). Just one plant of Carex pseudocyperus (cyperus sedge) had survived the tidying up process, but Almus cordata (Italian alder) and Cornus sericea (red-osier dogwood) were firmly naturalised in the canal edge wall.
At Laney Green in disturbed, rough ground by a new slipway,we were shown a great spread of Polygonum rurivagum (cornfield knotgrass) and one beautiful freshly growing plant of Ranunculus sardous (hairy buttercup) much to everyone's delight.
A drive to Brindley Heath on Cannock Chase brought us to just the right habitat and location to find the famous hybrid bilberry and its parents (the hybrid was first found in Staffordshire in 1870) Vaccinum vitis-idaea x V. myrtillus = V. x intermedium - and it was flowering.
Time was running out and the final stop for most of us was at The Quarry still on the Chase. It was well worthwhile searching the quarry floor for one or two minute specimens of Plagiobothyris scouleri (white forget- me-not) in flower - most plants were the dried remains.
John had the most amazing story to tell us about the history of how this plant was found here! Our thanks to John for making this a most rewarding field meeting.
SHIRLEY BURTON