2004 Polbrook Cornwall 18th June One Day Meeting
On this cool day 14 members joined me at Polbrook where we had a look at Cystopteris diaphana covering the banks of the River Camel. A large patch of Tolmiea menziesii (pick-a-back-plant) was flowering beautifully. From here we moved onto Burlawn where we had a very steep walk to see Scrophularia peregrina (nettle-leaved figwort), Melittis melissophyllum (bastard balm) and Geranium versicolor (pencilled crane's-bill) growing on a road bank.
A clump of the hybrid between male and scaly male-fern Dryopteris x complexa was examined by the group before making our way up to the cars for lunch. The afternoon was spent on Goss Moor, a good spot for horsetails with four species plus three hybrids including Equisetum x font-queri (marsh x great horsetail). The normal form of Scrophularia scorodonia (balm-leaved figwort) with red flowers was compared to plants with green flowers (var. viridiflora). With it being so dry the Verbascum blattaria (moth mullein) were very stunted, one plant had one flower open. A usually marshy area was completely dry; even so the damp loving species were still looking very happy such as Hypericum undulatum (wavy St John's-wort) and Baldellia ranunculoides (lesser water-plantain).
PAUL GREEN