2005 North Yorkshire 11th to 12th June Main Meeting
Mike Yates and his wife, Marian, met us in the car park at the Hole of Horcum on the North Yorkshire moors which was formed as the result ofglaciation in the Ice Age, but looking like a vast impact crater created by a meteor, now covered in trees and green sward. The weather didn't look good considering that the previous few days had been glorious - typical. It was very cool and overcast and, in fact, it did rain throughout the Saturday morning and the Sunday afternoon. However it didn't dampen our spirits but only brought back rain sodden memories of so many walks last year. As usual I was the one brave (or foolish) enough to wear shorts for the whole duration. Saturday was a long day which took in many stops in a whistle-stop tour to pick up lots of plants in many different habitats. First was down into the Hole of Horcum through the bracken and heather to find an exquisite plant, just a few inches high, showing off its four large white bracts enclosing the central purple flowers which was Cornus suecica (dwarf cornel), and in patches down the slope shone white beacons of Trientalis europaea (chickweed wintergreen). This was a poor year for the Cornus but this is its most southerly site in the UK and grows on north-facing overhanging slopes.
Yomping down to the bottom of the Hole to a tiny stream where pale blue stands ofMyosotis stolonifera (pale forget-me-not) were found, and on the edges mixed in with the Nardus stricta (mat grass) we saw Carex echinata, C. pulicaris and C. dioica (star, flea and dioecious sedges). Marching back up to the top where we now shared cars for the rest of the day. Next stop was to a bog in appropriately called Fen Bog Lane. On the way down to the marshy area we came across a lone Botrychium lunaria (moonwort) before getting our wellies wet to seek out Carex limosa (mud sedge); further plants had been discovered further down the reserve, but the ones we looked at in this pool seemed to be dying out, perhaps of eutrophication? One plant of Vaccinium oxycoccus (cranberry) amongst the Drosera rotundifolia (round-leaved sundew) and Carex rostrata (bottle sedge).
Thence to Whitby on the coast; Upgang Ravine revealed the delicate purple and cream flowers of Vicia bithynica (Bithynian vetch) growing on boulder clay along with Trifolium medium (zigzag clover). The sea was looking pretty rough with white horses and the half-size replica of Captain Cook's Endeavour was bobbing about -1 expect there were plenty of green faces aboard! Expert ferrying took us through the whalebone arch overlooking the pretty old town of Whitby with its imposing abbey on the opposite cliff, and in a most incongruous site and much to the amusement of thelocals we took photographs of Grindelia stricta (coastal gumplant), one open flower behind a couple of tourists sitting on a bench, growing on and around the steps leading down from the Captain Cook memorial. On the rocks close by we caught the subtle fragrance of a Dianthus (pink) on the breeze; even experts from Kew won't pronounce on this one except to say that it may well be a triple hybrid. A woodland stop at Reisty Bank and budding Pyrola minor (common wintergreen) thronged the edges.
The attractive village of Scalby with a clear brooklet running through it showed us one plant of Cardamine pratensis (cuckooflower) to compare it with its commoner, for here, and far grander cousin C. raphanifolia (large cuckooflower) growing at the water's edge. Around the comer on the overgrown church walls were hundreds of purple (it seems to be the colour of the day) bulbils adorning the stems of yet another Cardamine species, this time bulbifera (coralroot). Glebe Farm at Potter Brampton is run by an enlightened farmer where a set-aside field revealed a colony of thousands of Hypochaeris glabra (smooth catsear). It was thought to be extinct in this part of Yorkshire. As it was now after midday it can be notoriously hard to find once the flowerheads have closed for the day but it was so obvious here growing in huge swathes amongst thousands of plants of Trifolium striatum (knotted clover). Field margins here are managed under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and amongst the glowing red Papaver rhoeas (common poppy) were the long seed heads of P. dubium (long-headed poppy) but those with a sharp eye could espy the equally long heads of P. argemone (prickly poppy) whose angles were lined with bristly hairs. Another difference that we noted was that stem hairs in rhoeas are spreading but appressed in argemone. Uncommon plants such as thorow-wax, shepherd's needle and corn buttercup are being introduced. A stop on the road in the middle of nowhere beside a roadside ditch (but known to the local farmer) gave me a first view of another 'purplish' flower: Hottonia palustris (water violet).
A board walk through a lovely sylvan setting gave us yet another Cardamine, this time amara (large bittercress) with its violet anthers, close to a clump of'Carex strigosa (thin-spiked wood sedge) and the impressive heads ofScirpus sylvestris (wood club-rush). Our marathon day was coming to a close. The day started with a brisk walk up and down hills to get our circulation going and ended with a similar one to finish us off! It was a long way up that steep sided valley through the woods to find the heart-shaped leaves of Maianthemum bifolium (May lily) which unfortunately was not flowering. The walk back was swift, the drive back to our cars uneventful, our adieus were even swifter as I returned to my reserved eight o'clock reservation for dinner at eight forty-five!
Sunday was at a much slower pace and this time we set off towards Rievaulx Abbey where the roadside verges were cloaked in Anthriscus sylvestris (cow parsley) and Myrrhis odorata (sweet cicely) interspersed with yellow clumps of Cruciata laevipes (crosswort). Whenever I come to Rievaulx I get this sense of deja vu -1 must have been a monk here in a previous life! Our first stop took us down the scenic Sutton Bank (where there were scenes of devastation in the flash floods a week or so after our visit) and a walk up to Lake Gormire. A most beautiful setting with the shoreline filled with Menyanthes trifoliata (bogbean) and, once our eyes had adjusted to looking for it the yellow spikes of Lysimachia thyrsiflora (tufted loosestrife) - the books say that it doesn't flower here but we can assure you that they are quite wrong. Growing in clumps amongst the tree roots was Carex curta (white sedge).
Nearby was a perfect little reserve called Ashberry, again with a pristine stream running through it. Here were gorgeous spikes of pink Primula farinosa (birdseye primrose), more purple and lime green Pinguicula vulgaris (common butterwort), yellow Trollius europaeus (globeflower) and stunning pinky-red spires of Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp.pulchella (early marsh orchid) demonstrating its folded back labellum. To our growing Carex list we added hostiana (tawny), acutiformis (lesser pond) and a hybrid Carex viridula x C. hostiana = C. x fulva. Our final plant of interest here was a willow species which has been determined as Salix cinerea ssp. oleifolia x S. myrsinifolia = S. x strepida.
After lunch we strolled up the road on the tarmac studying the woodland edges in the rain. Convallaria majalis (lily of the valley) was just going over with Galium odoratum (woodruff) shining out like little stars. Our last aim was to look for Actaea spicata (baneberry) which we did find but only its distinctive leaves - we'll have to come back in the autumn to see it in its splendour.
Thus came to an end an action-packed botany-filled weekend; a shame about the weather but we can't have everything can we? Many thanks to an enthusiastic and generous Mike, and his equally generous wife, Marian, who helped ferry us around and guard our vehicles.
STEPHEN CLARKSON