17th October 2009 - Caergwrle

Leaders:  Pat Lockwood & Peter Gateley

The Bus Replacement service from Bidston, arriving in Caergwrle one hour later than expected, was quite disruptive to our plans, especially as it was also discovered that our usual car park was also out of bounds.  It was possible to let many members know about this in advance via email and the website, but many apologies to members who did not get to find out.  In all 18 of us gathered for a walk through glorious Autumn weather. 

Our route took us along the highways and byways of this lovely area, hoping to find the hedgerow dripping with lots of berries, hips and haws; but, surprisingly, these were generally lacking.   Either the birds must have had a very good feed, or the season for fruit setting has been poor here this year.  The fungi were also hiding from us, probably due to the recent prolonged dry periods.  Those few we did see were examined and named for us by Tim Rogers: Panaeolus accuminatus ( Pat: I can't find this one in my book, but a lot of you will know it ),  Smallbracket fungus (Bjerkandera adjusta),  Bonnet Mycena (Mycena galericulata), Yellow wax cap (Hygrocybe chlorophana).  (Pat: I can't find the latter in my book either, well it is 19 years old!)

The first tree of note along the walk was the Blue Atlas Cedar  (Cedrus atlantica f. glauca),  a  lovely tree,  and we also looked at the  Purging buckthorn (Rhamnus cathcartica) and wild damson Prunus domestica, full of fruit.  We were very lucky to see the Small leaved Lime (Tilia cordata) exhibiting upright fruits at the end of the branches.

Surprisingly grasses were in good flower, particularly the False Oat- grass (Arrhenatherum elatius ), Cocksfoot ( Dactylis  glomerata) and False-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum). At the end of the walk we found Wood Melick (Melica uniflora)  flowering on shady road banks, along with ferns, the Western Polypody (Polypodium interjectum)  Male  Fern  (Dryopteris filix-mas)  and Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), the latter turning rich Autumn colours.

 Although a note was made of all plants seen, only the ones in flower are listed here, a surprising total for mid-October: Fox and cubs, known also as Orange hawkweed, (Pilosella aurantiaca), White dead-nettle (Lamium album), Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare), Marjoram (Origanum vulgare), Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), Balm (Melissa officinalis), Wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia),  Germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys),  Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum),  Hedgerow Cranesbill (Geranium pyrenaicum), Herb Bennet (Geum urbanum), Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Red or Pink Campion (Silene dioica), Nipplewort (Lapsana communis), Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Wall lettuce (Mycelis muralis), Yellow-wort (Blackstonia perfoliata), Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), Agrimony (still in good flower and wonderful seeds, Agrimonia eupatoria) and most abundantly Ivy (Hedera helix) with flower heads buzzing with insects..

Amongst the Autumn fruits we did find were Duke of Argyle's tea plant (Lyceum barbarum). It was noted that the current wonder-food, the Goji Berry, is actually the dried fruit of this species. White Bryony (Bryonia dioica) was a glorious sight in flower and early fruit, and also Black Bryony (Tamus communis) with swags of scarlet berries.

We were pleased to have Tom Smale with us again after a long absence, and we welcomed our new members, namely Helen Hebden, Matthew Bradman and Michael Penney and we do hope we will see you again soon.  We were also very pleased to have Val Gateley along and wish him a full recovery, following a serious illness.

On a biodiversity note, we would like to mention the site of a Badgers' latrine alongside one of the footpaths up the base of Hope Mountain.  The stools were full of damson stones and bramble seeds and when we did the recce the site was in perfect order, however by the time of the field meeting it was a bit past its sell by date. 

Because of the train problems, members faced a longer trip home than anticipated, hopefully there were no hitches on your journey. A big thank you for all your support, with very best wishes from Patricia Ann and Peter.

Ivy - buds & flowers	False Brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum)	Black Bryony (Tamus communus)	Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)	Hedgerow Cranesbill (Geranium pyrenaicum)

Western Polypody (Polypodium interjectum)	Polypody spores	Ivy flower head (Hedera helix)	Comma	Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)

Negotiating a stile	A gap has been cut in the tree trunk	Small-leaved Lime (Tilia cordata)	Wood Melick (Melica uniflora) still in flower	Wood Melick (Melica uniflora) usual October state

The Manor House	The Manor House	The main shopping area on a Saturday afternoon