Loggerheads.

 

April 24^th 2010.

 

Leaders: Peter Gately and Peter Tipping.

 

A beautiful April morning saw twenty two members meet for the second visit of the season. The English Bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, that were  only in leaf at Appley Bridge were starting in flower here only a short time later. Primrose, Primula vulgaris and Lesser Celandine, Ranunculus ficaria (or do we have to call it Ficaria veris these days?) made  perfect companions to the strong blue of the Bluebells. The banks of the mill race by the bridge afforded us our first but far from last views of Butterbur, Petasites hybridus this too was complemented just over the bridge from the café area by a considerable colony of Winter Heliotrope, Petasites fragrans. Must get a move on we are not even away from Caffi Florence yet!

 

The first stone wall we looked at showed not only Wall Lettuce, Mycelis muralis but some very nice plants of Brittle Bladder Fern, Cystopteris fragilis, but onwards we go across the bridge and follow the River Alyn along the Leete path, constructed by the Victorian miners to help with the extraction of lead from the limestone which makes up this area. The limestone is from the Carboniferous age, approx 240 million years ago, long before the Jurassic and its associated dinosaurs. This area was a shallow tropical sea and consequently abounds in fossil sea creatures such as brachiopods, spirifers and crinoids or sea lilies. Nowadays the vertical outcrops offer a superb selection of ferns, including Hartstongue,  Phylitis scolopendrium, Hard Shield, Polystichum aculeatum, Black Spleenwort, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, Common Polypody, Polypodium vulgare and Maidenhair Spleenwort,  Asplenium trichomanes.

 

Down on the banks of the Alyn we were pleased to find Opposite leaved Golden Saxifrage, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Wood Anemone, Anemone nemorosa, Wood Sorrel, Oxalis acetosella, more Buttebur and Toothwort, Lathraea squamaria along with Ground Elder, Aegopodium podagraria, Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea,  Enchanter’s Nightshade, Circaea lutetiana and Wood Forgetmenot, Myosotis sylvatica. Lots of Moschatel, Adoxa moschatellina presaged a discussion about the variety of English names for plants, Geoffrey Grigson where are you when we need you! From there we made our way to the second site for Herb Paris, Paris quadrifolia. At both sites the Paris was in its very early stages, but no less interesting for that.

 

Continuing the walk towards Devil’s Gorge we were able to look at two violets, Viola riviniana and reichenbachiana comparing flower shape and the colour and shape of the spur, both features aiding recognition. Common Rock Rose, Helianthemum nummularium, Wood Sage, Teucrium scorodonia and  Salad Burnet, Sanguisorba minor were showing well. Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca and Barren Strawberry, Potentilla sterilis growing close together allowed us to compare and contrast as we had done with the violets.

 

Returning from the Gorge and then ascending the steps to take us to the top of the limestone cliffs overlooking Loggerheads, Colomendy and the Clwyd mountains we were able to find our first orchid of the season, Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula. On the top of the cliff we found Hairy Violet, Viola hirta, Thyme, Thymus polytrichus, Lesser Meadow Rue, Thalictrum minus, Carline Thistle, Carlina vulgaris, Spring Sedge, Carex caryophyllea  and Bloody Cranesbill, Geranium sanguineum.

            

This left only the final descent through the Beech woods, there were however two more plants worthy of our attention, Fly Honeysuckle, Lonicera xylosteum, (where did that plant come from?) and at least twenty five Spurge Laurel, Daphne laureola. All in all a good day of botanising in an area that has been studied for very many years.

 

May I take this opportunity of thank both Peter Gately and Martin Stead for their help and assistance.

 

                                                                             Peter Tipping

Lesser Meadow-rue	LBS members	Herb Paris shoots	Ivy-leaved Speedwell	mucronate tips on Moschatel leaflets

Toothwort	lunch on the rocks	Early Dog-violet	Wood Dog-violet	Hairy Violets

 

Fly Honeysuckle	Spuge Laurel