More early spring flowers round the village.

I saw on Twitter a picture by Brian Laney, Northamptonshire's vice county recorder, who has encyclopaedic knowledge of Britain's flora, of a yellow-flowered plant, Yellow Monkswort (Nonea lutea),  which he described as the first record for Oxfordshire.  I thought I had seen it in Hook Norton a few days ago; a plant I did not recognise then, other than place it in the borage family, and I had  assumed it was a garden throw out, not worthy of further attention.  Yesterday I went to take a closer look, and sure enough it was Yellow Monkswort, a neophyte (an alien) of American origin, described as widespread in Britain but quite rare. The second Oxfordshire record.   It was on a bank under a low garden wall, near to some weeds - Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), Ivy-leaved Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia), Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), -  but for me, someone who does not get too excited about alien plants, more interestingly by far, there were also a few plants of Muscari neglectum, a rare native plant.   This is in a few old gardens round the village, but is widespread on the village green in Chadlington, a few miles south.    I suspect it was commonplace in Hook Norton in the past, though there is no mention in Druce's 'Flora of Oxfordshire'. 

 

                                              Yellow Monkswort (Nonea lutea)

                                                          Muscari neglectum

In some villages churchyards are very good places to botanise.   The grass is cut too frequently for Hook Norton to be one of them, but yesterday there was at least a big splash of the bright yellow Lesser Celandines (Ficaria verna) in one corner.   There was also another alien, but not as uncommon, Rough Comfrey (Symphytum asperum) on a path leading to the churchyard . It is one I need to check whether I have got it right - if the leaves have short stalks then it is, but if they clasp the stem then it is Russian Comfrey. (I have been back since to have another look and it probably is Hidcote Blue, (Symphytum x hidcotense), though I could not see one of the key determinants - stolons)

 

     Lesser Celandines (Ficaria verna)              Probably Rough Comfrey (Symphytum asperum)

Finally I came across some Early Dog Violets (Viola reichenbachiana) at a crossroads under a wall, the first I have seen this year.   Because of where I found it I probably ought to check that one too, just in case it is a hybrid.  (I really should lug around with me the botanist's bible, Stace's 'New Flora of the British Isles', weighing just over 1.2 Kg, to avoid these uncertainties!).

Early spring around the village

Still in lockdown, I walked a few miles south of the village to a couple of meadows.  Although still quite early, I counted 20 flowering plants, with violets and primroses adding characteristic colour to otherwise bare hedgerows and grasslands.  

...   

           Hairy violet (Viola hirta)                               Primroses (Primula vulgaris)

...

                  Sweet violet (Viola odorata)

The plant thug, Dog's mercury was also just beginning to flower. Why a thug?  Well it creates a dense carpet which smothers other plants.  

In one of the meadows I found the rosette of a bee orchid;  there are usually a few but this was in a new location in the meadow.

Surprisingly I did not see any deer - there are usually a few around - but I did find some old otter spraint on a branch overhanging the River Swere.

William Fowler Memorial Wood - a lockdown walk

 A short lockdown walk yesterday to a small reserve on the outskirts of Chipping Norton, the William Fowler Memorial Wood. Quoting from the website Chipping Norton Green Gym, whose volunteers maintain it:

"In 1892 a 23.5 acre (9.5 hectare) field called the Picked Close or Long Ground was given to the town of Chipping Norton by former resident Mr William Fowler, then living in South Australia. The field was to be let as working men’s allotments of ¼ acre each. A century on, the allotment land, which adjoins Glyme Lane close to Chipping Norton School, was underused. Then, in the winter of 2001-2, seven acres (3 ha) of it were planted up with trees, mostly native broadleaf species, to create “a community wood for the townspeople to walk in and enjoy.”

Being  next to allotments there are established garden throw-outs amongst the hazel, beech and wild cherry.   Yesterday coming into flower were a few garden muscari (Muscari armeniacum), garden crocuses and primroses including the garden hybrid, Primula x pruhonicensis.  There were also lots of snowdrops, on which I saw my first honeybee of the year.   Given that all the trees were introduced, but thankfully native, another appropriate introduction might be the rather rare native, Muscari neglectum, which is found only a few miles away in Charlbury, where the habitat is similar.

The main interest though for me are the  few scattered bee orchids, surprisingly amongst hazel scrub, and a couple of plants under a young beech, so there may have been plants there 20 years ago when the woodland was created.   One of those last year, identified by Rachel, one of the dedicated volunteers, was a wasp orchid (Orchis apifera var trollii), and there are leaves there this year, but maybe not the same plant. 

Atypical bee orchid habitat

The reserve is suffering from overuse by dog-walkers however; despite an entrance sign asking for dogs to be kept on a leash, it was ignored by all those I saw, and as a result the paths and glades are being flattened.    There was also very little birdlife about.   Its a universal problem sadly.