Botany in 65

Welcome to this our fifth newsletter for VC65 which is 

intended to keep you up-to date with botanical 

activities in North-west Yorkshire. For geographical 

details of the vice county please visit our website at: 

http://www.bsbi.org.uk/nw_yorkshire.html and click on 

‘A brief tour of v.c.65’. 

Field Meetings in 2012 

The Field Meetings in the v.c. were quite well 

attended, many thanks to Mike Canaway and the 

Craven Conservation Group, who organized a couple 

of the meetings, thanks also to members of Natural 

England and Yorkshire Dales National Park: Pippa 

Merricks, Mark Owen, Richard Dimon, Robert 

Goodison, Sue Reed and Frances Graham for their 

help with records and information and/or company on 

some of the field meetings and Threatened Plant 

Project Surveys. Many thanks also to Deborah 

Millward and members of the Yoredale Naturalists 

who assisted Kevin and myself with the TPP survey 

of Small White Orchids in Fotheringholme SSSI. 

Thanks also to Julie Clarke who is recording the 

Dentdale hectad and Brian Burrow who is working 

his way through v.c.65 Hieracium and Taraxacum 

species and filling in recording sheets as he goes. 

Many thanks to Tim & Eileen Laurie who have 

accompanied me on many high level forays around 

Stainmore and Swaledale, Stuart Hedley for his help 

on Cronkley Pasture and Dr. Margaret Bradshaw for 

her support, help and old records in Teesdale, Mel 

and Elaine Linney from the south of the county who 

helped me round Leckby and Cundall and lastly my 

Cumbrian friends Mary Smith on the early Galanthus 

spotting jaunts and June Byerley and the late Rena 

Kidd who helped in the search for Burnt Orchids. 

Flora of North-west 

Yorkshire 

A botanical newsletter for VC65 

Issue 5. Spring 2013 

Notable finds in 2012 

Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam) a lollipop shaped 

fastigiate form has been planted in the hedges near 

Skelton on Ure, Boroughbridge, numerous trees 

were noted by LR on 19.8.2012 (SE34.68) 

Fraxinus angustifolia (Narrow-leaved Ash) three 

specimens were seen planted in hedgerows near 

Marton-le-Moor on 19.8.2012 by LR (SE36.70) 

Galanthus elwesii (Greater Snowdrop) a good clump 

was found on the verge just north of Ulshaw Bridge 

by LR in early March, this must have been the old 

record in the file, the GR was slightly wrong 

indicating it was in an adjacent tetrad (SE14.86) 

Gymnocarpium robertianum (Limestone Fern) Brian 

Burrow found this fern on Combe Scar, Barbondale 

in May (SD66.86), then on 4th July Mike Canaway 

spotted it growing on the ruined roadside wall at 

Cowgill Wold (SD78.88) 

Helminthotheca echioides (Bristly Oxtongue) was 

found alongside the footpath on the edge of an 

arable field just outside the village of Cundall by Mel 

and Elaine Linney and LR in July (SE98.04) 

Hieracia & Taraxacum sp. Brian Burrow found three 

new records for Hawkweeds in the v.c., these were 

Hieracium calcaricola in the Cowgill Head area 

(SD78.88), Hieracium crebridentiforme on Dodd Fell 

(SD84.84) and Hieracium tricolorans at Burtersett on 

the Yorburgh Cliffs (SD88.88). Taraxacum 

brachyglossum was found in Barbondale (SD68.86), 

Grove Head (SD82.82) and Wether Fell (SD86.86). 

Hordelymus europaeus (Wood Barley) this 

uncommon woodland grass was found in June in 

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Deepdale Woods, Barnard Castle, near the 

footbridge over the beck by John Durkin (NZ02.16) 

Hymenophyllum wilsonii (Wilson’s Filmy Fern) was 

found by Brian Burrow on Combe Scar in Barbondale 

(SD66.86) 

Juncus alpinoarticulatus (Alpine Rush) three sites for 

this were seen along Cronkley Pasture in the line of 

calcareous flushes and springs below Cronkley Scar 

on 1.9.2012 by Stuart Hedley and LR. (NY84.28) 

Malva neglecta (Dwarf Mallow) this was found on 

29.7.2012 on a roadside verge just outside the 

village of Cundall by Mel and Elaine Linney and LR 

(SE42.72) 

Myosotis x bollandica (Myosotis secunda x M. 

stolonifera) this newly described hybrid Forget-menot 

was spotted firstly by Mike Wilcox on a 

streamside in Widdale above Hawes in 2011 and 

another specimen was spotted later the same year 

by LR and Tim & Eileen Laurie beside the stream up 

East Stonesdale with both parents nearby. These 

have both been accepted as M. x bollandica and are 

first and second records for v.c.65. 

Neottia nidus-avis (Bird’s-nest Orchis) on 1/7/2012 a 

few plants were found by John Durkin in Deepdale 

Woods, Barnard Castle (NZ02.16) 

Orobanche alba (Thyme Broomrape) a good colony 

of this species was seen and photographed by 

members of the BSBI Field Meeting on 14.7.2012 in 

Leyburn Quarry, thanks to Deborah Millward for 

guiding us to it. (SE10.90) 

Polypodium x mantoniae (Polypodium vulgare x P. 

interjectum) two colonies of this hybrid Polypody was 

found on 12.8.2012 by David Tennant and Brian 

Burrow and identified by Bruce Brown on cliffs on 

Wether Fell. (SD86.86) 

Pseudorchis albida (Small White Orchid) a new site 

was discovered in Len Pastures SSSI on 30.6.2012, 

we had been counting the Butterfly Orchids when 

Ros James called us over to look at a strange small 

one which turned out to be Pseudorchis. After 

further searching we found 17 in total and ended up 

filling out a TPP form. (SD96.96) 

Salix caprea subsp. sphacelata (Scottish form of 

Goat Willow) was found on 3.5.2012 by David 

Tennant and Brian Burrow and confirmed by 

Desmond Meikle on Haw Bank near Carperby in 

native limestone woodland, a second visit revealed 

there were at least 3 trees but possibly more in the 

immediate area. (SD98.88) 

Saxifraga aizoides (Yellow Saxifrage) masses of this 

Saxifrage was seen along the length of Cronkley 

Pasture in the line of calcareous flushes and springs 

below Cronkley Scar on 1.9.2012 by Stuart Hedley 

and LR. v.c.65 files do not contain any records of 

this species in this area but Dr. Margaret Bradshaw 

has known it from here since the 1970’s. (NY84.12) 

Saxifraga hirculus (Marsh Saxifrage) a completely 

new site for this BAP species was found by Tim 

Laurie, Eileen Laurie and LR on a tufa spring mound 

at the head of Mud Beck at the top of Arkengarthdale 

on 3.8.2012. It is approximately mid-way between 

the Shunner Fell site and the Pennine sites and a 

picture of one of the flowers is at the top of this page. 

(NY94.08) 

Trichophorum x foersteri (Hybrid Trichophorum) 

plants continue to be found, this year four sites at the 

top of Arkengarthdale were discovered and one on 

Cronkley Pasture. The pure Trichophorum 

cespitosum has not been found………..yet. 

X Dactylodenia evansii (Gymnadenia borealis x 

Dactylorhiza maculata) this hybrid between Heath 

Fragrant Orchid and Heath Spotted Orchid was 

found in Fotheringholme SSSI by Alan Gendle on 

5.7.2012, this is a first record for v.c.65. (NY98.04) 

Aliens 

Helleborus foetidus (Stinking Hellebore) was found 

naturalised and spreading on the edge of Marfield 

Plantation by Mary Smith and LR on 8.3.2012 

(SE20.82) 

Kerria japonica (Kerria) was found by Julie Clarke in 

the Hebblethwaite Hall area just north of Sedbergh 

(SD68.92) 

Laburnum x watereri (Laburnum) was found in a 

hedge along Moor Lane north of Boroughbridge 

(SE38.68) 

Persicaria capitata (Pink-headed Persicaria) was 

seen at the base of a wall in Sedbergh by Julie 

Clarke in October (SD64.92) 

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Threatened Plant Survey 

We did three TPP surveys for the Alchemilla 

wichurae sites in Teesdale with the exception of one 

in a pasture near Wynch Bridge which we left too late 

in the season. We found two sites at the north end 

of Cronkley Pastures which must have been the old 

1950’s records of Max Walters. We had a Field 

Meeting to try and re-find an old site for Small White 

Orchid above Gunnerside but whilst there was plenty 

of suitable habitat we didn’t find any plants but we 

did find a new site further down Swaledale in Len 

Pastures SSSI near Crackpot. Seventeen spikes 

were seen and a TPP Survey form completed. We 

visited Leyburn Glebe again to see if there were any 

Burnt Orchids after a null result last year and found 

six spikes so another TPP survey form was duly filled 

in. After a report that Richard Dimon and Robert 

Goodison had found two Burnt Orchid spikes below 

Cover Bridge June Byerley, the late Rena Kidd and 

LR traced the plants and filled in another TPP form. 

Other records of Burnt Orchids from near 

Swinithwaite, Aysgarth and Thoralby were hunted for 

with null results, the cold spring had meant that the 

sheep were still in the low lying fields as there was 

nothing to eat on the fells so the Orchids did not get 

the chance to flower, these sites will be re-visited in 

2013. Tim and Eileen Laurie and LR found a good 

calcareous flush with Blysmus compressus up on 

Stainmore so another TPP form was filled in for that. 

Recording plans for the future 

About 25,000 records covering mainly 2000-2012 

were put into MapMate by L.R. over the winter 

months but there are still the records up to 2000 to 

get in. Two sets of boxfiles are now on excel but 

there is still a briefcase full of paper records to go 

through, when these get put on excel they can be 

sorted, duplicates discarded and missing grid 

references and place names put in, then they can be 

put into MapMate and added to the c.40,000 records 

or so already in the Vascular Plants Database at 

CEH Wallingford (formerly Monks Wood). 

We are hoping to produce a check list for the vice 

county this year and we are still in the process of 

producing a Rare Plants Register. We are focusing 

our recording efforts on species that are either 

nationally rare or scarce (i.e. recorded in less than 

100 10 × 10 km squares) or classified as threatened 

in the new Red Data List of the British flora published 

in 2005. Currently this includes the 126 native and 

archaeophyte taxa listed below: 

Actaea spicata Hypericum montanum 

Alchemilla acutiloba Juncus alpinoarticulatus 

Alchemilla glaucescens Juncus compressus 

Alchemilla glomerulans Kobresia simpliciuscula 

Alchemilla minima Limosella aquatica 

Alchemilla monticola Linum perenne 

Alchemilla subcrenata Luronium natans 

Alchemilla wichurae Lysimachia thyrsiflora 

Allium oleraceum Melampyrum sylvaticum 

Alopecurus borealis Meum athamanticum 

Anthemis arvensis Minuartia hybrid 

Arabis glabra Minuartia verna 

Asplenium trichomanes 

ssp. Myosotis alpestris 

pachyrachis Myosotis stolonifera 

Bartsia alpina Myosurus minimus 

Blysmus compressus 

Myriophyllum 

verticillatum 

Bromopsis benekenii Oenanthe fistulosa 

Cardamine impatiens Ophrys insectifera 

Carex capillaris Anacamptis morio 

Carex digitata Neotinea ustulata 

Carex ericetorum Orobanche alba 

Carex muricata ssp. Orobanche rapum- 

muricata 

genistae 

Carex vaginata 

Chenopodium bonus- 

Orobanche reticulata 

henricus 

Chrysanthemum 

Papaver argemone 

segetum Persicaria minor 

Circaea alpina Peucedanum ostruthium 

Clinopodium calamintha Pilularia globulifera 

Cochlearia micacea Polemonium caeruleum 

Cochlearia pyrenaica Polygala amarella 

Coeloglossum viride Polystichum lonchitis 

Crepis mollis Potamogeton coloratus 

Cynoglossum officinale Potamogeton friesii 

Cypripedium calceolus 

Dactylorhiza 

Potentilla crantzii 

traunsteinerioides Potentilla fruticosa 

Daphne mezereum Potentilla neumanniana 

Draba muralis Primula farinosa 

Dryas octopetala Pseudorchis albida 

Dryopteris submontana Ranunculus arvensis 

Epipactis atrorubens Ribes alpinum 

Epipactis phyllanthes Ribes spicatum 

Equisetum pratense Rosa agrestis 

Equisetum variegatum Rumex pseudoalpinus 

Eriophorum gracile Saxifraga hirculus 

Erophila majuscula Saxifraga hypnoides 

Euphorbia exigua 

Euphrasia rostkoviana 

Scandix pecten-veneris 

ssp. Scheuchzeria palustris 

montana 

Euphrasia rostkoviana 

Sedum villosum 

ssp. Sesleria caerulea 

rostkoviana Silene gallica 

Filago vulgaris Silene noctiflora 

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Fumaria purpurea Sium latifolium 

Galeopsis angustifolia Sorbus rupicola 

Galeopsis speciosa Spergula arvensis 

Genista anglica Spiranthes spiralis 

Gentiana verna Stachys arvensis 

Gentianella campestris Stellaria palustris 

Gnaphalium sylvaticum Teesdalia nudicaulis 

Groenlandia densa Teucrium scordium 

Gymnocarpium 

robertianum Thlaspi caerulescens 

Helianthemum 

oelandicum Tilia platyphyllos 

ssp. levigatum Utricularia australis 

Hordelymus europaeus Valerianella dentata 

Hornungia petraea Vicia orobus 

Hymenophyllum wilsonii Viola tricolor 

Hyoscyamus niger Woodsia ilvensis 

Some of these species are long extinct (e.g. 

Cypripedium calceolus, Eriophorum gracile, 

Scheuchzeria palustris, Woodsia ilvensis) whereas 

others are relatively common in VC65 (e.g. Minuartia 

verna, Primula farinosa, Sesleria caerulea). We 

would welcome any recent records or help with 

checking out old sites for any of these species. 

We have already made a start to record the flora of 

the entire county, at the tetrad scale, our Field 

Meetings this year reflect the areas where we have 

few or no records, the eastern edge of the county is 

relatively unrecorded as is the Coverdale area. 

Please feel free to come along to these meetings or 

alternatively if you would like to concentrate on 

specific areas or hectads closer to home then please 

feel free to get in touch to see how we can help. We 

can supply lists of species for each hectad, probably 

some old records and recording forms. 

Field Meetings 2013 

All Field Meetings start at 10.30am. If you intend to 

come along to meetings please let Linda Robinson 

know, contact details at end of Newsletter. 

Saturday 6 th April – Cleasby, Gagea hunt, meet near 

Church in village at NZ249.130 

Sunday 21 st April – Winston Bridge, meet at junction 

of lane to Hedgeholme to east of bridge at 

NZ145.162 

Saturday 4 th May – Druids Plantation, meet at Car 

Park near Druids Temple at SE177.787 

Sunday 19 th May – Ellingstring, meet near phone box 

in village at SE176.836 

Saturday 1 st June – Melmerby Moor, meet cattle grid, 

Wrankeld Well Spring at SE067.869 

Sunday 16 th June – Scorton, meet near Pub in centre 

of village at NZ250.001 

Sunday 30 th June – Kingsdale Head, meet near 

summit where the track joins from the NW near High 

Moss at SD723.823 (Meeting in conjunction with 

Craven Conservation Group) 

Wednesday 17 th July – Flinters Gill, meet in car park 

in Dent (may have to pay to park) at SD703.872 

(Meeting in conjunction with Craven Conservation 

Group) 

Sunday 21 st July – Cover Head, meet near County 

boundary at Cattle Grid at SD986757 

Saturday 10 th August – Holme, meet near junction 

with Church Lane Track at SE353.822 

Sunday 18 th August – Arkleside, Coverdale, meet in 

Arkleside at SE044.804 

Saturday 7 th September – Caldbergh, meet at 

junction of Red Way track below Caldbergh at 

SE092.852 

There are other unscheduled field trips which get 

organised at the last minute depending on weather, 

work etc. so if anyone is prepared to drop everything 

at a moment’s notice you are welcome to come 

along. Please give me your contact details and I will 

let you know and be glad of the company. 

Contact details 

Linda Robinson, The Cottage, Melmerby, Penrith, 

Cumbria, CA10 1HN. Phone: 01768 881714 

or 07951274951 Email: 

lindarobinson157@btinternet.com 

Kevin Walker, 97 Dragon Parade, Harrogate, North 

Yorkshire, HG1 5DG. Phone: 01423 544902. 

Email: kevinwalker@bsbi.org.uk 

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Botany in 65

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