Bradford Botany Group 1km square (Monad) study 2020

When COVID-19 lockdown began in early March banning all unnecessary social contact I was restricted to walking the dog from home and so I decided to start my home 1km square study for the Wild Flower Society and, with the BBG summer programme on hold, I decided to encourage other members of the BBG to do likewise with Neil enabling this group to correspond via email. This is the result.

Neil found a distinctive purple-veined white flowered vetch on waste ground by the old school. This is almost certainly Wood Vetch (Ervilia sylvatica) and is probably the first record for VC64 (Mid–west Yorkshire) since Arnold Lee recorded it in his 1888 Flora of West Yorkshire as occurring in a wood near Ingleborough. We will be verifying this later in the year. Other interesting finds were Henry’s Honeysuckle (Lonicera henryi) and Irish Ivy (Hedera ‘Hibernica’) in woodland and several hundred Common Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) together with Heath Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata) and numerous confusing intermediates at Adel.

Julie was our only member to record a Cumbria monad and although this was for the Arnside N.H. Society I thought it would be interesting to include it in our BBG monad report. The Sea Rush (Juncus maritimus) was unsurprisingly not recorded by any other member as was the case for Slender Rush (Juncus tenuis). Some nice garden escapes now naturalised in Storth were Great Forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) and Knotted Crane’s-bill (Geranium nodosum) which is well established in the lanes.

Ian & Paula’s monads are both moorland and so are species-poor but it is always nice to find all three Yorkshire heathers. In SD99.36, Heather (Calluna vulgaris), Bell Heather (Erica cinerea) and Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix) were found and two Cottongrasses, Common Cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium) and Hare’s-tail Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), as well as Deer-grass (Trichophorum germanicum). I envy their SE01.36 square with Moonwort (Botrychium lunaria), Beech Fern (Phegopteris connectilis), Cowberry (Vacinium vitis-idaea) and the Hybrid Deer Grass (Trichophorum × foersteri).

Everald was restricted to her garden and nearby lane but still managed to find some interesting plants. Our only record for Maple-leaved Goosefoot (Chenopodiastrum hybridum) was from Everald’s garden, as was the Slender Yellow Trefoil (Trifolium micranthum) on her lawn which I remember her pointing out to us on our BBG trip to the Leven Canal whilst consuming her excellent cake. In her lane she found Yellow Monkswort (Nonea lutea) and Pale Corydalis (Pseudofumaria alba) naturalised.

Anthony and Rita found Hybrid Garden Tree-mallow (Malva x clementii), self-seeded from a nearby garden on Hunger Hill in SE23.38. Also found self-seeded was Kamchatka Stonecrop (Phedimus kamtschaticum var. ellacombeanum), identified from a photo by Ray Stephenson, the BSBI Sedum expert. In Trinity University Pond, SE23.39 they found a nice patch of Great Pond-sedge (Carex riparia) and a double-flowered Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis ‘Flore Pleno Alba’), which was probably of garden origin and one of the many plants known as Bachelor’s Buttons. One new to me, Sorbaria (Sorbaria sorbifolia), was in a hedgerow on Church Lane with the rare Coral Spurge (Euphorbia corallioides) at Ling Bob.

Ian was the only one to find Pill Sedge (Carex pilulifera) and Eared Willow (Salix aurita) and he also found the garden escapes Globe Thistle (Echinops exaltatus) and Sawara Cypress (Cupressus pisifera), which may require a trip over to Otley Chevin to see.

Andrew had a fantastic number of plants in his monads, which seems to confirm that for sheer number of species you can’t beat towns and cities. In October I bussed over to see Andrew’s Least Pepperwort (Lepidium virginicum). Unfortunately it had been mowed down but Andrew showed me around SE09.24 showing me Mediterranean Sea-holly (Eryngium bourgatii), self-seeded on steps, Daisy-bush (Olearia x haastii) growing out of a cliff/wall on Trooper Lane, growing near a Whitebeam which we saw in several places but we were unable to identify. Photos were sent to Tim Rich, BSBI expert, who identified it as Austrian Whitebeam (Sorbus austriaca), the third or fourth record for self-seeding in Britain. Some exciting finds in his other monad, SE09.23, included natives, Climbing Corydalis (Ceratocapnos claviculata) and Heath Bedstraw (Galium saxatile), which he noted as extremely rare in his monads and not found at all in my Bradford monads. The hairy sub-species of Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis ssp. visanii) was found and the Small Melilot (Melilotus indicus) was a late find on the 27^th December. Andrew had a number of unidentified plants so his list may increase.

Brigid found some of my favourite natives; Giant Bellflower (Campanula latifolia) on the River Aire, Common Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense) in Glen Wood, the only site I know in Bradford SE13 and in Hirst Wood the attractive Wood Melick (Melica uniflora). The pretty Sowbread (Cyclamen hederifolium) was on the canal bank near Dowley Gap.

Louise did two home monads in Great Harwood, Lancashire. In SD72.32 she found the delicate Wood Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) and the rare Wood Small-reed (Calamagrostis epigejos), which no other member recorded. The Wood Small-reed she saw in both of her monads and in her garden in SD73.32 were two interesting weeds, Bristle Club-rush (Isolepis setacea) and Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana).

Susan and Tom did their home monad, finding the rare Green Figwort (Scrophularia umbrosa) and re-finding Carex x elytroides, the hybrid between Slender Tufted-Sedge and Common Sedge; this was discovered by Michael Wilcox here on boggy ground by the River Aire in 2012. Susan and Tom were, like me and Michael, unable to find either parent – a job for us later in the year. Possibly the most exciting garden weed is their Twayblade (Neottia ovata), naturalised on their lawn, the only site in the SE13 Bradford 10km square.

Sue has two Ilkley monads, SE11.48 & SE12.48, with the bank of the River Wharfe probably the most botanically interesting area. Here she found two nice natives, Rough Chervil (Chaerophyllum temulum), which I am still hunting for in my SE13 10km square and Large Bittercress (Cardamine amara). Aliens are frequent on the river bank and Sue found Fairy Foxglove (Erinus alpinus), the normal pink flowered plant as well as the white var. albus, Spanish Gorse (Genista hispanica) and Good-King-Henry (Blitum bonus-henricus), which is seldom seen in gardens and is declining in the wild. In SE12.48 Creeping Comfrey (Symphytum grandiflorum) was in the swimming pool field with Chinese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa). Japanese Red-cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) by the river looked to be self-seeded by the edge of a wall and I think a visit to Ilkley is due.

My two Bradford monads were very productive but as I have now retired I was out every day with Max the dog. This started off as half-hour walks but sometimes this was extended to two hours. New plants and new places were found. Brow Wood in SE16.35 was new but not very productive although the Cambridge Crane’s-bill (Geranium x cantabrigiense) on the bank just before the wood was a nice find. I had walked past it on a number of occasions and it was not until it flowered that I noticed it, as it was with the nearby Three-cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum). I have been visiting Bolton Wood quarry for a number of years but it has grown impenetrable in many places but luckily the motorbike scramblers have opened a path to the bottom of the quarry, where I found Small Cudweed (Logfia minima) and Common Cudweed (Filago germanica). A surprise find in SE16.34 was Blue Thimbleflower (Gilia Capitata) on the verge of Ashbourne Gardens and on a rough field off Bolton Lane a single Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) or should I say what my grand-daughter calls it, a “Be awkward”.

Well, all told the BBG monad surveys have been a success with over 4100 records and many members saying how they enjoyed it and learned from it. Some members wish to continue their monads next year and some wish to start new ones. Well the Snowdrops are now out so time to add to your monads or start new ones. Good hunting to you all.

B.A. ‘Jesse’ Tregale