New Plant Finds - Part 2

Some Alien Honeysuckles

Tartarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tartarica)

Early in the spring of last year I was looking at the Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) which climbs up the wire fences of the old sewage works compounds at the north western end of Chorlton Ees. I noticed something odd. Some of the plants did not appear to be climbing the fences but were exhibiting a more shrub-like habit. As the season advanced both the climbing plants and the shrubs developed very similar leaves but they were fairly obviously different species. In May the shrubs flowered and then it became obvious that they weren’t our native species (i.e. L. periclymenum).

L. periclynemum is our only native species of Honeysuckle, although there is another species which is ‘possibly’ native. This latter species is L. xylosteum - Fly Honeysuckle, which is a rather uncommon plant of southern England. Both of these are climbers and not shrubs. The new plant on Chorlton Ees had rather small (even rather insignificant), pink flowers. It was not particularly easy to identify but eventually I was able to name it as L. tartarica - Tartarian Honeysuckle (top photograph). It is a rather obscure garden escape, originally from southern Russia. The specific epithet commemorates the Tartars – a major ethnic group in southern Russia and the Ukraine. It appears to have been introduced into British Gardens 70 or 80 years ago but may only now be spreading. I think that it’s almost certainly bird-seeded – the birds which find the fruits of L. periclynemum palatable probably also take the fruits of L. tartarica (which is why I found the two species together on Chorlton Ees). I thought for a while that I might have a new record for Greater Manchester but it turns out that it has been found around here before. For example, a few years ago local botanists Priscilla Tolfree and Audrey Locksley found it by the Fallowfield Loop cycle path.

I recently discovered an odd fact about this plant on the Internet (you couldn’t make this up!). Apparently, in Canada, twigs of Tartarian Honeysuckle are sold as cat toys because they contain a chemical called, nepetalactone – the same chemical that is found in the plant Catnip. As anyone who has ever owned a cat will know, Catnip is extremely attractive to cats and drives them wild!

Henry’s Honeysuckle (Lonicera henryi)

By the side of the Fallowfield Loop, less than half a mile east of Princess Parkway, a vigorous, evergreen climber smothers the bank side vegetation and trees. There is a similar patch of it in the midst of the willow carr at Fletcher Moss park in Didsbury. I was convinced that both of these patches were representatives of the species, Lonicera henryi – Henry’s Honeysuckle (middle photograph), another garden escape, originally from China. I needed to see the flowers to be sure but last year failed to do so. This year I managed to creep up on the Fallowfield Loop patch at exactly the right time (mid-June) and caught it in full flower, and it proved to be what I thought it was.

The name commemorates the Irish botanist, Augustine Henry (1857 – 1930). From 1880 Henry was employed for 20 years by the Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs Service. This post seems to have allowed him plenty of time for botanising as he collected widely in Hubei, Sichuan, Taiwan and Yunnan and managed to send around 150, 000 dried specimens to Kew. At least some of the specimens that he collected also ended up in Manchester Museum Herbarium. I’m not sure whether he discovered or even collected this particular species. He certainly didn’t name it (it is not the ‘done thing’ to name a species after oneself!). It was given the name by the eminent botanist, William Hemsley who, while working at Kew, compiled an important catalogue of Chinese plants.

By an extraordinary coincidence, while studying this plant and the career of Augustine Henry, I discovered that his great, great nephew lives just around the corner from me in Chorltonville!

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)

I’ve only ever found this plant (bottom photograph) in one place – along the old railway line from Chorlton to Old Trafford (soon to be part of the Metrolink tram network). It has white flowers which turn yellow as they age. In shape they are not unlike those of our native Honeysuckle. It’s a native of Asia, particularly Japan, Korea, north and east China and Taiwan.
In China it’s an ingredient in herbal medicines and is said to have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

In North America it’s a major invasive species. It’s classified as a ‘noxious weed’ in Illinois and Virginia and is banned in New Hampshire.

I would suggest that all three of these species have the potential to become major pests in the UK as well. On the other hand they might just blend in with the native flora and add to local biodiversity or they might just fade away un-noticed. It all seems to be completely unpredictable.

So the alien Honeysuckles might be coming! Keep watching the skies? No, keep watching the hedgerows ... doo, doo, doo-doo, doo, doo, doo-doo!

Dave Bishop, July 2009

References:

1. ‘Shrubs’ by Roger Phillips & Martyn Rix, Pan Books, 1989

2. ‘Travels in China: A Plantsman’s Paradise’ by Roy Lancaster, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1989

3. Wikipedia Article of Japanese Honeysuckle: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Honeysuckle

A Glimpse of the Mersey Valley 50 Years Ago - Hilda Broady's Journal

5th July, 1959

After a week of glorious sunshine and intermittent heavy showers, I visited the plot. Yesterday was the hottest of the year so far, being 84 degrees but it has rained all day today.

The ground was very wet and seeking specimens of wild plants in the long grass amused my young son, but not myself.

Bittersweet is still much in evidence in the stream bed (which still refuses to fill with water), and we noticed a large patch of horsetail growing in the bed of the stream.

Between the large numbers of Sycamores growing and the long grass it was very difficult to walk about. Willowherb is very prolific, and bramble too is growing all over the plot. Some bramble is in flower, but in places fruits, which are green, and yellow, are appearing. There is now no sign of the long stems of the snakeweed. Green fruits are also evident on the Hawthorn tree.

My plot has been extended to include a stream which actually contains water this week, although last week it was completely dry. We brought home a sample of this water, but unfortunately it was accidentally lost and another sample will have to be taken.

We caught a red insect which has not yet been identified. Willowherb was in full flower.

Posted by Dave Bishop, 5th July, 2009.

New Plant Finds - Part 1

I’ve been doing quite a lot of intensive botanising recently and thought that I might share some of my more interesting finds with FoCM Blog readers. So as not to risk boring you I thought I’d pick a couple of plants to talk about in each article. The two plants that I’ve chosen to discuss this time are: Small Nettle (Urtica urens), a plant which, although I struggled to find it in 2008/9, was once so common around here that it would have been considered almost as unremarkable as Common Nettle (Urtica dioica); and Wood Small-reed (Calamagrostis epigejos), a grass which always appears to have been fairly rare in South Lancashire; I think that there’s a good chance that my discovery of it, near Urmston this week, may be a new record for the Mersey Valley.

Small Nettle (Top Picture)

This is a smaller, more delicate, annual relative of the Common ‘Stinging’ Nettle (it also stings, by the way!). It is generally considered to be an ‘archeophyte’ – that is a plant introduced into this country, from elsewhere in the world (in this case continental Europe), before the wholly arbitrary date of 1500 AD. Like most archeophytes the seed probably arrived as a contaminant of the crop seeds which were traded between European countries for millennia.

In his local Flora of 1849 (1) Manchester’s celebrated shoe-maker botanist, Richard Buxton found this plant around, “Chorlton and Withington, Stretford, Prestwich. Many other places.”

In his ‘Manchester Flora’(2), published 10 years later, Leo Grindon’s note on it states, “Waysides, common, but not like the larger one [i.e. U. dioica] universal. Plentiful about Chorlton, Stretford, Broadheath, Prestwich &c.”

Finally, a (relatively) more recent flora, published in 1963, ‘Travis’s Flora of South Lancashire’ (3) describes its habitat and frequency as: “Cultivated and waste land, especially on light soils. Common.”

But by the early 21st Century it did not appear to be common any longer – at least I could not find it in any of the Mersey Valley sites that I had free access to. Nevertheless, in 2008 Graham Kaye (BSBI Vice County Recorder for Cheshire) showed it to me at a site near Frodsham and when Richard Gardner (FoCM Secretary) and I visited the Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s headquarters, near Beeston, in May of this year, we saw a patch of it in their grounds, growing right next to a patch of Common Nettle for contrast.

It occurred to me that, like many annuals, Small Nettle was very likely to be a plant of disturbed ground and the Cheshire sites, mentioned above, confirmed this view (they were both farmyard-type habitats). I decided to have a look at local allotments – which are the closest habitats to farmyards that we’ve got left (I’m not too sure if Allotment Plot Holders would be pleased with that description or not!). Alison Hunt (Wildlife Officer of West Didsbury Residents’ Association) has a plot in the Albemarle Road Allotments in Withington and she introduced me to the Allotment Key Holder, Joan Dot. Joan was very happy to show me round and soon we found a bank of soil by one plot on which, to my great delight, was growing Small Nettle! Even though I started whimpering at this point, Joan would still like me to go back and compile a plant list. Who knows what other treasures there are to be found among the Allotment weeds – must try to control the whimpering!

Wood Small-reed (Bottom Picture)

One of my favourite walks is along Hawthorn Lane by Stretford Cemetery, and then by Kickety Brook under the A56 and the M60 Motorway. Eventually this path emerges on the river bank opposite Ashton-on-Mersey Golf Club. I then generally turn right here and follow the river until I reach the Carrington Motorway spur and a footbridge across the river. Beyond this point I can either, stay on the same side and carry on to Urmston Meadows, or cross the river to Ashton. At the top of the river bank, and in the shadow of the Carrington Spur, there is a small patch of planted trees. In front of these trees is a patch of tall, rather coarse grass which has puzzled me for a while. Slowly it dawned on me that this might be a Small-reed (Calamagrostis) – grasses which I had read about in the books but had never seen (or if I had, not recognised them as such).

I had found this grass a couple of months ago but it doesn’t flower until late June/early July and I needed to see the flowers to confirm my identification. It has never been common in this area. Buxton recorded it from Rostherne Mere and Mere Clough, Prestwich and a few other places (none in the Mersey Valley). Grindon also recorded it from the same two places. By 1963 ‘Travis’s Flora of South Lancashire’ was describing it as “Rare” and none of the listed sites, in that work, are anywhere near the Mersey Valley.

Last Monday morning I found it just coming into flower and was able to confirm my suspicions that it was Wood Small-reed (Calamagrostis epigejos). This time there was no-one nearby to hear the whimpering – although the Environment Agency workmen on the other side of the river may have been a bit puzzled by the keening and the high-pitched yelps!

Dave Bishop, July 2009

References:

1. ‘A Botanical Guide to the Flowering Plants, Ferns, Mosses and Algae Found Indigenous Within Sixteen Miles of Manchester’ by Richard Buxton, Longman, 1849.

2. ‘The Manchester Flora’ by Leo Grindon, William White, 1859.

3. 'Travis's Flora of South Lancashire' ed. by J.P. Savidge, V.H. Heywood & V. Gordon, Liverpool Botanical Society, 1963.

Common Spotted Orchids

The end of June is the time to look for our commonest wild orchid - the Common Spotted (Dactylorhiza fuchsii). This is the plant that hybridises so freely with all of our Marsh Orchids and causes such confusion (see 'Marsh Orchids' 11.06.2009).

It is also very variable and the flowers can vary in colour considerably. In the photographs above you can see a plant that I found in Stretford, this year, with very striking, deep magenta markings and a plant that I found in Chorlton, last year, with pure white flowers.

The flowers can also vary in shape. They all have three lobed lower lips - but these can be quite sharp and angular or fuller and more 'blowsy'. The main photograph hints at this variation but this picture should be interpreted with some caution as this could be a 'hybrid swarm' and at least some of these flowers could be Marsh Orchid hybrids.

Dave Bishop, June 2009

A Glimpse of the Mersey Valley 50 Years Ago - Hilda Broady's Journal

28th June, 1959

As there had been quite a large amount of rain during the last few days I thought it would be a good idea to visit the plot, in the hope that there might be some water in the stream. However, although the ground and the grass was very wet, the stream was still quite dry. The lower vegetation appeared brown and dead, but the long grass looked very fresh and green.

New leaves are still appearing on the Sycamores, and many of them are eaten away. The stems of the new leaves are a deep red. Undersides of the leaves were covered in greenfly.

Searching among the tall grass I found an oak tree growing, the lower leaves being green, and the newer ones green and brown.

The Sorrel is now seeding. The Willow Herb is flowering half way up the stem. Also hidden in the grass I found Long-Rooted Cat's-Ear [Common Cat's-ear = Hypochaeris radicata - a yellow flowered, Dandelion-like composite, still very common in this area, Ed.], of which a specimen was taken.

The Pleurococcus [i.e. green algae, Ed.] on the tree trunks was very bright green.

A number of insects were collected.

Specimen also taken of Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium).

Posted by Dave Bishop, 28th June, 2009.

Wild Flower Planting

I was walking in one of our ‘wild spaces’ earlier this week and came upon the scene illustrated above. This had all the hall marks of ‘wild flower planting’ – a dubious practice that has much less merit than its adherents would like to think.

I am struck by the fact that many conservation groups seem to think that they should be planting things. Almost as soon as the ink is dry on a new group’s constitution they are out in the field planting trees and ‘wild flowers’. Pick up any local newspaper and you’ll probably find a picture of spade and trowel wielding ‘eco-warriors’ doing their bit for the environment. You will often find that these groups have been awarded grants for doing this, even though the grant-awarding bodies should really know better! The thinking seems to be that trees and flowers are now ‘rare’ and all we have to do to repair the damage is to plant some more. There’s also an unthinking assumption that any old tree or flower can be planted in any old place and it will thrive. But I can take you to at least half a dozen spots in South Manchester where wild flowers were once enthusiastically planted (sometimes there’s even a faded sign commemorating the fact) and all that is to be seen is a sad patch of docks and nettles – look at the picture above – can you see the dock leaves already sprouting in the middle?

If you must plant things (my advice is don’t!) here are some things to bear in mind:

- Your local environment is probably much richer than you give it credit for. Have you looked at it? Can you identify your local species? I estimate that, in the Mersey Valley alone, there are at least 500 species of plants growing wild – and as I keep finding new ones that’s probably a gross underestimate.

- Trees and flowers plant themselves – and have been doing very successfully for millions of years. Gardening is a great pastime and certain types of gardening (those that don’t stress excessive tidiness) can have great ecological merit; but attempting to ‘garden’ the wider environment is a mistake unless you really know what you’re doing (even many ‘professionals’ don’t seem to, as far as I can see).

- The main reason why our environment is impoverished, now, compared with the past, is because habitats have been destroyed. Since the Second World War we have lost ancient woods, hedgerows, meadows and wetlands by the score. In urban areas, like South Manchester, we are still losing the remnants of what’s left to property developers and the activities of ‘licensed eco-vandals’ (see ‘Why is the Springtime the Killing Time Around Here?’, FoCM blog, 15th May). In my experience it is often the richest habitats that are sought out and trashed – often because some bureaucrat thinks that they are ‘untidy’ (nice, safe lollipop trees planted in straight lines on closely mown, weed-free turf - the town planner’s dream!). You can’t undo that damage by planting stuff.

- Re-creating habitats is either very hard or impossible (you can’t plant an ancient wood, for example). This is why I get annoyed when I see the planting left to children. If the adults don’t know what they’re doing, children are certainly not going to – caring for the environment is not child’s play! By all means involve children in the environment, give them the opportunity to play in it and interact with it, and give them a good, well-grounded environmental education – but telling them that we can mend the damage that has been done to the environment, by previous generations, by just planting any old stuff anywhere is just wrong! It is mis-education.

- Inappropriate planting can actually damage the environment. In the Mersey Valley, in the 1970s, we lost hundreds of acres of irreplaceable, species-rich, unimproved grassland to inappropriate tree planting – and all we’re left with is a lot of spindly trees with an impoverished ground flora. The plants in the photograph are actually corn field weeds from an unknown source. We once had corn fields in South Manchester, but these are long gone. Interestingly, in some places, the seed bank still appears to be in the soil – so our original corn field weeds still spring up occasionally when the ground is disturbed. If the plants in the picture are from foreign sources (as they often are) then that genetic legacy could be diluted or lost.

So, if you’re a keen, committed, green eco-warrior, what should you be doing? Here are some suggestions:

- Get to know your local environment and find out what habitats it contains and which are worth conserving.

- Learn to identify the plants (everything else depends on these). Start by equipping yourself with a good field guide (see my review of the new ‘Collins Flower Guide’, FoCM blog, 29th May ).

- Keep good records.

- Draw up a long-term, ecologically sound management plan for any area for which you have some responsibility; get advice on this if necessary.

- Start nagging your indigenous bunch of ‘licensed eco-vandals’ to stop trashing your local environment, at the wrong time of year, and to start following the letter of the law by working to conserve and enhance local biodiversity. Persuade them to draw up long term, ecologically sound management plans for the areas for which they are responsible.

- Compile a list of things to do and move ‘planting stuff’ from number one on the list to number 1,823 – or, better still, remove it from the list altogether!

Dave Bishop, June 2009

Ida Bradshaw's Memories of Hardy Farm

Some time ago Ida Bradshaw, of Neale Road, sent me some of her memories of Hardy Farm. Unfortunately, I managed to lose her letter in my 'deep litter' filing system. Luckily the letter has now turned up and I can post Ida's memories on the blog - sorry, Ida! If anyone else has little snippets, like this, that they would like to share, please feel free to send them to me (and I really will try not to lose them - honest!).

My great aunt (d. 1962) knew the wife of the farmer at Hardy Farm. When my father (b. 1899) was young he and my grandparents used to visit great aunt and they would walk through Chorltonville to Hardy Lane and visit the farm and have tea with them.
The farmer’s wife used to go to the small orchard at river bank for crab apples to make chutney with for the Christmas Fair at St. John’s. This was where my great aunt got to know the farmer’s wife. She died in the 1920s and when the farmer died a few years later it passed to the son. After the Second World War the owner changed it from a farm to a stables which it continued to be until he died. The family did not want to carry on and it was sold. I presume this was when UMIST bought it.The original path from Brookburn Road only went to the football club [I presume that Ida means the present site of the Chorlton and West Didsbury Football Club – Ed.]. There was no path to the river. [The fields] were used as grazing for the horses and ponies at the riding stables. [They were] originally used as grazing for cows.

Ida Bradshaw, 19.03.07