Hankham

Field meeting reports

Meeting date: 21 July 2001

(Leader: Paul Maurice)

Thanks to a chance encounter last summer between Paul Maurice and Martin Hole of Montague Farm, members were invited to carry out a survey of the ditches on Hankham and Horse Eye Levels following the deliberate raising of water levels there in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Hankham had the richer flora of the two with nearly 70 mainly aquatic species recorded, including Ceratophyllum submersum (Soft Hornwort), Alisma lanceolatum (Narrow-leaved Water-plantain) and Ranunculus circinatus (Fan-leaved Water-crowfoot).

At lunch members were invited to picnic on the farm lawn, kindly offered refreshments, and were shown round the gardens, before driving to Horse Eye Level. Although less species were found here, no fewer than six Potamogetons were recorded, including P.trichoides (Hair-like Pondweed) and P. acutifolius (Sharp-leaved Pondweed), and Frances Abraham found a rare charophyte, Tolypella glomerata (Clustered Stonewort), probably only the second Sussex record since 1886.