Mayfield

Meeting date: 18 September 2011

(Leader: Roy Wells)

Nine members successfully defied looming black clouds to drop their cargo over Mayfield, until the day was forced to adopt a sunnier aspect for the afternoon. We split into two groups for the morning and both brought their respective tetrad scores to above 300 records. The number of casual and established aliens was the notable thing about the morning, ranging from Rhododendron luteum (Yellow Azalea) and Lysichiton americanus (American Skunk-cabbage) to a field of set-aside sown with more than a dozen, including Agrostemma githago (Corn Cockle), Chrysanthemum segetum (Corn Marigold), Panicum mileaceum (Millet), Setaria pumila (Yellow Bristle-grass) and Sinapis alba (White Mustard). As one group we sallied forth for the afternoon to bring another tetrad, rather frustratingly, to 299 species. Potentilla x mixta (Hybrid Cinquefoil) was fairly easily identified, but not so an Oxalis, keenly debated and later identified back in the lab by Matthew as O. corniculata (Procumbent Yellow-sorrel).