Bo-peep

Meeting date: 5 June 2004

(Leader: Paul Harmes)

Wimps that we all were, last year’s meeting at Cradle Hill was abandoned because of rain (annoyingly, the weather improved later). First impressions on the walk towards the tetrad, from Bo-peep this year instead of Cradle Hill, looked unpromising, but just into it the first Legousia hybrida (Venus’s-looking-glass), was spotted.  Out came the GPSs, but it was soon realised that they would be unnecessary as many more plants were found, along with Euphorbia exigua (Dwarf Spurge), Lamium amplexicale (Henbit Dead-nettle), Geranium pusillum (Small-flowered Crane’s-bill), four species of Poppy and several other arable weeds. The land was obviously set-aside, and it was difficult to find a clear spot for lunch. On the way back up the chalk hillside from Breaky Bottom, typical species included Thesium humifusum (Bastard-toadflax), Lepidium campestre (Field Pepperwort), Geranium colombinum (Long-stalked Crane’s-bill) and Koeleria macrantha (Crested Hair-grass), making a total for the day of 174 species.