Borderland carr

Latest sightings
Picture of Viola reichenbachiana (Early Dog-violet)
Viola reichenbachiana (Early Dog-violet)

Looking at the map I noticed that Forest Row just cuts into the hectad TQ44 and, though there might only be a couple of hundred square yards of Sussex in some of the tetrads, I thought it might be interesting to have a look at the borderlands where Sussex hits Kent Water. As it turned out, the tiny Sussex corner of tetrad TQ44F barely had any records, so I was pretty much guaranteed some useful records.

There is a footpath marked on the map, though it is now extremely overgrown, and several chained guard dogs made their presence felt on the other side of the fence. Still, once in the target tetrad it was much more peaceful, with woodland grading into impenetrable carr near the river. The wood included Viola reichenbachiana (Early Dog-violet), which Arthur showed me at the field meeting on Saturday, as well as Crataegus laevigata (Midland Hawthorn).

Picture of carr woodland on Kent-Sussex border
The very north of Sussex in TQ44F

The wet space was home to Ribes rubrum (Redcurrant) and Ribes nigrum (Blackcurrant), Filipendula ulmaria (Meadowsweet), Caltha palustris (Marsh Marigold) and Carex paniculata (Greater Tussock-sedge), which have also been recorded in the other tetrads bordering the river, though there was a small patch of Lysichiton americanus (American Skunk-cabbage) lurking on the edge of TQ43P.

Picture of Lysichiton americanus (American Skunk-cabbage)
Lysichiton americanus (American Skunk-cabbage)