Wildflower walk, 28th June 2018

We had a really good evening last Thursday, when fifteen of us met on Hougoumont Farm for an introduction to Salisbury Plain wildflowers. We found lots of different species, some that are relatively widespread, some that are only found in unimproved habitats, and some that are restricted to calcareous (chalk and limestone) grassland. We also talked about the different ways of managing grassland to get better diversity, both structural and botanical, and even some of the more unusual plant names and what they mean!

It was also an ideal opportunity to welcome Flemming Ulf-Hansen, Natural England's new Salisbury Plain adviser, and we hope he enjoyed meeting DELTA members.

Everyone who came along received a Field Studies Council guide to calcareous grassland plants and it was very impressive both how many of the species listed we found on site, and also how quickly everyone picked up how to identify the various flowers. Those of you who weren't able to attend, you should get your copy of the guide through the post this week.

Here are just a few of the species we saw (thanks to Frankie Guy and Pete Rice for the photos):

Centaury

Pyramidal orchid

 Kidney vetch

Small scabious

Wild thyme

Vipers bugloss

We were very disappointed not to see any devil's bit scabious so are planning another wildflower foray in September, when there should be plenty around. And as Henry Waight pointed out, don't be put off by the idea of a long walk - we moved about 20 yards last week and saw well over 20 different wildflower species, and didn't even start on the grasses!

 

 A good chalk mix - ribworth plantain, rock rose, hawkbit, 

kidney vetch, wild thyme, selfheal and more!

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