Blue Pimpernel

An amazing day of botanising with the South Lincolnshire Flora Group, in perfect summer weather! We began in Holywell Wood, an ancient woodland which has been largely replanted, but retains a rich flora, particularly along the rides. We managed to add many species such as Common Yellow-sedge, which is a new record for the 10km square, and re-recorded several species that are very scarce  in the county, such as Common Lady's-mantle and Greater Wood-rush, both last recorded from the area in the 1960's. 

We got a little lost, mostly because I wasn't paying enough attention to the map, and ended up walking along an arable field edge, which proved to be the highlight of the day. There was a rich arable weed flora including many species that are now quite rare such as Stinking Chamomile and Dwarf Spurge, but we were all very excited to find the blue-flowered sub-species of Scarlet Pimpernel, which none of us had seen in Britain before. When I checked my records I found that it had first been recorded in the Holywell area by Rev. Dodsworth in 1837, with two later records in 1941 and 1951. Quite amazing that it's still there, sixty-five years after the last record!