Mistletoe blossom

I spent the morning at Grimsthorpe Park collecting specimens for the #LoveLincsPlants project, which aims to create a 21st century herbarium for the county, specimens of which will be stored both in Lincolnshire and at the Natural History Museum. Despite the relatively mild winter, most species seem rather behind schedule in this location, so I only managed to find seven species in suitable condition for collection. 

The most interesting plant I collected was Mistletoe. Often this grows in the top of tall trees, particular limes and poplars, but at Grimsthorpe Park it's abundant in scrubby hawthorns, making it easy to gather specimens. The species is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The flowers are fairly insignificant - this is the somewhat more obvious male flower - female flowers are even smaller, but many of these plants still had some berries, making them relatively easy to pick out.

Collecting specimens is a slow process, as full data for each one has to be recorded. Pressing the plants is also a labour of love, as the specimens have to be carefully arranged to ensure that all parts of the plant can be seen for future study and identification. I can see why few botanists make herbarium collections any more!