Ivy-leaved Toadflax

A rather gloomy New Year Day, with a decided chill in the air. I spent the afternoon walking the streets of Longthorpe as part of the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt (NYPH). There was much less in flower than the same time last year, and I struggled to find 33 flowering species, whereas last year we recorded nearly sixty from the same general area. The data produces a useful insight to the way plants are responding to our changing climate, and the recording provides good exercise too! 


I'm co-leading another NYPH in Sleaford tomorrow with the South Lincolnshire Flora Group and have promised cakes, so I spent much of the evening baking - a banana and walnut loaf and a set of amaretti biscuits - treats for the end of our three hours of recording. I'm hoping that we might find more species in flower with a larger group of us hunting!