New Year Plant Hunt Day 2

Pete and I did a second New Year Plant Hunt, walking from home towards the city centre via Thorpe Hall the Electricity Cut and then back via the rail corridor and the prison. A decidedly less scenic route than Stamford that seemed to involve a surprising number of brambles.

We were surprised to find 53 species in flower, although in many cases we only found one or two rather straggly looking blooms. The most surprising finds were Grey Sedge and Flattened Meadow-grass in abundance, both just flowering on a south-facing bank of Thorpe Road.

Despite its bleak appearance, the railway corridor was particularly good with five species of ragwort recorded. We also found Round-leaved and Dove's-foot Crane's-bill in flower on the trackside. Although not in flower, there was also a good population of Vervain (new to the tetrad) and Small Toadflax (last recorded in 1988). Always something exciting to find!