Plant Hunters

Pete and I travelled up to Lincoln this morning to do our second New year Plant Hunt with five other botanists from the South Lincs Flora Group. Our expectations were not that great, but we set a target of fifty flowering species for our three hour stroll along the banks of the Witham and then back along Tritton Road towards Brayford Pool.

In the end we found sixty-six species in flower, including Cornflower, Crimson Clover and Bullwort, probably relicts of past wildflower sowing, but now present in semi-natural grassland on the banks of the Witham. Another good find was a hybrid dock, Rumex x dufftii, only the second record for VC53. 

It was a very companionable few hours, and we were blessed with mild and mostly sunny weather. Not long after we got back to the car, the first drops of rain began to fall, and much of our journey home was through a torrential downpour. We treated ourselves to a Chinese take-away for dinner as none of us had the energy for cooking!