Dandelion Recording Weekend Day 4

A short visit to Swaddywell NR was the final trip of the weekend and though dandelions were a bit sparse, it yielded two of the most exciting finds of the trip, including a very large population of Unexpected Dandelion Taraxacum inopinatum. This dainty species of bare rocky ground has spotted leaves and has previously been recorded largely along the western fringe of the UK, with scattered records in the north-east and Norfolk. The population at Swaddywell is a big range extension.

By midday the group started to disperse - heading to various parts of the UK. Although we'd only met on Friday, we'd all made new friends and many of us hope to gather again next April in the Isle of Wight. Over the course of the four days we recorded 96 species of Taraxacum, more than a third of the UK flora, and had added considerably to knowledge of their distribution.

Having been responsible for all the organisation, I was shattered by the time I'd dropped the last two botanists at Peterborough station!