Flora of Hertfordshire by Trevor J James, published by HNHS
This beautiful and informative book was published in December 2009, full details are available here. Copies are available direct from HNHS as the reduced price of £29 direct from HNHS, plus £8 P&P if posted to UK addresses.
With the publication of the Flora, the Group is now concentrating on surveys of particular groups of species and site specific locations.
Herts Flora Group meetings 2011
For all field meetings, please bring lunch and plenty to drink, as well as insect repellents, sun-hats, sun-cream, etc (or rain gear!). Meetings are aimed usually at recording, not general rambles, so be prepared to come with identification books, hand lenses, collecting equipment, etc and to be stationary for lengths of time! Remember, we are now also monitoring scarce plants, which needs us to count them and list associated species.
As with last year, some of the meetings are focused on the Threatened Plants Monitoring Project for the BSBI’s purposes, while we are also now trying to help the London Flora Project.
Saturday 21st May: Northaw area.
Meet: at the church (TL278023), 10.00 a.m. Leader: Trevor James. The aim here is to try and gain access to some more private lands around the village. We will also see if the Fritillaria meleagris (Snakeshead Fritillary) survives at its long-known site, and re-check the ancient site of Pilularia pilulifera (Pillwort), if we can – you never know!
Sunday 12th June: Bishop’s Wood, Rickmansworth.
Meet at car park (TQ069915), 10.00 a.m. Leader: Laura Gravestock (01727 830308). Joint with Herts Branch of the British Naturalists Association. Plants to hunt for in this area include Carex binervis (Green-ribbed Sedge), C. demissa (was C. viridula oedocarpa) (Common Yellow-sedge), Scutellaria minor (Lesser Skullcap) – perhaps a bit early for this; Luzula forsteri (Southern Wood-rush) and Thelypteris limbosperma (Lemon-scented Fern), among other things.
Sunday 17th July: Water End, North Mymms, area.
Meet: Welham Green: corner of Dellsome Lane (TL232054), 10.00 a.m. Leader: Trevor James. We will attempt to examine the colony of Oenanthe aquatica (Fine-leaved Water-dropwort) at one of its last localities in Herts., and also the flora around the Water End/Dellsome Bottom areas.
Saturday 13th August: Cheshunt, Lea Valley Park.
Meet at the Lee Valley Park car park, E. of Cheshunt Station (TL368023), 10.00 a.m. Leader: Trevor James. This meeting will aim to re-visit some of the wetland sites in the area, to find rare aquatics, like various pondweed species Potamogeton, and maybe Hydrocharis morsus-ranae (Frogbit) in a possibly native location. It is also a good time of year to watch out for alien species.
Saturday 10th September: Smallford Pits and Ellenbrook areas.
Meet: corner of Smallford Lane and Sleapshyde Lane, Colney Heath (TL 198067) (park carefully in Sleapshyde Lane), 10.00 a.m. Leader: Trevor James. We will visit the extraordinary back-filled pits at Smallford, with their very varied scrub/grassland/pond habitats, and the old railway nearby maybe. We also may have time to explore part of the former airfield site at Ellenbrook, now a rather wild open access area.
Specific flora surveys
If you would like to carry out a detailed survey of a particular Hertfordshire location, please contact Trevor James.
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