Rob Large

It is not Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna), it is Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

They are strongly hygroscopic, so it doesn't require rain, just humidity or dew. I would certainly consider spkendidissima as a possibility for these. Did you take a sample or smell them?

Splendid Waxcaps, Hygrocybe splendidissima. For #WildFungiHour

Plenty of Nitrous Waxcap, Neohygrocybe nitrata on Dartmoor yesterday.

I rarely see Stropharia aeruginosa, Verdigris Roundhead on my local patch and when i do they are typically single and small. Today I found a troop of about 20 some of which had caps approaching 90mm.

Sadly nature conservation is not regarded as a priority for funding st present.
Calling a site an NNR does not secure adequate funding to endsure ideal management. More often than not sites are grazed by stock owned whatever local farmers are available.
NNR staff can only advise against chemicals.

Almost certainly due to the cattle being treated with Ivermectins as a preventative against worm infestation.
No invertebrates are able to survive in their dung so they last until they are broken down by weathering.
The majority of farmers use these treatments sadly

I'm guessing not in the UK? Lovely thing isn't it?

If a government with over 400 seats and 4 years left to govern cannot summon the courage to level with the public on social care then I despair at the capacity of our political system to ever deliver the change we need.

Just another example of Defra's opinion that actual field ecologists who know stuff are too expensive when one GIS analyst can churn out pretty maps for a fraction of the cost.

I did some work piloting/ground-truthing some of the methodology for this project. I never had much faith in it to be honest.
The remote-sensing/AI approach has some value at the broad scale and the headline figures may be more or less right, but it was never going to be useful tool at field scale.

At present it seems to be getting harder to see any evidence of actual protection going on though. Labelling something as protected should only be the beginning of the process.

It is surprisingly abundant on Portland, mainly as an occasional/frequent component of grassland, but when it encounters disturbed soil it can form a dense carpet.

Many dandelions are apomictic, producing seed without needing to be pollinated. Some have given up making pollen, and thus have no need of nectar to lure pollinators, so that too is dispensed with.

Maybe the flower too. Not all dandelions produce pollen. 🙄

Was that yhe only reason you had for visiting CI or Scilly then?
Plenty of other great things to see there. 😉

I've no idea how Hyacinthoides italica found its way into a Devon churchyard. It has been here for at least five years. Usually about 10 -15 plants and I think some are new this year.

Something near Rorippa perhaps?

I managed to catch one flowering in Cornwall.

It's a clever bit of tv. Worth watching. No real surprises in it though. You know how it's going t end within the first half hour.

I guess forest involves the least effort and expense.

I think the key here is indeed the word poorer. Meaning lower nutrient status. Genista tinctoria is not a great competitor and is often lost when sites become enriched through neglect.
Urban sites such as verges etc. are typically both enriched and neglected so probably not suitable for the species.

I didn't think I was criticising your art. I thought I was criticising my reaction to it.
Forgive me, it's been one of those weeks.

It's OK I look pretty odd myself and I've seen some pretty odd orchids. 😉
I don't think it detracts from the beauty of the piece, just causes my nerdy botanist gland to twitch 🙄

Seems to have been popular in planting schemes in Exeter at some point.

That is remarkable, well done, must have taken forever. As a botanist though, the leaves stacked up in two rows on either side just looks odd.
I understand why you have done it that way, for display.
Otherwise, utterly amazing and beautifully observed.

Haha, probably over my dead body. I could shed most of my books, but botany stuff is sacrosanct (for now at least) 😃

I went to the launch of the Devon flora. The first print run sold out at the event pretty much. It's a beast of a book. Don't remember when I last took it off the shelf though.

Pesky nature! Not doing things the way we like. 😉
I get why dew-ponds are desirable, but posts are always going to be hard to maintain on the chalk. Standing water doesn't want to be there.

Wadebridge to Berry Head must be near 2 hours as well. Worse if you hit the Torbay rush-hour (or in the tourist season).