Recording all plants growing wild in Somerset, not just the rarities!
Another handful of rare plant accounts have been added to the Rare Plant Register this month. They are Carex extensa (Long-bracted Sedge), Cerastium arvense (Field Mouse-ear), Glaucium flavum (Yellow Horned-poppy), Ononis spinosa (Spiny Restharrow), and Polygonum oxyspermum subsp. raii (Ray’s Knotgrass) .
As some of you may know, Sheppy’s is a cider farm, restaurant and visitor centre of more than 90 acres of orchards, just outside Wellington. We thought it might be interesting for you to read the “Question and Answer” email conversation I had with the owners. It is good to have a slightly different perspective on the issue of Mistletoe. Linda Everton
See more at https://www.sheppyscider.com/
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In a visit to Sheppy’s last week, I passed through your many acres of fruit trees and noted that quite a high percentage of your trees had infestations of Mistletoe, but, on the face of it, not to an extent that would cause damage to the trees or reduce yield. I am presuming (perhaps wrongly) that you carry out some sort of Mistletoe management and to add interest to our project, I was wondering if you would be prepared to give me information around how you do this. For example, it would be helpful to know:
How many fruit trees do you actually have?
Around 20,000 (about 750 standard trees, the rest bush)
What different fruit trees do you have and are they differentially affected by Mistletoe?
Almost exclusively apple trees. Some pears, but no evidence of mistletoe in these as a) they are very young and b) they have been very badly affected by fire blight
Is there a level of infestation beyond which the tree yield is adversely affected?
Yes, but it has to be extremely heavy.
Do you let older parts of the Orchard finally succumb to Mistletoe over-infestation?
Never. Our oldest trees are all still productive and very beneficial for wildlife. We try not to allow trees to be overwhelmed.
Do you harvest and sell Mistletoe?
Yes, to sell in our farm shop.
What birds and insects are associated with your Mistletoe?
I’m not aware what insects are specifically associated with mistletoe, but we get masses of redwings and fieldfares which come in for the apples first, then the mistletoe. There must be many other birds which benefit as well, but they are less noticeable. The orchards are still full of fieldfares. There maybe redwings, but you don’t always get to see them up very close.
Are you aware of any Mistletoe on Oak within your property?
No, and I do notice. Poplar and willow are especially good hosts, I’m sure I’ve seen it in hawthorn, but never oak around here.
Given the traditions and folklore surrounding Mistletoe over the centuries, do any groups carry out any pagan/ religious/traditional ceremonies at Sheppys associated with Mistletoe?.
Not that I know! We use it everywhere we can, because it’s magnificent. It goes in Father Christmas’s grotto, the shop and restaurant (who wants tinsel!) and in large quantities for our annual wassail.
I used to pick mistletoe and sell it to local florists. I had the idea that we could live with mistletoe, but it is a major problem. I’d like to think that we could manage it, but in fact we will never really be able to do that. It is now infesting all our orchards and is a particular problem on the older trees. We cut it out fully, but when a tree has it all over its bigger branches there would be nothing left. Our oldest trees were planted in the early 1930s and they are wonderful, beautiful hosts to so many insects and birds that every one lost is a great shame, but they are gradually succumbing to storms and some are fairly infested with mistletoe. This year’s berry crop was so heavy I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like that, and, of course, the birds will have spent the whole Winter spreading these about, so this will continue to be an on-going problem which it is going to be very difficult to manage. It’s a bit of a love-hate relationship!
It is said that this is not a plant which is common in Devon, which is interesting. I’m not sure if it’s the climate or what. I wouldn’t be without it, but we could live with less!
Not much time left to get your Mistletoe records in! If you’ve looked at the results map lately you will have seen that Tony has added records of traditional orchards, so that many of the pink and orange circles have a satisfying black blob in them. These, as I understand it, are not necessarily showing ancient orchards (though many of them will be old) but orchards managed in a traditional way with minimum intervention and traditional spacing of trees. The PTES website has more detail. https://ptes.org/campaigns/traditional-orchard-project/
We need more members in the area between Langport and Shepton Beauchamp; lots of black blobs there and no records!
Stoneworts, or Charophytes, are structurally complex green algae which thrive in relatively unpolluted freshwater habitats. Nick Stewart, BSBI’s Charophyte referee, has put together a register of the 15 species occurring in Somerset, see the Rare Plant Register menu. The ditches of the Levels are the main area of interest in Somerset, which hold the largest UK populations of Great Tassel Stonewort (Tolypella prolifera).
An excellent written introduction to the group and their habitat needs is available in Nick’s report on Important Stonewort Areas for Plantlife. There are also links to presentations and an identification key on the BSBI Charophyte page and a Stonewort Identification video on the BSBI Aquatic Plants Project page.
Following on from his always interesting roundups of natural history sightings and meteorological reports from last year, Simon Leach has continued with a view of the year so far. It includes a summary of all the first flowering reports from members. If you haven’t yet joined in with First Flowerings 2021 you can read about it in his post from the beginning of the year.
Another five accounts of Somerset coastal specialists have been added to the Rare Plant Register: Honckenya peploides (Sea Sandwort), Herniaria glabra (Smooth Rupturewort), Trifolium squamosum (Sea Clover), Trifolium suffocatum (Suffocated Clover), and Phleum arenarium (Sand Cat’s-tail).
The leaves will be on the trees soon; good news in most ways, but it means that mistletoe recording doesn’t have much longer to go. So far we’ve had over one thousand records, in spite of the restrictions in place, and the map is an impressive sight. Inevitably there are isolated places that not even SRPG members can reach, but if you think that there may be old records unchecked near you, Linda and I would be happy to check on your behalf. Val has prepared a map of past records to make this easier .
Photographs CLo 16/02/2021
There’s a salty theme in the latest updates to the Rare Plant Register: Artemisia maritima (Sea Wormwood), Cakile maritima (Sea Rocket), Euphorbia paralias (Sea Spurge), and Zostera marina (Eelgrass). Also added is Agrostis curtisii (Bristle Bent), a grass of poor acid soils.
If your interests extend beyond the plant kingdom here is a chance to find out more about the extraordinary world of fungi, presented by our very own Steve Parker. The full details are on the SANHS website.
