County Recorders

Gill Gent, 3 Irthlingborough Road, Wellingborough NN8 1NL

Rob Wilson, 23 Cecil Street, Rothwell, NN14 6EZ

The Northamptonshire Flora Group was first formed to facilitate the publication of a new vice-county flora, which was published in 1995. Since then a small group of botanists have worked together to record for the Millenium Atlas, the local change project and are now recording for an updated flora.

In 2007 we were asked by the Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust to produce an updated edition of the flora and this has been our main focus for the past few years. This project is now entering its final stages but there are still areas that need recording and we will be focusing on these during the rest of this year, working both individually and together on Flora Group outings. We welcome any enthusiastic botanist at these meetings - everyone is welcome but please call either Gill Gent or Rob Wilson if you wish to join us in case there have been any changes to our plans for any reason.

A Rare Plant Register was published in 2009, and is available either from Rob Wilson or from Summerfield Books.  In due course an updated version will be made available using the data collected for the New Flora.

A provisional axiophyte list will shortly be available on this web site. This is subject to checking and revision and any comments would be appreciated.

Meetings in 2012

If you are coming to any of the meetings could you please let Rob Wilson know prior to the meeting so that we can make sure everyone has arrived before we move off.

Badby Wood. Sunday April 29 2012. Meet at Badby Church SP559587 at 11. Badby Wood is an ancient semi-natural oak/ash/hazel woodland with ancient wood banks and a stream. There is a small area of marsh on the boundary of the site with a number of county rarities. Bring a packed lunch.

Boddington Meadow and Byfield Pool. Sunday June 17. Meet in the small car park at Boddington Reservoir SP498532. Boddington Meadow has never been ploughed and contains an impressive collection of grassland species including great burnet, pepper saxifrage and pignut. Adjoining the meadow is Boddington Reservoir and Byfield Pool, a canal feeder reservoir built in the 1790s and surrounded by willows and reed beds. Like Boddington Meadow, Byfield Pool is a Wildlife Trust reserve.  We are being joined here by Mary Clugston, the warden for Boddington Meadow.  Bring a packed lunch.

Barnack Hills and Holes. Sunday 5th August 2012. Meet in the main nature reserve car park at Barnack TF074048. The car park is opposite the edge of the village on the Wittering Road. This site is an area of grassland with the associated flora that has developed over the old stone quarries that were abandoned at the end of the 15th century.

Although the pasque flowers will be over for this year, there will be many other species to be found. Bring a packed lunch.

For more information please contact either Gill Gent (01933 277966) or Rob Wilson (01536 711144).

Pictures

Pasqueflower: Barnack Hills and Holes, near Stamford, is the site of a mediaeval limestone quarry where species-rich grassland has developed over the old diggings. One of its glories is the display of pasqueflowers Pulsatilla vulgaris in the spring.

Odontites jaubertianus: first recorded in the vice-county in 2005, a few dozen plants of French bartsia Odontites jaubertianus grow on thin soil over former hard-standings at the former World War Two airfield at Spanhoe.