Ecologists Refresh Plant Identification Skills at SSSI Stolford

Armed with hand lenses, Botany ID Books and smart phones with macro lenses Geckoella Ecologists spent a morning refreshing their plant identification skills at SSSI Stolford this week. Led by Senior Ecologist Josh Butterworth they learnt about this special community of grasses, sedges and wild flowers. Particular plants of note were the Meadow grasses, clovers and buttercups of which there was a huge variety. It was particularly noticeable that the buttercups are flowering in vast numbers at the moment proving a mirage of a yellow sea surrounding the nearby power station. Away from the meadow up on the more exposed sea wall where conditions and quantity of plants were more challenging there were still treasures to find. Always plentiful here and a big hit with the insect life were the obvious and shouty Yellow Horned Poppy but to the eagle eyed amongst us there was special plants to be found even right underfoot barely discernible. Josh was right on it of course and spotted the absolutely tiny but rather delicate and beautiful Birds Foot Clover Trifolium ornithopodioides. Details of Geckoella’s botanical survey work can be found at https://www.geckoella.co.uk/ecology/