Dr M takes a big pea on the roadside…
This rather magnificent member of the Pea family – Fabaceae – is very conspicuous on roadsides and waste ground around Reading and much further afield at the moment.
eXtreme botany at the edge – saltmarsh vegetation
Dr M was surveying coastal vegetation recently on the Isle of Grain in Kent and he came across a small semi-circular beach and this set him thinking about (and photographing) saltmarsh vegetation. Most plants on earth are terrestrial and cannot tolerate seawater which has a devastating effect on the osmotic potential and water relations of most land plants, literally sucking the water and life out
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To be Cotoneaster or not Cotoneaster? That is the question…?
Cotoneaster is a diverse genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Rosaceae and much beloved of gardeners (but less so by British conservationists see below!).
Dr M’s field day diary #3 – eXtreme botany in the water!
This week Dr M has been taking his MSc students on a series of field days, visiting a range of sites and habitats. Here is the third post from Dr M’s field day diary: Day 3: Botany at historical Runnymede
Dr M’s field day diary #2 – eXtreme botanists on the bog!
This week Dr M has been taking his MSc students on a week of field days, visiting a range of sites and habitats not too far from Reading. Here is the second post from Dr M’s field day diary: Day 2: Student botanists on the bog at Wildmoor Heath, Berkshire.
Dr M’s field day diary #1 – focus on Poaceae
Following the successful field course at the Lizard, Cornwall, Dr M is currently taking his MSc students on a week of field days, visiting a range of sites and habitats not too far from Reading. Here is the first post from Dr M’s field day diary:
Dr M’s Lizard Diary: Collective nouns for a group of botanists!
The final verdict: A week at the Lizard is not enough! Dr M’s third last entry is all about the fun in between field botany! Talk to a great musician and they will tell you that in music it’s not so much the notes that matter, it’s the spaces between the notes. In fact Claude Debussy himself said “Music is the space between the notes”.
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Dr M’s Lizard Diary: the party’s over but the botanical memories live on!
The final verdict: A week at the Lizard is just not enough! Dr M and his students have seen beautiful landscapes, fascinating vegetation and lovely plants both common and rare. And, naturally, being a Dr M field course, much fun has been had along the way! Dr M’s three final Lizard Diary entries are galleries of images of plants and people and fun, and
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eXtreme botany on a plate – with the answers!
From Dr M’s botany field course at the Lizard 2014, here’s Wizard Carter’s Lizard plant ID test on a plate! How many can you do to family? genus? species? Have a go then check the answers below, (taxonomy according to book of Stace): 1. Juncaceae Juncus foliosus (Leafy Rush) 2. Poaceae Glyceria declinata (Small Sweet-grass) 3. Crassulaceae Crassula tillaea (Mossy Stonecrop) 4. Cyperaceae Carex echinata (Star Sedge) 5. Calitrichaceae Callitriche stagnalis (Common Water-starwort) 6.
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Dr M Lizard Diary Day 4: The assignment day!
All unusually quiet, even somber, group on the minibus this morning as Dr M drove students to Kynance Cove for their assessed National Vegetation Classification (NVC) assignment. The first taxonomic challenge, was more zoological than botanical: some very fine brown cows were sitting across on the path, Edwina Higginbotham let out a loud sneeze and all bar one struggled lazily to their feet. The
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