DrM

In this weeks gripping episode of eXtreme botany – 007 takes on the dreaded Dr. M in his first feature length movie.

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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The final verdict: A week at the Lizard is really not enough! Dr M and his students have seen beautiful landscapes, fascinating vegetation and lovely plants both common and rare, and much fun has  been had along the way!

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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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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Today was the day they have been dreading, the day they hoped Dr M would forget, the day of the student presentation on their vegetation assignment at Horse Rock, Kynance Cove. A group of somewhat nervous students assembled promptly at 10.45, notebooks and lap top in hand they set up their presentation in front of Dr M, Wizard Carter and guest tutor Hermione.

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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Awoke today to the sound of heavy rain beating upon the caravan roof and the forecast being for more of the same we took a walk near the camp site and collected material and brought back to base camp for Dr M’s ID workshop, and numerous photo opportunities to catch students using their hand lenses! For the ID Workshop Dr M collected several species
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Today the group visited Kynance Cove a botanical haven and wonderful beauty spot, adding many more plants to lists and quadrats to NVC vegetation surveys. There was a bit of a miniature plant theme running through the day, early on  we encountered the immensely tiny Radiola linoides (Allseed in the Linaceae) and mini examples of the annual grasses Aira caryophyllea and Bromus hordaceous ferronii, the
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Sunday 18th May: First day at the Wonderful Lizard! Botany starts early with this group, and barely was breakfast over than the group was off in search of Ranunculus parviflorus (Small-flowered Buttercup) in the barer, scuffed areas of the camp site lawns. A species of special interest to this group as it had made a brief appearance on University of Reading campus last year,
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