A small and, according to Cope & Gray (2009), controversial tribe with one very useful character – the ligule is not membranous but is a fringe of hairs. Several other tribes also have this, e.g. Cynodonteae which includes the salt marsh grasses Spartina, but Arundineae is the main tribe of native British grasses with this type of ligule. The inflorescence is a panicle, (large
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Following Dr M’s recent post on the “Arb Boys” continuing professional development training session on common tree and shrub identification, you can now watch the video of the proceedings entitled “these are a few of our favourite leaves”
Dr M says its high time for another bryophyte blog post! And with all this recent rain the bryophyte flora has really perked up again for its peak autumn season. Mosses are of two main kinds: pleurocarps – branched and creeping for the most part, and acrocarps – unbranched and erect. One of the commonest acrocarps in the lowlands, growing on base rich and
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Which are the commonest plant species in Britain? Recently Dr M has investigated the 30 most common British plant species based on data in the New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora and the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. The top 30 include species from 10 plant families including nine of the top twenty plant families. With this post Dr M has reached number 30!
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The new University term is nearly upon us and students enrolling for the University of Reading MSc Plant Diversity and MSc Species Identification and Survey Skills will be taking Dr M’s module on Vegetation Survey and Assessment on Thursdays in the Autumn Term.
On Monday Dr M attended a continuing professional development training session on trees and shrubs ID for ecology staff given by our resident Arboriculturalist trio Rob, James and Luke: AKA The Arb Boys!
Dr M’s Diary: Day 2 Saturday afternoon Dr M talks eXtreme botany and the audience goes wild!
Dr M’s Diary: Day 3 Sunday In which Dr M is inspired by the final sessions! This final morning was about best practice in using technology for fieldwork learning. And what better way than through three diverse and inspiring talks given by three inspirational women!
Dr M’s Diary: Day 2 Saturday morning and evening This was a very tough day! Saturday was “Building and running a ‘student-led’ field trip” day and the EFL delegates were divided into 7 teams and all asked to kick off by naming their teams after super heroes.
Dr M’s diary: Day 1 Friday This was a long day in which Dr M learns that Androids and Apples are not what they might seem at first sight! Alarm clock goes off at 06.00 – it’s the crack of dawn for heaven’s sake!