Put my wellies on this morning to have a close look at Boundary Fen - the area to the left of the 13th on the Red. A lot of work has been done on this area by Abingdon Green Gym under the guidance of English nature. For a number of years the area has been overgrown with reed, giving little chance for other plants to flourish.
You can see now that large tracts of reeds have been cut down.
It is clear that this is having a positive effect on biodiversity. Marsh Lousewort is seen as one of the key plants in this ecosystem and is growing strongly in various spots.
 |
| Marsh Lousewort Pedicularis palustris [Boundary Fen] |
Another uncommon plant thriving here is Bog Pimpernel. I've looked for this elsewhere in the ditches on the Green without finding any, but there is quite a lot in this area. It's small pink flowers only tend to open in full sun.
 |
| Bog Pimpernel Anagallis tenella [Boundary Fen] |
Other plants growing here include:
 |
| Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata [Boundary Fen] |
 |
| Water Figwort Scrophularia auriculata [Boundary Fen] |
 |
| Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus pedunculatus [Boundary Fen] |
 |
| Meadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis [Boundary Fen] |
 |
| Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense [Boundary Fen] |
Marsh Bedstraw also grows here and is one of a number of Bedstraws on the course at the moment. Heath Bedstraw is common on the Green course and has denser flowers. Lady's Bedstraw is yellow and grows on the Red course and on the Doghouse range. Cleavers is the most common and is the one stuck to your clothes after a trip to the deep rough.
 |
| Marsh Bedstraw Galium palustre [Boundary Fen] |
 |
| Heath Bedstraw Galium saxatile [15th Green] |
 |
| Lady's Bedstraw Galium verum [15th Red] |
 |
| Cleavers Galium aparine [Boundary Fen] |
On the area to the left of the 13th Red you can find both White and Black Bryony scrambling over their surrounding vegetation.
 |
| White Bryony Bryonia dioica [13th Red] |
 |
| Black Bryony Tamus communis [13th Red] |
In the wood behind the fen I came across Tutsan, a shrubby member of the Hypericum family.
 |
| Tutsan Hypericum androsaemum [13th Red] |
In the same family, but a fraction of the size is Trailing St John's-wort, which you can find in the rough near the green on the 3rd Green.
 |
| Trailing St John's Wort Hypericum humisusum [3rd Green] |
Finally, at the back of the 14th tee I came across a Large Skipper butterfly, the first one that I have seen at Frilford.
 |
| Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus [Boundary Fen] |
No comments:
Post a Comment