2020 - Adding New Species to my List

I will certainly be glad to see the back of 2020 - the year of Covid 19. I have not recorded as many plants and creatures as usual as I have not been going out any more than I have to. Even in our own garden, I don't want to hang around or handle things more than necessary. However, I have managed to add 53 new species to my lists. Of these, 25 are species that I have not seen before.  Here are some of them.

 

Field Penny Cress - 1 Jan, Uckfield

The year started normally, with the now traditional BSBI New Year Plant hunt. I found a few plants in flower outside Barney's Play Barn. Not only was the Field Penny Cress (Thlaspi arvense) new to my personal species list but it was new for Uckfield's "square" on the map.  

Winter Heliotrope - 1 Jan, Uckfield

Another new entry was Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans). For the first time, I noticed the great mass of it on the London Road, just South of the Ringles. 

Lecidella elaeochroma - 16 Feb, Uckfield

February winds often blow branches down, bringing lichens to my level. The one shown is Lecidella elaeochroma, with its distinctive black fruiting bodies.

Common Pincushion moss - 7 March, Staplefield

At the beginning of March, I went to the Sussex Botanical Recording Society meeting at Staplefield. For those that don't remember the "before times", a meeting is when loads of people get together to discuss matters of common interest. In this case it also entailed a visit to a "pub" where a group of botanists shared a convivial meal. On a wall at its entrance, I found a species of moss that I had not noticed before, the Common Pincushion (Dicranoweisia cirrata).

Canary Grass - 7 June, Uckfield

A week or two after this, Covid 19 started spreading across the country and the Government directed us to "lockdown". A few weeks later, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland responded by asking people to do the BSBI Garden Wildflower Hunt. Between April and September, I found over a hundred species including a couple that I have never encountered before. I suspect that the Canary Grass (Phalaris canariensis) shown is from some stray bird seed. It even won me a little prize in a photo competition.

Spotted Longhorn beetle - 14 Jun, Uckfield

Summer brought all manor of flying insects to the garden including the Spotted Longhorn beetle (Rutpela maculata).

Tawny Longhorn beetle - 12 July, Uckfield

In the first few months of the pandemic, I wasn't happy about the gardener coming to mow the grass. Although I mowed it myself, I left more of the flowers, including the Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), to bloom. As a reward, I was treated to visits from a Tawny Longhorn beetle (Paracorymbia fulva).

Orange Swift - 15 Aug, our kitchen

As we moved into summer, moths started to appear. Mum found one of our new species, an Orange Swift (Triodia sylvina) in our kitchen. 

Broom Fork-moss - 14 Sept, Ashdown Forest

In September, Mum and I finally managed a proper outing, to Ashdown Forest. After enjoying the views and catching a glimpse of what might have been a Red Kite, I noticed this little Broom Fork-moss (Dicranum scoparium) growing by the path back to the car park.

Upright Corel fungus - 13 Oct, Uckfield

While hanging around waiting for Mum to come out her podiatrist appointment, I found an Upright Corel (Ramaria stricta) fungus at the bottom of a hedge.

Dog's vomit slime mould - 21 Nov, Uckfield

After doing a run, I cut across the Dene to avoid some people on the path and found the revoltingly named Dog's vomit slime mould (Mucilago crustacea).

Witches butter - 26 Dec, Uckfield

In the last few days of the year, I had a look round the garden to see what I could find. The strange yellow blob that appeared on one of our old oak logs is Witches butter (Tremella aurantia), which grows on other fungi.

I am already planning my next New Year Plant Hunt. This time, it's not about timing my arrival at The Station pub to coincide with opening. Instead, it is about how to find some flowers without encountering too many people.