29 June 2023 Thursday: Evening flowers at Lower Winskill, and Fuscidea cyathoides and Pertusaria pseudocorallina in SD8366: 30 Days Wild

 Thursday is another indoor laptop catching up day. 

but then I had a good evening walk 

• to see the meadows at Lower Winskill Farm, 
• then Lichens at Winskill Stones North, outside the reserve.

At 6 pm I drive up to near Lower Winskill Farm where we will have the Meadows Day on Saturday. Tom shows me some of the Meadows and we look at the grasses. Whilst the main grasses in flower are Sweet Vernal-grass and Red Fescue and Crested Dog's- tail, there is some Common Bent just starting to flower.  There is Yorkshire Fog, but says Tom, much less than there used to be. I notice (mostly at the edges) lots of Golden Oat-grass and a little Meadow Fescue - Ryegrass Hybrid and a little Downy Oat-grass.  Eventually in the ungrazed limestone pasture area some Meadow Oat-grass

Found some Meadow Oat-grass at last - and purple Betony

Wuff Wuff. I've found some better Ladies Bedstraw and two pieces of False Oat-grass

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Rest of blogpost:- just a bit of lichen stuff:-

Having driven up to Winskill I decided to make use of the height and go for a short lichen walk. I never walked as far as the monad  SD8367 (Catrigg Foss-which only has 18 species  recorded..) but stayed in SD8366 monad - The Plantlife Winskill Stones Monad which  is running third our of the 42 monads I have surveyed.

the current leaders are:-

SD8264 - South of Langcliffe Barrel Sykes- Blua  67 (where I was last week)
SD8062 Swaw Beck Gig Station - 61
SD8368 - Plantlife Winskill Stones North (lower part)   - 60 - but 
    after today 62 so can go up one
SD8268 - How Beck above Stainforth - 58

SD8065 Huntworth - 38 (Once the leader, now lying 11th equal)

I found a nice limestone ridge in the setting sun - 8.30pm Which I eventually abandoned as the cattle became too curious. I retreated to the field with my car in and just stopped at an erratic boulder with Parmelia omphalodes. Here I recorded  Fuscidea cyanthoides - chocolaty colour (bottom right) 

Fuscidea cyathoides

I recorded Pertusaria pseudocorallina - I think - It definitely quickly went red with K , no reaction with C

Then there was an unknown grey crust that had very warty areoles. 

C negative and yellowy orange with K

Left C no reactions ; right K Yellow orange