Settle Wildflowers 133: Marsh foxtail (Alopcurus geniculatus), Charlock or Wild Mustard (Sinapis arvensis), Annual Pearlwort and Pyrenean Lily

Last week I noticed a mini mountain of soil at the back of Fairhurst's cement block yard (former papermill) between Langcliffe and Stainforth, covered in gold. Binoculars hinted at a yellow crucifer. 

I asked permission to go into the yard on 31 May and photograph the yellow flowers.

While there I noticed a couple of plants of Alopecurus growing in thin soil on the concrete ground. - This looks like Marsh Foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus) , - or is it Alopecurus myosuroides? (Black grass). Close examination revealed that the anthers were only 2mm long not 4mm long, and the glumes only 3mm not 4-6. So it is only Marsh Foxtail, not the aggressive weed. back grass. Sigh of relief.

I had found some in St John's Methodist Church Hall Garden/Allotment I think shortly before the Millennium, but then they tarmacked over the garden to become the carpark at the back.  (and since then we built the new church on this area). It was a new record for our 10km square then. But then it was tarmacked over.

Actually Black-grass is an expensive weed of arable crops especially winter wheat. It is spreading northwards. It has become resistant to many current weedkillers. I am not sure if I ever sent my Settle record in but I see there have been four recordings of this plant since.  As we don't have arable land around Settle, it is unlikely to cause problems here.

Inflated sheath of Black grass

Oh my, Oh  my. What do I find in Booths Carpark on 3 June?

A tuft of Alopecurus geniculatus

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On the edge of the cement platform

 On the edge of the cement platform , with a big almost vertical drop to the river below were various plants. I photographed my first Cat's-ear Hypchoeris radicata  for the year

Cat's-ear

Cat's-ear leaves- can you see the forked hairs?

 

Cat's ear flower head

ANd also some common figwort just coming into flower.

Common Figwort

I noticed my first Dog Rose coming into flower on the bank way below. (no picture)

Annual Pearlwort was flowering - fruiting rather - I had seen this several years ago on the public road side of the works.

Centre of Sagina apetala plant

I photographed the Pyrenean Lily  Lilium pyrenaecum

Pyrenean Lily

Pyrenean Lily

• See more Wildflowers on Exercise Walks around Settle - I made lots of recrods of walks in Covid 2020. Now in 2024 I am trying to record the first time I see something in flower, to get a measure of  what time of year plants flower., and am putting records on Facebook. 
• I have done this for two months.
• Can I carry on for June - 30Days Wild month?
• Well tomorrow is Sat 1 June: and I have two events booked - 
• 1 leading a walk at 9am to Malham Tarn
• 2. Taking part in a survey of waterlife and quality somewhere on the Ribble organised by the Ribble Rivers Trust

Settle Wildflowers 132b: Down the Ribble on 30 May SD8163: Flowers

Reflections on - visiting a site too early, some new flowers for 2024, almost the lowest part of the Ribble and my hectad  (c 135 m) and sense of place  - and YES it is Xanthoria calcilola at the stile.

This post 132b deals with flowers  
(Read about the Lichens here)

Geranium dissectum

Dame's Violet - Hesperis matronalis

Dame's Violet - Hesperis matronalis

This monad SD8163 includes 

most of Settle (except Upper Settle.)

most of Giggleswick (except the church, The Mains,  all three - four schools, Stackhouse Lane and Four Lane Ends)

The Ribble from Queens Rock down to Penny Bridge and the two Fields below that.

Todays walk was the Ribble in the second field below Penny Bridge.  I had had a wonderful time there in Lockdown at the end of June 2020.  (26 June 2020) I explored it this evening to see what was there and out a month earlier: 

Answer: not as much as in late June/July. So negative results are as good aa positive - and if you are only going to walk this path once, then I say come back a month later. and don't go just after the river levels have been high.

However I can say - the Rest Harrow is still there (but not flowering yet) , The Dames violet (Hesperis matronalis) was there in the form of three shoots with only tow flowers fully open, - (It may be a garden escape anyway), There were lots of Ox-eye daisies in bud.

The Monkey flower - Mimulus guttatus had its golden yellow flowers nodding, but was draped in mosses and other river debris left from high river levels two days previously.

Three was one plant of Pyrenean Scurvey grass.

The field is a flat field leading to the barn, and is well grazed and will be well fertilised - or at least manured and slurry treated. The river bank shows slippage. Here there ought to be good species - maybe I should come back in August. The river cuts into the alluvial material (rounded boulders)  There is an area of (very old) concrete which might have been put here long ago to stop river erosion. 

On the slippage area I found Geranium dissectum (I had seen this in Giggleswick Station) and I found Trifolium dubium - Lesser Trefoil.. but this is leading into the next monad SD8162

Monkey flower  Mimulus guttatus

Monkey flower  Mimulus guttatus

Rest Harrow - distinctly not in flower 

For the record and not because it is a good plant or picture - Pyrenean Scurvy-grass.

Red clover 

First field next to  this wall has the stile in.
And lots more lichens on the rest of the wall.

Read more posts about about Wildflowers of the Settle Area here

Settle Wildflowers 132a: Down the Ribble on 30 May SD8163: Lichens incl Xanthoria calcicola

Reflections on - visiting a site too early, some new flowers for 2024, almost the lowest part of the Ribble and my hectad  (c 135 m) and sense of place  - and YES it is Xanthoria calcilola at the stile.

I will deal with lichens first. 

(Read about the wildflowers here)

Just to the right of the red bag is this rock at the base of the wall.

Can you recognise these thalli with the light area round the circumference? 

Yes it is lecanora campestris. There are siliceous and some limestone stones making up the wall, many of them rounded. Their source will be the ground which is made of river aluvium and the rocks in the river will have become rounded by tumbling against each other.  There is also some mortar in the wall.

And at this height the lichens at the bottom will have nutrients added from the soil.

Most of the big white patches are Lecanora rupicola which likes acid rocks.

I revisited the stile that I remember so well from 2020. Here I had found what I thought was my first Xanthoria calcicole. Is howed it on our Zoom sessions and other people said "no". But I looked at it now .. having seen lots more Xanthoria calcicola - and it definitely is Xanthoria calcicola. There are no fruiting bodies, the middle of the thallus is warted, and the edges of the thallus are a brighter lemonier yellow

As I picked bits of this thallus out, the underpart was reddish which is why I make the Lecanora gangaleoides

Nearby was a limestone boulder

A nearby limestone boulder close to the river had a Collema growing on it.

Collema

And some sort of Caloplaca

ANd a Lecanora - maybe Lecanora dispersa

This monad SD8163 includes 

most of Settle (except Upper Settle.)

most of Giggleswick (except the church, The Mains,  all three - four schools, Stackhouse Lane and Four Lane Ends)

The Ribble from Queens Rock down to Penny Bridge and the two Fields below that.

Todays walk was the Ribble in the second field below Penny Bridge.  I had had a wonderful time there in Lockdown at the End of June 2020.  I explored it this evening to see what was there and out a month earlier: 

Answer: not as much as in late June/July. So negative results are as good aa positive - and if you are only going to walk this path once, then I say come back a month later. and don't go just after the river levels have been high.

However I cna say - the Rest Harrow is still there (but not flowering yet) , The Dames violet (Hesperis matronalis) was there in the form of three shoots mostly in but but there were two flowers out - It may be a garden escape anyway), There were lots of Ox eye daisies in bud.

The Money flower - Mimulus guttatus had its golden yellow flowers nodding, but was draped in mosses and other river debris left from high river levels two days previously.

Three was one plant of Pyrenean Scurvey grass.

The field is a flat field leading to the barn, and is well grazed and will be well fertilised - or at least manured. The river bank shows slippage. Here there ought to be good species - maybe I should come back in August. The river cuts into the alluvial material (rounded boulders)  there is an area of (very old) concrete which might have been put here long ago to stop river erosion. 

On the slippage area I found more Geranium dissectum (I had seen this in Giggleswick Station) and I found Trifolium dubium - Lesser Trefoil.. but this is leading into the next monad SD8162

I revisited the stile that I remember so well from 2020. Here I had found what I thought was my first Xanthoria calcicole. Is howed it on our Zoom sessions and other people said "no". But I looked at it now .. having seen lots more Xanthoria calcicola - and it definitely is Xanthori calcicola. There are no fruiting bodies, the middle of the thallus is wardted, and the edges of the thallus are a brighter 

 

The

It 

Settle Wildflowers 131: 26 May 2024: Mitchell Lane into SD8262 - Good King Henry, then climbing the hil plus lichensl

 Three new lichens for my SD 8262 monad on the grit wall (West facing side) as Mitchell lane ascends the gritstone just south of Settle:  (It's the same square as Brockhole/Watery Lane). Bringing the current total of lichens in that square to 40.

Lecanora polytropa

Geology: Pendle Grit:

Ochrolechia androgyna

Trapelia placodioides

Good Kink Henry Chenopodium bonus henricus in adjacent monad,
where I parked at the bottom of the hill by the entrance to the old reservoir

Oak seedling in pignut field.

Highest point of walk. Rock at the right of the picture with the white lichens is the one with the two lichens below

The passing place /gate entrance has Marsh Stitchwort in the ditch and a small patch of Bistort

Bistort

This is the most advanced Heath bedstraw I have seen yet with respect to flowering time. It is just coming out.

Red Fescue grass has a tubular sheath

Bramble in flower

Click here for  more flowers especially those seen on 2020 Lockdown Walks. around Settle Click here for  more flowers especially those seen on 2020 Lockdown Walks. around Settle