Elymus caninus - Bearded Couch

Elymus caninus 1st Oct 2009

What grass can I choose for November?

Problem solved as I go jogging - usual route - Stainforth - Stainforth Foss, Little Stainforth, Stackhouse and home -

in the twilight, on the road verge just above the Stainforth packhorse bridge I find Elymus caninus - Bearded Couch.  I complete the route clutching a flowering shoot/spike.

Other woodland grasses with which one might confuse it  include:

• Bromopsis ramosa  Hairy Brome (But that has long very long hairs on the sheaths, and AURICLES) Ec has no auricles.
• Elymus repens  Couch Grass (But that has rhizomes and grows in patches, not tufts, and has AURICLES) Ec has no rhizomes, and no auricles- though at first sight it might look as though it has them
• Arrhenatherum elatius (But that usually has orange marks at the root shoot junction, and is knobbly at the base of the shoot) Ec in not knobbly at the base of the shoot and has no orange felcks there.

Elymus caninus - 17 May 2009 6.55 am -
note the time - near river Mole
road bridge at foot of Box Hill

It is VERY similar to last month's (Brachypodium sylvaticum or Wood False-brome):-

• both grow in woods (and occasionally limestone pavement)
• both are tufted and medium big
• both have blades that are narrower at the base than at the middle
• both have flowerheads that are a spike.
• both have some hairs on the leaves..

The Elymus has taller sheaths and then especially the top blade comes off stiffly almost and right angles and then droops

Whereas the Brachypodium is MUCH narrower at the base of the blades, the blades grow up at an angle and then droop.

Elymus sheaths are virtually hairless whereas Brachypodium sheaths and nodes are hairy

Elymus Spikes are fairly stiff and the spilkelets (excluding glumes) are about 1cm long and overlap
Brachypodium spikes droop slightly and the spikelets re about 1.5cm long and overlap only slightly. Sometimes the spikelets are on short (1mm) stalks

Elymus caninus - near road bridge of Mole at
Box Hill 16 May 2010 10.26 

21 July 2004 -forget where

The photo above has one shoot of Elymus canuns in the foreground whilst the shoots behind are Brachypodium. It was taken at the viewpoint a th National Trust o fScotlan Centre at Killiecrankie looking down to the river Garry. To the left of the river as we look at it is a railway. The next hoto is of a railway arch, almost directly below these people,

Grasses course students from Kindgrogan -rest overlooking the Garry

Shoot of Elymus caninus.
There is also Elymus caninus shoots behind,
next to the sycamore shrub.

Brachypodium sylvaticum - Wood False-brome

Wood False-brome

Have you seen Brachypodium sylvaticum  in flower this late in the year?

We found Brachypodium sylvaticum - or to use its English name - Wood False Brome  - still in flower  - well fruit rather -  on our Fungus Foray earlier this October at Clapham Woods -

The Woods are on limestone so the soil is basic -you can see Dog's Mercury in the photo too - another plant which likes basic soil.

How can you recognise Brachypodium sylvaticum?

There are lots of features making Wood False-brome easily recognisable

• It usually grows in woods (or in base-rich grassland close to woods)
• The shoots grow in tufts
• The shoots are very slender at the base
• The blades are
  narrow at the base,
  very wide in the middle
  and then taper
• The blades droop
  
  
• The blades and sheaths are to some extent hairy
• There are NO AURICLES (as in the similar Hairy Brome, which grows with it in  woodland habitats)
• The tufts can look yellowish in spring
  
  
• The inflorescence is a drooping spike or raceme - the spikelet stalks are about 1 mm long.

Closer up of the above

"UK government, please keep your green promises"

Picadilly Gardens 1st October CEL Banner

Christians  converged on Manchester on 1st October to send a message to Mr Cameron that the Conservative Party should live up to their green promises. Workshops were organised in three places by Christian Aid, Tearfund and CAFOD in the afternoon. At 5pm there would be a sevice at Manchester Cathedral. then a march and a vigil.

A group of CEL members met before the above meetings.. On the hottest October day for many years, we sat on a bench and shared ideas and discussed:-

• Ecocell.. How to get more people to know about it – maybe to offer talks to local churches
• 100 churches project – to encourage 100 churches to raise £100 for Rainforest and other habitat rescue projects
• Activities in Leeds.

Then is was off to the workshops

Christian Aid Introductory Meeting at Central Hall

Keep green pledges, say protesters-
The Methodist Recorder on 13th October reported the event thus:-

A RESPONSE to the Prime Minister is being formulated by leading development and environ-mental NGOs (non-governmental organisations) concerned about the content of Chancellor George Osborne’s speech to the Conservative party conference. NGOs have commended the Government’s ring-fencing of the aid budget, but are now urging them to fulfil their “green agenda” commitments.

The organisations, which include Christian Aid, are raising their concerns that the optimism generated by the Government’s promise to be the “greenest government ever” could be damaged by Mr Osborne’s conference address in which he said, “We are not going to save the planet by putting our companies out of business” and made reference to using a loophole to avoid the responsibilities of the Fourth Carbon Budget to tackle carbon emissions.

Inside Manchester Cathedral

CEL banner in front of Conservative Party Hotel

Candlelit Vigil on Albert Square

CCG Fungus Foray - Clapham Woods

Wonderful Warm Weather Welcomed Craven Conservation Group on our 2011 Fungus Foray - held today 15th October at Clapham Woods and the field above the track from the woods to the Cave.

Jane Blinkhorn led the group and I assisted. In the evening Jane and I took some of the specimens to Archie McAdam to help with some of the more unusual species.

Bet you wished you'd come now!

Here we are having lunch

But first, at the start - we are given a handout explaining
about gill shape and much more

Yes - We've found some Jelly babies. (about 3cm tall)
They are easily recognisable because the DON'T have gills

Just checking that they have no gills.

Waxcaps in the grassland

A great day for waxcaps - Hygrocybe chlorophana

Hypoxylon fragiforme - Beech Woodwart -
.. or is it the slime Mould "Wolf's Blood - Lycogala epidendrum?"
Growing on a well rotted fallen log are these ball shaped structures.
They are 1cm across and are soft inside.
They start off  pink (above)
and then turn dark grey (below)
and are soft in the middle

We examine Honey Fungus

Having found almost ten species of Waxcaps I said
 "Shouldn't we be finding some Clavarias?"..
 and low and  behold we found
Clavaria fumosa - Smoky Spindles

Start 'em  young.
.
The white fungus, (that I found in the leaf litter in the deciduous wood)
 in the bottom left of the tray turned out to be  Hygrophorus eburneus

This has thick decurrent waxcap gills, a slimy cap,
 a tapering "root" and a felty appearance at the top of the stipe.

Lunch

Visit Craven Conservation Group's Website to find out about more events

Jane has just emailed with a list of 59 species !!!!!

Once Archie has checked we will send it to the Mid Yorkshire Fungus Group.

Bearing Witness- Manchester 1 Oct 2011

Christian Aid, Tearfund and CAFOD organised a march and vigil on the eve of the Conservative Party Conference at Manchester on 1st October, to ask the Prime Minister to act on the green promises he had made.. During the afternoon each organisation held workshops. Then we met at 5 pm at the Cathedral. The march stated at 6pm.We organised a "Meet-up" of Christian Ecology Link Members at 11am before the workshop for an hour. It was so hot (due to the Jet stream) that we met outside.

Here are two video clips I took. You can see the CEL banner (white with CEL red written on it) at the centre of the picture below, and it comes in at the middle of the clip.

Here we are walking towards the hotel where the Conservatives are staying.
The marshal with the red tshirt and yellow waistcoat and rucksack walking past is Alex who is a Christian Aid worker in Leeds and Bradford (i.e. covers Our area in the Dales ),

Dormouse at Freeholders Wood

Have you ever seen a live doormouse?

Here is an Adult Dormouse

I hadn't until this Saturday.

Should I go on the Craven Conservation Group to Aysgarth falls, 30 miles away? Should I?  Shouldn't I? Should I Shouldn't I?

Eventually I went and (as on all CCG outings) I was so glad I did.

As well as seeing REAL dormice,  I saw two other features of great natural history interest (to be dealt with lower down.. and had nice views of the falls, learned about dormice and enjoyed meeting friends.

Paul Sheehan, YDNPA Ranger for Wensleydale
(centre, beside tree)
explains about coppicing the hazel.

There were actually two groups
 - a joint meeting -
CCG and   Wharfedale Naturalists

They put out a lot of nesting boxes.
This one turned out to have a mother and four babies in it.
"They may only stay in one nesting box for about
four days, and then move to another" he said 

This is a baby dormouse. There would only be
about six weeks left in which it would
have to grow a lot in order to have enough
fat and weight to survive the winter.

Examining a dormouse

And photographing it

Interesting  natural history feature number 1: We spotted a huge slug on a stone - pale yellow with long spots. It was a Leopard slug.  When I came home I discovered it is one for which  the OPAL web-site ask people to send in results.. Must do that when I have time

Leopard  Slug

This fence at the upper side of the field
near the Lower falls makes and interesting photo.
T and I climb to the top of the field
on the left because we see a dark green low
growing plant near the summit

Yes it is Rock-rose

Interesting natural history feature number 2:-  Pat spots a hazelnut - stuck to a hazel twig - but not growing from it..

Bells ring in my head..

It is Glue fungus.  

Here I photograph the twig I brought home - you can see some tiny scraps of litter that are stuck to the twig with this fungus.

Lower Aysgarth Falls

Another picture of the group

Why don't you join us at future CCG Meetings?

Hordeum jubatum - Foxtail Barley

(See other month's grasses)

Foxtail Barley at the Giggleswick (northern)
 turn-off on the Settle Bypass

Foxtail barley is still growing at the north end of Settle bypass, waving its white feather heads in the road edge  in the slipstream wind generated by passing lorries.

"Look at the Foxtail Barley!" shout observant botanists as they drive past..



But how many of you have stopped to pick a shoot and run it gently against your neck?

z Z  z  Z z .....
It is so ticklish

Most of these pictures on this post were taken 25 Sept 2007 at the  the northern junction of the Settle bypass.  It was still growing there last night (26 Sept 2011), when I took the closeup photo of the leaf at the bottom of this post. The photo of it on the traffic island is from 2007 - It is not on the Island this year.   

Foxtail Barley on the traffic island

They tend to cut the verge in late July and then it flowers in August-September.  

The BSBI atlas shows it is an introduced plant. I look for it at road junctions and roundabouts on motorways.  I once found one plant at Helwith Bridge Quarry- must have got carried there on a lorry wheel.
It used to grow on the A9 near Pitlochry, but I have not seen it recently - though I haven't been there in late summer.

Sweep an inflorescence against your cheek. It is s-s-so ticklish. - or put in a vase to provide enjoyment for months ahead.

And here's a video of the very day I took the photos in 2007 - was it really four years ago?

 If you watch the video you'll get a feel for the habitat - near busy roads .. and look out for the Bibby's bus - heading west to Ingleton or off to the Lakes?

What makes a barely a barley?

Barley's have three spikelets which grow together on one side of the stem at a node,

Barley's have three spikelets which grow together on one side of the stem at a node, then three spikelets on the other side of the stem.

If this "mini-branch" is pulled off from a node there are nine long bristles or awns - this is because each spikelet has three awns, and the central spikelet is usually larger than the two side ones.

In each spikelet the upper and lower glumes are the same length and have very long awns, and the lemma has a very long awn.. So each spikelet has three long awns .  In Hordeum jubatum only the middle spikelet has a fertile floret with a very long lemma awn. The two spikelets have much smaller lemmas with short awns.

Close up of the above

There are tiny barbs on the side of the awns.
The unit which falls of the grass can stick in an animals fur - which helps dispersal - but apparently can also get into the skin of pets, and the wound can get infected. These units can be called  foxtails

The blade is 2.5 mm wide, and a pastel version of green. It has a short ligule. It has very closely packed ribs. It is softly, shortly hairy

Hordeum jubatum leaf- but this was the flag leaf so perhaps the ligule is longer .

We've often had Traffic problems recording Hordeum jubatum
here beside the A9- August 1991 -
Grasses Course at Kindrogan Field Centre

(See other month's grasses)