Sue White led a walk round the Roman walls at Silchester on the morning of Saturday 19 December. Following a mild November and an exceptionally mild December, more than 30 species of plants were seen in flower, many totally out of season. A Mistle Thrush was calling loudly from an oak tree across the road from the church car park, the starting point for the walk. A Western Polypody fern, with bright yellow sporangia on the undersides of the leaves, was growing out of the wall nearby. Sue talked about the Bath stone and the flints in the wall. Apparently freshly-mined flints have a narrow white outer layer which has typically been rubbed off from specimens which have been gathered in the fields. Examples of both types could be seen in the wall. There were also a number of pudding-stones – flat brown slabs of aggregate with embedded pebbles. A wet section of wall had stalactites dripping onto a limestone crust below. Commonest plant on the sunny south-facing section of the wall was Pellitory-of-the-wall. Also found here were Black Spleenwort, Wall-rue, Great Lettuce (a plant which is currently spreading in Hampshire) and the infrequently recorded Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass Poa angustifolia. Tiny seedlings of Rue-leaved Saxifrage were found on top of the wall in one of the gateways and Mouse-ear Hawkweed was found in flower.
The west-facing wall is in damp, shady woodland. Small Teasel is one of the local specialities and a number of plants with tall seed-heads were found here. One plant amazingly also had flowers in bud. On the wooded slope below the path were large clumps of Soft Shield-fern and leaves of the uncommon Thin-spiked Wood-sedge Carex strigosa. Celandines and Dog’s-mercury were in flower here. On a wet shady section of wall were a large number of plants of Navelwort Umbilicis rupestris. On the shady north-east facing wall were a number of moss and liverwort species, including bright green clumps of Rambling Tail-moss Anomodon viticulosis, the duller green Neckera complanata, curly Silky Wall Feather-moss Homalothecium sericeum, Tender Feather-moss Rhynchostegiella tenella and the liverwort Lophocolea bidentata. Leaving the walls behind, Three-cornered Garlic Allium triquetum was discovered growing densely on the far bank of the Roman amphitheatre. Finally, Cyperus Sedge was found at the edge of the pond near the church.
Pictures by Rob Stallard
| Plants recorded by Tony Mundell & RDNHS on 19Dec2015 | ||
| Taxon | Vernacular | Comment |
| Allium triquetrum | Three-cornered Garlic | Locally abundant in a large area on the amphitheatre wall at SU6446 6263. |
| Arenaria serpyllifolia agg. | Thyme-leaved Sandwort | |
| Asplenium adiantum-nigrum | Black Spleenwort | Several plants on the Roman wall at SU6415 6213. |
| Asplenium ruta-muraria | Wall-rue | Plentiful on the Roman wall from SU6411 6210 to SU6410 6209. |
| Asplenium scolopendrium | Hart’s-tongue | On the Roman wall at SU6415 6213. |
| Bellis perennis | Daisy | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Cardamine hirsuta | Hairy Bitter-cress | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6428 6262. |
| Carex pseudocyperus | Cyperus Sedge | Edge of pond at SU6437 6235 near the church. |
| Carex strigosa | Thin-spiked Wood-sedge | Several clumps in damp sunken area below the wall at SU6363 6216. Leaves 12mm wide with 19 veins either side of midrib. |
| Chaerophyllum temulum | Rough Chervil | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6426 6263. |
| Crepis vesicaria subsp. taraxacifolia | Beaked Hawk’s-beard | Remarkably in bud due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6448 6260. |
| Dipsacus pilosus | Small Teasel | Remarkably with this year’s spike still having a few flower buds due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6371 6214. |
| Dipsacus pilosus | Small Teasel | Several spikes at SU6368 6216. |
| Euphorbia peplus | Petty Spurge | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Ficaria verna subsp. fertilis | Lesser Celandine | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Geranium molle | Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Geranium robertianum subsp. robertianum | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. | |
| Heracleum sphondylium | Hogweed | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6426 6263. |
| Ilex aquifolium | Holly | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6448 6260. |
| Lactuca virosa | Great Lettuce | At base of the Roman wall at SU6431 6226. |
| Lactuca virosa | Great Lettuce | At base of the Roman wall at SU6367 6259. |
| Lactuca virosa | Great Lettuce | At base of the Roman wall at SU6406 6207. |
| Lamium album | White Dead-nettle | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Lamium album | White Dead-nettle | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6436 6238. |
| Lamium purpureum | Red Dead-nettle | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Lapsana communis subsp. communis | Nipplewort | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6446 6259. |
| Lithospermum officinale | Common Gromwell | At SU6378 6273 and SU6380 6276. |
| Mercurialis perennis | Dog’s Mercury | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Myosotis arvensis var. arvensis | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6428 6223. | |
| Oxalis exilis | Least Yellow-sorrel | At SU6433 6236. |
| Parietaria judaica | Pellitory-of-the-Wall | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. Plentiful around SU6424 6220, where all plants have unusually small leaves. |
| Pilosella officinarum | Mouse-ear-hawkweed | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Pilosella officinarum | Mouse-ear-hawkweed | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6436 6238. |
| Poa angustifolia | Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass | On the Roman wall at SU6426 6221. |
| Poa angustifolia | Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass | On the Roman wall at SU6434 6232. Voucher specimen collected. |
| Polypodium interjectum | Intermediate Polypody | Several plants at SU6435 6237 on walls by church. |
| Polystichum setiferum | Soft Shield-fern | At least 20 plants in hollow sunken area below the wall around SU6370 6215. |
| Primula vulgaris | Primrose | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6446 6259. |
| Ranunculus bulbosus | Bulbous Buttercup | |
| Ranunculus repens | Creeping Buttercup | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6433 6236. |
| Rubus fruticosus agg. | Bramble | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6444 6259. |
| Saxifraga tridactylites | Rue-leaved Saxifrage | Numerous young plants already in growth on the wall at SU6391 6206. |
| Saxifraga tridactylites | Rue-leaved Saxifrage | Numerous young plants already in growth on the wall at SU6402 6207. |
| Senecio jacobaea | Common Ragwort | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6380 6276. |
| Senecio jacobaea | Common Ragwort | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6446 6263. |
| Senecio vulgaris | Groundsel | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Sisymbrium officinale | Hedge Mustard | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6438 6256. |
| Sonchus asper | Prickly Sow-thistle | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6448 6260. |
| Sonchus oleraceus | Smooth Sow-thistle | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6448 6260. |
| Sonchus oleraceus | Smooth Sow-thistle | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Stellaria media | Common Chickweed | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Taraxacum agg. | Dandelion | Specimen collected for cultivation and later naming from the wall at SU6435 6234. |
| Umbilicus rupestris | Navelwort | Locally abundant with many hundreds of plants in a shady place on the wall at SU6361 6223. |
| Verbascum thapsus | Great Mullein | Remarkably in bud due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6446 6263. |
| Veronica chamaedrys | Germander Speedwell | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6435 6263. |
| Veronica persica | Common Field-speedwell | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. |
| Vicia sepium | Bush Vetch | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6446 6259. |
| Viola odorata var. dumetorum | Scented Violet | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6359 6245. |
| Viola odorata var. odorata | Scented Violet | Remarkably in flower due to exceptionally mild December weather. At SU6435 6237 on wall by church. |
List by Tony Mundell