Janet Welsh led a field trip at Goring Heath on Saturday 12th June, starting from the former King Charles Head pub. The first part of the walk was in Gutteridge’s Wood. Southern Wood-rush Luzula forsteri, identified by its V-shaped inflorescence, was growing by the roadside, together with Wood Mellick and Wood Millet, while Wood Barley was found further into the wood. The characteristic grey flaky bark drew the group’s attention to a particularly tall and previously unrecorded Wild Service-tree. Nearby, a hole in a dead branch at the top of a tree was being used as a nest site by a noisy family of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a youngster with a red cap peered out from time to time. Several Bird’s-nest Orchids and a White Helleborine were in flower. It was a good afternoon for comparing different fern species, with Broad and Narrow Buckler-fern and Scaly Male Fern and Male Fern growing together. A fresh Red Admiral was basking in the sunshine and there was a big patch of Common Cow-wheat.
The second part of the walk was in an organically-managed field with an interesting collection of arable weeds. The field had been under-sown with clover and was going to be topped the following day. A sea of scarlet poppies waved in the breeze, and the plants below included Weasel’s Snout, Small Toadflax, a Fluellen, Field Pansy and Field Pennycress.
Pictures by Rob Stallard and Jan Haseler
RDNHS Walk Gutteridge’s Wood 12 June 2010
Gutteridge’s Wood
Aesculus hippocastanum Horse Chestnut
Ajuga reptans Bugle
Athyrium filix-femina Lady Fern
Carex divulsa Grey Sedge
Carex muricata Prickly Sedge
Carex remota Remote sedge
Carex sylvatica Wood sedge
Cephalanthera damasonium White Helleborine
Corylus avellana Hazel
Deschampsia flexuosa Wavy Hair-grass
Dryopteris affinis Scaly Male-fern
Dryopteris carthusiana Narrow Buckler-fern
Dryopteris dilatata Broad Buckler-fern
Dryopteris filix-mas Male-fern
Euphorbia amygdaloides Wood Spurge
Fagus sylvatica Beech
Fraxinus excelsior Ash
Galium odoratum Woodruff
Glechoma hederacea Ground-ivy
Hordelymus europaeus Wood Barley
Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell
Ilex aquifolium Holly
Iris foetidissima Stinking Iris
Luzula forsteri Southern Woodrush
Lysimachia nemorum Yellow Pimpernel
Melampyrum pratense Common Cow-wheat
Melica uniflora Wood Melick
Mercurialis perennis Dog’s-mercury
Millium effusum Wood Millet
Moehringia trinervia Three-nerved Sand-wort
Neottia nidus-avis Bird’s- nest Orchid
Oxalis acetosella Wood-sorrel
Persicaria lapathifolia Pale Persicaria
Polystichum aculeatum Hard Shield-fern
Prunus avium Cherry
Pteridium aquilinum Bracken
Ruscus aculeatus Butcher’s- broom
Sorbus torminalis Wild Service-tree
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort
Veronica montana Wood speedwell
Haw Field arable plants
Aethusa cynapium Fool’s Parsley
Aphanes arvensis Parsley-piert
Arabidopsis thaliana Thale-cress
Arenaria serpyllifolia Thyme-leaved Sand-wort
Chaenorhinum minus Small Toadflax
Euphorbia helioscopia Sun Spurge
Geranium dissectum Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill
Lepidium campestre Field Penny-cress
Papaver rhoeas Common Poppy
Papaver somniferum Opium Poppy
Phacelia tanacetifolia Phacelia (a North American native)
Raphanes raphanistrum Wild Radish
Sinapis arvensis Charlock
Valerianella locusta Common Cornsalad
Vicia sativa ssp. sativa Common Vetch (cultivated form)
List compiled by Janet Welsh