Julia Cooper organised a field trip to the Roundwood Estate near Micheldever on Saturday 24th July. We are grateful to Mrs Susanna Church for giving the Society permission to visit the estate. It is one of the richest sites in Britain for arable flora and is recognised as an Important Arable Plant Area (IAPA). Farm manager Jon Harley gave the group a brief introduction to the farm, then Harold Makant from Natural England explained how different options of the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme were used on the estate. Some of the fields had cultivated margins and annual plants there included Round-leaved and Sharp-leaved Fluellen, Dwarf Spurge, Stinking Chamomile, Small Toadflax, Long-stalked, Small-flowered and Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill, Dense-flowered Fumitory and Prickly Poppy. Other fields had 6 metre-wide grass margins. These are good for small mammals and hunting Barn Owls. Chalk grassland flowers in the field margins included Common and Greater Knapweed, Wild Basil, Agrimony and Rock Rose. Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen in good numbers along the edges of the fields which adjoined woodland, and other butterflies identified included Common and Holly Blues, Peacock and Marbled White.
An area of the farm which had been designated as set-aside 15 years ago had developed a rich chalk flora. There were plans to harvest seeds from this area to use in some of the grass margins. Another field had a section which had been sown with a wild bird seed mix. More Prickly Poppies were found growing below a rape crop. Very rare, and classified as ‘Vulnerable’, these are smaller than the Common Poppy, with more orange-coloured petals and long, narrow, bristly seed capsules. Some of the rarest plants of the visit were found in a cultivated field margin at a nearby site, including Ground-pine, Venus’s-looking-glass and Narrow-fruited Cornsalad.
Pictures by Tony Mundell, Laurie Haseler and Jan Haseler
| Acer campestre | Field Maple |
| Acer pseudoplatanus | Sycamore |
| Achillea millefolium | Yarrow |
| Aegopodium podagraria | Ground-elder |
| Agrimonia eupatoria | Agrimony |
| Ajuga chamaepitys | Ground-pine |
| Anagallis arvensis | Scarlet Pimpernel |
| Anisantha sterilis | Barren Brome |
| Anthemis cotula | Stinking Chamomile |
| Aphanes arvensis | Parsley-piert |
| Arctium minus | Lesser Burdock |
| Arenaria serpyllifolia | Thyme-leaved Sandwort |
| Arrhenatherum elatius | False Oat-Grass |
| Artemisia vulgaris | Mugwort |
| Atriplex patula | Common Orache |
| Barbarea vulgaris | Winter-cress |
| Betula pendula | Silver Birch |
| Brachypodium sylvaticum | False-brome |
| Bromus hordeaceus | Soft-brome |
| Camelina sativa | Gold-of-pleasure |
| Capsella bursa-pastoris | Shepherd’s-purse |
| Carduus nutans | Musk Thistle |
| Carex divulsa subsp. divulsa | Grey Sedge |
| Catapodium rigidum | Fern-grass |
| Centaurea nigra | Common Knapweed |
| Centaurea scabiosa | Greater Knapweed |
| Cerastium fontanum | Common Mouse-ear |
| Chaenorhinum minus | Small Toadflax |
| Chaerophyllum temulum | Rough Chervil |
| Chenopodium album | Fat-hen |
| Chenopodium quinoa | Quinoa |
| Cirsium arvense | Creeping Thistle |
| Clematis vitalba | Traveller’s-joy |
| Clinopodium vulgare | Wild Basil |
| Convolvulus arvensis | Field Bindweed |
| Cornus sanguinea | Dogwood |
| Corylus avellana | Hazel |
| Crataegus monogyna | Hawthorn |
| Crepis capillaris | Smooth Hawk’s-beard |
| Dactylis glomerata | Cock’s-foot |
| Daucus carota | Wild Carrot |
| Echium vulgare | Viper’s Bugloss |
| Epilobium montanum | Broad-leaved Willowherb |
| Epilobium obscurum | Short-fruited Willowherb |
| Epilobium parviflorum | Hoary Willowherb |
| Erodium cicutarium agg. | Common Stork’s-bill |
| Euonymus europaeus | Spindle |
| Eupatorium cannabinum | Hemp-agrimony |
| Euphorbia amygdaloides | Wood Spurge |
| Euphorbia helioscopia | Sun Spurge |
| Euphorbia exigua | Dwarf Spurge |
| Fagus sylvatica | Beech |
| Fallopia convolvulus | Black-bindweed |
| Festuca rubra agg. | Red Fescue |
| Fragaria vesca | Wild Strawberry |
| Fraxinus excelsior | Ash |
| Fumaria densiflora | Dense-flowered Fumitory |
| Fumaria officinalis | Common Fumitory |
| Galium aparine | Cleavers |
| Galium mollugo | Hedge Bedstraw |
| Galium verum | Lady’s Bedstraw |
| Geranium columbinum | Long-stalked Crane’s-bill |
| Geranium molle | Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill |
| Geranium pusillum | Small-flowered Crane’s-bill |
| Geum urbanum | Wood Avens |
| Glechoma hederacea | Ground-ivy |
| Helianthemum nummularium | Common Rock-rose |
| Holcus lanatus | Yorkshire-fog |
| Hypericum hirsutum | Hairy St John’s-wort |
| Hypericum perforatum | Perforate St John’s-wort |
| Kickxia elatine | Sharp-leaved Fluellen |
| Kickxia spuria | Round-leaved Fluellen |
| Knautia arvensis | Field Scabious |
| Lamium album | White Dead-nettle |
| Lamium amplexicaule | Henbit Dead-nettle |
| Lapsana communis | Nipplewort |
| Legousia hybrida | Venus’s-looking-glass |
| Leontodon hispidus | Rough Hawkbit |
| Ligustrum vulgare | Wild Privet |
| Linaria vulgaris | Common Toadflax |
| Linum usitatissimum | Flax |
| Lotus corniculatus | Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil |
| Lotus corniculatus var. sativus | |
| Malva moschata | Musk-mallow |
| Matricaria recutita | Scented Mayweed |
| Medicago lupulina | Black Medick |
| Mercurialis perennis | Dog’s Mercury |
| Moehringia trinervia | Three-nerved Sandwort |
| Myosotis arvensis | Field Forget-me-not |
| Odontites vernus | Red Bartsia |
| Onobrychis viciifolia | Sainfoin |
| Ononis repens | Common Restharrow |
| Origanum vulgare | Wild Marjoram |
| Papaver argemone | Prickly Poppy |
| Papaver rhoeas | Common Poppy |
| Pastinaca sativa | Wild Parsnip |
| Phleum bertolonii | Smaller Cat’s-tail |
| Pimpinella saxifraga | Burnet-saxifrage |
| Plantago lanceolata | Ribwort Plantain |
| Plantago major | Greater Plantain |
| Poa annua | Annual Meadow-grass |
| Poa pratensis | Smooth Meadow-grass |
| Polygonum aviculare | Knotgrass |
| Potentilla anserina | Silverweed |
| Prunella vulgaris | Selfheal |
| Prunus avium | Wild Cherry |
| Prunus spinosa | Blackthorn |
| Pulicaria dysenterica | Common Fleabane |
| Quercus robur | Pedunculate Oak |
| Ranunculus repens | Creeping Buttercup |
| Raphanus raphanistrum | Radish |
| Reseda lutea | Wild Mignonette |
| Reseda luteola | Weld |
| Rhamnus cathartica | Buckthorn |
| Rosa arvensis | Field-rose |
| Rosa canina | Dog-rose |
| Rosa micrantha | Small-flowered Sweet-briar |
| Rubus caesius | Dewberry |
| Rumex sanguineus | Wood Dock |
| Salix cinerea subsp. oleifolia | Rusty Willow |
| Sanguisorba minor | Salad Burnet |
| Senecio erucifolius | Hoary Ragwort |
| Senecio jacobaea | Common Ragwort |
| Senecio viscosus | Sticky Groundsel |
| Senecio vulgaris | Groundsel |
| Silene latifolia | White Campion |
| Silene vulgaris | Bladder Campion |
| Sisymbrium officinale | Hedge Mustard |
| Solanum dulcamara | Bittersweet |
| Sonchus asper | Prickly Sow-thistle |
| Sonchus oleraceus | Smooth Sow-thistle |
| Sorbus aria | Common Whitebeam |
| Stachys sylvatica | Hedge Woundwort |
| Symphoricarpos x chenaultii | Pink Snowberry |
| Tanacetum parthenium | Feverfew |
| Taraxacum agg. | Dandelion |
| Torilis japonica | Upright Hedge-parsley |
| Trifolium repens | White Clover |
| Tripleurospermum inodorum | Scentless Mayweed |
| Urtica dioica | Common Nettle |
| Valerianella dentata | Narrow-fruited Cornsalad |
| Verbascum thapsus | Great Mullein |
| Veronica arvensis | Wall Speedwell |
| Veronica chamaedrys | Germander Speedwell |
| Veronica persica | Common Field-speedwell |
| Viburnum lantana | Wayfaring-tree |
| Viola arvensis | Field Pansy |
| Viola hirta | Hairy Violet |
Insects
| Dusky Sallow |
| Orange Footman |
| Silver Y |
| Silver-washed Fritillary |
| Peacock |
| Common Blue |
| Holly Blue |
| Marbled White |
| Meadow Brown |
| Gatekeeper |
| Ringlet |
List compiled by Renee Grayer and Tony Mundell