Jan Haseler led a walk round The Holies, National Trust land at Streatley, on the hot afternoon of Sunday 27 August. The walk started out through a cool stretch of woodland, where Soft Shield-fern was noted, then Pale St John’s-wort was seen in a band of scrubby woodland. The route led out into a large steep field of fine chalk grassland which had been used as a motor-cycle scrambling track in the 1980s. It is still possible to see the outlines of the former scrambling tracks and it was interesting for the botanists to note the differences in vegetation which are still detectable there. Flowers here included Wild Marjoram, Agrimony, Small Scabious, Eyebright, Common Restharrow, Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Wild Basil, Harebell, Dwarf Thistle and Fairy Flax. There were many Meadow Brown butterflies on the wing, together with a few Small Heaths, Brimstones, Common Blues and a Lesser Treble-bar moth. The tiny longhorn moth Nemaphora metallica was spotted on a Field Scabious flower head. Carline Thistle and Autumn Gentian appeared to be favouring the former scramble tracks. Basil Thyme and Pale Toadflax were found on bare soil patches on one of the scramble tracks. The walk continued on the other side of the valley, where there were some very big patches of Devil’s-bit Scabious just coming into flower, with many bees and a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly nectaring there. Clustered Bellflower, Yellow-wort and Blue Fleabane were added to the flower count. Field Madder and Long-stalked Crane’s-bill were growing by the trackway at the bottom of the valley. Some of the group crossed the valley bottom to inspect the enormous seed heads of a number of Woolly Thistle plants.
The route then led through a gate into the next field of steep chalk grassland. More Basil Thyme flowers were found in cracks in the tarmac of the old zig-zag road which climbs steeply up the hillside. Hoary Plantain, Wild Mignonette and Salad Burnet were seen here. Contouring round the hillside, the first of the Adonis Blue butterflies was seen, a stunning turquoise blue male. In all, about 8 male Adonis Blues and 1 worn male Chalkhill Blue butterflies were seen. There were a number of the brown female butterflies, but without good close-up views, it was hard to be certain whether they were Adonis or Chalkhill Blues. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth flew down the slope, nectaring on various flowers on the way. Squinancywort and Common Rock-rose were seen here. In the top corner of the field was an area which had been cleared of scrub and scraped bare about 10 years ago. It had been recolonised by an interesting selection of chalk grassland plants, including Chiltern Gentian, Pale Toadflax, Bladder Campion and Devil’s-bit Scabious. Another gate led back to the scramble track field. Next to the gate was a large Whitebeam covered in large still-green berries. On another of the former scramble tracks, a patch with more than 100 Autumn Gentians was found.
Pictures by Rob Stallard and Laurie Haseler
| RDNHS trip to the Holies, 27.08.17, led by Jan Haseler | |
| Plant species | |
| Scientific name | English name |
| Polystichum setiferum | Soft Shield-fern |
| Centaurium erythraea | Common Centaury |
| Origanum vulgare | Wild Marjoram |
| Hypericum montanum | Pale St John’s-wort |
| Daucus carota | Wild Carrot |
| Agrimonia eupatoria | Agrimony |
| Odontitus vernus | Red Bartsia |
| Lotus corniculatus | Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil |
| Euphrasia sp. | Eyebright |
| Carlina vulgaris | Carline Thistle |
| Leontodon hispidus | Rough Hawkbit |
| Clinopodium vulgare | Wild Basil |
| Gentiana amarella | Autumn Gentian |
| Gentiana amarella | Autumn Gentian |
| Pastinaca sativa | Wild Parsnip |
| Galium verum | Lady’s Bedstraw |
| Scabiosa columbaria | Small Scabious |
| Tragopogon pratensis | Goat’s-beard |
| Centaurea nigra | Common Knapweed |
| Cirsium acaule | Dwarf Thistle |
| Linum catharticum | Fairy Flax |
| Asperula cynanchica | Squinancywort |
| Linaria repens | Pale Toadflax |
| Campanula rotundifolia | Harebell |
| Clinopodium acinos | Basil Thyme |
| Clinopodium acinos | Basil Thyme |
| Ononis repens | Common Restharrow |
| Dipsacus fullonum | Teasel |
| Succisa pratensis | Devil’s-bit Scabious |
| Blackstonia perfoliata | Yellow-wort |
| Dactylorhiza fuchsii | Common Spotted-orchid |
| Trifolium campestre | Hop Trefoil |
| Geranium columbinum | Long-stalked Crane’s-bill |
| Sherardia arvensis | Field Madder |
| Potentilla reptans | Creeping Cinquefoil |
| Bellis perennis | Daisy |
| Brachypodium pinnatum | Tor-grass |
| Pimpinella saxifraga | Burnet Saxifrage |
| Briza media | Quaking-grass |
| Campanula glomerata | Clustered Bellflower |
| Polygala vulgaris | Common Milkwort |
| Erigeron acris | Blue Fleabane |
| Centaurea scabiosa | Greater Knapweed |
| Cirsium eriophorum | Woolly Thistle |
| Poterium sanguisorba | Salad Burnet |
| Plantago media | Hoary Plantain |
| Helianthemum nummularium | Common Rock-rose |
| Gentianella germanica | Chiltern Gentian |
| Gentianella germanica | Chiltern Gentian |
| Sorbus aria | Common Whitebeam |
| Vicia cracca | Tufted Vetch |
| Cornus sanguinea | Dogwood |
| Viburnum lantana | Wayfaring-tree |
| Reseda lutea | Wild Mignonette |
| Convolvulus arvensis | Field Bindweed |
| Plantago coronopus | Buck’s-horn Plantain |
List by Renée Grayer