Join us for a talk entitled the ‘Wildflowers of Froyle’ by botanist Isobel Girvan on Thursday 21st November. How much has changed in the last 30 years to the native flora that grow locally. Isobel has lead plant identification walks in Upper and Lower Froyle in recent years.
This joint project with Alton Natural History Society recording plant species in Froyle is an update to a previous survey in 1991. The variety of locations surveyed included roadside verges, field and wood edges alongside public rights of way as well as other areas with landowner’s permission.
All welcome, Froyle Village Hall doors open 7pm, a brief Froyle Wildlife AGM starts at 7.30pm followed by the talk, entrance free for members, £3 non-members, teas and coffee.
Text from Surrey Wildlife Trust website about Isobel is copied below:- Principal Ecologist, specialising in bespoke botanical surveys and habitat management plans, as well as undertaking National Vegetation Classification (NVC) surveys and has superb knowledge of the UK Habitat Classification system. She has been a full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (MCIEEM) since 2003 and is a Fellow of the Linnean Society (FLS).
She is on the committee for Surrey Botanical Society, Hampshire Flora Group and Alton Natural History Society, attending many of the field meetings during the summer. In the winter there are always mosses to identify with the British Bryological Society.
If there was one thing she would like to see everyone do to help biodiversity it would be to leave at least a small corner of the garden for nature with some decaying wood, or a window box with native wildflowers.
Summary after the talk
Isobel Girvan gave a fascinating talk on the Wildflowers of Froyle, updating a survey originally carried out in 1952 and done again in 1991.
Over the 72 year period the number of species recorded has increased from 86 (1952, which excluded grasses) to 370 (1991) and 429 in 2021/2022. All three surveys have identified a total of 695 species – “a good number”, reflecting the rich biodiversity of our local area. Isobel and her helpers made 25 different visits covering 18 out of the 32 “monads” (a square, 1km x 1km) which make up the area of Froyle, collecting over 2,300 plant records. They visited private land, with permission, and walked public paths and bridleways – but no gardens. Generally they surveyed when the weather was decent – woodlands in April/May, grasslands in June/July, and again in August and the autumn. They recorded 121 plants only once, and only one plant on every visit. What was it? Scroll to the end.
Two particular highlights were the white helleborine, a rare orchid which grows under beech trees, and toothwort or corpse flower, which is hemi-parasitic on hazel and an ancient woodland indicator. 121 plants were only recorded once, and one plant was recorded on every visit. What was it? See the end of this article.
All three of the surveys identified seven broad habitats in the area: woodland (23%) predominates, then neutral grassland (18%), chalk grassland 16%, wetland, garden/urban, arable and other. In four of the woodland areas they found 42 ancient woodland indicators (“ancient woodland” is woodland which has been managed as such continuously for at least 400 years), including wych elm, bluebells, greater stitchwort, red campion, bugle and dog’s mercury. We are fortunate in Froyle to have as much ancient woodland as we do, and in particular to have so many wild bluebells, which although common are protected as they are in decline.
On our chalk grasslands Isobel found many species, including bee orchid, pyramidal orchid, common broomrape and quaking grass, and on the neutral grassland, creeping buttercup, meadow buttercup, cowslips and ox-eye daisies. Even in the arable and hedgerow habitat there was a rich variety of plants, from teasels to musk mallow and dog rose, as there was also in the walls and banks.
About 100 species were recorded for the first time, including red valerian (probably a garden escape), slender rush (an import from the USA first recorded in Hampshire in 1910 and now naturalised here, can be found on path edges) and wall rabbit. And there at least 225 to be recorded in Froyle, such as wild thyme, gorse and corn spurry, so there is scope for more work surveying.
The number and range of wild plants in Froyle is an indicator of the rich biodiversity we enjoy and benefit from, and need to foster: if we want to do one thing to help with that Isobel encouraged us “to leave at least a small corner of the garden to nature”.
And the most common plant was – the bramble.
Jonathan
