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Cherry Tree Farm
12th July 2014

led by Keith Gittens, notes by Gill Smith

Species lists below

Ryenats members on hillside

23 members and guests met at Cherry Tree Farm on a lovely sunny day. We were not sure of the route taken in 1964 so went down to the river and walked upstream through meadows and rough grassland, sometimes marshy.

Ryenats members on hillside

Some of the waterside meadows were very rich in wildflowers, including a wonderful display of devilsbit scabious and some good spreads of betony, both thriving in neutral or slightly acidic soils.

Scabious in meadow

In the damper areas it was a real treat to see ragged robin doing well (below left). There was also a profusion of common knapweed aka hardheads, including some with an unusually pale centre to the flowerheads (below right).

Ragged robin Lychnis flos-cuculi Hardhead or common knapweed Centaurea nigra

We finished back at Cherry Farm and celebrated with several different delicious cakes and thanked Keith for leading a very enjoyable ramble in upper Slightholmedale, an area unfamiliar to many of us.

1964 list

Latin NameEnglish NameNotes
Anagallis tenellaBog pimpernel 
Cirsium palustreMarsh thistle 
Cirsium vulgareThistle, spear 
Crepis paludosaHawksbeard, marsh 
Dactylorhiza fuchsiiOrchid, common spotted 
Drosera rotundifoliaSundew 
Epilobium palustreWillowherb, marsh 
Epipactis palustrisHelleborine, marshnot fully out
Galium palustreBedstraw, marsh 
Hieracium speciesHawkweed[Ed: recorded as Leafy Hawkweed]
Hydrocotyle vulgarisMarsh pennywort 
Hypericum pulchrumSt Johnswort, beautiful 
Juncus squarrosusHeath Rush 
Leontodon saxatilisHawkbit, lesser 
Linaria vulgarisToadflax, commonnot in flower
Lotus corniculatusBirdsfoot trefoil, common 
Lotus pedunculatusBirdsfoot trefoil, greater 
Lychnis flos-cuculiRagged robin 
Melampyrum pratenseCow wheat 
Mentha aquaticaMint, water 
Nardus strictaMat Grass 
Narthecium ossifragumBog asphodel 
Pilosella officinarumHawkweed, mouse eared 
Pinguicula vulgarisButterwortnon-flowering
Prunella vulgarisSelf heal 
Ranunculus aquatilisWater crowfoot, common 
Ranunculus flammulaSpearwort, lesser 
Rhinanthus minorYellow rattle 
Rosa arvensisRose, field 
Rumex acetosaSorrel, common 
Rumex acetosellaSorrel, sheeps 
SowbaneChenopodium hybridumrecorded as Sowbane [Ed: ? - this seems unlikely - mis-identified goosefoot?]
Stachys officinalisBetony 
Stachys sylvaticaWoundwort, hedge 
Stellaria palustrisStitchwort, marsh 
Succisa pratensisScabious, devilsbit 
Symphoricarpos albusSnowberry 
Thymus polytrichusThyme 
Triglochin palustrisMarsh arrowgrass 
Valeriana officinalisValerian, common 

2014 list

Latin NameEnglish Name
Achillea millefoliumYarrow
Agrostis tenuisBent, Fine
Anagallis arvensisScarlet pimpernel
Angelica sylvestrisAngelica
Anthoxanthum odoratumSweet Vernal Grass
Betula sp.Birch
Briza mediaQuaking Grass
Caltha palustrisMarsh marigold
Campanula rotundifoliaHarebell
Carex echinataStar sedge
Carex paniceaCarnation sedge
Carex piluliferaPill sedge
Carex remotaRemote sedge
Centaurea nigraKnapweed, common
Centaurium erythraeaCentaury
Cerastium fontanumMouse ear, common
Chamaenerion angustifoliumWillowherb, rosebay or Fireweed
Cirsium arvenseThistle, creeping
Cirsium vulgareThistle, spear
Conopodium majusPignut
Cynosurus cristatusCrested Dogstail
Dactylorhiza fuchsiiOrchid, common spotted
Deschampsia caespitosaHair Grass, Tufted
Deschampsia flexuosaHair Grass, Wavy
Digitalis purpureaFoxglove
Epilobium ciliatumWillowherb, American
Epilobium montanumWillowherb, broad leaved
Epilobium obscurumWillowherb, short fruited
Galeopsis tetrahitHempnettle, common
Geum rivaleAvens, water
Hypericum tetrapterumSt Johnswort, square stalked
Hypochaeris radicataCatsear
Juncus acutiflorisSharp-flowered Rush
Juncus bufoniusToad Rush
Juncus conglomeratusCompact Rush
Knautia arvensisScabious, field
Lapsana communisNipplewort
Lathyrus linifoliusVetch, bitter
Lathyrus pratensisMeadow vetchling
Lolium perenneRye Grass, Perennial
Matricaria discoideaPineapple weed
Myosotis arvensisForgetmenot, field
Odontites vernaRed bartsia
Phleum bertoloniiCatstail
Phleum pratenseTimothy
Potentilla erectaTormentil
Potentilla sterilisStrawberry, barren
Ranunculus flammulaSpearwort, lesser
Rumex acetosaSorrel, common
Rumex obtusifoliusDock, broad leaved
Rumex sanguineusDock, wood
Sanguisorba officinalisBurnet, great
Sparganium erectumBur-reed, common
Succisa pratensisScabious, devilsbit
Torilis japonicaHedge parsley, upright
Trifolium dubiumTrefoil, lesser
Trifolium pratenseClover, red
Trifolium repensClover, white
Typha latifoliaReedmace, common
Valeriana officinalisValerian, common
Vicia craccaVetch, tufted

Butterflies

Thanks to Keith Gittens for the butterfly and moth lists:
Small Tortoiseshell
Ringlet
Small Skipper
Painted Lady
Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Red Admiral
Large White

Moths

Chimney Sweeper
Barred Straw
Smokey Wainscot
Silver-ground Carpet

Spiders

Thanks to Jim Pewtress for this list:
Tetragnatha montana
Enpolognatha ovata sens.str
Pisaura mirablis

Birds

I do not have a bird list but we did hear a distannt buzzard probably over the moors.



© Ryedale Natural History Society 2014, Photos © Gill Smith 2014 Back to the Home page