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Liverpool
Botanical Society |
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The next meeting is a field trip. Unusually it is on a Sunday April 27: City Nature Challenge at Hightown. It is for the 10th Anniversary of City Challenge. City Nature Challenge 2025: Liverpool City Region on iNaturalist
Leader - Steve Cross (07807 341220). Meet 10.30 at Hightown Station next to the Hightown Hotel, L38 3RX. (SD2998203655). What3Words: unscathed.enforced.tasty. nearby on street parking. Recording all wildlife.
Leader - Steve Cross (07807 341220). Meet 10.30 at Hightown Station next to the Hightown Hotel, L38 3RX. (SD2998203655). What3Words: unscathed.enforced.tasty. nearby on street parking. Recording all wildlife.
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2025 outdoor
Programme here |
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Unless otherwise stated, field meetings will start at 10.30am and usually finish around 3.00pm. Please wear suitable footwear and have waterproof clothing as there is often uneven (or wet ground) or inclement weather. Bring a packed lunch and plenty to drink, as well as insect repellents, sunhats, sun-cream etc. Identification books, hand lenses, a phone and camera would be useful too. Members will need to pre-book with leaders and give contact details, so we know who to expect at meetings and in case there are any last-minute changes. Attendance at field meetings is at members’ own risk.
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Founded in 1906, the Society runs a programme of events, indoor meetings at the World Museum Liverpool during the winter months and field meetings around the region during spring, summer, and autumn.
The early years of the Society were documented in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Liverpool Botanical Society, then in a Bulletin and the Society also produced a newsletter Parnassia with news and reports of indoor and field meetings. The Library of the Society is located in the Botany Department in the Museum.
Thinking of joining? Why not come along to join us free of charge for a few field meetings before committing to membership. We are a friendly society and members are welcome whatever their age, level of botanical knowledge or background.
On social media we have an active Facebook group where members can share photos of recent finds and ask for help with identification, we also have photos and accounts of our meetings.
The early years of the Society were documented in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Liverpool Botanical Society, then in a Bulletin and the Society also produced a newsletter Parnassia with news and reports of indoor and field meetings. The Library of the Society is located in the Botany Department in the Museum.
Thinking of joining? Why not come along to join us free of charge for a few field meetings before committing to membership. We are a friendly society and members are welcome whatever their age, level of botanical knowledge or background.
On social media we have an active Facebook group where members can share photos of recent finds and ask for help with identification, we also have photos and accounts of our meetings.
Further information and photos from our 2024 field trips are here 2024 Field Trips
Accounts of Trips with Merseyside Naturalists' Association can be found on the page Trips with MNA. These include South Stack on 22 June 2024 (and 2 July 2022), Halewood Park 20 June 2024, Malham 13 July 2024 Birkdale 3 August 2024 and Leighton Moss 14 September 2024, Freshfield 28 September 2024.
Accounts of Trips with the The Wildflower Society can be found on the page Trips with The Wildflower Society. This includes Birkdale 29 August 2024.
Accounts of Trips with the The Wildflower Society can be found on the page Trips with The Wildflower Society. This includes Birkdale 29 August 2024.
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This summer a new plant for the Sefton Coast was found at Ainsdale NNR. Bell Heather Erica cinerea.
The story is told by Phil Smith in the attached paper. |
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Croxteth 13 April 2024
Sankey Valley, St. Helens 20 April 2024
Tawd Valley, Skelmersdale 18 May 2024
Hightown, 1st June 2024
Lunt Meadows, 29 June 2024
West Kirby dunes, saltmarsh & Red Rocks 6 July 2024
Bidston 10 August 2024
Birkdale 17 August 2024
Parbold 7 September
Marshside 21 September 2024
Freshfield 5 October 2024
The video of Peter Gateley's talk on 9 November 2024 on Introduction to Grasses is on You Tube at https://youtu.be/mgGHS6SX8PI
Questions for Peter included what exactly was sea-washed turf, as some people had not heard of it. Grazed saltmarshes are often dominated by Red Fescue, and it was in demand as fine-leaved turf, at one time it was really big business in places like Morecambe Bay.
Mary Dean gave an alternative way of describing the differences in positioning of the rachis on Common Couch and Perennial Rye Grass is that a fairy (or cat) can lie on a Couch but falls off in rye grass!
Ways of remembering the positions of the glume, lemma and palea were discussed (including alphabetical from bottom to top).
Other alternatives guides for identification were also discussed - for beginners there is Dominic Price’s “A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes” and Faith Anstey “Start to Identify Grasses”. Some of the standard field guides also have a section on grasses. For grasses not in flower there is Hilary Wallace’s FSC” Grasses: a guide to identification using vegetative characters.”
The BSBI YouTube Channel has videos on grass identification. The FSC has an online key to grasses. Ken’s Keys (Ken Adams) has keys to the grass genera. The BSBI website has Plant Crib with useful accounts of several genera. More details on useful links are in our Links Section www.livbotsoc.org/links.html and in the pdf file below.
Everyone thanked Peter for the talk and the photos showing the appropriate part needed for identification, they also urged him to do a follow up talk on other grass species in other habitats.
Questions for Peter included what exactly was sea-washed turf, as some people had not heard of it. Grazed saltmarshes are often dominated by Red Fescue, and it was in demand as fine-leaved turf, at one time it was really big business in places like Morecambe Bay.
Mary Dean gave an alternative way of describing the differences in positioning of the rachis on Common Couch and Perennial Rye Grass is that a fairy (or cat) can lie on a Couch but falls off in rye grass!
Ways of remembering the positions of the glume, lemma and palea were discussed (including alphabetical from bottom to top).
Other alternatives guides for identification were also discussed - for beginners there is Dominic Price’s “A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes” and Faith Anstey “Start to Identify Grasses”. Some of the standard field guides also have a section on grasses. For grasses not in flower there is Hilary Wallace’s FSC” Grasses: a guide to identification using vegetative characters.”
The BSBI YouTube Channel has videos on grass identification. The FSC has an online key to grasses. Ken’s Keys (Ken Adams) has keys to the grass genera. The BSBI website has Plant Crib with useful accounts of several genera. More details on useful links are in our Links Section www.livbotsoc.org/links.html and in the pdf file below.
Everyone thanked Peter for the talk and the photos showing the appropriate part needed for identification, they also urged him to do a follow up talk on other grass species in other habitats.
| grasses.pdf |
The site that Tim Baxter talked about in March is Trees and Shrubs Online https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/
A modern reference to temperate woody plants, a web-based encyclopaedia of woody plants hardy in the temperate parts of the world that is based principally on Bean’s Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles.
A modern reference to temperate woody plants, a web-based encyclopaedia of woody plants hardy in the temperate parts of the world that is based principally on Bean’s Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles.
