2005 - Whitby Naturalists

THE BOTANICAL RECORDER'S REPORT
Spring was very late to arrive in 2005. January and February wcre mild
sunny months, with thc ycar making an excellent start, but a cold snap
with snow showers in March held the plants back. Further cold
weather stopped growth and for the rest of the year the plants were t\Mo
to three weeks later than normal. Just bcfore the bad weather in March
i visited thc bank-sides below Old Mulgrave Castle to see the
spectacular display of Snowdrops (Galanthus niqtalis) which appear
every year. Do gt'r and see them! it was on the way down the path to
Sandsend Beck that I discovercd a plant not recordcd in the area
before, \X/hite Butterbur (Petasites albus), It is presumably a garCen
escapc (possibly from Mulgrave Castle) hut it is well naturalised in tire
lvet woodland and a nice addition to our local flora.
After the club's trip to the Wildfowl Trust irr early lv{ay, our first iocai
outing took us down Forge Vailey along the River Derwent starting
lrom'Oid Man's Mouth' car park. All aiong the stream grows Large
White Bittercress (Cardttrnine mtma\ which is quite an uncommon
plant nationally but which is reported to grow in 116 of the 400
two-kilometre squares in the North Yorkshirc Moors Flora. This plant
is very similar to its sister, the Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis)
also callcd lv{iikmaids and Lady's Smock. However, insteacl of having
pinkish flowers and yellow stamens, Large \fhite Bittercress has pure
white flowers and very noticeable violet anthers on its starnens. The
petais of Large \fhite Bittercress are always greater than 6 mm, which
separates it from its two smaller and common sister plants, Wavy
Bittercress (Cdrdmnine tlexuosa) and Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine
hirswa). These iatter two piants are coffectly separated by their
number of stamens,'Silavy h:rs six and Hairy usuaily has four, seen with
a hand lens. However, habitat is also a good guide bccause 'SUavy
Bittcrcress usr:ally grows in wet places, stream-sicles, ditches, etc.
whereas Hatry Bittcrcress is a plant of cultivated and waste ground,
usually drier. Certainly one should not use hairiness as a character
because Wavy Bittercress is distinctly puhcscent. I think that Hairy
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