Rare Plant Register for Huntingdonshire - Botanical Society of the ...
Rare Plant Register for Huntingdonshire - Botanical Society of the ...
Rare Plant Register for Huntingdonshire - Botanical Society of the ...
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An uncommon and <strong>of</strong>ten short-lived species <strong>of</strong> roadsides, gravel pits and railway<br />
embankments. The colony in Hart<strong>for</strong>d is thriving on <strong>the</strong> mown verge outside No. 6 Main Street<br />
(recently demolished). It is doing well under a similar regime at Holywell.<br />
Saxifraga granulata L.<br />
Meadow Saxifrage<br />
National Status: Not scarce, not threatened County Status: Scarce (4 sites, 4 tetrads)<br />
Site Grid Reference Last Record<br />
Paxton Pits ? 2005 (JG)<br />
Portholme SSSI TL235709 2001 (SS)<br />
St Neots Common SSSI TL184611 2004 (RM)<br />
Woodston, Nene Valley Railway (CP) TL174977 2009 (DB)<br />
In addition to <strong>the</strong> above, <strong>the</strong>re are additional populations at Ramsey Heights (TL248848) and<br />
Monks Wood Experimental Station (TL201796) that have established as a result <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
sowing <strong>of</strong> wildflower seed. In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>for</strong>mer this involved seed purchased from a<br />
commercial grower while <strong>the</strong> latter involved ‘local’ seed.<br />
Scandix pecten-veneris L.<br />
Shepherd’s-needle<br />
National Status: Critically Endangered, BAP County Status: <strong>Rare</strong> (3 sites, 3 tetrads)<br />
Site Grid Reference Last Record<br />
Abbotsley TL232561 2001 (PN)<br />
Great Gransden TL282564 1999 (BS)<br />
Monks Hardewick Farm, near TL218616 1997 (TW & SW)<br />
Once abundant in eastern Britain, by <strong>the</strong> mid-1980’s it was very rare. It is susceptible to many<br />
broad-spectrum agricultural herbicides. There are signs that it may have started to increase<br />
again over recent years (Wilson & King, 2003), although it is possibly too soon to know this<br />
<strong>for</strong> certain and it is still a rarity in <strong>Huntingdonshire</strong>.<br />
Senecio paludosus L.<br />
Fen Ragwort<br />
National Status: Nationally <strong>Rare</strong>, Critically<br />
Endangered, BAP, Schedule 8<br />
County Status: <strong>Rare</strong> (1 site, 1 tetrad)<br />
Site Grid Reference Last Record<br />
Woodwalton Fen SSSI & SAC TL233849 2010 (MM)<br />
Although once widespread in <strong>the</strong> fens <strong>of</strong> East Anglia, Senecio paludosus is currently known<br />
as a native from one summer-dry ditch in arable land near Ely, Cambridgeshire (VC29). The<br />
plant was discovered <strong>the</strong>re in 1972 and is thought to have arisen from long-dormant seed. It<br />
is a very long-lived perennial. Mature plants do not need a high summer water table, but<br />
prefer areas that have a high winter water table or are periodically flooded. Young plants<br />
require open areas in which to develop, but mature plants can compete successfully with tall<br />
vegetation. In mainland Europe, S. paludosus is not a ditch plant and instead grows on <strong>the</strong><br />
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