newsletter cylchlythyr - Treborth Botanic Garden

THE FRIENDS OF TREBORTH
BOTANIC GARDEN
CYFEILLION GARDD
FOTANEG TREBORTH
NEWSLETTER
Number / Rhif 54
CYLCHLYTHYR
September/Medi 2015
Fig. 1. Cakes made by Anne Aspinall for Nigel’s Retirement Party [p. 23]
Fig. 2.
Wreaths made at the Workshop [p. 10]
COMMITTEE
Sarah Edgar (sarahedgar70@hotmail.com)
To be confirmed
Cathy Dixon (catherine@velella.force9.co.uk)
Natalie Chivers (nataliejchivers@gmail.com)
Rosie Kressman (r.kressman@bangor.ac.uk)
Angela Thompson (act.celyn@gmail.com)
Dr John Gorham (johnandchris.gorham@btinternet.com)
James Stroud (jamie.a.stroud@gmail.com)
James Balfour (jwbalfour@gmail.com)
Dr David Shaw (shaw@sarvari-trust.org)
Enid Griffith
Tom Cockbill (thomasjames83@hotmail.co.uk)
Dr Ann Illsley (pencefn@rhiwlas.org.uk)
Berta Rosen (bertarosen@waitrose.com)
Dr John Good (jeggood@gmail.com)
Chris Glass (tcu014@bangor.ac.uk)
Richard Dallison (tcu013@bangor.ac.uk)
Chair
General Secretary
Treasurer
Curator
Horticulturist
Membership Secretary
Events Secretary
Minutes Secretary
Publicity
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
STAG Representative
STAG Representative
Newsletter Team
John Gorham (layout, photos)
Grace Gibson (adverts, articles)
Angela Thompson (commissioning articles,
planning, editing)
email as above
grace.gibson@btinternet.com
email as above
Cover Photos:
Front: Nigel and Dan Brown share a moment at Nigel’s Retirement Party [p. 23]
Back: Scenes from Nigel’s Retirement Party [p. 23]
Unless otherwise stated, all contributions to the newsletter are copyright of the
author.
Issue No. 54
September 2015
CONTENTS
Chair’s Report September 2015
3
Curator’s Report: April—June 2015
4
Bangor Meets Kew
7
The Errant Blackbird, or Mysteries of the Natural World
8
Wreath-Making Workshop
10
Pamir Botanic Gardens
11
Good Things Come in T(h)rees!
14
Botanical Recording—The Role of a County Recorder
17
The Bangor University Collections: Salvaging the Damaged Wood Collection 19
A Yomp in Yorkshire, also known as the Coach Trip, 7-9 July
21
A Memorable Botanical Day for All. Nigel Brown’s Retirement Party
23
Kamchatka—Challenge and Opportunity in the Far East of Russia
24
Taxonomic Change of Name: Nigel Brown to become Natalie Chivers
—short stem, blonde, upper perianth pistilllate
32
MSc Plant Conservation - Report on Study Tour to Southern England
3-8 May 2015
34
Membership Renewal Reminder
40
Chair’s Report September 2015
A sylvan theme to some of the articles for this edition of the newsletter: Gerry
Downing and Craig Shuttleworth report respectively on two good stories related to
the management of the Treborth woodland area - the Royal Forestry Society
award that we have received, and the increasing red squirrel population; also Pat
Denne talks about her area of expertise, the University’s damaged wood collection.
Pat also has written about our enjoyable trip to Yorkshire with the Welsh Historic
Gardens Trust; this collaboration between the two organisations for various trips is
proving very successful. There is a fascinating article by Ian Bonner on the role of a
BSBI botany recorder on Anglesey, and Berta Rosen and Huw Thomas take us to
Kamchatka and Tajikistan. We are very pleased to have some stunning
photographs from these far away places in this edition.
Our new Curator, Natalie Chivers, who started at the beginning of August,
introduces herself here. We also have Nigel’s last (well – perhaps we can twist the
Brown arm for something in the future!) contribution to the newsletter.
John Whitehead has written about the party that we held to mark Nigel’s
retirement. It was a day of mixed emotions, but mainly great fun, culminating in
Nigel’s valedictory lap of honour on a fully decorated (including the ear defenders)
mower! The Friends would like to thank everyone who contributed so generously
to his retirement collection. We were able to give him on your behalf, a wonderful
bird table made by Peter Boyd from Treborth yew and Welsh slate, as well as
books and a cheque.
Can I ask if there are any members who are knowledgeable about moths
and might be interested in joining a rota to continue the moth recording
programme? Nigel trapped and recorded the moths at Treborth for many years on
an almost nightly basis. Natalie has a good knowledge of many aspects of natural
history but admits that she is not strong on moths; she has said that she is happy
to put the moths traps out in the evening, but we need people to come and
identify them before release. If you can help please contact either Natalie or me.
A worrying note to close on; as I write this in mid August we are waiting
for news of Sophie Williams, who contracted Japanese encephalitis when out in
China, and is in a coma. Sophie has done so much to promote the links between
Treborth and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden. We are all thinking of her.
Sarah Edgar
3
Curator’s Report April/June 2015
The taught part of the new MSc in Plant Conservation has now been completed and
the general verdict is very favourable. Treborth has been closely involved with the
delivery of the Aspects of Plant Conservation module this semester which included a
very successful and appreciated visit by the outgoing Director-General of Botanic
Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), Sarah Oldfield, who delivered a
comprehensive and perceptive session on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
and the role of Botanic Gardens. She made time to meet the Friends and see a
great deal of the Garden as well as accompany myself and the students on a halfday field trip to Newborough and Llanddwyn. She said some very complementary
things about the Garden and its volunteers both privately and also very publicly
during the poster presentations and enjoyable reception held in the Garden
Conservatory on 24 April. She and others highlighted the Chinese initiative currently
being expressed through the Two Dragons Garden Project.
In early May, I took the MSc students for a study tour of southern England
(see separate article) to look at plant conservation in-situ and ex-situ. We visited
the Cotswolds, Salisbury Plain, New Forest, the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst
Place and finished at Kew. It was a very enjoyable way to complete the taught part
of the course.
The Two Dragons Garden is now taking shape and soon we can look
forward to herbaceous plantings as well as woody specimens as the borders are
fixed. Remedial work will begin shortly to tidy up damaged lawn areas surrounding
the Garden.
Doreen Hamilton’s Art Class 2 was even more successful than her first
course and produced some fine work which was proudly displayed alongside He Rui
Ha’s Chinese Botanical Art at the end of May – the preview was well attended and
Treborth looked lovely for the occasion. It is exciting to witness a growing interest
in botanical art and I am very grateful to Doreen for her tremendous effort in
organising and running such wonderful and inspirational courses.
Philip Snow also ran a successful art workshop (2 May) at Treborth in the
main lab. And in mid-May we welcomed judges involved with the Excellence in
Forestry Awards – my thanks to Gerry Downing for compiling a very strong
application statement for Treborth and together with Pat Denne elaborating on the
last few years efforts in the woodland and arboretum during the judges’ visit.
Raheela Ahmed and Sarah Edgar organised a Chinese Kite Workshop at
Treborth also at the end of May to coincide with the Art Exhibition, so this was a
very busy period for the Friends and my thanks to one and all for a marvellous
effort.
Mark Blumenthal, Director of the American Botanical Council, met with
Friends and my colleague Dr Vera Thoss at Treborth on 27 May during a visit
arranged through Friends Jackie and John Wootton. Jackie and John have kindly
donated £250 towards the acquisition of Chinese medicinal plants for the Two
Dragons Garden.
Treborth hosted delegates taking part in the Art of Nature Day in mid-May
and held a record breaking Plant Sale mid-month which was combined with the
official naming of the Rhizotron in memory of Dr Malcolm Cherrett who sadly
passed away last autumn. Malcolm and his widow have contributed enormously to
the spirit and fabric of Treborth over many years and the Rhizotron remains the
largest facility of its kind in the UK, a piece of scientific kit we are very proud of!
Happily Jane was able to attend along with Relena Ribbons who is the current
researcher using the Rhizotron. Relena helped Tom Cockbill and Rhiannon Mon
Jones on the day to explain the wonders of the soil to our visitors in celebration of
the IUCN Year of Soils, along with Gaynor Bassett from the Centre for Ecology and
Hydrology. This was one of those days when Treborth really was at its best and I
am extremely grateful to EVERYONE involved – it was a huge team effort but ran
like clockwork, the plant sale side and the soils events.
Since the Rhizotron event, Jane Cherrett and their son Tom have
announced that they will be making a bequest to the University to finance the
remainder of the Herbarium Digitisation Project which has been so ably taken
forward throughout this for free by James Balfour. This is marvellous news and may
I take the opportunity to thank James for persevering with the project despite the
lack of finances. It is hugely worthwhile and together the Cherrett bequest and
James’ skill and determination will make Bangor’s historic herbarium available to all
forever.
Early June saw the Graduates in CNS celebrate with a Summer Party at
Treborth organised by my colleague Anita Malhotra. Many new academic faces
took the opportunity to view the Gardens on a lovely evening.
FTBG were involved in the successful NGS Open Day at Crug on 6 June and
my thanks to Sarah and others involved there.
5
Today PGCE students have been preparing for the first of about 10 school
visits we shall be hosting over the next month.
We have recently been joined by Lai Han, an Xishuangbanna Exchange
Student who will be staying in Rivendell until early August and who will assist in
Treborth Wednesdays – Fridays inclusive.
Throughout this period there has been much time and effort put into the
advertising and selection for interview for my successor. I am particularly grateful
to Sarah Edgar and Shaun Russell for all the thought and time they have devoted to
this along with Judith Hughes, Angela Thompson, Dave Shaw and Sophie Williams.
The interviews were led by Shaun who along with his assistant Jane Smith has made
a huge effort to familiarise himself with the Garden and its users over the last few
months, gathering a real feel for the Treborth.
I was away 13-20 June with the second years on Bardsey, my final
University field trip and indeed my final formal academic activity for the uni.
Finally it is sad to report the death of a long term Friend, Mary Davidson,
who along with her husband John was a knowledgeable gardener and botanist. I
first knew Mary in the eighties when she and John discovered a rare wintergreen in
Newborough Forest and kindly, they took me to the spot. I remember it vividly,
such a rarity and such a beauty, and they were justifiably as proud as punch! We
have remained friends since and Mary and John have supported Treborth
throughout our friendship. Judith Hughes and I attended Mary’s funeral on behalf
of the Friends.
It has been such a busy productive time and I am grateful to the Friends for
your remarkable efforts on behalf of Treborth – mowing, watering, weeding,
planting, tidying, selling, talking! But most of all to Sarah for her amazing ability to
cope brilliantly with multiple challenges.
Thank you one and all!
Nigel Brown
Bangor meets Kew
In May 2015, I was returning home to north Wales via Heathrow, from botanizing in
Turkmenistan. Central London, with its iconic plane trees, looked very colourful
with flags from all over the world, displayed regimentally along famous streets as
part of the celebration of the 70th year of VE Day.
I planned two days research for measuring the girth growth rate of many
of my trees collected for Kew from far off lands, back in the days when I had a Kew
collector’s licence. The trees have grown well and are impressive, now being 30 to
40 years old and many planted in prime locations near the Orangery and Palm
House by Tony Kirkham, the Head of the Arboretum at the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew. Tony trained at Merrist Wood College near Guildford where a long time ago,
as his tutor, I saw his potential as a botanical arborist and then encouraged him to
apply for a studentship at Kew. Now, Tony must be the most travelled tree man on
record as Head of the Arboretum at Kew, collecting plants from all over the world.
Living in north Wales for the past 20 years and having concentrated on
global travels, I had not visited Kew during that period of time. Therefore, seeing
the trees and recording their growth measurements in 2015 has provided dramatic
results since my visit in 1995.
During my recent visit to Kew, Judy Hancock, the Administration Officer in
the School of Horticulture, indicated that they were now up to Group 52 of student
intakes and it made me feel ancient when I reminisced that in 1969, I was in group
7. Then Judy mentioned that they were expecting visitors from Bangor University
who were due to arrive that day at 2 pm on Friday 8th May 2015. Later, it was a
pleasant surprise to meet up with Nigel Brown, the Curator of Treborth Botanical
Garden, with the MSc students from Bangor University.
A chance to record the group followed when the Head of the School of
Horticulture, Tim Hughes, kindly took a picture of us with one of my collected trees
near the school building. The pictures on page 41 include three of my collected
trees. In the far distance, is a tall fastigiate (having the branches more or less
parallel to the main stem – Ed.) golden crown of Populus nigra ‘Lombardy Gold’, a
golden sport which I found in 1974, high up in a Lombardy Poplar tree in the village
of Normandy near Merrist Wood College. Tony Kirkham planted the tree in 1979
but unfortunately it blew down in the storm of 1987. I took a minibus with
arboricultural students from Merrist Wood College to help out with the storm
damage and we roped the Golden Lombardy back upright and held the tree with a
triangle of heavy duty tree-ties and stakes. The second tree in the middle distance
by the Princess of Wales Conservatory, is the rare Moroccan Fir Abies pinsapo var.
7
marocana, collected in the Rif Mountains above Chefchaouen in 1984. In the
foreground, the group is standing in front of the third tree which is a Himalayan or
Bhutan Pine Pinus wallichiana. I collected seed from the pine forest below the
Sherpa village of Namche Bazar on the way up to Everest base camp in 1977. The
pine has grown into at fine specimen and the trunk now measures 2.11m at the
base and 1.33m in girth at 1.5m.
I stayed near Kew Gardens with Wiena and Richard Ward who is a Kewite
from the penultimate certificate course at Kew in 1961. Richard is well-travelled
and cherishes the tales of his early overland journey to India driving his Mini Moke.
His career included Technical Officer at Richmond, Harlow New Town and a
Landscape Garden Designer. For over 20 years, Richard has been the energetic
editor for The Journal of the Kew Guild (founded in 1893) and his two daughters,
Alexandra and Sparkle, are continuing the family tradition in the editorial of the
journal. An old photograph taken in 1958 of students studying at Dartington Hall
Gardens shows Richard Ward on the right hand side and Len Beer on the left.
Eventually, Len went on a plant hunting expedition to the Himalaya with Roy
Lancaster. Len Beer is historically connected to Bangor where, before Nigel Brown,
he was a Curator at Treborth Botanical Garden.
John Whitehead
The Errant Blackbird, or Mysteries of the Natural World
“Have you got a dog?”, my neighbour asked, as he passed me in the lane. “No”, I
replied, puzzled. Then all was clear. He had heard me talking to something: it was
to the blackbird.
I have a small-scale feeding station on my kitchen window, a half metre
from my breakfast seat. The usual regulars are tits, a robin, sparrows, dunnocks
and a female blackbird. During the winter months, the blackbird quickly achieved
dominance, only moving away for the occasional collared dove. She certainly
refused to tolerate other blackbirds. Fat-ball crumbs from the foraging tits were
beneath her, and she tapped on the window for her own helpings. If she wanted
food and I failed to appear in the kitchen, she appeared at all the other windows
around the house or sought me out in the garden.
By 20 March, a bold male made his appearance. He wasn’t allowed food
but he sang hopefully 10m away in the ash tree. By the 31st, I saw the female
gathering nesting material and building in the hawthorn. It was a large high nest
already when I first saw it. By 5 April, she began sitting.
So spring progressed. The chiffchaff was joined by the willow warbler, the
sleeping hedgehog vacated its bed, and the bluebells came into flower. The male
blackbird disappeared. Still she sat. I hope he remembered he had duties. The
female was always demanding food, appearing immediately she saw my car. Must
be feeding young, I thought. She also ate small slugs from the morning lawn but
rejected centipedes and worms.
By 1 May, I see her collecting nesting material and starting to build a new
nest in the honeysuckle. Had something happened to her young? I cut the
hawthorn: the nest was too high for me to see in, so I carefully felt inside the nest.
Nothing! A perfect undisturbed bowl, no sign of predation. No dead birds
anywhere, no broken eggs, no droppings. What had she been doing for four weeks!
On 14 May, a bold male blackbird appeared at the kitchen window with a
fledged youngster and fed it. The female was busy sitting on her new nest, but days
alter there was a confrontation. She chased off the male and proceeded to feed his
chick herself. This continued for about a week.
Along with blackbird watching, I also trap moths at night. Still seeing me as
her food provider, moths have become another food item for the female blackbird.
She arises before dawn and sits on a branch waiting for me to turn off the irritating
bright light of the trap so she can see any natural offerings on the grass. These are
the moths that haven’t gone into the light box but stayed on the outside and
surrounding vegetation, and are vulnerable. I try to catch these before she does
and include them in the count. She will not be deterred. My shooing only moves
her a few feet. So I have to arise in darkness and emerge with a torch. As the year
progresses, dawn is earlier and what should be a pleasure becomes a trial as I set
my alarm for 3.45am! Later in the morning when I release the moths, she follows
me wherever I go in the garden. She can catch a moth on the wing and her eyesight
is much quicker than mine. Eventually, I had to give up releasing the moths and had
to develop an elaborate containment until the following night.
By 22 May, I was sitting in the garden eating lunch in the sun. The
blackbird joined me on the grass and began to sunbathe – a splaying of her wings
and tail feathers. After about 20 minutes I thought I would take a look in the new
nest. She had been building this for three weeks, so surely she should be feeding
young. Had she abandoned them now the male had disappeared? I put my hand in
and there were three eggs but they were cold. Why had she abandoned them?
Were they infertile? Then a further strange happening – the eggs disappeared.
9
First one went, then the next day the remaining two vanished. What had taken
them?
For a week, from 6 June, the blackbird repeatedly visited nest number two.
By 14 June, she had started to build a further nest in the cotoneaster at the front of
the house. A male blackbird appeared and began/continued his song.
When I returned to the house one afternoon, I found my newly pulled
garlic strewn over the lawn. I had placed the bulbs over a rocky outcrop to dry. The
bird had obviously attempted to incorporate the tops into her new nest, only to find
a ‘ball’ at the end!
By 4 July, she had started taking food away, this time, hopefully, to her
own brood. By the 23rd, I see her with one youngster as she brings it for food. Only
one? All that effort to produce only one offspring. Maybe there was a male
somewhere feeding the rest. Or maybe not…
Val Lane
Wreath-Making Workshop
The Friends of Treborth organised a very successful wreath-making workshop, run
by Anna Williams, which took place in December last year. It was a fun-filled day
and everyone produced a wreath to take home at the end of the session. They
made a variety of wreaths from locally sourced natural materials. Whilst some of
the wreaths were very traditional, others were more reflective of their makers’
artistic nature. All of the wreaths were individual, eye catching and stylish.
The participants completed at least one wreath in the workshop with
enough time for some to make either a second wreath or a Scandinavian
decoration.
We hope to be able to offer this workshop again this year, so if you are
interested in taking part, look out for the application forms. As these workshops
have proved to be very popular, it is advisable to book early to ensure you get a
place. We hope to see you there.
Peggy Gollogly
Pamir Botanical Gardens
Some members of the Friends of the Treborth Botanic Garden will have trekked or
visited the Himalayas. Many more will be knowledgeable about the flora and fauna
from TV programmes, films and books about this range. I suspect few have had the
opportunity to visit or know much about the Pamirs. This huge massif containing
hundreds of peaks over 6,000 metres (and some over 7,000) adjoins the Hindu Kush
in Afghanistan and the Sarykol range in China. Flying over the Pamirs there are
peaks as far as you can see in every direction.
Nestled among the Pamir Mountains are the second highest botanical
gardens in the world (the highest are in Yunnan in China). They are just outside and
above the town of Khorog, the capital of the Autonomous Oblast of GornoBadakhshan in Tajikistan. I had the good fortune to live and work in Khorog from
1999 to 2003, and I have visited many times since, always spending time in these
very special botanic gardens.
The main reason why people in the west know little of the Pamirs is that
they are in Tajikistan, which was part of the closed world of the Soviet Union, and
one of the least known and remote destinations in that secretive place. Foreigners
rarely visited and then only on official invitation and under strict supervision. Even
after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989 and independence in 1991, few outsiders
visited beyond aid workers and journalists because of the civil war that made parts
of the country insecure into the late 90s. When I first went there, the Foreign Office
advice was not to visit, and I had to pass 16 check points between Dushanbe (the
capital of Tajikistan) and Khorog.
The Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan was cosseted under the Soviet
Union, receiving generous subsidies ensuring people had jobs and pensions, with
reasonable standards of education and health services. Overnight these subsidies
stopped and a civil war broke out with an estimated 60,000 people killed and
500,000 rendered homeless. Pamiris living in the south of the country and in
Dushanbe, the capital city, were singled out for killing. In the chaos, public services
collapsed, people were not paid. There was famine in the Pamirs. The economy is
slowly recovering, although an estimated 50% of GDP comes from remissions of
Tajiks working in Russia. There is now a trickle of tourists, but it is still not a country
to be visited by the fainthearted.
When I worked there in the early 2000s, life for the Pamiris was bleak, but
it has now improved. The main reason is that these mountain people are very
tough and resourceful. They work incredibly hard for 9 months of the year (for the
other 3 they are snowed in), tending their sheep, cattle and goats on the mountain
11
pastures and cultivating their tiny fields along the river banks. They use medieval
methods of agriculture – ploughing with oxen and cutting hay with scythes. There is
a strong communal spirit, and hospitality is a central plank of their faith and
tradition.
The second reason for the improvement in living conditions is the input of
the Aga Khan. He is the spiritual leader of the Ismaili community (a branch of Shia
Islam – and a very liberal one). The majority of the people in the Pamirs are his
followers. He heads up a very effective aid organization, which firstly organized
famine relief, and then sustained support to the local people to improve
agriculture, the economy, education and health. I was privileged to head up that
part of the Aga Khan organization, working with the local government, to improve
health services throughout the Pamirs.
The climate of the Pamirs is a continental one with hot summers and cold
winters. A delight for me throughout the year was to walk the 5 kilometres to the
lower entrance of the Pamir Botanical Gardens and then up the steep slopes to the
gates to enter a special realm. In those days the staff of the Gardens were seldom
paid, and the greenhouses were abandoned, but the network of woodland, shrubs
and borders were maintained by the loyal gardeners. Things have now eased and
the Gardens are coming back to their glory days and the greenhouses repaired. The
total area of the Gardens is 624 hectares, and there are claimed to be 2,300 species
of trees and plants, some endemic to the Pamirs.
Botanical gardens were established all over the Soviet Union. Botanists
were well respected (although in Stalin’s time there were some aberrations about
the science). The Pamir Botanical Gardens were established in 1924 By K.Y.
Vinsefbekov, academician of the Academy of Science of Tajikistan. The gardens
stand on an extensive bluff above Khorog at about 2,800 metres. To the north are
steep slopes rising to the 5,000 metre peaks of the Shugnan Range. To the south
lies the torrential River Shakhdara flowing along a narrow valley with high pastures
and more 5,000 metre peaks of the Ishkasim Range beyond. To the east is the Gunt
valley leading to the River Panj, the border with Afghanistan, and the mountains of
Afghan Badakhshan.
The Gardens are delightfully arranged with one main roadway and a
network of paths between copses of trees, clumps of bushes, flower beds and
orchards, with small architectural features in traditional Pamiri woodworking style .
Some of the trees and bushes are endemic to the area. Around the edge of the
Gardens are the ubiquitous plane trees which so often mark the irrigation canals
that capture the glacier and snow melt. There is no monsoon in Central Asia and
such melt water is critical to life throughout the region. Some of these canals are
hundreds of years old, skirting precipices – a tribute to the skill and ingenuity of the
local people. The orchards are of apricots, mulberries, pears and apples. The
original apple is thought to have originated in Central Asia. A bizarre recent feature
is the construction in the Gardens of one of the many mansions for the exclusive
use of the President, Imomali Rahmon. These mansions are popping up like
mushrooms all over this very poor country
I am no botanist, so my knowledge of the trees and plants is very limited,
but I am co-author of a guidebook to Tajikistan – ‘Tajikistan and the High Pamirs’
published by Odyssey. One of the contributors was Peter Cunnington, formerly
Curator of the University of Liverpool Botanical Gardens at Ness. He wrote a
chapter on the flora of Tajikistan. He refers to the weather systems favouring those
plants adapted to the avoidance of summer drought, plants capable of lying
dormant throughout the hottest part of the year by reliance on underground
storage organs and spring flowering. A delight in spring are the Crocus, Iris and
Corydalis. Clinging to the cliffs is Dionysia involucrate, a primula relative. There are
carpets of yellow Gagea graeca in abundance, and species of Anemone including
tschernjaewii and petiolulosa. I have memories of excitement seeing acres of Tulipa
praestans on a remote mountain pass.
Living in Khorog (not exactly a humming metropolis and with little
electricity in winter), visits to the Pamir Gardens were a welcome distraction. In
spring there was the almond blossom and spring flowers; in hot summers the shade
of many varieties of trees and the flowering bushes. In autumn there were the
turning leaves and scrumping apples; in winter with 2 metres of snow, the bare
branches against a bright blue sky and snow capped peaks. Often overhead would
be lammergeyer (bearded vulture), Griffon vultures and golden eagles. I never saw
them, but snow leopards have been seen, and there are certainly wolves, which
sneak down to Khorog and nab the occasional dog.
Local people come here to enjoy the Gardens and a respite from a life
which is on the edge for many.
Huw Thomas
13
Good Things Come in T(h)rees!
1.
We’ve won an award!
Thanks to Evelyn Over, (an ex-Bangor student and now a Forestry consultant who
advised us on our Better Woodland for Wales [BWW] grant application), we
entered a Royal Forestry Society competition which recognises excellence in
Forestry. This competition is run annually through the UK, excluding Scotland, on a
6-year rotation. This year was Wales’s turn and Evelyn told us about it.
A one-page synopsis and entrance fee was submitted and we met with the
judges on May 20th for an hour long whistle stop tour of the garden and especially
the woods. Suffice to say the judges were so impressed by all that we’ve achieved
that they awarded us a silver medal, a £500 prize and the right to use a RFS
endorsement logo.
Many people have contributed in different ways to the renovation and
development of our woodland but without Nigel’s guidance and willingness to
embrace some major changes, none of our work would have been possible. That
scarce resource, volunteer labour, has been the key to our success, so particular
thanks are due to Dick Loxton, Pat Denne, Tom Cockbill, Paul Hibbert, and all those
many students and Friends who’ve contributed so much to winning this recognition
for our efforts.
2.
Glastir Management Agreement
Following on from the BWW grant scheme, which has provided us with grant
aid to help with the maintenance and development of our woodlands for the last 5
years, the Glastir scheme has taken over this grant aid function. Over the last 12
months, a detailed application was prepared and after some bureaucratic muddles
our application was approved early this year.
What does this mean for TBG?
The Glastir Management Agreement details a schedule of work for the next 5
years, which includes footpath improvements, construction of a wheelchair friendly
‘Cascade’ viewing platform, laurel and rhododendron eradication, grey squirrel
control, new benches and interpretation boards etc. The total grant aid is worth
about £22,000 pounds if we achieve all of the planned work.
The grants we receive for these various activities inevitably don’t cover the full
cost of the planned developments and we are very reliant on volunteer labour to
achieve what is an ambitious programme of work. So, if you have some spare time
Fig. 3. David Jones Powell,
Gerry Downing and Jack
Whitacker with the Silver Medal
awarded to Treborth under the
Royal Forestry Society
Community Woods Scheme [p.
14]
Fig. 4. A scene in the Pamirs [p. 11]
15
Fig. 5. Another view of a road in the
Pamirs [p. 11].
Fig. 6. Korolkovia severzovii growing in
the Pamirs [p. 11]
and would like to spend a little of it improving our woodland then please get in
touch (gerrydowning70@hotmail.com, 01286 674934).
3.
Arboretum Progress
As has been reported in previous newsletters we are undertaking the
development of an arboretum on the southern side of the roadway into TBG. This
arboretum aims to show the story of how trees populated Wales, in succession,
after the last Ice Age. Progress has been slow, not least because of the damage
caused by the gales in early 2014 when a dozen or so trees succumbed to the high
winds. However, Pat Denne has recently updated the survey of this woodland and
plans are afoot to continue with the planting this autumn.
Gerry Downing
Botanical Recording – the Role of a County Recorder
I have been asked to write a piece for this Newsletter about what is entailed in
being a county botanical recorder.
The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) traces its history back to
1836 and exists to promote the study of, and interest in, all aspects of the British
vascular plant flora, a particular interest being the study of the diversity and
distribution of plants at a local and national level and the network of Vice-county
Recorders have an important role to play in this. There are 177 of these county
recorders, all are volunteers with differing levels of expertise and available time and
all doing it for fun!
Anglesey was the first county in Wales to have its own local flora, compiled
by the Rev Hugh Davies and published in 1813. A second flora appeared in 1895
when J E Griffith published his Flora of Caernarvonshire and Anglesey. From 19551995, R H Roberts was the County Recorder, and during this time he compiled a
card index of all the Anglesey species and their localities, and in 1982 published his
Flowering Plants and Ferns of Anglesey.
In 1998, when I first became involved, the priority task was to rapidly pull
together the then current knowledge about the distribution of plants across
Anglesey for the forthcoming New Atlas, published in 2002. This mapped
distribution at the hectad, or 10 km square level, across all 3,800 of them covering
17
Britain & Ireland, of which just 16 account for Anglesey. While preparing for the
New Atlas, we decided to record the Anglesey flora at a more detailed level and the
monad, or 1 x 1km square, was chosen. There are 800 of these so this is a long
term project, with the eventual aim of producing a new Anglesey Flora.
A second aim was to produce a County Rare Plant Register, a schedule of
all the nationally and locally rare and scarce plants, with locality and other details,
which would be available to conservation bodies and statutory agencies. The
Anglesey Rare Plant Register was published in 2006 and continues to be updated as
and when new information becomes available.
The flora project has progressed with records being contributed from a
variety of sources. In particular, the informal Anglesey Flora Group has, since its
inauguration in 2007, visited under-recorded monads and other areas of potential
interest. Also members, like Debbie Evans and John Bratton, have sent in significant
numbers of additional records from their own field work, and Ivor Rees deserves
special mention, too, for looking at some of the “critical” plant groups around the
coast, in particular the Sea Lavenders (Limonium spp) and Oraches (Atriplex spp).
Specialist staff and wardens in the former CCW have been generous in making
survey results available, as have some consultants, especially Richard Lansdown,
the aquatic plant specialist engaged in survey work for the RSPB.
The number of monad records digitised since 2000 stands at c. 102,000,
and a very early start has been made drafting descriptions for some of the most
interesting Anglesey plants and comparing the current situation with the earlier
floras of 1813, 1895 and 1982.
Periodically the Anglesey data is sent to the central database of the BSBI
where it is available for all sorts of projects and especially towards the next national
Plant Atlas, due to be published after the end of 2020, so collecting records for this
new Atlas will dominate our activity over the next 4 field seasons.
In addition the BSBI encourages county recorders to contribute to a range
of other plant monitoring and recording projects, so if one has the time and energy,
being a BSBI Vice-county Recorder can be a full-time occupation!
If any reader would like to know more, or join in with any of the activities
I'd be delighted to hear from you.
Ian Bonner
Cae Trefor, Tynygongl, LL74 8SD (bonner@caetrefor.co.uk)
References:
Davies, Hugh, Welsh Botanology. London. 1813.
Griffith, J.E., The Flora of Anglesey and Caernarvonshire. Bangor. n.d. (1895).
Preston, C.D., Pearman, D.A. & Dines, T.D. 2002. New Atlas of the British and Irish
Flora.OUP, Oxford.
Roberts, R.H., 1982. The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Anglesey. National Museum
of Wales
The Bangor University Collections: Salvaging the Damaged Wood
Collection
Over the years, Bangor University has acquired a wide range of collections,
including ceramics, paintings, music archives, the herbarium and several other
collections in the College of Natural Sciences. In 2013 the National Museum of
Wales undertook a “Conservation audit for Bangor University Natural History
Museum Botanical and Zoological Collections”, following which a report was issued,
with recommendations for action.
Some of the collections received good reports: for example the majority of
specimens seen in the Herbarium Collection of pressed plants in the Brambell
Building were found to be in “very good general condition”, and the Timber
Collection in Thoday came in for particularly high praise for its “excellent
nomenclatural order and condition”.
However, some other collections came in for swingeingly bad reports. The
“Damaged Wood Collection” was picked out particularly for its abysmal condition,
and how right the auditors were! It had become shambolically disorganised,
dumped unceremoniously in a number of plastic trays and boxes, disintegrating,
and with many missing labels. This collection relates mainly to insect, mollusc and
Lepidoptera damage to wood, and had been put together by John Hobart
(Professor of Forest Entomology), mainly in the 1950s and 1960s when it was an
important resource for teaching and research. The topic is still of great economic
importance world-wide, so if sorted out it has the potential to be a valuable asset
to the university and beyond.
19
Fortunately, the paper catalogue for this collection was found intact, and
as most pieces of each sample were numbered, they could be identified. So for the
past year we have been sorting out, re-labelling, and re-cataloguing on a
spreadsheet. Eventually the spreadsheet will be incorporated into a Bangor
University Collections database, and will be available on-line. Many decisions have
had to be taken: representative samples have been selected for display, others
archived in storage, and quite a few will have to be disposed of as they are surplus
to modern requirements, unidentifiable or have deteriorated beyond their original
use. If you know of anyone who would be interested in having any of these surplus
samples, please do ask me about them.
There are around 500 samples, and the collection is believed to be unique
in the UK in its cover of a wide range of timber pests, temperate and tropical, from
land and sea. It is quite a chamber of horrors: there are furniture, ambrosia and
death watch beetles invading processed timber, a multitude of bark beetles (and
the horrendous goat moth) which attack living trees, together with gribbles and
shipworm from sea and shoreline. One amazing sample is of a piece of lead
guttering pierced with holes bored by furniture beetles. Many have their own
macabre beauty: the bark beetles in particular form intricate patterns between
inner bark and outer wood.
The display part of the collection is now in glass-fronted cabinets in room
S26 of the Thoday Building, available to view when the room is not being used for
seminars. There is still work to be done on it; the museum hopes to recruit
volunteers to work on interpretive displays. Do go and have a look at this
collection sometime.
Pat Denne
ABERCONWY
NURSERY
The Welsh Alpine
Plant Specialists
Interesting home grown alpine plants, including dionysia,
androsace, saxifrage, gentians and dwarf ericaceous
subjects as well as other choice plants all grown on our attractive hillside nursery in the Conwy Valley,
overlooking the Carneddau
On a minor road just off the A470, about 2 miles north of
Bodnant Gardens we’re open in the Spring, Summer and
early Autumn but never on a Monday.
Graig, Glan Conwy, LL28 5TL. Tel. (01492) 580875
A Yomp in Yorkshire, also known as the Coach Trip, 7 – 9 July
This year’s FTBG tour of five Yorkshire gardens was a real treat, with the congenial
company of members of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust.
The first garden visited was Harlow Carr, beginning with torrential
thundery rain, but having lunch in Betty’s tearoom at the time, it was scarcely a
hardship to have to sit out the storm with another cup of tea and cake! As would
be expected from a place run by the RHS, the garden was pristinely beautiful,
designed to appeal to a wide range of people at all seasons, with everything
clearly labelled. The herbaceous borders were of course magnificent, together
with the scented garden, and a spectacular display of Primula spp along the
streamside. The kitchen garden included displays of vegetable patches designed
by RHS students, and it was pleasing to see a trial plot of Sarpo potato varieties.
Several areas were under development for the future, including a large new
“Trees for Life” area (sponsored by Betty’s and Taylor’s), designed to display the
importance of trees to the environment, with interpretation of the uses,
medicinal value, and folklore of native trees. Here, and elsewhere in the garden,
there were delightful willow sculptures of pigs, a horse, and boxing hares.
Next day’s two gardens started with Ripley Castle, and what a contrast that
was to Harlow Carr! Certainly interesting, and in an attractive landscape designed
by Capability Brown with large lake and magnificent trees: the deer park in
particular included some spectacularly gigantic ancient oaks and chestnuts, and
there was a fine stand of Sequoiadendron in the “Pleasure Grounds”. The
herbaceous borders were vast and colourful, but, like the rest of the walled
garden, appeared to be suffering from too few gardeners trying to cope with too
much: the glasshouses especially looking sparsely planted and tired. The
vegetable garden included a collection of rare vegetables grown in collaboration
with the Henry Doubleday Research Association, but left us disappointed in that
there were no labels or interpretation.
Wednesday afternoon we were taken to Littlethorpe Manor, and again,
what a contrast! After a very informative introduction by their Head Gardener,
Eddie Harland, we were blown away by amazingly colourful imaginative planting
schemes in a wide range of walled and other enclosures, all looking very healthy
and well -tended. To give just one example, the “Four Seasons” garden was
designed to progress through a year’s cycle in four compass directions, with an
impressive central arbour of roses and honeysuckles surrounding an Ygdrassil (the
Norwegian Tree of Life) sculpture. With so much to care for, and yet more areas
21
being developed, we were amazed what was achieved by only three (though
very well equipped) gardeners.
On to Harewood House on Thursday morning, another large
parkland area originally landscaped by Capability Brown, having a large lake
with individual gardens scattered around it; the present park is clearly
designed to attract families, having splendid facilities for children and young
people. At the end of the lake is the Himalayan garden in a sunken glade
with an impressive rocky gorge reconstructed about ten years ago, with an
authentic Buddhist stupa. Though there is an informative leaflet, I did rather
wish that the wide range of interesting plants were labelled. The formal
parterre below Harewood House is stunningly intricate and attractive, with a
lovely herbaceous border below it. There was also a huge (at least an acre)
walled kitchen garden, with plenty of fruit and vegetables being grown for
the cafés and the shop. Clearly not enough people to collect the produce
though; fruit was over-ripe and falling on the ground (certain members of
our party had suspicious red stains around their mouths on leaving the
garden!).
Finally on to York Gate Garden, and what a marvellous treasure
trove of a garden this is.
Not surprisingly, being owned by
“Perennial” (formerly the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society), the garden
is full of interest and superbly maintained. Amazingly, there are about 17
“garden rooms” within only one acre of land, each one individual yet flowing
into the next, and somehow achieving a sense of restful spaciousness.
Many grateful thanks to those who organised this tour, from both
FTBG and WHGT, with excellent choice of gardens (full of interest and
inspiration), comfortable coach and accommodation, all your hard work was
really appreciated.
Pat Denne and Sarah Edgar
A Memorable Botanical Day for all:
Nigel Brown’s Retirement Party, Treborth, 18 July 2015
We were delighted to share the occasion of the retirement party for our
naturalist Curator, Nigel Brown, and his family on a momentous happy day on
Saturday 18th July 2015 at Treborth Botanical Garden. A day of well-wishers,
gifts of unique artwork, admirably decorated cakes and fine
food. Memorabilia of personal history, family video and student field study
expeditionary picture albums were on display. A notable part the day was the
informative and endearing, funny and formal speeches from the
influential, learned, celebrity and cherished family. Celebrations and stories
were exchanged with many friends and inherent Bangor University
students. A bonanza of guests included artists, botanists, eco-academics,
explorers, naturalists, the younger learning, faithful friends of Treborth
Botanical Garden and a new exciting dynamic botanical garden staff. All are
akin to a murmuration of starlings, tuned to the charm of goldfinches for an
exaltation of a skylark. They enthused respect for their Green Man, hero of 40
years’ botanicalisation!
During the continual buzz of the party, we spent a short time
botanising. Bren went bananas in the tropical glasshouse and later homed in
on taking pictures of baby Isabel and grandad Nigel. In the orchid house, I was
surprised and transported to far off lands when I saw a form of one of the
world’s most iconic slipper orchids Paphiopedilum rothschildianum in flower,
with Mt Kinabalu origin written on the label. The naturalist John Whitehead
originally collected the orchid when he was the first to reach the 4095 m
(13,455 ft) summit of Mt Kinabalu in 1888. 100 years later, I was lucky
enough to climb Mt Kinabalu in 1988 to celebrate my namesake, John
Whitehead.
Diolch yn fawr, Nigel, for an amazing day!
Brenda March and John Whitehead
23
Kamchatka – Challenge and Opportunity in the Far East of Russia
Kamchatka is the long, spear-shaped peninsula in the extreme north-west of the
Pacific Ocean, off-shore from the eastern margin of the Eurasian continent, and
extends from the Chukchi Peninsula opposite Alaska towards the Kurile Islands and
Japan. It is separated from the main continental mass of Siberia by the Sea of
Okhotsk. Kamchatka covers the same twelve degrees of latitude as the United
Kingdom (50-62 degrees North).
The area of Kamchatka, at 472,300 km2, is nearly twice the size of mainland
Britain but its population is less than 350,000 (2014 population of Cardiff) compared
to the population of Britain at just under 65 million, and most of that population live
in and around Petropavlovsk Kamchatkii. It is one of the most sparsely populated
areas of the world, reflecting political and historic influences but overwhelmingly the
environmental challenges have discouraged human occupation and continue to do so
notwithstanding the wealth of resources within the region.
Those same
environmental challenges have a profound effect on the flora and fauna of
Kamchatka.
The environmental challenges are both geological and climatic. Located on
the north-west section of the Pacific Ring of Fire, Kamchatka is one of the most
unstable and dynamic parts of the earth's crust. Three quarters of the peninsula are
very mountainous as a direct consequence of the plate tectonic situation. The
peninsula lies on the junction of the Kurile-Kamchatka Trench which reaches depths
of 10,000 m below SL, and the Aleutian Trench, generally about 7,500 m below SL.
Between the two trenches, the extinct volcanoes of the Emperor Sea Mounts
(formed as the Pacific Plate has moved north-west over a mantle plume) are being
subducted down the Kurile-Kamchatka Trench at a rate of about 8 cm/annum. This
process leads to frequent strong earthquakes and all their associated consequences
including destructive tsunamis on the Pacific coast of the peninsula, typically with
heights of 5-15 m though there is evidence of a tsunami in 1737 with a height of 36
m. More significantly in terms of the natural history of the area, there is virtually
continuous volcanic activity ranging from extensive geothermal fields through the full
spectrum of eruptive activity. The geochemistry of the eruptive material is largely in
the andesitic range with frequent volcanic bombs and scoria, clinker and viscous lava
flows and such eruptions produce beautiful strato volcanoes with radial erosion
gullies (raspodky) down their flanks. There are also basaltic fissure eruptions
(Tolbachik 1975-76 and 2012-13), pyroclastic flow eruptions exemplified by Karymsky
(presently erupting almost continuously at roughly 30 minute intervals) and
Klyushevskaya Sopka (25 year major cycle with minor eruptions in between) and the
most extreme volcanic events typified by the Uzon Caldera eruption roughly 40,000
years BP (before present), and Bezymianny in 1956. These were both catastrophically
Fig. 7. Typical Kamchatkan Strato-volcano with Lenticular Cloud. [p. 24].
Fig. 8. Kamchatkan Stone Desert with Scoria and Elfin Pine. [p. 24]
25
Fig. 9 Kamchatkan toxic geothermal field [p.
24]
Fig. 10. Aconitum species in
Kamchatka [p. 24].
Fig. 11. Karymsky erupting in Kamchatka [p. 24].
violent rhyolitic eruptions producing ignimbritic flows, in the case of the Uzon
eruption, creating an explosion caldera 9 by 12 km and ignimbritic deposits covering
1700 km2 and causing massive destruction of the volcanoes. In all, at the present
time, there are 29 active volcanoes, 160 large extinct ones and 1000 small extinct
ones.
The peninsula is formed of three parallel mountain ranges which are
essentially volcanic island arc systems, dominated by volcanic rocks of varying
composition but also including metamorphic assemblages, subduction zone
sediments and ophiolite sequences produced at mid-oceanic spreading plate
boundaries and subsequently subducted. The oldest mountain range, the Sredinny
Range, dating from 50 million years BP and consisting of volcanics, crystalline
igneous intrusions and metamorphic rocks, is in the west and is separated from the
Sea of Okhotsk by a wide depositional lowland fringe which forms a totally
impassable swamp only negotiable in winter when it is frozen solid and then only by
all-terrain vehicles. In summer these swamps are infested by trillions of mosquitoes
which make the area essentially uninhabitable. Extending the length of the
peninsula, there is a general summit height of about 2,000 metres declining towards
the north. This is separated from the more eastern ranges by the Central
Kamchatkan Lowland, a fault bounded valley with thick deposits of alluvial material
which freezes solid in winter and thaws in summer to become a swamp, also mozzie
heaven. The Mid-Kamchatkan Range, less than 26 million years old, consists mostly
of extinct volcanoes (one active) and geothermal fields; this range also includes
subduction zone sediments and ophiolites. The East Kamchatkan Range is limited to
the south-east half of the peninsula and consists of geothermal fields and most of
the active volcanoes, all of which are less than 20,000 years old and many less than
10,000 years. It consists of a high volcanic plateau at about 750 m: an empty,
waterless desert with the beautiful strato-cones rising above the plateau surface.
All the mountain ranges show extensive evidence of glaciation, the high volcanoes
in the east are still glaciated and in all there are 448 glaciers covering more than 900
km2.
Just as the geological environment is in extreme contrast to the UK, so too is
the climate. While Britain at the same latitudes enjoys a temperate maritime
climate with mild winters and cool summers, Kamchatka experiences a sub-arctic
climate with cool summers and cold winters (up to 20 ⁰C in the Central Valley in
summer and typically - 20 ⁰C in winter, though temperatures as low as - 48 ⁰C are
not uncommon). Temperatures on the mountain summits are extreme with an
additional high wind chill factor. The temperature regime reflects the strong
continental influence from Siberia in winter and the effects of the cold Oya Siwo
current from the Arctic Ocean.
27
The northern part of the peninsula as far south as Klyushevskaya Sopka is
underlain by discontinuous permafrost and south of this by sporadic permafrost;
almost certainly a residual phenomenon from the last ice age. It does not extend as
far south in the peninsula as in Siberia; a consequence of some maritime influences
but mostly because of the high geothermal heat flux. The permafrost is more than
1,000 m thick in the Klyushevskaya massif.
Permafrost creates hostile
environments for plants as well as humans; the summer thaw of the active layer
creates waterlogged ground except on the clinkery lava fields which are devoid of
surface water, and also causes instability on slopes which also presents challenges
for vegetation. The peninsula is covered in thick snow (6-12 m thick) from October
to late May resulting in a very short growing season, though this is offset by the
high geothermal heat flux.
Kamchatka is the wettest part of Russia, with around 1100 mm rain in
the north increasing to 2500 mm in the south with a winter maximum; but river
flow is at a maximum in summer because of the rapid snow melt and thawing of
the active layer, and of course in winter, most of the water is frozen. There are
more than 6,000 rivers, most of them less than 100 km long, and some 100,000
lakes, mostly small and mainly in riverine flood plains but also in coastal wetlands
and volcanic craters. The swampy conditions in summer combined with extensive
areas of surface water create the two greatest challenges for humans on a day-today basis - the difficulty of travelling across the terrain and the unendurable
numbers of mosquitoes. The peninsular is very windy, especially at high altitude,
where there is frequently very strong wind shear indicated by lenticular clouds over
mountain summits.
With regard to the general pattern of vegetation, the north-south extent of
the peninsula means that there is a latitudinal transition in floral communities from
taiga in the south to full arctic tundra in the far north. Forests cover nearly 90% of
the total area and Erman's birch Betula ermanii is by far the most widespread
species and covers more than 30% of the total.
At the same time, because of the range in altitude, up to 5,000 m, those
same vegetational zones can be observed within the latitudinal boreal zone. There
is an altitudinal progression from boreal forest on the lower ground and slopes
through a sub-montane scrub (stlanik) consisting of elfin pine Pinus pumila, dwarf
grey alder Alnus incana and arctic willow Salix arctica to true tundra higher up the
flanks of the volcanoes with prostrate forms of rhododendron Rhododendron
camtschaticum, birches, willows, bilberries, bearberries Arctostaphylos alpina,
blueberry Vaccinium uliginosum, mosses and lichens. The progressive stunting of
the flora with altitude reflects not only the temperature regime and short growing
season because of snow cover but also excessive wind pruning and the aridity of
the waterless lava flows and scoria fields. This pattern is well demonstrated in the
Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve.
At low levels the Erman's birch develops tall stands of open forest with many
clearings and the ground flora is very vigorous and spectacularly tall, growing to 2 m or
more in height. This may be due to the fact that the andesitic ash fall deposits weather
quite rapidly to base rich soils and fertility is constantly renewed by such ash falls
although frequently there can be too much of a good thing and very heavy ash falls can
completely stifle vegetation. The above average geothermal heat flux stimulates rapid
growth in the short growing season. The understory is dominated by meadowsweet
(shelomainik) Filipendula camtschatica, Aleutian ragwort Senecio cannabifolius and S.
tartaricus (krestovnik), bilberry species, cow parsnip (puchka) Heracleum dulce,
Rosebay willowherb Chamerion angustifolium and herbs such as Aconitum maximum
and A fischeri. With increasing altitude and slope, the Erman's birch becomes stunted
and contorted and in the sub-montane zone is progressively replaced by the scrub
shrubs of the stlanik .
The climate, geology and terrain present a challenging environment for plants
and the geothermal fields in particular create environments that may exclude almost
all plants. Toxic gases, super-heated steam, excessive ground temperatures, sulphur
deposits and toxic metals (such as copper, antimony, arsenic and mercuric compounds
that alter the ground chemistry) produce a multi-coloured ground surface which may
be solid or just a thin crust overlying soft, near-boiling mud. At the same time, some of
the geothermal fields, most notably the Uzon caldera, create unique opportunities for
primitive organisms to flourish. Within the caldera, there are hot and cold neutral
lakes, boiling springs, steam jets, mud pots and mud volcanoes, sulphur pots, hot acid
and hot alkali pools (skinny-dip with extreme caution!) and the last two support
colonies of thermophyllic bacteria and archaea. These organisms can live in pools at
temperatures of 80 ⁰C or more and pH values typically of around pH 4 but in some
cases as low as pH 0. Many species new to science have been discovered in the Uzon
caldera. These ancient and primitive organisms, which derive their nutrients from
oxidizing metals and reduced sulphur compounds, have an independent evolutionary
history and have fundamental differences in biochemistry from other forms of life.
Their lineage goes back some 3,500 million years.
Because of its geothermal activity, Uzon caldera has its own microclimate. The
floor of the caldera has an altitude of some 650 m and this is encircled by a rim that
varies in height between 1,180 and 1,600 m. At the altitude of the floor, the
vegetation should be sub-montane to tundra but is actually taiga to tundra in
character. Berry-bearing plants are widespread and prolific and support a sizeable
bear population, and birds that would normally migrate further south in winter,
instead over-winter in the caldera.
29
The Valley of the Geysers, only discovered in 1941, has similar environments
and microclimates, and there, the Erman's birch and Sorbus sambucifolia grow very
tall. The profusion of fruits and berries and the general warmth makes the valley an
attractive nesting site for birds and again it supports a sizeable population of bears.
The valley contains many steam vents, mud cauldrons, hot waterfalls etc, as well as
the numerous geysers, some twenty large ones and more than one hundred hot
springs. The air is full of steam, especially on a cold day and there is the constant
sound of erupting vents. Around each of the geysers, screens of geyserite develop,
often assuming fantastical shapes. The erupted superheated water in the geysers
contains dissolved silicon oxide and this is fixed by the action of thermophyllic algae
to form geyserite or opaline silica – amorphous hydrated silicon oxide. This does
not have a crystalline structure like quartz but is either cryptocrystalline or colloidal
with varying amounts of water. Each geyser has its own characteristic form of
geyserite, sometimes forming curtains or mounds of small globules. The colour is
generally grey or white but can be coloured due to the presence of trace metallic
oxides and the species of thermophyllic algae involved.
It is estimated that the combined heat flow in the valley is of the order of
140,000 kcals per second. Under such geothermal conditions volcanic rocks break
down into speckled clays, and ores of metals such as arsenic, zinc, copper, antimony
and mercury are formed. These are highly toxic and reduce or eliminate vegetation
in the vicinity of the geysers and steam vents.
The recent history of this valley demonstrates another aspect of the
challenges presented by this region. In June 2007, a large earthquake in the KurileKamchatka Trench triggered a large debris flow of soil, pyroclastic deposits and
snow that obliterated two-thirds of the valley. While some of the geysers
reappeared through the debris after a few days, the event had a large negative
impact on wildlife, especially the bears some of whom were killed while the
survivors were deprived of their plentiful supply of berries.
Geothermal fields present another danger to birds and mammals. In some
cases, the topography creates extensive pockets of toxic gases or carbon dioxide.
Birds, but more especially mammals and in particular, bears, wandering into these
areas are overcome and there have been instances of several bears being found
dead together with other, smaller vertebrates.
Reference to two other examples demonstrates the fragility of these volcanic
environments. In 1956 Bezymianny ("no name") erupted after no recorded
eruptions in the past. It is part of the Klyushevskaya complex but is small in relation
to Klyushevskaya itself. Klyushevskaya is a beautiful, symmetrical strato-volcano,
5,000 m high and 70 km in diameter; the cone covers an area larger than the whole
of Anglesey and Gwynedd together! The 1956-57 eruption was very similar to the
1980 Mount St Helens eruption. Both had the same Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5
but the eruption column of Bezymianny was much higher. The overall form of the
eruptions was very similar; in the case of Bezymianny, destroying the summit of the
volcano and creating a crater 2.5 km in diameter. Trees with trunks 30 cm in
diameter were felled as far away as 24 km and the heat from the nuees ardentes
(pyroclastic flows) caused fires up to 29 km away. 2.4 billion tonnes of lava and
pyroclastic material were erupted and blanketed the area to the east of the volcano
and in addition, vegetation was also smothered by extensive lahars (hot mudflows
of ash and meltwater). The ash fall deposits created a fumarole field similar to the
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes created by the eruption of Katmai in Alaska in 1912.
Total destruction, but as in the case of Mount St Helens, life is resilient, and pioneer
species of plants began to appear surprisingly rapidly.
Karymsky volcano is a very young volcano, about 6,100 years old and is also
one of the most active on the peninsula. The young cone is located centrally within
an ancient caldera which is about 5 km in diameter. The new volcano is 1,468 m
high with a summit crater. In 1996, a major eruption took place in two centres, one
in the summit crater and the other in Karymskoye Lake on the south side of the
volcano and within the caldera. Prior to the eruption, the lake supported a diverse
ecosystem which included kokanee salmon. The eruption in the lake lasted less
than 24 hours and was near the shore nearest to the volcano proper. Underwater
explosions generated tsunamis 15 m high which scoured the shoreline of all
vegetation and during the eruption, the water of the lake boiled and turned acid to
the degree that the lake became, and remains, totally sterile.
Kamchatka is a dramatic demonstration of life on the edge. On the edge of
the Eurasian continent, on the edge of the Pacific, on the edges of several colliding
tectonic plates, and on the edge environmentally, as the American historian Will
Durant said, "Existing by geological consent, subject to change without notice". And
yet, life thrives - struggles in some environments, finds unique niches to exploit, and
recovers from catastrophe to the extent that Kamchatka supports a rich flora and
fauna, many peculiar to the region and special to the extraordinary environments of
this land of fire and ice. At the end of summer, the rivers flowing into the Pacific
are literally choked with spawning salmon and Kamchatkan trout; the bears, already
gorged with berries from the birch forests, take their fill of the fish and share the
feast with the magnificent Steller's sea eagles, while a short way inland from the
shore the volcanoes create new land.
Berta Rosen
31
Taxonomic Change of Name:
Nigel Brown to become Natalie Chivers - Shorter stem, blonde
upper perianth, pistillate
Wow, what a year it has been! Upon graduating from the Royal Horticultural
Society with a distinction and student of the year, I returned to Bangor to join the
cohort of post grads starting the new MSc in Plant Conservation. Then at the end of
2014/15 academic year, I was appointed to the post of Curator for Treborth. More
to come about the latter – first I want to share with you a couple of my highlights
from the last 12 months experiences whilst studying for the MSc in Plant
Conservation. Needless to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed the course, spending a
good chunk of the year using Treborth as a base for botany lectures and practical
classes. It has also been lovely to have a small group of us on the course, to
become a tight-knit unit and work together on a lot of projects. Unashamedly, it
also meant we had Nigel to ourselves!
Speaking of having Nigel to ourselves, the four of us and Nigel departed
early May on the first MSc Plant Conservation study tour to Southern England – a
round trip of nearly 1000 miles! We visited a range of sites from woodland to
limestone grassland – including Badgeworth, near Cheltenham, one of the smallest
nature reserves in the world and home to the rare Ranunculus ophioglossifolius
(adder's-tongue spearwort). We also had an exciting day with Ministry of Defence
ecologists on Salisbury Plain, botanising in tank tracks and enjoying swathes of
Orchis morio (green-winged orchid). We finished up the week with tours at the
Millennium Seed Bank, experiencing minus 20 degree temperatures in the seed
storage units and a visit to Royal Botanic Garden Kew, where the Fungarium was a
definite highlight, with 1.25 million specimens!
Following this trip in May, I was re-employed by garden designer and RHS
ambassador Adam Frost to work on his Main Avenue show garden ‘Urban Retreat’
at the Chelsea Flower Show. My duties included helping to cement the final
designs, to install water features, coordinate show bed planting, prune and preen
to Chelsea standard! Chelsea continues to blow my mind year after year, from
discovering new cultivars and planting substrate to ingenious and exciting
landscape design. It was a privilege to be a part of such a friendly and hardworking
team, and to win another Gold medal for the garden.
In June, finishing the first part of the masters with a distinction, I am now
focusing on completing the dissertation-writing phase, working with Dr David Shaw
of the Sarvari Trust and senior conservation lecturer Dr Paul Cross, researching the
effects of monocrop potato plots versus wildflower intercropped potato plots on
insect species diversity. I have a large experiment underway at Henfaes Research
Station, trapping and recording insect diversity, and collating aphid and ladybird
population data to provide a case for using intercropping as effective integrated
pest management.
In July, I was asked to plant another RHS show garden, this time at Tatton
Park, for a friend and Young Designer of the Year nominee Kate Savill. We both
worked at Chelsea together and she wanted me to advise and plant her ‘modern
take on a physic garden’. What a lovely experience to have free reign of the
planting plan and execution, in a much more relaxed environment than Chelsea. It
was a pleasure to be there on the day she got a Gold medal for the garden, and I
feel very lucky to have been a part of it.
So now to my next and probably most demanding and exciting opportunity
- succeeding Nigel as Treborth’s Curator when he retires at the end of July. I
remember my first Friday at Treborth in the autumn of 2009, gingerly walking into
the lab to ask, “Where can I come to do some gardening?” A very tall, smiley man
in navy overalls and the biggest wellington boots I had ever seen approached me
and took me for a tour around the greenhouses. At that point I had no idea who I
was speaking to and how much I would learn from this incredible man.
When the job description for the Curator post was made public, I was quite
apprehensive to read it. As I read through the advert for my dream job, I got
goosebumps: I could do this.
I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed and given this
opportunity and am so pleased to be working with the wonderful, hardworking
team to continue taking Treborth forward on its journey as a successful and special
botanic garden. I will never forget my first day at Treborth as a student, and 6 years
on, I know I will never forget my first day as Curator. Thrilled to be here with you
all!
Thank you, everyone, for your help and support over the years, and I very
much look forward to many more years with you all.
Natalie Chivers
33
MSc Plant Conservation - Report on Study Tour to Southern England 3
-8 May 2015
Aim: To study and compare the principles and practice of ex-situ and in-situ plant
conservation. The study tour was organised and led by Nigel Brown and attended by
MSc Plant Conservation students Natalie Chivers, Pip Jones, Jen Towill and Chris
Miller.
Sunday 3 May:
Left Bangor 1000, travelled to Ludlow for lunch and successful hunt for toothwort
(Lathraea squamaria) parasitizing ash on the immediate floodplain of the River Teme,
journeyed through Herefordshire with excursion at Bodenham (SO 530510) to look at
flood meadows by the River Lugg and churchyard flora, arriving at Cheltenham c.
1900. Overnight B&B at Travel Lodge.
Monday 4 May:
Visits to 6 Cotswold sites:
Badgeworth near Cheltenham (S0 910205) – a freshwater pool, one of only
two UK sites for Adder’s tongue Spearwort (Ranunculus ophioglossifolius). This
delightful freshwater pool reserve was an excellent start – small it may be but very
successful in raising awareness of the plight of pond plants in the face of changing
agricultural practices. It was the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s (GWT) first nature
reserve (and indeed for a time listed as the world’s smallest nature reserve by the
Guinness Book of Records!) and is as renowned for being the inspiration for John
Moore’s classic ‘Midsummer Meadow’, the story of one English field threatened by
land use change mirroring wider changes in rural life. It now benefits from significant
support from the local community as well as professional conservation management
from the GWT. We saw hundreds of plants of the rare spearwort also known as the
Badgeworth Spearwort which has a somewhat disjunct distribution in Europe and
benefits from winter flooding and grazing – we discussed its management needs in
full and admired the excellent interpretation on site.
We drove SSW into the Cotswolds Commons and Beechwoods an area of
forest and meadows renowned for species-rich mature deciduous high canopy forest
and oolitic limestone grasslands.
Frith Wood (SO 875085) – high canopy beech woodland on the limestone
scarp above the village of Slade, 3 km NE of Stroud – varied density and ages of beech
and other hardwoods makes for a diverse woodland mosaic with good selection of
prevernal and vernal woodland forbs. Interesting species we saw included Wood
Spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides) and spindle (Euonymus europaeus) but the
woodlands also hold rarities such as Monotropa hypophegea, Neottia nidus-avis and
Epipactis leptochila.
Daneway Banks/Siccaridge Wood (SO 940035) – Daneway is a good site for
Cut-leaved selfheal (Prunella laciniata) and Cut-leaved germander (Teucrium botrys)
as well as many other limestone grassland plants. The site is managed specifically for
Large Blue butterfly which also suits the plants. The adjoining Siccaridge Wood is an
excellent ancient woodland with Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) and Butterfly
Orchid (Platanthera chlorantha). Here we saw vast swathes of Wild Garlic (Allium
ursinum).
Stuart Fawkes (SO 865997) – nice limestone grassland reserve with Meadow
Clary (Salvia pratensis) – although it took an hour to find the Salvia, it was well worth
a visit as the students gained first hand experience in meadow plant survey and the
botanical patchiness that results from environmental variability. We discussed
suitable management and conservation genetics of Salvia at its 20 or so remaining
British sites. This linked in well with the ex-situ conservation efforts the Friends of
Treborth have employed on this species over the last 6 years using material from the
last colony in Wales (in Monmouthshire).
At the end of the day we made an unplanned visit to Ampney Down (S0
055075), 5 km NNE of Cirencester, and one of the highlights of the trip – a fine colony
of Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) in species-rich grassland on SW facing limestone
slope. This arresting flower epitomises the demise of so many calcareous pasture
plants in the face of agricultural intensification and there may be fewer than 20
remaining colonies in UK. We counted well over a hundred plants, some in flower
others in fruit. Other species of note included the very attractive Chalk Milkwort
(Polygala calcarea) which is endemic to W. Europe.
Evening journey to Salisbury in Hampshire for guest house accommodation
(Alabare House, 15 Tollgate Road, Salisbury) with breakfast provided – an excellent
base for us for two nights.
Tuesday 5 May:
Visit to Ministry Of Defence sites on Salisbury Plain – the largest area of intact
calcareous grassland in Europe (approximately the size of the Isle of Wight). Departed
Salisbury at 0900 and reported in to Westdown Camp, Tilshead for briefing with
MOD Ecologists. We were welcomed by Richard Brookes, Principal Environmental
Manager for the MOD and met Iain Perkins and Hannah Mintram who coordinate the
MOD Conservation Groups. Introductory briefing by MOD Ecologists Julie Swain and
Lisa Wade covering all the conservation designations attributed to the Salisbury Plain
Training Area (SPTA). This was very helpful in highlighting the chief features of
35
interest at species and community levels. We learnt how the SPTA is divided into 4
main regions – Dry Training Areas grazed mainly by beef cattle and sheep in winter
using temporary 8 hectare pens (electric fencing), Central Impact Area (highly
disturbed from tank and artillery shelling), Small Arms Ranges and finally more mixed
farm areas for which individual Farm Plans are devised with considerable
conservation input eg management for arable weeds and Stone Curlew.
Drove east for 20 mins to Sidbury Hill (SU 215505), and met John Moon, local
botanist, and Jenny Amor who kindly and expertly took us on a guided tour.
Botanised on the 223 metre summit of Sidbury Hill, an Iron Age hill fort covering 17
acres which enjoys magnificent views across the SPTA. Species of note included
Adder’s Tongue Fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum), Stemless Thistle (Cirsium acaule),
Dyers Greenweed (Genista tinctoria), Chalk Milkwort, Green-veined Orchid (Orchis
morio) and Early Purple Orchid (O.mascula) including albino forms of latter. Viewed
management work on lower slopes where felling of unsuitable conifers 10 years ago
has allowed an interesting succession of chalk grassland species to colonise including
Field Mouse-ear (Cerastium arvense) a calcicole which has declined in Wales almost
to the point of extinction (reasons unclear) and considerable rock rose
(Helianthemum chamaecistus). Found the locally common Knapweed Broomrape
(Orobanche elatior) which parasitizes Field Scabious (Centaurea scabiosa). Discussed
the ecology and management of some dominant calcareous grasses such as Tor
Grass (Brachypodium pinnatum) (CG5 grassland) and Upright Brome (Bromus
erectus) (CG3 grassland), the frequency of hemi-cryptophytes within chalk grassland
communities and the significance of grazing eg Highland Cattle seen on site. Other
forms of disturbance such as military manoeuvres were highlighted when we
encountered army patrols, Panther armed vehicles and Warrior Tanks! Tank ruts
provide excellent germination sites for ruderals such as arable weeds and short-lived
calcicoles as well as rare invertebrates such as Fairy Shrimps. We discussed the
recent appearance and spread of Hairy Rocket (Erucastrum gallicum) on the SPTA.
This annual crucifer is native to the Pyrenees and Central Europe and favours
disturbed ground.
After a picnic lunch we explored the Plain north west of Sidbury Hill and
observed large numbers of Green-veined Orchids among strong colonies of Cowslip
(Primula veris). Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) is abundant in the calcareous
pasture and we found caterpillars of the endangered Marsh Fritillary butterfly
(Eurodryas aurinia) which relies on the scabious for its larval food. This turf is rich in
invertebrates and we observed the Lesser Bloody-nosed Beetle. This CG3 grassland
also supports Burnt-tip Orchid (Orchis ustulata) but we failed to find it, being perhaps
a little early.
Despite not being able to access the juniper scrub due to live firing on the
Bulford Ranges, this was a highly enjoyable and instructive visit which revealed the
importance of change in grassland management and the ecological importance of
habitat size in ensuring continuity of species diversity in any geographical area – small
is not beautiful in conservation, size matters. Species migrate between suitable
patches all the time and an area the size of SPTA ensures that there is always
somewhere suitable. At high resolution local extinctions are to be expected and so
too local enhancement where dispersal range exceeds nearest neighbour habitat
distance. Clearly disturbance of a military kind is having an enriching effect on SPTA
and hand in hand with the professional understanding demonstrated by the MOD
ecologists today it augers well for the conservation of this last remaining piece of
postglacial grassland.
Wednesday 6 May:
0900 Visited Plantlife offices in Salisbury where welcomed by Julia Clements,
executive assistant. Excellent summary (by project co-ordinator, Liz Cooke) of arable
weed conservation work being carried out by Plantlife in collaboration with RSPB.
Visited Salisbury Cathedral to view Magna Carta and read with interest its provision
for ‘disafforestation’ of Royal Forests. Observed CCTV live feed from Peregrine nest
on the spire.
Journeyed down the Avon Valley and viewed the flood meadows around
Bodenham (SU 170260). Found Wild Tulip (Tulipa sylvestris) in hedgerow south of
Rockbourne (SU 125159) and discussed hedgerow ecology and management.
Drove into the New Forest from Ibsley Water. This former Royal Forest (which
celebrated its 900th anniversary in 1979), mostly Common Land, now within a newly
formed National Park, lies on Tertiary Sands, gravels and clays dissected by wide,
shallow valleys and displays a wide variety of soils from relatively base-rich brown
earths to highly acidic podsols. It holds the largest area of Ancient deciduous
woodland in the lowlands of NW Europe. Much of the forested area is unenclosed
and openly grazed by ponies, cattle and deer which have a marked effect on the
ground flora and have done so throughout the Royal Forest’s existence; for example
the widespread eradication of understorey shrubs apart from holly and, in places,
yew. It is the cryptogamic flora of the New Forest which is so rich and as we walked
around Broomy Inclosure (SU2011) we saw excellent wood-pasture (with lichen-rich
oaks), and gallery willow-alder woods along Dickens Water rich with foliose and
fruticose lichens. Additionally, where stock has been excluded, we found fine beech
plantations thick with bluebell, mature oak woodland with coppiced hazel and some
mature conifer plantations. Adjacent dry heathland was explored before heading
south east to Bolderwood Drive (SU2407) with its fine beech-oak forest where we
discussed the over-riding ecological role of mega herbivores (mainly ponies, cattle and
deer) and man, and reminded ourselves that the Forest is also internationally
37
renowned for its invertebrate and mycological interest. For example 55% of all the
British Lepidoptera have been recorded in the New Forest and 48% and 73 % of
British Coleoptera and Odonata respectively.
Visited the magnificent 700 yr old Knightwood Oak (SU266064) typical of the
Forest’s large number of veteran, over-mature trees. Finished by exploring the
fascinating and probably unique stock derived grasslands at Balmer Lawn just NE of
Brockenhurst (SU 305035) with its strange green hummocks thought to be the
remains of Purple Moor Grass tussocks now populated by an interesting array of
calcicoles and calcifuges depending on position and depth of flood water. Found the
rare Pilwort (Pilularia globulifera) but noted invasive alien Crassula helmsii and
discussed management options.
In evening, journeyed 70 miles east to Wakehurst Place (TQ 3331), Ardingley,
W Sussex. Self-catering accommodation provided at the Millennium Seed Bank
(MSB) at Wakehurst Place for two nights
Thursday 7 May:
Guided tour of Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) (am) and Wakehurst Place
(pm).
The day began with a welcome to MSB by Dr John Dickie (Head of Seed and Labbased Collections at Kew) who then gave an excellent overview of the value of
seedbanks for conservation. We were joined by Dr Jonas Mueller, Senior Research
Leader in Seed Conservation at Kew, who had arranged the day’s programme for us
and who personally took our group around the MSB demonstrating in detail the
processing of seeds for storage, finishing in the deep freezers where we donned
down jackets and entered the heart of the seed store, the repository for more than
34,000 plant species. The UK National Tree Seed Project was highlighted by Simon
Kallow as well as efforts through the Native UK Seed Hub (co-ordinated by Ted
Chapman) to bulk up seed of native species through large-scale culture of native
species such as cowslip and other, less well known species whose seed are rarely, if
ever, available for landscaping and ecological restoration projects. We viewed the
excellent native plant community parterres which form such an attractive frontispiece to the MSB before lunching with Jonas.
After lunch, Iain Parkinson, Conservation and Woodlands Manager, gave us a
detailed guided tour of the oak and ‘oak-beech mix’ woodland and meadows which
form such an important and attractive part of Wakehurst Place and justify the area’s
designation as a National Nature Reserve. He explained the mowing and grazing
regime employed to maximise species diversity in a 3 hectare meadow (Bloomer’s
Valley) where Hay Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) has now established strongly and
benefits species such as Betony (Stachys officinalis). We saw how recent eradication
of invasive Rhododendron has allowed a diversity of bryophytes to recolonise the
damp Tunbridge Wells sandstone strata that outcrop on the valley sides at
Wakehurst and also support colonies of Hay-scented Buckler Fern (Dryopteris
aemula) and Tunbridge Filmy Fern (Hymenophyllum tunbridgense) as well as a rich
sub-oceanic bryophyte flora typical of such High Weald gill woodland. Iain showed us
excellent woodland management involving 7 year rotations of coppiced hazel tied
into thinning of selected standard oak trees with fascinating and marked changes in
ground flora. Later we had time to explore the extensive woodlands on our own and
enjoyed classic vernal displays of massed bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta). Other
species of note included Purple Toothwort (Lathraea clandestina), naturalised
beneath Hazel. The arboretum contained an impressive variety of rare trees and
shrubs including multiple plantings of Nothofagus and Wollemia. Thanks to Iain’s
excellent narrative throughout this visit we appreciated the integration of
horticulture and conservation practice at Wakehurst on a large scale.
Friday 8 May:
Travelled to Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, arriving 0930. Met by Dr. Pat Griggs,
Science Administrator Education, who had arranged an interesting programme for
the morning. This commenced with a tour of the Herbarium conducted by her
colleague Mr. Justin Moat, Research Leader Spatial Analysis. He demonstrated the
traditional and modern importance and relevance of herbaria highlighting the
scientific value of type specimens as well as the spatial data to be gleaned from
historic and contemporary specimens when trying to model the potential niche and
biogeographical distribution of species of conservation concern.
We visited the ‘in-vitro Lab’ in Aiton House (which will be rehoused in the
Jodrell soon) to see cryopreservation and micropropagation techniques being used to
conserve orchids and carnivorous plant species.
Finally we met Mr Lee Davies, Collections Assistant in the Fungarium which
has fairly recently been rehoused in the Jodrell. This is the largest collection of dried
fungi in the world with an estimated 1.35 million specimens. Lee enthusiastically
highlighted fungal pathogens of crop plants as well as species of Ophiocordyceps from
Nepal whose medicinal value exceeds that of gold, weight for weight.
After lunch in the Orangery we were warmly welcomed to the School of
Horticulture by general administrator Judy Hancock and the new School Principal, Tim
Hughes, who showed us around. This vital facility lies at the heart of Kew and runs a
3 year Kew Diploma with a world wide reputation. We met some of the current
students, some on work placement in the glasshouse section, as well as former
Kewites now employed at Kew. By co-incidence we met up with John Whitehead,
retired arboriculture lecturer and a Kew Diploma student from Class 7 (1971) who
39
now lives near Caernarfon and is a long-time adviser and Friend of Treborth - we
had a photo session with John next to a specimen Pine which John had collected
over 40 years ago.
In the remaining time we toured the Rock Garden, Order Beds, Alpine House,
Princess of Wales Conservatory and Palm House.
Departed Kew at 1700, arrived Bangor 0115 Saturday 9 May.
Distance covered - 930miles.
Nigel Brown
Membership Renewal Reminder
Another year has come round and it’s time for members who pay annually in cash
or by cheque to update their subs. These are due by 31 October 2015. Just to
remind you, the amounts are as follows:
Single
2 adults at the same address
Family: adults and any number of children
£ 7
£10
£15
As you already appreciate, the Garden at Treborth needs constant
attention. Work goes on all the time. Volunteer groups undertake much of this,
but they need tools and other materials to carry out tasks. There are a number of
projects coming up, involving extra work and needing more resources. The Chinese
Garden has now been laid out and planting up is the next step - maintenance will
then be necessary.
The Friends are dependent upon your membership
contributions to provide a steady income for improving the gardens and facilities.
The Garden has never looked better, and many people arriving at Treborth for
meetings, graduation etc comment on what a great asset it is for the local
community. This is in no small part due to the careful spending of precious income
from you.
So for those of you who pay on an annual basis, please would you fill in the
enclosed form and return it to me with your cheque or cash. Alternatively, you may
like to complete the Standing Order form on the back of it so that you can ignore
my reminder next year! If you mislay your form, you can find one on our website at
www.treborthbotanicgarden.org/friends.htm. I shall send your form on to your
bank on your behalf, but it would be helpful if you could check, in a couple of
weeks’ time, that your bank has actually set up the order
Thanks for your assistance.
Angela Thompson
Fig. 12. John Whithead’s Populus nigra ‘Lombardy Gold’ at Kew [p. 7].
Fig. 13. Bangor M.Sc. Group at Kew with Abies pinsapo var. marocana and
Pinus wallichiana. [p. 7]
41
Fig. 14. Students at Dartington Hall Gardens in 1958. Len Beer is on the left and
Richard Ward on the right. [p. 7].
Fig. 15. Presidential Mansion in he Pamir Botanical Gardens in Khorog, Tajikistan
[p. 11].
Fig. 16. A copse in Pamir Botanical Gardens [p. 11].
Fig. 17. Gymnospermum albertii in
Pamir Botanical Gardens [p. 11].
Fig. 18. Frittillaria eduardii in Pamir
Botanical Gardens. [p. 11].
43
Fig. 19. Kamchatka - Valley of the Geysers: close up of the geyserite of Sakharny
geyser. [p. 24].
Fig. 20. Kamchatka - primitive thermophilic bacteria / archaea growing in pools of
hot sulphuric acid (60 to 80 degrees C plus). [p. 24].
Fig. 21 Jen, Natalie and Nigel dressed for the seed bank at Wakehurst Place.
[p. 34].
Fig. 22 RHS Tatton Show Garden by Kate Savill, planted by Natalie Chivers.
[p. 32] .
Fig. 23. Nigel with Bird Table by Peter
Boyd [p. 23]..
Fig. 24. Nigel on the Mower with
Grandaughter Isabelle [p. 23].
Fig. 25. Nigel and Family with his Retirement Presents [p. 23].