Wordless Wednesday: Bee

Calne Tree of the year Winner 2021

Well done to our inaugural Calne Tree of the Year winner.

In 2021, I designed the Calne Tree of the Year competition, which is delivered through Calne in Bloom. The competition closed in January 2021, with our very first winner. The winner's tree will be planted in during the 2022-2023 tree planting season. Like this page to keep updated!

If you'd like to submit your favourite Calne tree for the competition this year, head over to: https://www.calne.gov.uk/tree-comp/

When you've filled out the form, please submit a photograph of your nominated tree via email to calne@calne.gov.uk

Spring into action with Plantlife: Ash dieback and lichens notes

Ash Tree along Abberd Brook, Calne

Dave Lamacraft (Plantlife) and Demelza Hyde (National Trust, Lydford Gorge) presented a lecture on Ash dieback and the lichens that rely on them. 

What lichens grow where:

• Climate and microclimate (Light, Temp, Humidity)
• Growth medium (Chemistry, Texture, Porosity)
• Environment (Nutrients, salinity, air pollution)

Elm trees and Dutch elm disease: Orange-fruited elm lichen required elm bark (PH7) and sensitive to pollution. This used to be a quite widely distributed lichen, however it is barely recorded since the 2000s. Similarly Eagle's claws lichen and sap-groove lichen have been hit hard with the loss of Elm. However, sap-groove lichen has faired better due to less Elm-specific requirements.

Why was Elm so important to so many species of lichen?

• pH - alkaline bark
• Rough texture and water retentive bark
• Big, long-lived tree that was widespread
• Tendency to acquire wounds that led to sap runs and wound tracks, which were a niche habitat for lichen.

Ash trees in Britain have over 100 species of lichen associated with them. This includes red list species, which historically were Elm specific species.

• Important for lichen due to being:
• Big, long-lived tree that was widespread
• High pH
• Poor resistance to fungal damage.

We are expecting around 80% loss of Ash in Britain, so what will happen to the lichen species that rely on Ash - what can we do?

Funding by Natural England and National Resources Wales has enabled Plantlife research into ways in which people can manage sites to mitigate impact from loss of Ash. One outcome was the publication: Ash dieback and Lichens in England, which you can download. This short publication looks at the risks and alternative species that could replace Ash as a host. In addition a list of particularly vulnerable lichen are assessed. This document, when followed can help land managers understand how to improve the situation before the Ash is lost - allowing species such as lichen to transfer to the new species or to prosper in dead wood that is left stacked.

We then moved onto a case study at Lydford Gorge, entitled Lichens, Ash Dieback and Lydford: Putting Theory into Practice.

Lydford is an SSSI temperate rainforest on the edge of Dartmoor with over 80,000 visitor each year, with ancient Hazel and Oak woodland on steep slopes. They now know that the 120 acre site is also important for lichens and bryophytes, when Tree Lungwort was discovered around 2019/2020. Since then a Rapid Woodland Assessment and a recording visit from the British Lichen Society has enabled a deeper understanding of the site and much data forming a foundation of knowledge.

Sadly, is has also been discovered that around 320 Ash trees need felling, with many other trees needing work. However, the new understanding has enable Demelza to create a plan for each tree, which has reduced the amount of trees needing to be felled immediately. This is allowing the NT to apply for a translocation licence to enable lichens to be moved to healthy trees.

An action plan was created with Plantlife to understand what the NT could do locally and nationally. This means that the Lydford Gorge team understand the trees that are important to their site and ensuring a favourable environment for those species, such as removing competition.

View the whole talk here:

Wordless Wednesday: Mindful Minute at The Courts Garden

Spring into action with Plantlife: An introduction to grasses by Sarah Shuttleworth

Here are my notes from the fantastic presentation by Sarah Shuttleworth, hosted by Plantlife:

Why are grasses important?

The are one of the most diverse group of plants, ranging from annual to perennial. They spread from grasslands, to woodland, rocky shores and everything inbetween!

Grasses can regenerate after being eaten (of cut by lawn mowers), they also have the ability to store a lot of carbon. Up to 30% of carbon is actually stored in grasses. They also make up the majority of our diet.

Grass Anatomy

Stems, sheaths, ligules and auricles

The main part of the grass is called the culm (the stem) and is often uses to identify the species, such as if it's hairy or thick or has an interesting colour.

Node is a solid joint or region along the main stem and often thicker. They can be straight, or act as a 'knee' with the upper culm going off at an angle after the node. Sometimes the nodes can be much hairier than the culm.

The leaf blade can often be measured in aid of identification (particularly width). Do the leaves have ridges, or narrow parts, do the leaves curl in or are they hairy or shiny?

The leaf sheaf is the basal part of the grass leaf that encircles the stem. Can the culm be seen, or does the leaf sheaf cover the entire the culm (is it fused or partly fused or does it overlap?).

Ligule, a thin membranous outgrowth from the base of the blade that is present in most grasses. Sometimes the ligule is a ring of hairs instead of a membrane. Along with being either long or short, ligules can be smooth at the edge, rough, or fringed.

Auricles are an ear-like projection that appears from the leaf blade, where it meets the stem. 

Inflorescence is the group of flowers, with specific styles that help with ID. These include, panicle (Quaking grass), spike (Italian rye grass), raceme, and the spike-like panicle. 

Pedicel, a small stalk holding an individual flower within an inflorescence.

Spikelet, a flowering unit of two glumes and at least one floret.

Glume, two membranous bracts that surround a spikelet of a grass from the base. Sometimes stripy!

Floret is an individual flower of a grass spikelet.

Lemma is the lowermost of two chaff-like bracts that enclose the grass floret organs. It often bears a long bristle called an awn.

Palea is the interior chaff-like bract. Not often used for identification.

Awn, a hair-like / bristle-like projection. Awns can be on glumes, lemmas, or both.

Another fantastic presentation by Sarah, backed up with some fantastic videos, homemade models grass parts, and quizzes. If you get the chance to take part on one of Sarah's presentations, you'll come away with a lot of new knowledge!

Sarah Shuttleworth is a botanical specialist involved with the NPMS and botanical training across Plantlife. An experienced trainer with a talent for helping us all learn.