SOUTH NORFOLK: Ashwellthorpe anemone fungi

Late April 2021

Near the end of the month we went for our near-annual trip to Ashwellthorpe Lower Wood to see the Bluebells. Another tradition is for me to check all around the Wood Anemone plants in the hope of finding the scarce Wood Anemone Cup fungus that is sometimes found with it. Once again I drew a blank, but this increased scrutiny of Wood Anemone plants led to several new fungal finds, with the rust fungus Tranzschelia anemones and the smut fungus Urocystis anemones. I also noted the weevil Barynotus moerens, something I think I've seen here before but not been able to identify. There was also a couple of interesting sawflies, but they were from the tricky genus Dolerus, so without a specimen they could only be narrowed down to a species pair.

SOUTH NORFOLK: Ashwellthorpe orchids & insects

22nd April 2017

In most years Cathy & I will make time for a trip to an old woodland site to see the Bluebells. Our favoured site is Ashwellthorpe Lower Wood, so after our Eagle dipping we headed there, even managing to find the hidden car park entrance first time. As well as the Bluebells there were a number of other things to look for - I kept an eye out for Herb Paris and Anemone Cup fungus (which must surely be present here amongst the masses of Wood Anemones), whilst I set Cathy the task of finding a white Early Purple Orchid. This species was present in the largest numbers I remember here, and Cathy found me a very pale one, albeit faintly pink rather than completely white.

We worked our way round to the corner with the highest concentration of Bluebells and took in the sight and smell before working our way back round. A number of other woodland plants were seen, including Yellow Archangel, Bugle and Sanicle, but the highlight for me was Goldilocks Buttercup, a plant I'd not seen before. I initially thought it was an old plant as the flowers looked quite tatty, but Harrap's Wildflowers says that the messy flowers are a feature of this species!

Walking along a more open ride we began to see a wide range of insects, including some tiny Dark Bush Cricket nymphs and some Sloe Shieldbugs. The Wild Garlic was almost in full flower, but it was too early for the associated Ramsons Hoverfly. Nonetheless it was proving popular with a range of solitary bees and other insects. As we were about to leave the car park I noticed some Solomon's Seal growing near the fence. Presumably it has escaped from a nearby garden, but interesting nonetheless.

 Sloe (aka Hairy) Shieldbug

 Gooden's Nomad Bee

Solomon's Seal

SOUTH NORFOLK: Ashwellthorpe moss meeting

6th November 2016

On Sunday I headed to Ashwellthorpe Lower Wood for a joint NNNS/Norfolk & Suffolk Bryology Group 'Mossing for Beginners' session. We began by comparing pleurocarpous and acrocarpous growth forms of mosses, and separating mosses and liverworts (not always as straightforward as you would think). Having not done much moss recording in the past, around half of the species we saw were new to me, but it was also useful to re-aquaint myself with some of the commoner species. Two of the most interesting species were the moss Homalia trichomanoides and the liverwort Pellia andiivifolia, pictured below.

 Homalia trichomanoides

 Pellia andiivifolia

The rain and cold meant that there weren't many insects about, but a Feathered Thorn was nice to see, particularly as I had only seen one before. There was also quite a bit of fungi about, including a branch full of Green Elf Cups. Whilst others were looking at mosses growing on some branches, I noticed one of the 'hand-writing' lichens, and some Two-toothed Door Snails were also present.

We stopped for lunch on a large log, and nearby there were lots of King Alfred's Cakes and Dryad's Saddle. Andy found some Spurge Laurel, and later we were able to compare it to Wood Spurge. Along the edge of the wood we heard and then saw a Kingfisher, seeming very incongruous on the edge of a small pond. There was time for a few more interesting fungi, in particular the bright reddish-orange Pluteus aurantiorugosus growing on a fallen log.