Saturday, 30 August 2008

Exeter University - the Tree hunt

I won't bore you with photos of all the trees I took as I went around the University but these are a few of the more interesting images.


Common Elm (Ulmus procera) is now a rare tree in many parts of the country so it was pleasing to find one that had survived in the staff car park.  (See Comment below!)


Fastigate Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus pyramidalis).



The light was really poor for taking photos of trees but at least the absence of the sun meant that the angle didn't matter since one was never against the sun. This is a Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata).


In The Plantation there were some beautiful Hart's Tongue Ferns.



Most of the trees in The Plantation are not named - either on the ground or in the book. I was attracted to this small tree by the half-eaten fruits on the ground - presumably the work of the Grey Squirrels who could be seen scampering around.


The bark of an exotic Birch species.


Helen has a wonderful photo of the leaves of this tree by the pond on North Park Road. Unfortunately I am still unable to identify it.


A lot of the plants were covered in dewy cobwebs.


This sculpture on the side of the Peter Chalk Centre is called the Minoprio Fountain after its architect Anthony Minoprio who donated it to the University as part of his work to encourage water sculptures in public settings.


This a Nikko Fir (Abies homolepis).



A number of cones were beneath both it and an adjacent pine but were totally unrecognisable after the Squirrels had been at them.


An immature Gull was amongst the birdlife of the university gardens.


A scruffy moulting Magpie was also there.


Barbara Hepwrth's sculpture "Figure for Landscape".


Wild Radish in a newly sown lawn.



This subspecies of the Spanish Oak is known as the Exeter Oak (Quercus x hispanica lucombiana).

Exeter University - a Fungi Foray


Ian took me into the University on Friday morning and I had planned to take advantage of Helen's book about the grounds and gardens to identify some of the trees. In the end it turned out to be as much a fungi foray as a tree hunt.




Agaricus sylvatica - the Scaly Wood Mushroom.


This is a Russula species.


This is another Russula - probably R. xerampelina.


This is the Panther Cap (Amanita pantherina).


And another Amanita - possibly the same species.




This is the Giant Polypore (Meripuls giganteus). {Yes, Mark, we've found the missing leg!!!}


An unidentified fungus.



A Boletus species - probably B. erythropus.

Thursday, 28 August 2008

Slow Worm


In the evening Helen measured the distance between the marks I had made at the head and tail of the resident Slow Worm. It is exactly 13 inches (32.5cm).

Eastern Fields



On Wednesday afternoon I had a walk over the railway line and along to Eastern Fields Playing Fields.



Partly closely mown it also has trees, a long hedgerow, a small stream and areas that are not mown to allow for young trees to grow.


Scarlet Pimpernel - one of my favourite wild flowers but, like poppies, so erratic in its seeding. Like the poppy it seems to need disturbed soil and if the soil is undisturbed the seeds lie dormant for many years.


A Cinnabar Moth caterpillar on Ragwort.




I took lots of photos of a Speckled Bush Cricket.


I found a bug that I've never recorded before - Macrosteles variatus.


There were lots of galls of the mite Eriophyes tiliae on the Large-leaved Limes.


Galls on the Oaks included Knopper Galls of the gall wasp Andricus quercuscalcis.




The hedgerow included Blackthorn (Sloes); Hawthorn; Hips and Blackberries.


Marsh Ragwort.



One of the common trees was Italian Alder.


A hoverfly (Eristalis arbustorum) on Yarrow.


A Bumble Bee species on a thistle.



These are Heath Snails (Helicella italia). Helen's Mollusc book also allowed me to identify this morning's one in the garden - I think it has turned out to be a Hairy Snail (Trichia hispida).