Nine of us met at the cemetery car park at the Bu, Orphir, at 2.00pm, May 23rd, for the first botany outing of the year. It was quite breezy, with a slightly damp start to the walk. However the rain cleared away not long into the walk. We set out along the cliff path from the cemetery, normally slippery, but, today, it was fairly dry.

 

It’s the time of year when flowers are just beginning to appear, but many are still thinking about it. So along the cliff path, a lot of identification of plants was done with discussions about leaf formations. This method found us 4 varieties of vetch,- meadow vetchling, tufted vetch, kidney vetch, and bush vetch. Of the same family, bird’s foot trefoil was found in flower.  Other plants identified in flower were Lesser Celandine, Tormentil, Scurvy grass, Thrift, Spring Squill, Primrose, Silver Weed, Field Horse Rush, Broadleaf and Ribwort Plantain and Violet. Discussed were the different forms of creeping willow in Orkney - and should a new identification of the family be created.

 

Going up the path to the Breck car park, Wavy Bittercress, Mousear, and Changing Forgetmenot, Speedwell, and Red Campion were found in flower alongside the path.  In the patch of heathland Common and Harestail Cotton Grass were identified almost in flower, alongside the odd spikes of cuckoo flower all around that area.

Up to the lovely Gyre wood, where we identified Marsh Marigold, Blinks, Gorse, and Pink Purslane in flower, and by leaf and situation were Yellow Flag, Foxglove, and Butterbur,(having flowered). And we managed to find and identify three of Orkney’s rarest plants, Dog’s Mercury, Hard Shield Fern and Hart’s-tongue Fern.

Walking back to the car park, the pink purslane all along the road has almost finished flowering .

 

A big thank you is extended to Chris MacRae for the delicious tea provided for some of us in Grindelay with tales of his family connections and the house’s past history.