The Abbey ruins lie in a beautiful wooded valley where two water courses meet, Maltby Dike and Hooten Dike. Capability Brown had been hired by the 4
th Earl of Scarborough to develop this landscape.
The substantial remains of the Gatehouse, parts of which are built into the rock outcrops so typical of the area, was where the group took lunch before resuming the survey. It was noticed that a Pellitory of the Wall
(Parietaria judaicawas) indeed living up to it's name, growing at the base of one of the Gatehouse walls.
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| Pellitory of the Wall (Parietaria judaica) |
A tour was made around the Abbey grounds, and amongst the rocky outcrops was spotted Germander Speedwell (
Veronica chamaedrys).
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| Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) |
The group then proceeded along the footpath through Quarry Hills towards Maltby. Crossing Gypsy Lane a detour was made, to the banks of the Maltby Dike where a search was made for the Yellow Star of Bethlehem (
Gagea bohemica), without success. However, we did find the Green Hellebore (
Helleborus viridus) now in seed, growing at the waters edge.
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| Green Hellebore (Helleborus viridus) |
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| Green Hellebore (Helleborus viridus) |
This detour had caused many smaller groups to form and scatter into Nor Wood. Robert & Everald Ellis found on a rocky outcrop above Gypsy Lane the Fingered Sedge (
Carex digitata). Thanks to Louise Hills direction, I was able to return to the site to photograph it at a later date.
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| Fingered Sedge (Carex digitata) |
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| Fingered Sedge (Carex digitata) |
Richard Campbell kindly provided me with his records for this site, too. Which were Greater Chickweed (
S. neglecta), Leopard's-bane, Mountain Currant, Green Hellebore, Creeping Buttercup, Lesser Periwinkle, Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Small Nettle, Oxford Ragwort, Yellow Archangel (the native variety), Fingered Sedge, Field Mouse-ear, Rue-leaved Saxifrage, Spurge Laurel, Lily-of-the-Valley and Field Pansy.
If anyone has photos or plant identifications from this meeting, we will be pleased to include them in this blog, Send to
southyorkshirebotany@gmail.com
Thanks for posting thiss
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