2020 County Report for Isle of Wight

Colin Pope

We were unable to hold any group meetings this year, so botanical recording was principally a solo activity or in groups of two or three. We have all been surprised by how much of interest we have found, previously overlooked, close at hand but trips further afield have been productive. The Isle of Wight is small enough that we have felt comfortable covering the whole of the county. Wahlenbergia hederifolia, Salix repens, Jasione montana and Phleum arenarium were native species believed to have been lost from the county that were refound in 2020. Cover crops have proved to be particularly interesting in supporting adventive species. Crops of Egyptian Clover, Trifolium alexandrinum, have been particularly productive in this respect. Several couples and individuals were able to take part in the 2021 New Year Plant Hunt.

Wahlenbergia hederifolia

Refound for the first time since 1918 in a small acidic bog.

Scleranthus annuus

Huge population of many thousands of plants in a field edge on sandy ground

Salix repens

A few relict plants growing in the middle of a previously herb-rich reedbed. Thought to have become extinct.

Centaurea solstitialis

Three or four plants growing in a field of kale. Last seen in vc10 in 1956