Christopher Dixon
Despite the lack of organised meetings, over 24000 records were collected in 2021 in VC33. Some 221 monads produced at least 40 records each, representing about one-eighth of the area of the vice-county. A Rare Plant Register was completed, to be published shortly by the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society.
Three new populations of Anacamptis morio were discovered in VC33 in May and June, raising the number of known sites in the vice-county to 20. One of these was close to Barnsley Warren, found by Clive Lovatt and myself; I found another in a damp, sloping meadow near Sevenhampton; the last was reported by Olga Krylova near Bisley.
In June, Anna Field of the Cotswolds AONB reported Scleranthus annuus in an arable field near Ampney Crucis. Before this, the species had not been seen in VC33 since 1987.
In August, Clare and Mark Kitchen, together with Clive Lovatt, discovered a population of Bupleurum rotundifolium beside the A419 in Stonehouse.
In August, I found Oxybasis glauca (=Chenopodium glaucum) on an indistinct farm track near Broad Campden. This was only the 3rd record in VC33, the previous one dating to before 1969.
In October, we received a report via iRecord of Ludwigia grandiflora in an amenity pond in a new housing development at Bourton-on-the-Water; further investigation revealed Lagarosiphon major (curly waterweed) was also present. The Environment Agency have been informed and are liaising with the housing developers.