2022 County Report for VC113a

Helen Litchfield

I work closely with the local organisation, La Société Guernesiaise ( LSG), in all things botanical. Under the LSG banner, we organise public walks as well as weekly recording sessions.

 

Guernsey was delighted to host Fred Rumsey in April. Our first foray was to the local headland to check on the presence of our little colony of Least-Adder’s-tongue, Ophioglossum lusitanicum. Fred was able to determine the presence alongside, of Small Adder’s-tongue, Ophioglossum azoricum. A trip to a known area for our hybrid Aspleniums resulted in several plants being identified as A. × sarniensis. With a small amount of trepidation, bright yellow flags were placed to mark each plant. The site was revisited later in the year by Gareth Coleman. He checked the spores, our understanding of the key identifying features, was enriched. Another huge benefit was engaging with the owner of the hedge bank who was delighted to know that it was home to such rarities and has since taken care with the cutting regime to protect them. The flags are still present as I type this in January 2023.

 

As a group, we were pleased to be asked to carry out survey work on behalf of the Government of Guernsey. We were not assigned the project until the very end of June, following a very, very dry spell. The work involved quadrat surveying along the coastal areas, most of which were fried to a crisp. However, undaunted, a small group of us carried out over 500 surveys in a range of habitats. Being paid to pursue our passion certainly helped. The data will be used to inform management practices.