2022 County Report for North Devon
Bob Hodgson, Jeremy Ison & Bob Kirby
The Devonshire Association Botany Section has continued to organise a program of field meetings. There has, however, been little recording activity this year apart from that undertaken by Bob Kirby. Taking advantage of the unkempt gutters left following Covid, this has focused on suburban areas. An invitation to record on various Barnstaple allotments produced some interesting finds, whilst also turning up some species new to the vice-county. Around 3800 records have been collected, updating a range of older ones and re-finding some “lost” species. The suburban emphasis provided a clearer picture of the habitat preferences and spread of several of North Devon’s rarer neophytes (some of which proved locally frequent in such habitats). Useful contact with the rangers at Northam Burrows was established, and some training was provided. Some limited fieldwork in support of project LORE was undertaken, and proved reasonably successful.