2023 County Report for East Perthshire

Martin Robinson

2,220 records were made, including four new vice-county records:  Cotula coronopifolia, Galanthus elwesii, Pseudofumaria alba and Taraxacum tenebricans.

 

April was taken up with recording along the River Tay for early-flowering species such as Gagea lutea, and also with continuing Taraxacum work in the vice-county, and spreading the word about them at every opportunity, encouraging people to leave them to flower.  We are now up to 123 microspecies in the vc.

 

Later summer revolved around Alchemilla and Salix species.  Mark Lynes came up to the remote Fealar Estate for a couple of days, where masses of Alchemilla glomerulans and A wichurae were found. A. sciura was not, however, and nor was it in Gleann Beag, just over the boundary from its site in vc92.

 

Several days were devoted to Salix arbuscula, a predominantly Breadalbane species of which most historical records here are open to question.  Jo Parmenter on a visit found two good candidates in Gleann Beag, which are being grown on for study by Les Tucker.

Involvement with Perth & Kinross Council continued and more sites were surveyed for their ‘Local Biodiversity Sites’ scheme.  It has picked up momentum with the appointment of a post-graduate student.

Work continued on a third, much expanded revision of the Rare Plant Register, which ought to be finished by the end of this winter.