2024 County Report for Dumfriesshire

Chris Miles

The botanical year in Dumfriesshire 2024

Chris Miles

Just over 6 thousand records were added to the DDb all via the BSBI app. These include about 200 unique records for Bramble microspecies determined or confirmed by Angus Hannah.

We held a NYPH in Dumfries on the 1 January and then managed 8 Dumfriesshire group meetings between April and September including a joint meeting with our Lanarkshire colleagues. Accounts of these meetings is available here https://bsbi.org/dumfriesshire.

A field meeting over a long weekend was held in Dumfries to advance the study of Scottish brambles with 8 people attending. We also ran an introduction to Sedges and Rushes training day with 10 people attending.

Particular species highlights including Holy-grass Hierochloe odorata and Pyramidal Bugle Ajuga pyramidalis were displayed at the Scottish Botany conference and can be seen here Some highlights from the botanical year in Dumfriesshire in 2024; Holy-grass Hierochloe odorata: A new population at Caerlaverock WWT Reserve; Pyramidal Bugle Ajuga pyramidalis at Blacks Hope; Brambles in Dumfriesshire 2024; and Hieracium stenopholidium

I gave a talk to the Nith Life Group in Dumfries and led a Saltmarsh day for the volunteers and seasonal rangers at WWT Caerlaverock. At the same location I took part in a BBC Open Country programme with Dave Pickett WWT Reserve Manager which broadcast on 3 October. I finished surveying all monads in the Moffat Hills to compare current knowledge of the special plants there with Derek Ratcliffe’s account from 1990 and hope to publish this soon.