2024 County Report for Peeblesshire

Luke Gaskell

Due to other commitments my botanising time in Peeblesshire was somewhat limited.  However, 3868 records in total were collected and digitised in 2024 many from under recorded monads. Some areas proved surprisingly productive. For example the Harlawmuir Burn near Carlops had abundant Berula erecta, Lesser Water-parsnip, together with Carex diandra, Lesser Tussock-sedge, Sparganium emersum, Unbranched Bur-reed and Potamogeton alpinus, Red Pondweed, all of which are scarce in the vice-county. The valley has so far escaped afforestation which blankets much of the surrounding ground, but worryingly it is not currently grazed or otherwise used.

Some interesting plants were found at Fruid, an extensive hill sheep farm located at the top of Tweedale which has good acid heath and grassland habitats. While the number of plant species in each monad seldom exceeded 100, small flushes had some nice plants such as Eriophorum latifolium, Broad-leaved Cottongrass , Carex × fulva and its parents  C. hostiana and C. lepidocarpa, Eleocharis quinqueflora, Few-flowered Spike-rush and on a rock outcrop, Rubus saxatilis, Stone Bramble. I was recording on beautiful day in August surrounded by a large numbers of Scotch Argus butterflies. Much of this upland ground is either afforested, under threat from windfarms or being rewilded.   My hope is that some of these Borders sheep walks remain in traditional management for future generations to enjoy.

I walked up Dollar Law to check on a locality for Cornus suecica, Dwarf Cornel, but disappointingly found only a few specimens. This is not particularly surprising as this site is near to the southern edge of this plant's range.  I was, however, pleased to come across Caltha palustris var radicans an under recorded sub-species of Marsh-marigold which has single small flowers and procumbent stems rooting at the nodes. The only previous VC record was made in the same area in 1925.

Matt Parratt has contributed some interesting new alien records including Abies fraseri, Fraser Fir, Picea glauca, White Spruce and Leucojum vernum, Spring Snowflake.  Ian and Marion Moir have been very active in the east of the county where among other things they have reported Lepidum didymum, Lesser Swine-cress, Carex otrubae, False Fox-sedge, new to the VC, and a possible new plant Poterium sanguisorba ssp balearicum, Fodder Burnet, which is being sown in regenerative grass seed mixes.

No field meetings were held in Peeblesshire, but I did host an arable weeds day at Kittyfield Farm in Roxburghshire.