Dear HFFS member. The broad aims of Atlas 2020 are to:

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1 Dear HFFS member I am writing to you in my capacity as HFFS Plant Recorder, to request your help with the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) Atlas 2020 project. The project follows on from similar Atlas published in 1962 and The broad aims of Atlas 2020 are to: Collect up-to-date information on the distribution of all plant species growing wild in Britain and Ireland Analyse changes in distribution that have occurred over the last 20 years i.e. since the publication of the last Atlas Make the data collected available for a diverse range of other projects e.g. for the production of local Rare Plant Registers, national Red Data Lists or to aid ongoing research into our flora The HFFS membership has a strong history of supporting BSBI atlas projects. Indeed records collected on HFFS meetings since 2000, sent in to me as HFFS Recorder, or contributed to the ongoing Orchid and Flora of Fenland projects have already made a significant inroad into meeting requirements for the Atlas 2020 project in Huntingdonshire. Since becoming HFFS recorder I have digitised some 151,192 records, 64,000 of which have been made from 2000 onwards. Some of you may have been involved with the last Atlas project and may remember collecting detailed plant lists for hectads (10 x 10 km grid squares). This time round, because of the excellent recording done to date, I propose something different. The objective for the remaining recording years between now and 2019 will be to target specific species (see below) that for one reason or another have been scarcely or patchily recorded since the 1970 s. I would be pleased to hear from anyone interested in helping track down populations of the species of interest. This could be offers for help county-wide, or offers to search for relevant species on your local patch. I can provide details of historic locations (if known) and guidance on what to record. You may also wish to visit the BSBI webpage for more information on the wider project. I suspect that local knowledge may prove invaluable in some cases. The locations for many of the species, because they were not rare at that time, are not recorded in detail so local knowledge may help in identifying possible areas of suitable remnant habitat worth searching, or help identify local contacts to get access to private land. I hope to hear from some of you over coming months Best wishes David Broughton da_broughton@tiscali.co.uk

2 Species of Interest After trawling the database species by species over the winter I have identified the following species as needing attention. The list is a diverse mix and comprises approximately 4% of the county flora. Given the baseline data used to assess progress was largely recorded in the 1970 s, many of these species will have genuinely declined in line with national trends, others may be clinging on in small areas of relict habitat, or be over-looked because they are difficult to identify or occupy less accessible habitats. A notable chunk of the list seems to be species of unimproved grassland, which no doubt tells an interesting story on the fortunes of this habitat over the last years. Others are species of riverbanks, which may be less open or accessible than historically, or suburban and urban habitats. The following species need further work: Arable weeds all species, arable habitats have been well recorded but more searches would be useful in the peak season of June to mid-july. Sweet-flag (Acorus calamus) Velvet bent (Agrostis canina) Silvery hair-grass (Aira caryophyllea) Narrow-leaved water-plantain (Alisma lanceolatum) Orange foxtail (Alopecurus aequalis) 1 hectad to update Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis) Thyme-leaved sandwort species (Arenaria leptoclados & serpyllifolia) species were originally considered subspecies. Most historic records cannot be assigned to a species. Black spleenwort (Asplenium adiantum-nigrum) Downy oat-grass (Avenula pubescens) Meadow oat-grass (Avenula pratensis) Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) Nodding bur-marigold (Bidens cernua) Black mustard (Brassica nigra) Wild turnip (Brassica rapa) perhaps only a casual historically Quaking-grass (Briza media) Musk thistle (Carduus nutans) Spring sedge (Carex caryophyllea) Carline thistle (Carlina vulgaris) Greater knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa) Field mouse-ear (Cerastium arvense)

3 Dwarf thistle (Cirsium acaule) Basil thyme (Clinopodium acinos) Crosswort (Cruciata laevipes) Greater dodder (Cuscuta europaea) Wall rocket (Diplotaxis muralis) American willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum) Wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides ssp. amygdaloides) 1 hectad to update Eyebright (Euphrasia agg.) Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris) Woodruff (Galium odoratum) Fen bedstraw (Galium uliginosum) Opposite-leaved pondweed (Groenlandia densa) Green hellebore (Helleborus viridis) Grafham West Wood Mare s-tail (Hippuris vulgaris) Lower Ouse Valley Water-violet (Hottonia palustris) Round-fruited rush (Juncus compressus) Narrow-leaved everlasting-pea (Lathyrus sylvestris) Lesser hawkbit (Leontodon saxatilis) Pale toadflax (Linaria repens) Fairy flax (Linaria catharticum) Gromwell (Lithospermum officinale) Duke-of-Argyll s teaplant (Lycium barbarum agg.) Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) Lower Ouse Valley Watercress species (Nasturtium officinale, microphyllum, x sterile) aggregate well recorded but need fruit to distinguish the component species Tubular water-dropwort (Oenanthe fistulosa) River water-dropwort (Oenanthe fluviatilis) Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) Herb-paris (Paris quadrifolia) Greater burnet-saxifrage (Pimpinella major) Burnet-saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga) Narrow-leaved meadow-grass (Poa angustifolia) Flattened meadow-grass (Poa compressa)

4 Common milkwort (Polygala vulgaris) River water-crowfoot (Ranunculus fluitans) Ivy-leaved water-crowfoot (Ranunculus hederaceus) Godmanchester Eastside Common Pond water-crowfoot (Ranunculus peltatus) Thread-leaved water-crowfoot (Ranunculus trichophyllus) Creeping yellow-cress (Rorippa sylvestris) Dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulus) Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) Sanicle (Sanicula europaea) Small scabious (Scabiosa columbaria) Common figwort (Scrophularia nodosa) Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum) Oxford ragwort (Senecio squalidus) Sticky groundsel (Senecio viscosus) Pepper-saxifrage (Silaum silaus) Tall rocket (Sisymbrium altissimum) Mind-your-own-business (Soleirolia soleirolii) Common meadow-rue (Thalictrum flavum) Ouse Valley Wild thyme (Thymus polytrichus) Zigzag clover (Trifolium medium) Sulphur clover (Trifolium ochroleuchon) 1 or 2 hectads only to update Marsh valerian (Valeriana dioica) Common valerian (Valeriana officinalis ssp. sambucifolia) the plant of river banks and marshes Heath speedwell (Veronica officinalis) Marsh speedwell (Veronica scutellata) Hairy violet (Viola hirta)

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