Author | Lightnews

Rob Large

@roblarge.bsky.social

280 followers 70 following 140 posts

Field botanist, grassland mycologist and conservation ecologist, Natural England Field Unit. BSBI referee, FISC Assessor and FISC Development Working Group and QA panel. Storyteller, traveller, anarchopunk, raver, troublemaker and so many other things.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 6h

Splendid Waxcaps, Hygrocybe splendidissima. For #WildFungiHour

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 1d

Plenty of Nitrous Waxcap, Neohygrocybe nitrata on Dartmoor yesterday.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 1d

I rarely see Stropharia aeruginosa, Verdigris Roundhead on my local patch and when i do they are typically single and small. Today I found a troop of about 20 some of which had caps approaching 90mm.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Sep 16

Sadly nature conservation is not regarded as a priority for funding st present.
Calling a site an NNR does not secure adequate funding to endsure ideal management. More often than not sites are grazed by stock owned whatever local farmers are available.
NNR staff can only advise against chemicals.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Sep 7

Almost certainly due to the cattle being treated with Ivermectins as a preventative against worm infestation.
No invertebrates are able to survive in their dung so they last until they are broken down by weathering.
The majority of farmers use these treatments sadly

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Jun 18

I'm guessing not in the UK? Lovely thing isn't it?

Reposted by Rob Large

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · May 11

If a government with over 400 seats and 4 years left to govern cannot summon the courage to level with the public on social care then I despair at the capacity of our political system to ever deliver the change we need.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · May 12

Just another example of Defra's opinion that actual field ecologists who know stuff are too expensive when one GIS analyst can churn out pretty maps for a fraction of the cost.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · May 12

I did some work piloting/ground-truthing some of the methodology for this project. I never had much faith in it to be honest.
The remote-sensing/AI approach has some value at the broad scale and the headline figures may be more or less right, but it was never going to be useful tool at field scale.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · May 11

At present it seems to be getting harder to see any evidence of actual protection going on though. Labelling something as protected should only be the beginning of the process.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · May 11

It is surprisingly abundant on Portland, mainly as an occasional/frequent component of grassland, but when it encounters disturbed soil it can form a dense carpet.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · May 9

Many dandelions are apomictic, producing seed without needing to be pollinated. Some have given up making pollen, and thus have no need of nectar to lure pollinators, so that too is dispensed with.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Apr 25

Maybe the flower too. Not all dandelions produce pollen. 🙄

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Apr 21

Was that yhe only reason you had for visiting CI or Scilly then?
Plenty of other great things to see there. 😉

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Apr 7

I've no idea how Hyacinthoides italica found its way into a Devon churchyard. It has been here for at least five years. Usually about 10 -15 plants and I think some are new this year.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Mar 31

Something near Rorippa perhaps?

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Mar 28

I managed to catch one flowering in Cornwall.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Mar 25

It's a clever bit of tv. Worth watching. No real surprises in it though. You know how it's going t end within the first half hour.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Mar 21

I guess forest involves the least effort and expense.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Mar 13

I think the key here is indeed the word poorer. Meaning lower nutrient status. Genista tinctoria is not a great competitor and is often lost when sites become enriched through neglect.
Urban sites such as verges etc. are typically both enriched and neglected so probably not suitable for the species.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Feb 24

I didn't think I was criticising your art. I thought I was criticising my reaction to it.
Forgive me, it's been one of those weeks.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Feb 23

It's OK I look pretty odd myself and I've seen some pretty odd orchids. 😉
I don't think it detracts from the beauty of the piece, just causes my nerdy botanist gland to twitch 🙄

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Feb 23

Seems to have been popular in planting schemes in Exeter at some point.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Feb 22

That is remarkable, well done, must have taken forever. As a botanist though, the leaves stacked up in two rows on either side just looks odd.
I understand why you have done it that way, for display.
Otherwise, utterly amazing and beautifully observed.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · Feb 16

Haha, probably over my dead body. I could shed most of my books, but botany stuff is sacrosanct (for now at least) 😃

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