Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 2d

I'll bear that in mind; I have seen it in flower once, but I think other than that I've timed my visits poorly to get a good show. One for 2026!

2

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks Alex - my frantic Google search on the train home led me to the outdated synonym.

I hadn't clocked the dying-off heads, that's a good feature to be aware of.

I wonder if the York Groundsel will end up creating a kind of halo effect of more weird Senecio hybrids being spotted in the area!

1

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 2d

Seeds look to be flat/empty/poorly developed.

So - a hybrid? Possibly S. squalidus x S. viscosus? Senecio subnebrodensis?

What do you think @bramblebotanist.bsky.social ?

1 1

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 2d

Here it is in direct comparison to Senecio squalidus, on left. Much smaller flowers, narrower petals, doesn't really have black-tipped phyllaries. Some of the flowers (see previous posts) have curling petals (like S. viscosus often has)

1 2

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 2d

I was in York today so obviously had to have a quick look for York Groundsel. No luck with that, but did find this weird looking thing...

2 11

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 4d

For more about the unique wildlife of the Great Orme, and other endemic species across Britain, then you might enjoy my book Endemic.

share.google/JLoDRcj2rerJ...

Endemic

Meet the rare, obscure and utterly British species found nowhere else on earth.Around 70,000 species call Britain home, but how many of them can be found here a…

share.google

2

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 4d

It is *tiny*, with a wingspan of just 15-22mm, compared to the usual 26-32mm of the nominate subspecies found elsewhere.

Unlike most Silver-studded Blues, which take flight from mid-June, the Orme Blue emerges earlier - typically from late May.

1 1

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 4d

Britain has no endemic species of butterfly, but we do have a few unique subspecies.

This is the endemic subspecies of the Silver-studded Blue found on the Great Orme, Plebejus argus ssp. caernensis, what I call the 'Orme Blue'.

Check out those gorgeous silver-studs 😍

1 6

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 4d

I'm glad that - even for such a dedicated naturalist as yourself - there's something new and interesting in there for you. Thanks again for all your help with the Interrupted Brome chapter.

1

Reposted by James Harding-Morris

Richard Moyse @kentgrasshoppers.bsky.social · 14d

Excited to get my copy of Endemic by @bsbicountries.bsky.social today. Not because *ahem* I'm in the chapter on Interrupted Brome, but because of the many other spp & subsp to explore - some of which (like Great Orme's Graylings) I realise I've already seen without realising their significance.

Cover of a book: 'Endemic - Exploring the Wildlife Unique to Britain' by Kames Harding-Morris.

1 2 9

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 7d

Two endemic Welsh whitebeams, both with Rowan ancestry.

Top is Ley's Whitebeam, Sorbus leyana, which has 9 remaining wild trees. Plant Atlas: share.google/INMlwgNZvgI7...

Bottom is Least Whitebeam, Sorbus minima, which has a wild population of over 700. Plant Atlas: share.google/E4VQ14l0PvKL...

1 3 19

Reposted by James Harding-Morris

BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 10d

On Saturday, we held a Northern Ireland Recorders Meeting in the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre. From far and wide, recorders came to learn about willow identification and hybrids, then roamed the site, willow-hunting. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @mikekally.bsky.social

3 10

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 11d

The Least Whitebeam, Sorbus minima, is in my humble and biased opinion, one of our best looking whitebeams. Small, adorable leaves with those deep lobes reflecting Rowan ancestry. This endemic tree has a very restricted range, but is abundant within it with over 700 trees known.

1 4 30

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 12d

Did you submit the record??

1 1

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 14d

Definitely a non-native, but it's not classed as invasive: www.nonnativespecies.org/non-native-s...

Information Portal » NNSS

www.nonnativespecies.org

1 1

Reposted by James Harding-Morris

BSBI Cymru / Wales @bsbicymru.bsky.social · 15d

Very different looking seeds between Drosera anglica (gwlithlys mawr / great sundew) and D intermedia (gwlithlys hirddail / oblong-leaved sundew). In the hybrid between D anglica and D rotundifolia the seed pods don’t really open and the seeds are just soft pale brown bits. #sundews #drosera

3 14

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 15d

Jealous! One I'd love to see 😍

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 15d

😂

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 16d

Some positive plant news from the BSBI - Holly Fern rediscovered in Cwm Idwal after 150 years! share.google/ZlNYNfC4f6h2...

And with a quote from our very own @bsbicymru.bsky.social

Plant Atlas maps for Holly Fern here: share.google/9t1TB44l1G1i...

“A remarkable discovery”: Rare fern found in Welsh valley 150 years after being wiped out by Victorians | Countryfile.com

The young holly fern was rediscovered by a naturalist on the rugged slopes of Cwm Idwal in Eryri National Park.

share.google

2 14 66

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 17d

Thanks Katie 😊

1

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 17d

I always impressed by how everyone in the area at the time remembers exactly what they were doing that day. My dad was caddying for some golfers in Brough, East Yorkshire, and remembers hearing it and seeing a cloud of smoke over the Humber. I didn't know about the brickworks - I'll have to visit!

1 1

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 17d

I find these plants at Flixborough interesting; they have no normal conservation value, yet I think they're important because of their 'heritage' value, for want of a better word. I'm probably, and obviously, biased!

But can anyone else think of other alien plants with arguable 'heritage' value?

2 4

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 17d

And one of the bricks from these houses is now built into my fireplace.

1 4

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 17d

You can read my mum's recollections here: share.google/mv6RkWQUcoas...

Flixborough 1974 Memories - Debra Harding-Morris - North Lincolnshire Museum

Memories of the Nypro disaster recorded by Debra Harding-Morris, who lived at Stather Road, Flixborough with her family.

share.google

1 2

James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 17d

As well as Lilac, which my mum remembers growing in my great grandparents' garden who lived a couple of houses down (they were there at the time of the explosion and both went to hospital, fortunately only with superficial injuries)

1 3