We had a virtual plant ID day on 26th June led by Stuart Hedley with photographs of plants sent in by the Group, and Stuarts very helpful herbarium sheets of confusing pairs of plants that often get us scratching our heads. There are 3 news additions to the problem pairs on the Survey and Monitoring page of the website which are beaked hawksbeard and autumn hawkbit, common and greater bird’s foot trefoil and bulbous buttercup compared to meadow buttercup
Stuart’s Key to common yellow “dandelion-flowered” composites of Herefordshire is also available for everyone to use. The full list of Problem pairs is given below. Hereford plant recorder and Herefordshire Meadows plant trainer Stuart Hedley has generously shared his working herbarium sheets. These include many problem pairs of plants that seem hard to distinguish at first glance. But with a lens and an eye for the detail it’s possible to master identification using these sheets.
They are for Herefordshire Meadows’ members to use in the field and not intended for wider circulation.
- lesser trefoil and black medick
- buttercups
- vetches
- plantains
- vetches 2
- dandelion family
- rough (greater) and lesser hawkbits
- mouse ears
- docks
- stitchworts
- cat’s ear
- trefoils
- buttercups 3
- autumn hawkbit
- dandelion and sow thistle
- beaked hawksbeard and autumn hawkbit
- common and greater bird’s foot trefoil
- bulbous buttercup