Monthly Archives: July 2015

Common Spotted Orchids

Your correspondent had another look at the orchids in Adel Woods this morning, and felt moved to post the accompanying photographs.

Common Spotted Orchid: Adel Woods 11 July 2015

After clearing the Himalayan Balsam, Sylvia took me to see some orchids she had found earlier this week in a secluded meadow in the woods.

The field was well off the beaten track and was a delightful haven of peace and tranquillity in the morning sun.  The orchids were well worth seeing:  we estimated that there were a thousand, and they were all of a very good size.  Your correspondent managed by some fluke to take this photo!  Click on the photo to see a larger version.

Amid the butterflies and the wild flowers it would have been a very nice place to spend the day, lying back with a cool drink and just letting the mind  wander…

Himalayan Balsam 19 July 2015

Himalayan Balsam was introduced (impatiens glandulifera) was introduced to the UK in 1839. As its latin name suggests, it is a relative of the Busy Lizzie.  It is an annual plant which can grow up to 10 feet in height.  Between June and October it produces clusters of pink helmet-shaped flowers which are followed by seed pods that can open explosively, dispersing up to 800 seeds up to 7m when ripe!

If you are not familiar with the plant – sometimes known as the Pink Peril – you will have seen it in Adel Woods – for example at the side of Nanny Beck on Buck Stone Road.

Unfortunately, it has become a problem in the UK in that it tolerates low light levels and shades out other vegetation, so gradually impoverishing habitats by killing off other plants.  This reduces bio-diversity, and is also a problem along river banks – where Himalayan Balsam thrives – as it has very shallow roots which permit soil erosion to occur.  The plant has no natural enemies in the UK and so it is gradually progressing unchecked through the countryside.

Crag Lane – Himalayan Balsam visible to the left

On a walk through the woods, FOAW’s chair noted that there was a clump of Himalayan Balsam at the entrance to Crag Lane by King Lane carpark – and that it seemed to be isolated and therefore a suitable candidate for eradication.  Unchecked, there is little doubt that the plant will spread along Crag Lane which is mercifully reasonably clear of it at the moment.

June and July are the ideal time to clear Himalayan Balsam, before the seed pods form, because clearing the plants when the seeds are ripe can cause the pods to explode scattering the seeds yet further.

We therefore had an hour long session this morning clearing the plant from this small plot.

This was your correspondent’s first experience of HB clearing and it was a rewarding and illuminating experience.

Same scene less Himalayan Balsam

Because Himalayan Balsam has very shallow roots – the root spread of a 10 foot plant might only be the size of a man’s hand – the plants are very easy to pull up.  However, they grow to a density of probably fifty plants per square foot, which means that, if you are clearing an area thirty feet by thirty, there are very many plants to remove.

Having uprooted the plants, the question is what to do with them.  Apparently, if left in contact with the soil, the plants will re-root and so the video’s on youtube show a variety different ways of disposing of them.  The National Trust hang the uprooted plants on trees.  Others favour slashing the uprooted plants with a machete and crushing the stems.  Our team tried a selection of disposal methods:  hanging them on a tree; pulling off the roots and crushing the stalks; and laying them on the track so that the many cars passing along Crag Lane to a strongest man competition at Old Leo’s could crush them.

We pulled up many of the plants including some a good 8 feet tall, but time unfortunately ran out and we probably only managed to clear 90% of the plants.  However, it is now a much more manageable task to complete the job.

An optimistic sign was that the native UK flora like nettles were continuing to persist in the middle of the HB