Newtown U3A

Botany Group

Meeting 21st July, 2011

The meeting on wednesday last consisted of a short walk down the left bank of the river, short maybe, but interesting. The plants seen and discussed included Stinking Helebore (Heleborus foetidus) ,  probably a garden escape, which grows which often grows wild on on old ruins,including Dolforwyn Castle, and flowers in late winter, with purple edged green flowers . Rub a leaf and sniff it... It really lives up to its name!

There was a loud buzzing of Bumble Bees, around a patch of clover, which revived memories of Darwin,s statement that the yield of clover seed depended on the number of ' old maids' in the village. Old maids keep cats, cats kill mice, field mice rob bumble bees nests, bumble bees pollinate clover.   Q.E.D.

 There was Hogweed (Herecleum sphondilium), growing with its relative Giant Hogweed (H. mantagazzianum), which grows to 10 feet high. Hogweed is a common native, but Giant Hogweed was introduced by the Victorians for gardens. It has a rough stem, which if in contact with sensitive skin, causes photosensitisation, meaning that exposure to sunlight produces painful blisters. Efforts have been made to get rid of it without much success.

 Another plant which is very common on the bank, is Hymalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), a tall pretty plant with pink flowers sometimes called ' policemans helmet', after the shape of the 2 inch long flowers.  This is another introduced menace crowding out the native flora, and shooting their large seeds a fair distance.  

 There were plenty of native plants, ranging from willows to grasses. Incidentally grasses are not as boring as  many people think.

 The next meeting will be decided after the U3A meeting in September.  Please come along if you are interested.
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The first meeting of the resurrected Botany and Wildlife Group was held at Dolerw Park and consisted of a short walk along the wooded margin examining the plants growing there.  These ranged from Pignut, with its delicious "nut", (which we did not sample on this occasion) growing potato-like on the root, to the only Tulip Tree in town. This is an American timber tree with a peculiar shaped leaf and a large yellow tulip shaped flower.

We discussed the reason why the car gets covered with sticky aphid secretions under some Lime trees and not others, the difference between various Cow Parsley-like species, and the interesting sex-life of the Wild Arum or Cuckoo-pint.  We looked at the different species of Buttercups and Willows, and sundry other subjects.

The available two and a half hours was gone before we realised. We agreed to meet again next month, and walk down the river bank, which is full of interesting plants and possibly animals as well.