Elm trees in Jesmond Vale

English Elm (Ulmus minor var. vulgaris)

After the ravages of Dutch elm Disease in the 1960’s, Elms seem to be staging a recovery, some growing into substantial trees as above. They may still succumb to a re-emergence of the disease but are growing in several areas in the vale.

English elm bark

The bark still shows pale brown ridges of a tree yet to mature.

Elm leaves are rough and hairy with characteristic asymmetric shape

This subspecies was susceptible to DED because they are mostly genetically identical and seldom spread by seed. They spread by suckers into scrubby clumps.

The suckers have been incorporated into a hedge.

A comparison of leaves shows the size difference between species and varieties.

Wych elm (Ulmus glabra) on the left. English Elm in the middle and smooth leaved elm Ulmus minor on the right.

Smooth – leaved Elm bark

Ulmus minor var minor has a marked asymmetric leaf base with a narrow taper on the short side. Smooth – leaved elm is found in parks and hedgerows being more resistant to DED since it does reproduce from seed. Sometimes called ‘A phoenix from the Ashes’, the leaves are smooth and glossy.

Smooth -leaved elm (Ulmus minor var minor)

Wych Elm (ulmus glabra)

Wych Elm is common throughout the Dene and thought to be a native. Most are rather scrubby but some are growing into modest trees.

Reference: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/pest-and-disease-resources/dutch-elm-disease/

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/field-elm/

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/english-elm/

Collins Tree Guide 2006

Ash Trees in Jesmond Vale

Common Ash samaras or keys.

Ash trees lose their leave leaves early in the Autumn but their fruits or keys often persist through the winter. The leaflets of 3 – 6 opposite pairs have a terminal leaf. The leaves are phototropic turning to follow the sun. Gender is a complex issue in the Ash; a continuum between male and female varying with the age of the tree. Presumably the one in the photo is female.

Mature Ash bark

Ash can live for 400 years or longer if coppiced. The mature bark is attractively cross ridged.

Young trees have smooth pale grey bark which wrinkles as it ages.

Bark showing beginning of ridges.

Unfortunately Ash is susceptible to Ash Die-back Disease, also previously known as Chalara, caused by a fungal infection of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, an ascomycete fungus. It is now present throughout the UK.

Infected sapling with characteristic lesion

It is most noticeable in young saplings, killing them quickly, although older trees take longer to succumb. The lesions form a diamond shape at first but spread around encircling the bark then killing the tree.

Extensive lesions on trunk

Fortunately, Ash has many genetic types, some producing Sercoridoid glycosides which may act as a defence. These glycosides may also be beneficial in combating the coming threat from the Emerald Ash Borer beetle.

Ash is the third most common tree in the UK providing a dappled canopy ideal for many woodland plants. Its loss would be devastating for the countryside and city green spaces.

White ash (Fraxinus americana)

There is an unusual large leaved ash growing in the Vale. It appears to be the White Ash (Fraxinus americana), a North American tree.

White Ash Leaflet

The leaflet turns a butter yellow in the Autumn and has 7-9 large leaves on leaflets. Some are in paired opposites others more alternate like the one above.

Top: Terminal and leaf scar of common ash. Below: terminal bud and leaf scar of White ash

Differences between common and White Ash are apparent from the buds and leaf scar. White ash has a browner, less smooth, terminal bud and the scar has a concave top edge.

White Ash bark is pale browny/grey with shallow parallel ridges

Reference:

http://www.mikepalmer.co.uk/woodyplantecology/docs/MNR-ashgender.pdf

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/ash/

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-chemical-clues-reveal-ash-tree.html

https://www.cabi.org/cabreviews/FullTextPDF/2019/20193167550.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenoscyphus_fraxineus

Collins Tree Guide 2004

Late October fungi

Sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasiculare) common on rotting wood in local parks.

Cup fungi (Peziza) of some kind.

Purple Jellydisc (Ascocoryne sarcoides) often found on fallen logs.

Chicken Run Funnel (Clitocybe phaeophthalma) has a distinctive smell of ammonia, common on the woodland floor.

Clouded funnel (Clitocybe nebularis) frequently occurs in rings and large groups hiding in Autumn leaf fall.

Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina), also shown in picture below. This one looks rather washed out. It is an infrequent find.

A Brain fungus probably (Exidia thuretiana) growing on a fallen beech.

Turkeytail (Trametes versicolour) is very attractive fungi with medicinal uses.

Smoky Bracket (Bjerkandera adjusta) looks similar but has a dark underside shown below.

Grey Knights (Tricholoma terreum) grow by Armstrong Bridge under conifer trees.

In Jesmond Cemetery, Golden Waxcap ( Hygrocybe chlorophana)

Snowy waxcap (Hygrocybe virginea) in Jesmond old cemetery. Waxcaps prefer grassland and often appear in cemeteries.

Oyster mushroom probably Peling Oysterling (Crepidotus mollis) growing on a decaying Grey Poplar tree.

Early October -Fungi

Probably giant funnel (Leucopaxilus giganteus) which has a white cap, decurrent gills and no ring. The stipe appears too short for Trooping Funnel.

Russula silvestris is found under beech trees and forms mycorrhizal attachments to them. Since the flesh is white it is probably not the Beech Sickener.

Shaggy Scalycap (Pholiota squarrosa) is easier to identify since it grows at the base of trees and is shaggy all over.

Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum) often found under deciduous trees near paths is poisonous.

Purple Brittlegill (Russula atropurpurea) often found under oaks looks more purple than the photograph above suggests.

This photograph captures the deep purple of the mature fruit.

Another fungi of the woodland floor, this small parachute fungi looks like Collared Parachute (Marasmius rotula).

Jelly Ear fungus shown above (Auricularia auricula-judae) is very common on Elder and other deciduous tree. Although it is common and quite palatable in stir fries, foraging for fungi is not recommended. This one was growing in Heaton Park on a fallen log sculpture.

Silverleaf crust (Chondrostereum purpureum) is commonly found on plum and cherry trees.

Grooved Bonnet (Mycena polygramma) has a grooves on its stipe.

This one looks like Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea).

Another example of Honey fungus?

Wood Blewit (Lepista nuda) likes to grow in leaf litter. It is late in fruiting, sometimes producing until December.

Reference: https://www.first-nature.com/news.php

Collins Complete guide to British Mushrooms and Toadstools. 2009

Jesmond Dene- September Fungi

September is a good time to look for fungi appearing in the autumn. Fungi are in their own Kingdom and difficult to identify accurately. The familiar fruiting bodies known as toadstool or mushroom are the ephemeral visible parts of an underground network called a mycelium.

Red cracking Bolete (Boletus chrysenteron) has a reddish appearance under the cracks.

Probably Cep or Penny bun (Boletus edulis) since the flesh does not discolour.

Unlike the dark staining on this species. Most likely Bitter Bolete (Boletus calopus) often found under beech.

Horse Mushroom (Agaricus arvense) is fairly common.

The blusher (Amanita rubescens) is also common and edible.

as is Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes)

Russula are difficult to name to species level.

One of the Honey Fungi (Armillaria mellea) freshly emerging showing a yellow ring.

More mature honey fungus.

The familiar Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus).

Glistening Inkcap (Coprinellus micaceus) usually found on tree stumps.

Fairy Inkcaps (Coprinellus disseminatus) are tiny very delicate and don’t last long.

Collared Earthstar (Geastrum triplex) past its best grows under Yews and has been reliably found for some years.

Rosy crust (Peniophora incarnata) looking like a spectacular plastic splodge of orange.

Abortiporus biennis, the red drops in this form are spectacular but watery and soon disperse.

Brown fungi are hard to identify, this could be Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes)

Probably Giant polypore (Meripilus giganteus) on fallen Beech.

Stump Puffball (Apioperdon pyriforme) commonly found in large troops on dead wood.

The white blob is a Myxomycete, a slime mould. The purple growths are the Jellydisc (Ascocoryne sarcoides) commonly found on broad leaved tree stumps.

Possibly Wood Hedgehog (Hydnum repandum)?

Reference:

https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/chlorophyllum-rhacodes.php

https://www.naturespot.org.uk/taxonomy/term/19709?page=3

Collins Complete guide to British Mushrooms (2009)

Cullercoats Bay

A view of the bay taken during early September at low tide. It shows the exposed sandstone carboniferous bedrock and brown glacial till above. The line of the 90 fathom fault can be seen on the left hand side.

One of the goals of the visit was to check on the Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritinum) shown below. Like the Yellow Samphire it is edible but some say it tastes like kerosene.

While admiring the the Samphire, two Painted lady butterflies appeared on the Red Valerian nearby. It is a migrant species originating in North Africa.

Earlier a pair of Small tortoiseshell butterflies were feeding on Common ragwort. A native species, previously in decline, seems to be more evident this year.

Vipers Bugloss (Echium vulgare) growing on the same sandy bank is also a favourite food plant of the Painted Lady butterfly.

White stonecrop (Sedum album) sheltering under a bench nearby.

Autumn is the season of the Orache, Common Orache (Atriplex patula) seems as much at home along roadsides as by the seaside.

The plastic tubs were dominated either by this Mayweed, probably Sea Mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum),

or Common chickweed (Stellaria media).

Plantlife regard Rosa rugosa as an invasive weed of sand dunes. Although it looks attractive with perfumed flowers and copious hips it is becoming more common along the dunes.

Cullercoats has an exposure of Permian yellow sands visible at low tide. the sea has eroded caves in the strata.

Inside one of the caves, a red alga formed large patches. Probably Hildenbrandia rubra.

Recently there was a Jellyfish swarm around the coast and the beach still had a few specimens lying stranded and dead. The Lion’s Mane jelly has long flowing tentacles surrounding the bell up to to 3m in length and is packed with stinging cells used to catch their prey of fish and other smaller jellyfish. They have a nasty sting, the fragments of tentacles can still sting without being attached to the jellyfish, so best avoided on the beach.

Yeavering Bell – Rocks

The Cheviot massif lying at the centre of the range is an outcrop of Early Devonian (360 million years ago) rock lying to the north of the Iapetus suture. This suture marks the closure of an ancient ocean as the continent of Avalonia was subducted under Laurentia. Cheviot Central granites are the remnant of an ancient volcano surrounded by an arc of andesitic lava flows, tuffs and agglomerates of the Cheviot Volcanic Formation. The Cheviot summit marks the highest point at 815m shown as the stretched feature on the horizon in the photo below.  Yeavering Bell from where the photo was taken lies over Andesite bedrock.

 

The bedrock is scarcely visible since it has been eroded and smoothed in layers of glacial till into rounded green hills. The tills are a mix of sandy diamictons till, morainic and solifluction deposits, sand, gravel, silt and clay originating from the Cheviot Hills. The deposits contain clasts derived predominantly from volcanic and intrusive rocks (basalt, andesite and granite) of the Cheviot Hills.  

The twin peaked Yeavering bell pictured below is classed as a mountain although an easy climb. Wooded at the more sheltered base, as the ground rises Bracken predominates then moorland summits steep enough to form bare scree. Scree forms as a result of freeze- thaw processes on the rock.

Andesite is the name used for a family of fine-grained, extrusive igneous rocks that are usually greyish in colour. They often weather to various shades of purplish brown. It is rich in plagioclase feldspar minerals and may contain biotite, pyroxenes, or amphiboles.

The scattered rocks below have a pinkish glow where the surface is fresher.

This larger boulder is pinkish orange due to the presence of orthoclase feldspar.

A close up of a specimen shown the fine grained material with larger white phenocrysts probably of plagioclase feldspar. A phenocryst is a conspicuous, large crystal embedded in a finer-grained matrix of smaller crystals in an igneous rock.

This boulder like many in the uplands is covered in Lichen. The green is ‘Map Lichen’ (Rhizocarpon geographicum) forming a complicated pattern with the grey Rhizocarpon reductum.

Lecanora  sulphurea, the dull green crustose is often parasitic on Aspicilia

Calcarea pictured below.

The bright yellow crust looks like Candelariella coralliza.

This sample of Cladonia rangiformis was lying loose at the summit but I could not identify where it came from but it could easily occur up here.

 

Reference: http://www.gefrin.com/yeavering/yeavering.html

https://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=CHVG

Lichens : Frank S. Dobson

Yeavering Bell – Botany

This photograph of the hill shows the rounded topography of the Cheviots and the progression from agricultural fields through tree and bush cover through moorland vegetation to scree slopes and rocky outcrops.

Yeavering Bell at 360m is one of the smaller hills in the Cheviot range. At its foot lies Ad Gefrin, the 7th Century, the palace of King Edwin of Northumbria and his successors.  Bede mentions it as the spot where Bishop Paulinus baptised Christian converts in the River Glen in 627 AD. No one knew its exact location until 1949, when an archaeology professor taking aerial photos spotted crop marks. Excavations in the 1950s and 1960s revealed a huge complex of great timber halls of more than 26 metres in length. There were kitchens, a timber grandstand, a weaving shed and a ‘Great Enclosure’. The site is now a grassy field and lies next to a Nature Reserve in a fenced off quarry.

By the path crossing a stream, Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus), a frequently seen plant by freshwater streams in the Cheviots. Gorse is also common on sandy lower slopes with accompanying Yellowhammers singing.

By the Farmstead, Good King Henry (Blitum bonus-henricus). An Archaeophyte and the only perennial Goosefoot, the mealy leaves are longer-than-wide and vaguely triangular but the dense panicles of small flowers are usually without leaves within the flower-spike itself. Once used as a farmyard vegetable, I have also seen it growing in coastal locations.

Typical sward from the lowest slopes sprinkled with Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) known as the bluebell in Scotland. Delicate looking but tough enough to compete with the grasses.

Lesser Hawkbit (Leontodon saxitilis) shown in closer view below.

Tormentil (Potentilla erecta) also ubiquitous, growing  with Climbing Corydalis (Ceratocapnos claviculata) seedlings.

Musk thistle (Carduus nutans) on the lower rough pasture, pleasantly scented, it prefers calcareous soils.

Ling heather (Calluna vulgaris) occurred in extensive patches surrounded by Bracken. The regular areas appeared to be managed for game birds although they made a glorious purple displays.

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) another carpeting shrub had finishing flowering and its dark blue berries were beginning to form.

 

Apart from a wonderful vista the top is rough and grassy. This fort was the largest of its kind in Northumberland, and had dry stone walls constructed around both of the Bell’s peaks. On the hill, over a hundred Iron Age roundhouses were constructed, supporting a large local population. The tribal group in the area was, according to later written sources, a group known as the Votadini. The remains of the perimeter wall can be seen to the right in the picture below.

The path down from the Hillfort on a north- west facing slope, had a different suite of plants growing and little Bracken. The hairy leaves below had no flower stalks on show but I think it must be Bog Cotton (Eriophorum angustifolium) a member of the Cyperaceae family.

Not common here, I found only one example Bell Heather (Erica cinerea) growing amid Heath Bedstraw.  An excellent plant for pollinators, it prefers drier acid condition,

whereas Wild thyme (Thymus polytrichus) although growing not far away thrives on limy soils.

White Stonecrop (Sedum album) also a lime lover grows on or near rocks.

Wood Sage (Teucrium scorodonia) surprised me. Some sources say it grows in acid soils others that it grown on Limestone pavements.

A final view of the Cheviot summit showing extensive heather management and the dark green encroaching Bracken on the lower slopes.

Yeavering Bell means ‘the hill of goats’ and we were lucky to see many feral goats (Capra aegagrus) thought to be descended from Neolithic or Iron age stock.

 

Reference:

https://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/places-to-visit/the-cheviots/ad-gefrin/

http://www.wildflowerfinder.org.uk/

Collins Wild Flowers Guide (2nd edition)

Iris Brickfield Pond

The Iris Brickfield Park has had various uses over the years from farmland to brickworks, landfill and now recreation.  During the Last Glacial Period which ended approx 10,000 years ago thick deposits of glacio-lacustrine clays and muds were left behind as glacial Lake Wear drained, leaving behind material suitable for brick making. The resulting hollow has been modelled as a wetland /pond area.

At present, very little open water can be seen due to lack of rainfall and extensive growth of the reed bed vegetation, like Bulrush (Typha latifolia) shown below.

Branched Bur Reed (Sparganiumn erectum)can also quickly colonise open water.

Reed sweet grass (Glyceria maxima) is another rapid coloniser, growing out from the pond margins.

However, an even more troublesome plant, New Zealand Pigmyweed (Crassula helmsii) is a non-native invasive plant which has both emergent and submerged growth forms. It can grow in water up to 3 meters deep and on the pond margin at some distance from the water.  It forms thick mats over much of the pond. It can regenerate from as little as a 2 mm fragment of stem which makes it very easy to spread between ponds. Once in a pond, it’s regenerative abilities make it incredibly difficult to control.

As a member of the Crassula family, it uses crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) a kind of photosynthesis which involves opening their stomata at night reducing water losses. As the pond goes through its natural ecological succession from open water to marsh conditions Pygmyweed gains a competitive advantage over the other plants.

It is ubiquitous in the picture below, but Water horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile) and  Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) seem to be maintaining a foothold.

The sedge below is Lesser Pond sedge (Carex acutiflorus), the pointed female glumes are shown in detail in the succeeding photo, growing with Sharp flowered rush (Juncus acutiflorus) and Jointed rush.

Where you find Lesser pond sedge, Greater pond sedge (Carex riparia) usually occurs. It is  more glaucous and tougher with lanceolate -ovate female glumes. Last year I found False fox sedge but not so far it has not been noticed.

Also often growing together: Sharp flowered (Juncus acutiflorus) and Jointed rush (J articulatus). The jointed rush has flattened curved stems whereas the sharp flowered is straight of habit. a comparison shown below. Unsurprisingly, soft rush also occurred.

There are a fairly common collection of flowering plants that often grow in wet habitats such as Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica),

and Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

Water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides) generally prefers the wetter ground  easily noticed due to its bright blue flowers but Tufted Forget me not (Myosotis laxa) was also present.

A picture of Water mint (Mentha aquatica) also reveals Common spike rush Eleocharis palustris) although just a dried up flower spike now.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) tucked behind Common Reed (Phragmites australis),

and Yellow Loosestrife, (Lysimachia vulgaris), a sole plant hiding under the dipping platform.

Marsh willowherb (Epilobium pallustre) likes acid wet ground and is often found with rushes.

As pond succession continues trees will eventually invade the drying ground.  Crack willow (Salix fragilis) is rapidly colonising although Goat willow (Salix caprea) forms the thicket behind.

This Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) has a good crop of sloe berries this year.

The visible water surface seems lacking in any submerged plants but Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis),

Great Ramshorn snail (Planorbarius corneus) and some tiny fish were visible.

Reference:

Collins Wild Flower Guide

Allotment insects

Allotments attract a diversity of insects though they are not always visible or easy to photograph.  Providing a suitable environment for insects often means encouraging a range of native and naturalized plants. Nettles provide food and shelter for these small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) caterpillars emerging from their silken nest.

Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) is also a favourite food resource for bees and hoverflies. White tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) is a complex of widespread and abundant species, typically black-and-yellow banded. It has a lemon-yellow collar at the front of the thorax and another bright yellow band in the middle of the abdomen, with a pure white tail.

Males have bright yellow facial hairs and are often extensively yellowed, particularly in the thorax.  Below is a Common Carder bee (Bombus pascuorum) though not as ginger as some, so perhaps a male.

Red tailed bumble bees (Bombus lapidarius) are seen on many flower species even on  Creeping buttercups.  This one is a worker and has no banding.

Buff tailed bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) has a short tongue but still manages to sup nectar by biting holes at the base of  tubular flowers like Russian Comfrey (Symphytum  x uplandicum).

White tailed and Buff tailed workers are difficult to tell apart.

A few weeks ago, this small and very cute bee turned to feed on Sage (Salvia officinalis).  Coloured grey it fitted the description of a Grey mining Bee (Andrena cineraria). It’s  a grey hairy face and body suggests it was a male.

 

Another common allotment and garden bumble bee, the Tree bee (Bombus hypnorum) arrived in the UK in 2001 and since then has spread widely and is pictured below. Although an invasive species the advice is to leave them alone to complete their natural breeding cycle.

 

Featured next in a rather poor photograph is another worrisome species the Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) with a 7 spot (Coccinella septempunctata) ladybird for comparison. It is highly variable in appearance and reaches huge numbers in the Autumn. The 7 spot is more common on the allotment at the moment.

but the larva in the photograph below is a Harlequin.

An unusual looking bee turned up this week. Completely unfamiliar to me, a male Hairy footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes).  A solitary bee, they are spreading from the South, perhaps due to climate warming.

References:

Bumblebee conservation trust

UK Ladybird Survey