Braefoot

Took a wander round Braefoot area of Dalgety Bay in an extended lunch break. Managed to spy a few new species for the NT18 year, but also confirm that the Pirri-pirri Burr Acaena nova-zelandiae is actually fairly widespread. It must be an early emerger which isn't evergreen, as I would surely have noticed its presence along loads of places that I regularly frequent. The idea that I've missed it in every spot doesn't seem reasonable. Something to go to the books for.

Acaena n-z

Lots of other plants are identifiable right now, although more so when I know what grows where. This isn't immediately obvious as Carex otrubae (False fox-sedge), unless you know where it grows and give the triangular stem a bit of a fondle

More obvious is the likes of Pink Purslane (Claytonia sibirica), which loves the base of trees

and a species I've found in more places than before - Burnet Saxifrage - almost certainly by looking in January when nothing else is green around it

I'm hoping that by getting many of the commoner species out of the way early I can focus my attention on the oddities that occur between them. So far this year in NT18 I've had about 190 species.

(breaking news: Heath Speedwell, Veronica officinalis, Dalgety Bay's 400th flowering plant:

)

Mostly green.