Thank you to everybody who contributed to recording in 2015 in Co. Wexford

With the year coming to a close I would like to take this chance to thank everybody who has contributed to recording in Wexford during the year. This has been our best year ever!

For once we have nearly kept up with the inputting of the records collected during 2015. This has been a phenomenal year for the county as to date just over 80,000 records have been entered into MapMate, that is 24,000 up on our best year, which was in 2014. Hopefully 2016 will see an increase in recording in the county, especially in the northern half which is lagging behind, there are still many tetrads with no records or less than 50 species recorded. In the southern half of the county all tetrads have had at least one monad visited, and in the SW corner of the county from New Ross south to the Hook and east ward across to Wellingtonbridge nearly every monad has been visited.  2015 also saw our best ever total of species recorded in a monad on a single visit, 270. This was at Blackwater T1234.

Of the list of 199 species not reported since 2000 in the county, 22 were re-found.  

52 new species were added to the county list, of these 10 were native, 35 were garden escapes or dumped from gardens and surviving, and the other 7 are rare casuals. Of the 10 new native species 8 are hybrids.

August had the largest number of records collected for a month, 14,699, followed by October with 12,145. All months apart from December saw over 1000 records collected.

The map below shows all the monads (black squares) with records.

Alchemilla xanthochlora (Intermediate Lady's-mantle) new native for Co. Wexford

 Margaret Bradshaw the BSBI Referee for Alchemilla has confirmed the specimen of Alchemilla xanthochlora I sent her from a road side at Ballymaclare, 6km south of New Ross. This is a new native species for Wexford, the nearest site in Ireland is c. 80km away. Almost went unnoticed as I put down Alchemilla mollis (Garden Lady's-mantle) on my recording card at the first patch I saw, still didn't cross my mind it wasn't A. mollis when I walked past the second population along the road verge. It wasn't until I was having a cuppa in the car that I thought to myself there is a lot of Lady's-mantle for a garden escape. Took another look, realising the leaves were more or less hairless, I knew it couldn't be A. mollis as that has very hairy leaves.

 Below, one of the verges the Alchemilla xanthochlora (Intermediate Lady's-mantle) was growing along.

Viola tricolor subsp. tricolor (Wild Pansy) at Curracloe

 Came across a stubble field blue with Wild Pansy, never seen so much before. Very good year for weedy stubble fields

Cotoneaster splendens (Showy Cotoneaster) new species for county

 Cotoneasters are one of the few non-native species that I normally look the other way when I see them as I find them almost impossible to ID. Showy Cotoneaster is the first record for Wexford and is also new for Ireland. Sent a pressed specimen to J. Fryer the BSBI Cotoneaster Referee to see what it was. The reply said most likely C. splendens, but need more mature fruits and photos to show correct colour of fruit. It was a 8km round trip to collect a 2nd specimen as it grows at the very end of The Raven. There are two bushes, most likely bird sown.

 Showing whole bush

The two bushes are on the slope below the trees

Misopates orontium (Weasel's-snout) a very rare species in Wexford

Paula O'Meara found Weasel's-snout at Dunganstown on 27th Oct, just one in stubble field. This is the first record for this part of the county. This is the first county record since 2002 as a weed of a stubble field. The only other extant site is as a weed in a veg plot.

Chara connivens first Wexford since 1897

I have never even bothered to look at stoneworts before. Found this Chara connivens in pools in a disused quarry near Bridgetown. Sent it to the BSBI referees Claudia Ferguson-smyth and Nick Stuart. What a start! A 2nd county record and first since 1897 when it was found on North Slob by Rev. Marshall. There has been no records in Ireland since 1960.

Gunnera manicata & G. tinctoria

Above: G, manicata. Taken today on Forth Mountain, there were 3 clumps, one large and two small, this is the first time I have seen Gunnera reproducing in the county. The flowers spikes are very large and lay flat on the ground.

Below: G. tinctoria. Also on Forth Moutnain, very surprised as this was also reproducing. Does seem strange to come across both on the same day, especially as both were along the same road. The flower spikes stand upright.