Meet at 10.30 in the New Forest carpark called ‘Matley’ Grid Ref. SU331073, which is on the B3056 Beaulieu Road heading south-west from Lyndhurst. Please note this is the carpark directly after the ‘Matley Wood campsite’ carpark. There are no public toilet facilities at this and other New Forest carparks, but toilets are located in the centre of Lyndhurst (a few miles away), and should be visited prior to meeting at Matley.
The New Forest is England’s smallest National Park but it is an internationally important site for wildlife. Comprising an array of diverse and niche habitats, the New Forest is probably best known to botanists for its botanically rich mosaic of grassland, heathland, ponds and bogs. During this two-day meeting we will visit some of the botanical hot spots located in the east and west New Forest, and possibly a nearby heathland over the border in Dorset. What we see will heavily depend on the season, but in the damp sandy areas and bogs we can hope to encounter plants such as Coral-necklace Illecebrum verticillatum, Marsh Clubmoss Lycopodiella inundata, Hampshire Purslane Ludwigia palustris, Intermediate Bladderwort Utricularia intermedia (non-flowering), Lesser Bladderwort U. minor and New Forest Bladderwort U. bremii (if it decides to flower). We will see Bog Orchid Hammarbya paludosa if the season is conducive. On the grasslands and heathland, we can expect to see Wild Gladiolus Gladiolus illyricus, Greater Broomrape Orobanche rapum-genistae and Allseed Linum radiola. Waterproof boots (e.g. wellington boots) are essential!
To book, contact Janet John wfs.meetings@gmail.com or phone 01753 884490