Petty, hoary and who-knows-what?!

Friday 15th May

Share this article

Two near-threatened plants were identified at Panshanger Park, near Hertford, on Monday during a botanical training session for Maydencroft’s Ecologists and Nature Recovery Consultants. Common cudweed is not so common these days, unfortunately, and neither is hoary cinquefoil but they are hanging on at Panshanger!

We were delighted to welcome experienced botanist Josh Styles to lead a mock Field Identification Skills Certificate (FISC) test to help everyone improve their plant identification skills and prepare for the real test later this summer. FISC is increasingly recognised as essential evidence of a surveyor’s competency to assess habitats for Ecological Surveys and Biodiversity Net Gain projects. At Maydencroft we are working hard to build our FISC-accredited surveyor resource, and excited about putting to good use on Projects and Habitat Bank sites throughout the country.

For the morning’s indoor lab test, Josh brought specimens of twenty plants that can be found around the UK, including several that the group had never seen before. These included petty whin, which has similarities with more familiar yellow-flowering gorse, and upland enchanter’s nightshade, which is a north of England species. During the afternoon outdoor field survey session, Josh identified over 100 plants in half an hour in a small area of the park! Whilst knowing plants from memory is valuable, most of the test is about using ID guides and a hand lens (magnifying glass) to look for characteristic features that will enable you to identify any plant you come across.

Bring on the full FISC tests later this year!

loading